This Focus Session is presented by IAMSE partner, AMEE. To learn more about AMEE, click here!

Careers in health professions education (HPE) have traditionally evolved in a largely serendipitous way. Many educators, scientists, and “fall into” HPE roles or scholarship without a clear roadmap for how to develop a coherent identity, build momentum, or establish an impactful trajectory. In a rapidly changing academic landscape, flourishing as an HPE scholar requires greater intentionality, clarity of purpose, and strategic planning.

This interactive focus session, delivered on behalf of the Association for the Study of Medical Education, provides participants with structured time and guidance to take stock of where they are in their scholarly journey and to make deliberate decisions about how they want their career in HPE to grow.

The session blends short scene-setting presentations with guided reflection and small-group discussion. Participants will explore the roles they occupy, or wish to occupy, in health professions education and consider how these roles interact to shape a fulfilling and sustainable scholarly identity.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this focus session participants will be able to:

1. Articulate their developing identity as a health professions educator
2. Define or refine a focused area of scholarship or practice
3. Identify methodological priorities for scholarship
4. Identify opportunities for collaboration
5. Plan meaningful engagement for stakeholders including public and patients
6. Develop actionable next steps for building their scholarly identity