Changes in themes over time from medical student journaling.

CONTEXT There has been little exploration of journaling in medical student education. OBJECTIVE To document the themes on which medical students reflect during training. DESIGN We evaluated journals kept by primary care medical students to identify prominent themes and determine change or constancy in themes over time. We looked at third-year medical students participating in a required primary care clerkship in a university-affiliated, community-based family medicine residency program with a rural catchment area. INTERVENTION During 1994-1996 and 2001-2003, students were asked to keep weekly journals reflecting on their thoughts and feelings regarding "topical content, course processes and methods, and personal reflections on becoming a doctor." Faculty evaluated journals to identify change or constancy in themes over time. RESULTS Prominent themes included gender issues, professional identity emergence, career choice, and rural practice, the experience of learning, the experience of relating to patients, and the nature of medical practice. CONCLUSIONS We found both constancy and change in student journal themes over time. Changes in journal themes appeared to correlate with outside events and educational trends, including increased attention to reflective practice, changing demographics in medicine and the increasing acceptance of female physicians, and personal life events.