What does ‘belongingness’ mean in relation to diverse medical student groups?

This commentary aims to further explore the findings of the paper ‘ Yourself in all your forms ’ : A grounded theory exploration of identity safety in medical students , 1 by thinking about the impact of the inter-play between identity and belongingness has on medical students from diverse backgrounds. There has been a move to improve diversity within medicine by encouraging and supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds to apply for the

There has been a move to improve diversity within medicine by encouraging and supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds to apply for the course.The hope is that the future medical workforce will better represent the population it serves and improve patient care.Widening participation initiatives and gateway courses to medicine is showing encouraging signs that they are improving the diversity of students. 2This diverse cohort includes students from ethnic minority backgrounds, lower socio-economic backgrounds and students with disabilities. 24][5] This has led to calls upon medical institutions and medical research to broaden the focus away from measuring progress based on simply increasing the numbers of students from diverse backgrounds to focusing on improving the equity of their experience. 6search such as that undertaken by the authors of 'Yourself in all your forms' is an important step in the right direction.Diverse student experiences are described through the concepts of identity threat and identity safety and the impact these have on the learning environment.The authors then link this to student 'belongingness'.
The authors highlight the roles of unwelcoming learning environments, a lack of diverse representation in senior roles (and thus a lack of role models), a lack of allyship from peers/colleagues and external socio-political threats.These are all seen to contribute to identity threats faced by students, which negatively impact students' sense of belonging, an important factor in student retention. 7Therefore, proactively addressing factors that contribute to identity threats will hopefully improve student retention and academic performance in students from diverse backgrounds and, in the process, reduce the awarding gap that is evident in medical education.
The authors also acknowledge that the pressure diverse students feel to change their behaviours to 'fit in' contributes to an identity threat, which impacts their behaviour in the learning environment.
Academic socialisation, 8 which refers to supporting students to 'fit in' to the dominant cultural norms of their institutions, is one way of improving belongingness, and this may help students succeed in the system as it currently operates.
Academic socialisation, 8 which refers to supporting students to 'fit in' to the dominant cultural norms of their institutions.
However, it can perpetuate the dominant social discourses, with the potential of framing traditionally underrepresented students as underprepared for the rigours of medical school.This approach represents a risk of the institution, and profession, failing to embrace the contributions that a more diverse cohort of students bring to medical education. 9wever, it can perpetuate the dominant social discourses, with the potential of framing traditionally underrepresented students as underprepared for the rigours of medical school.
It is, therefore, refreshing to see the authors express the importance of the concept of identity safety, which highlights the active ways in which diverse students are supported to be their authentic selves.This not only helps improve their sense of belonging and agency, but also has the potential to improve patient care, for example, through patient advocacy.It is, therefore, possible to argue that institutions can benefit if they are prepared to challenge the impact of dominant discourses and actively create space 'not just for new kinds of students but also for the knowledges and ways of knowing that they embody' (p.679). 10prove their sense of belonging and agency, but also has the potential to improve patient care.It is likely that policymakers, educators and students will have differing responses to these questions.Future research exploring the differing perspectives may improve the alignment between the institute and the student populace when developing and implementing new policies, especially those aimed at making student experiences and support more equitable.

David Kirtchuk
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7601-3439 Furthermore, medical education research can benefit by following the shift occurring in other higher educational fields.Other scholars have been questioning what 'belonging' means to the various stakeholders in education and the impact it has on students.Guyotte et al. ask for future research to consider: 'what are we wanting students to belong to, why?When might belonging be undesirable?And, ontological questions: What does belonging do to/with students?What does it make possible?How might it constrain?'(p.556). 11Medical education research can benefit by following the shift occurring in other higher educational fields.Other scholars have been questioning what 'belonging' means to the various stakeholders in education and the impact it has on students.