Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Medical education is beyond gaining a certain level of knowledge and mastering a specific set of skill. Medical students should try to improve the self and system, which necessitates personal growth and professional identity development. In this study, we aimed to investigate the factors which contribute to the formation of professional identity of medical students in basic sciences stage and finding out the significance of each factor. METHODS: In this cross-sectional practical survey, semi-structured interviews were done with 10 medical students. The interview results yielded several items, which were used to make a 14-item questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were verified. The contribution of the items to the factors was verified through factor analysis, the prerequisites of which were KMO and Bartlett test, which were done and approved. The significance of the factors obtained was evaluated and ranked through one sample t-test and Friedman test, respectively. RESULTS: The result showed that professional identity development in the stage of basic sciences was influenced by several factors, including educational, socioeconomic, personal, and familial ones. Also, the personal factor ranked first, followed by socioeconomic, educational, and familial factors, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, it was concluded that the participants were more influenced by their own personal attitudes as compared to their familial, socioeconomic, or educational factors. Moreover, the factors which contributed to the professional identity of medical students were not at the same level of significance. To train physicians with high professional identity, medical education authorities are recommended to consider the above-mentioned factors.