We continue with our Professional Identity and Medicines Development series and are proud to feature a well-written essay from a successful graduate of our 2022 cohort. Below you will find an essay from Academy alumna María Beatriz Greaves. The Academy would like to thank María for her contributions to our learning community.
“Elaborate on the development and status of your own Professional Identity and Sense of Purpose, and what it means in terms of your job, your career, and future prospects.”
During most of my professional life, I identified myself as an ophthalmologist first, and a physician second. My career change into Medical Affairs was driven by unwanted circumstances and associated with a sense of loss in departing from a profession I found highly rewarding, as well as betraying my purpose. I defined my purpose as providing best care and accompaniment to patients with ocular inflammation, striving to achieve the best results.
Taking my first steps in the industry, I felt the need for more guidance and had few role models. Yet, our company’s core business struck a chord with a personal experience, and I found motivation in recognizing the difference our products made in the lives of ophthalmological patients. This purpose was perceived externally as idealistic, didn’t resonate, and didn’t impact decision-making.
Throughout the year in the program, my sense of purpose evolved and deepened to improving outcomes for patients with ocular conditions… I’m still working on it. The magic of this new purpose is that it’s aligned with the purpose I had as a clinician, helped me resolve the feelings of loss and betrayal, and it now guides my approach, projects, and decisions [1].
My renewed and evolving purpose inspires and empowers me to change my tactics, widen my area of influence, be more outspoken, and challenge the current status quo with new ideas. It drives me to keep learning, search for new experiences, and to imagine a career path that will answer to that purpose.
During those first years in the industry, my knowledge and skills in pharmaceutical medicine grew slowly through interaction with peers, short courses, much reading, hands-on experience, and trial and error. Though I no longer cared for ophthalmological patients, I identified strongly as an ophthalmologist.
Joining the certification program was an important step in sealing my commitment to medicines development and transforming my professional identity (PI) [2]. My knowledge increased exponentially, my skills more slowly. I feel more anchored and empowered to act with integrity, I can identify nuances that were previously invisible, or that made me uneasy without being able to articulate them. It has led me to reflect on past approaches and identify areas to grow. My PI has evolved from an ophthalmologist to an ophthalmologist in pharmaceutical medicine and I expect it will continue to evolve as I gain more experience and continue this career path [2].
My identification with pharmaceutical medicine is still in process. I relate to the actions and behaviors of the profession, but in the ophthalmological therapeutic area, where I believe I provide more value. The values and ethics of pharmaceutical medicine have become more engrained during this last year thanks to participating in the program. I feel proud to be where I am and motivated to learn more, gain experience, skills, and confidence, and widen my impact [3].
I hope to contribute to the consolidation of our local MA structure, with the aim to increase the medical impact on the strategy. One step at a time, with an eye on long-term goals, ambitious but realistic. The need to interact with role models drives me to look for enriching opportunities. I’m exploring and extending my network to other medical affairs professionals and professional groups. I plan to continue learning through further education and remain open to projects that will challenge me to evolve [3,4].”
References
- https://www.kinesisinc.com/how-to-discover-your-companys-core-purpose/
- https://edutechwiki.unige.ch/mediawiki/index.php?title=Professionalidentity&oldid=71924
- Fitzgerald A. Professional identity: A concept analysis. Nurs Forum. 2020 Jul;55(3):447-472. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12450. Epub 2020 Apr 6. PMID: 32249453.
- Wilson I, Cowin LS, Johnson M, Young H. Professional identity in medical students: pedagogical challenges to medical education. Teach Learn Med. 2013;25(4):369-73. doi: 10.1080/10401334.2013.827968. PMID: 24112208.
Disclaimers
- The material in these reviews is from various public open access sources, meant for educational and informational purposes only
- Any personal opinions expressed are those of only the author(s) and are not intended to represent the position of any organization(s)
- No official support by any organization(s) has been provided or should be inferred
