Young Physicians in the City and in the Countryside: Features of Professional Identity

Abstract

Citation: Galkin К. (2020) Young Physicians in the City and in the Countryside: Features of Professional Identity. Mir Rossii, vol. 29, no 3, pp. 142–161 (in Russian). DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2020-29-3-142-161

Doctors have many identifiers of their profession: ethical codes and standards, an educational system, uniforms, professional language, professional associations, communication rituals and a hierarchical structure within the profession itself. But how does professional identity and the perceptions of the profession change in the context of environmental differences in settlements of different sizes? This study investigates the professional identity of young physicians in the locations where they practice, and presents professional activity not as a functionalist paradigm of society or the local community, but as the construction of their professional identity. The key components of professional identity considered are autonomy and motivational factors, which are the reference categories for their identity. The study is based on interviews with young physicians who work in outpatient clinics in cities or villages, or in rural dispensaries. The informants are aged from 27 to 32 years. The study showed that being a doctor is in many ways an urban profession; the city and the identity of a physician are associated with membership of professional communities and professional life. Rural areas have a unique social ecology and special social relations which blurs the demarcation line between professional identity and place identity. This creates difficulties in motivating physicians and in understanding the individual’s professional affiliation. A solution to the problem could be the creation of professional communities of young physicians in rural areas, the creation of opportunities and spaces for marking their professional identity in leisure activities, and special training for those working in rural areas.