Medical educators: How they define themselves - Results of an international web survey.

Nikendei, Christoph; Ben-David, Miriam Friedman; Mennin, Stewart; Huwendiek, Sören (2015). Medical educators: How they define themselves - Results of an international web survey. Medical teacher, 38(7), pp. 1-9. Informa Healthcare 10.3109/0142159X.2015.1073236

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BACKGROUND

Little is known about medical educators' self-definition.

AIMS

The aim of this study is to survey an international community of medical educators focusing on the medical educators' self-definition.

METHODS

Within a comprehensive, web-based survey, an open question on the participants' views of how they would define a "medical educator" was sent to 2200 persons on the mailing list of the Association for Medical Education in Europe. The free text definitions were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Of the, 200 medical educators invited to participate, 685 (31.1%) provided a definition of a "medical educator". The qualitative analysis of the free text definitions revealed that medical educators defined themselves in 13 roles, primarily as "Professional Expert", "Facilitator", "Information Provider", "Enthusiast", "Faculty Developer", "Mentor", "Undergraduate and Postgraduate Trainer", "Curriculum Developer", "Assessor and Assessment Creator", and "Researcher".

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey revealed that medical educators predominantly define themselves as "Professional Experts" and identified 12 further self-defined roles of a medical educator, several of which not to have been reported previously. The results can be used to further the understanding of our professional identity.

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