title: Medical educators: How they define themselves - Results of an international web survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about medical educators' self-definition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to survey an international community of medical educators focusing on the medical educators' self-definition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Within a comprehensive, web-based survey, an open question on the participants' views of how they would define a "medical educator" was sent to 2200 persons on the mailing list of the Association for Medical Education in Europe. The free text definitions were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the, 2200 medical educators invited to participate, 685 (31.1%) provided a definition of a "medical educator". The qualitative analysis of the free text definitions revealed that medical educators defined themselves in 13 roles, primarily as "Professional Expert", "Facilitator", "Information Provider", "Enthusiast", "Faculty Developer", "Mentor", "Undergraduate and Postgraduate Trainer", "Curriculum Developer", "Assessor and Assessment Creator", and "Researcher".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our survey revealed that medical educators predominantly define themselves as "Professional Experts" and identified 12 further self-defined roles of a medical educator, several of which not to have been reported previously. The results can be used to further the understanding of our professional identity.
authors.affiliation: a University of Heidelberg Medical Hospital , Germany .
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nikendei
authors.affiliation: b Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine , Israel .
authors.forename: Miriam Friedman
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ben-David
authors.affiliation: c University of New Mexico School of Medicine , USA .
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mennin
authors.affiliation: d Institute of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huwendiek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005060:Europe; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012933:Social Identification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires