Evaluation of Perceptions About Medical Educator and Medical Student Through Metaphors

Objective: In the study, it was aimed to reveal the mental images of faculty members in different medical faculties regarding the concept of medical educator and medical student through metaphors.Methods: A total of 248 faculty members from five different faculties participated in this qualitative research in phenomenology design. The data were collected with a questionnaire form. Faculty members were asked to describe the medical educator and student with a metaphor and to state the reason for the metaphor they used. The research was conducted on a voluntary basis. Content analysis was made on the metaphors. Ethics committee approval was obtained for the study.Results: Faculty members produced 134 medical educator metaphors. These metaphors were grouped under nine conceptual categories; source/transmitter of information; shaper; raiser/ feeder/grower; guiding/inspiring; professional; altruist/ altruistic/developing identity; role model; counselor and scary medical educator. One hundred and twenty-nine metaphors developed for medical student were collected under seven categories. The categories of medical students were recipient/reflector of knowledge, the constructor/transformer of knowledge, growing/developing, processed/valued, working/making effort, discoverer and negatively connotating.Conclusion: It was observed that traditional understanding was dominant about learning and teaching among all the medical faculties. Medical educators continue to maintain their traditional educator-centered understanding, despite the paradigmatic transformation in medical education.