To Make a Self: Exploring and Supporting Professional Identity Formation and Resilience of Intensivists Through Humanities.

BACKGROUND

Becoming a clinician requires not only the accumulation of medical knowledge but also the development of a professional identity. The humanities may illuminate how professional and personal experiences shape identity, support meaning-making, and foster resilience through reflection and creative expression.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What transformative experiences disrupt the professional identity of critical care clinicians? How does reflection through the humanities help clinicians navigate these experiences to build meaning and support resilience?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This qualitative study used multiple data sources, including participant observation, semistructured interviews, and analysis of creative works (eg, artwork) shared by faculty and trainees engaged in a humanities program. Data were collected and analyzed inductively and iteratively until thematic sufficiency was achieved.

RESULTS

From March 2022 to November 2024, researchers conducted 40 hours of participant observation and analyzed > 100 creative works. Eighteen of the 60 clinicians who participated in the program were interviewed. Participants described their profession as a vocation requiring deep devotion and excellence. They turned to art frequently to process intense experiences at work. Immersed in a high-stakes clinical environment, many struggled to remain emotionally and physically present in their personal lives. Their professional identity often dominated, suppressing other facets of self. Consequently, there was a degree of separation from their social circles, contributing to loneliness and emotional isolation.

INTERPRETATION

Practicing at the threshold between life and death, intensivists derive profound meaning from their work but frequently lack space to process its emotional toll. Reflection through the humanities provides a valuable opportunity to examine and articulate the impact of transformative clinical experiences. Such spaces support meaning-making, affirm nonprofessional identities, and promote resilience. Embedding humanities-based reflective practice into clinical culture may help sustain clinicians' holistic well-being.