ABSTRACT
This chapter examines educational processes, researchers often seek to provide general models that can be applied in a broad range of learning contexts. It investigates the specific context of medical education to demonstrate that the application of general models of education may, at times, be complex. The chapter focuses on two broad types of outcomes: student well-being and student learning. It discusses not only the benefits but also the pitfalls of applying the general insights in the specific context of medical education. Medical education differs significantly from general university education. Medical students face additional stressors that are specific to their training, including having to perform cadaver dissection, being exposed to illness and suffering and having to pass high-stakes barrier exams. The chapter considers the potential role of identity in promoting professional development, learning and well-being amongst medical students. It examines the paradoxes associated with how social-psychological processes may both facilitate and potentially undermine medical student outcomes.
