How Do Doctoral Scholars In Health Professions Education Construct and Negotiate Their Professional Identity During Their PhD Journey: A Qualitative Study Design

Abstract

Objective:

To explore how doctoral scholars in Health Professions Education construct and navigate their professional identity during the PhD journey, including the challenges and their future aspirations.

Methodology:

In order to investigate how doctoral researchers in health professions education create and manage their professional identities during their PhD journey, this study used a qualitative research approach. Because professional identity construction is a complex and socially created process that best retains significance through participants' lived experiences and interpretations, a qualitative method was selected. An in-depth analysis of how PhD researchers interpret their evolving roles, values, and professional identities in academic and clinical settings was made possible by this design. The six PhD participants completed a five-point open-ended questionnaire, and themes and subthemes were derived from the written responses.

Results: Five analytic themes emerged: (1) Multiple Facets of HPE Professionals (2) Achieving Credibility as HPE Professional (3) Practical Barriers to Progress (4) Shaping the Future of PhD in HPE (5) Expanding Horizons in HPE. Senior leaders highlighted systemic innovations and institutional legacies, while early-career professionals expressed hopes for advancement and recognition. In order to gain a reputation and make a significant contribution to HPE, all participants had similar goals. Their goals go beyond personal achievement; taken as a whole, they want  "HPE ecosystem" and a "transformed PhD landscape" that is adaptable, organized, and contextually relevant. In this way, their stories blend individual aspirations with more general reformist goals, presenting the PhD in HPE as a "catalyst for individual growth as well as systemic change" rather than just an academic endeavor.

 Conclusions: Both macro (financing, organized PhD curriculum, official career pathways, international evaluation) and micro (mentorship, protected research time, faculty development) initiatives are needed to strengthen PhD-HPE in Pakistan.