{"title":"在卫生专业教育奖学金方面具有明确的立场。","authors":"Catherine Patocka, Rachel Ellaway","doi":"10.1111/medu.70023","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Problem: </strong>Definitions are fundamental to the work of scholarship. Indeed, all scholarship has a definitional stance, even if that stance is not to use definitions. A definitional stance is the position scholars take regarding the use, interpretation or treatment of definitions within their work. In this paper, the authors explore definitional stances that shape inquiry in health professions education (HPE), from the formulation of research questions to the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Despite their ambient presence, definitional stances are rarely acknowledged in scholarly work, nor are they explicitly and consistently examined in peer review processes, critical appraisal, the methodological literature or in graduate education. As a result, definitional ambiguity and misalignment often goes unnoticed, and the coherence of scholarly discourse is undermined.</p><p><strong>Definitional stances: </strong>The authors describe eight distinct types of definitional stances taken in health professions education. These range from adefinitional (avoiding any definitions) and rhetorical (adopting definitions as tools of persuasion) positions that resist fixed meanings, to realist, construct and pattern-based stances that embrace definitional coherence while allowing for ongoing inquiry and conceptual evolution. The authors illustrate the utility of this framework through a worked example (using the construct of professionalism), showing how different stances yield different understandings and scholarly pathways.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>There is no one 'right' definitional stance, but rather to promote thoughtfulness, reflexivity and transparency in how definition stances are taken and the implications thereof. The paper offers practical guidance to help scholars identify, articulate and justify their definitional stances in ways that are aligned with their epistemological commitments and research purposes. By making definitional stances more deliberate, transparent and open to discussion, HPE scholarship can make stronger knowledge claims based on a richer understanding of the kinds of knowledge that different stances afford, which has the potential to advance HPE in both principled and pragmatic ways.</p>","PeriodicalId":18370,"journal":{"name":"Medical Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Taking a definitional stance in health professions education scholarship.\",\"authors\":\"Catherine Patocka, Rachel Ellaway\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/medu.70023\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Problem: </strong>Definitions are fundamental to the work of scholarship. Indeed, all scholarship has a definitional stance, even if that stance is not to use definitions. A definitional stance is the position scholars take regarding the use, interpretation or treatment of definitions within their work. In this paper, the authors explore definitional stances that shape inquiry in health professions education (HPE), from the formulation of research questions to the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Despite their ambient presence, definitional stances are rarely acknowledged in scholarly work, nor are they explicitly and consistently examined in peer review processes, critical appraisal, the methodological literature or in graduate education. As a result, definitional ambiguity and misalignment often goes unnoticed, and the coherence of scholarly discourse is undermined.</p><p><strong>Definitional stances: </strong>The authors describe eight distinct types of definitional stances taken in health professions education. These range from adefinitional (avoiding any definitions) and rhetorical (adopting definitions as tools of persuasion) positions that resist fixed meanings, to realist, construct and pattern-based stances that embrace definitional coherence while allowing for ongoing inquiry and conceptual evolution. The authors illustrate the utility of this framework through a worked example (using the construct of professionalism), showing how different stances yield different understandings and scholarly pathways.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>There is no one 'right' definitional stance, but rather to promote thoughtfulness, reflexivity and transparency in how definition stances are taken and the implications thereof. The paper offers practical guidance to help scholars identify, articulate and justify their definitional stances in ways that are aligned with their epistemological commitments and research purposes. By making definitional stances more deliberate, transparent and open to discussion, HPE scholarship can make stronger knowledge claims based on a richer understanding of the kinds of knowledge that different stances afford, which has the potential to advance HPE in both principled and pragmatic ways.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":18370,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Medical Education\",\"volume\":\" \",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":5.2000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-08-26\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Medical Education\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"95\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.70023\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"教育学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.70023","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Taking a definitional stance in health professions education scholarship.
Problem: Definitions are fundamental to the work of scholarship. Indeed, all scholarship has a definitional stance, even if that stance is not to use definitions. A definitional stance is the position scholars take regarding the use, interpretation or treatment of definitions within their work. In this paper, the authors explore definitional stances that shape inquiry in health professions education (HPE), from the formulation of research questions to the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Despite their ambient presence, definitional stances are rarely acknowledged in scholarly work, nor are they explicitly and consistently examined in peer review processes, critical appraisal, the methodological literature or in graduate education. As a result, definitional ambiguity and misalignment often goes unnoticed, and the coherence of scholarly discourse is undermined.
Definitional stances: The authors describe eight distinct types of definitional stances taken in health professions education. These range from adefinitional (avoiding any definitions) and rhetorical (adopting definitions as tools of persuasion) positions that resist fixed meanings, to realist, construct and pattern-based stances that embrace definitional coherence while allowing for ongoing inquiry and conceptual evolution. The authors illustrate the utility of this framework through a worked example (using the construct of professionalism), showing how different stances yield different understandings and scholarly pathways.
What this paper adds: There is no one 'right' definitional stance, but rather to promote thoughtfulness, reflexivity and transparency in how definition stances are taken and the implications thereof. The paper offers practical guidance to help scholars identify, articulate and justify their definitional stances in ways that are aligned with their epistemological commitments and research purposes. By making definitional stances more deliberate, transparent and open to discussion, HPE scholarship can make stronger knowledge claims based on a richer understanding of the kinds of knowledge that different stances afford, which has the potential to advance HPE in both principled and pragmatic ways.
期刊介绍:
Medical Education seeks to be the pre-eminent journal in the field of education for health care professionals, and publishes material of the highest quality, reflecting world wide or provocative issues and perspectives.
The journal welcomes high quality papers on all aspects of health professional education including;
-undergraduate education
-postgraduate training
-continuing professional development
-interprofessional education