Professional Identity Formation and Population Health: a qualitative study of medical students’ experience of Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Ogier, Anna
Naulls, Stephen
Harvey, Christopher-James
Baptista, Ana
Pinder, Richard
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
Healthcare systems worldwide are facing challenges on multiple fronts: ageing demographics, multimorbidity, staff burnout and persistent health inequalities. There is growing recognition of the need for prevention and population health within education and training programmes. Yet population health has been historically challenging to integrate into clinical-facing curricula.
A novel programme of learning was introduced at Imperial College School of Medicine (London, UK). “Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention” (LMAP) comprises two modules and is a core element of learning across the first two years of undergraduate medical training. In these two modules, medical students explore how lifestyle factors, behaviour and the wider determinants of health influence health outcomes through a population health lens.
Methods
This qualitative study describes how LMAP has impacted the professional identity formation of medical students. In June 2020, 278 students completed an optional, anonymous survey, with 14 students completing in-depth focus groups. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the student responses.
Results
Four key themes were identified regarding the impact of the modules on medical students’ professional identity formation: the wider purpose of a doctor in society, including their role in prevention, the skills required to deliver holistic care, the value of well-being in medical professionals, and the challenges surrounding LMAP’s impact on professional identity.
Conclusions
These results outline how LMAP’s novel approach to incorporating population health teaching for medical students may help address the manifold challenges facing modern healthcare services. By shaping the attitudes of future clinicians to recognise the value of prevention, lifestyle factors and their own personal wellbeing, we are preparing medical students for professional practice in increasingly challenging environments. However, further evaluation is required to evidence the longer-term impact of LMAP on medical students’ professional identity.
Healthcare systems worldwide are facing challenges on multiple fronts: ageing demographics, multimorbidity, staff burnout and persistent health inequalities. There is growing recognition of the need for prevention and population health within education and training programmes. Yet population health has been historically challenging to integrate into clinical-facing curricula.
A novel programme of learning was introduced at Imperial College School of Medicine (London, UK). “Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention” (LMAP) comprises two modules and is a core element of learning across the first two years of undergraduate medical training. In these two modules, medical students explore how lifestyle factors, behaviour and the wider determinants of health influence health outcomes through a population health lens.
Methods
This qualitative study describes how LMAP has impacted the professional identity formation of medical students. In June 2020, 278 students completed an optional, anonymous survey, with 14 students completing in-depth focus groups. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the student responses.
Results
Four key themes were identified regarding the impact of the modules on medical students’ professional identity formation: the wider purpose of a doctor in society, including their role in prevention, the skills required to deliver holistic care, the value of well-being in medical professionals, and the challenges surrounding LMAP’s impact on professional identity.
Conclusions
These results outline how LMAP’s novel approach to incorporating population health teaching for medical students may help address the manifold challenges facing modern healthcare services. By shaping the attitudes of future clinicians to recognise the value of prevention, lifestyle factors and their own personal wellbeing, we are preparing medical students for professional practice in increasingly challenging environments. However, further evaluation is required to evidence the longer-term impact of LMAP on medical students’ professional identity.
Date Issued
2025-11-11
Date Acceptance
2025-10-13
Citation
BMC Medical Education, 2025, 25
ISSN
1472-6920
Publisher
BMC
Journal / Book Title
BMC Medical Education
Volume
25
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1576
Date Publish Online
2025-11-11