"Ideal Medical Educator": Cognitive Structures Of Medical Faculty Students

Objective: Several factors influence the perception of medical school students regarding the concept of medical educator. The most important of these is the medical educators in the faculty where they are studying. In this context, in this research, it was aimed to determine the qualifications of 'ideal medicine educator' in the cognitive structures of the students and to design a model according to these qualities.Methods: In this research designed by exploratory pattern from mixed methods, 217 students who are attending different grades in the medical faculty of a state university in the Central Anatolia Region include the study group. The data were obtained through the 'repertory grid', which is one of the structured interview techniques. Content analysis and grid similarity formulas were used in the analysis of the data.Results: Findings indicate that there are 1,627 valid cognitive structures (only positive qualities) representing ideal medical educator qualities, and that these structures are separated into 5 major and 24 subcategories. The first three most frequently repeated cognitive structures are classroom management skills, compassion and assessment and evaluation skills. The main categories constitued by being classfied cognitive fiction are pedagogical competence, individual maturity, communication skills, innovative spirit / aversion and other characteristics.Conclusion: The results revealed that the nature of the medical educator should be explained as a whole rather than just a few qualities. These qualities vary from the teaching profession to the dominance of the field (medical) knowledge, from courtesy and sincerity. Based on the qualities obtained in the research, the 'Circular Medical Educator Model' consists of six components and each of the 24 components related to each other. Each component is separated into its own structure. The two most important essential qualities of the medical educator in the model are 'Pedagogical Competence' and 'Individual Maturity'. The created circular model allows to evaluate the medical educator as a whole and all components and structures can be used to explain the qualities of medical educators in a systematic relationship pattern.