174 Chapter 6 identity formation.12,15,19,57 Although the tasks and activities may be similar to those that support growth in competencies, their goal here is to encourage reflection on ‘Who’ one wants to be as an educator. In addition, personal contact with students, contacts with peers and faculty developers with an articulated awareness of their educational identity may contribute to an educator’s growth in awareness of their educational identity. Encouraging educators to reflect on ‘Why’ they want to be a medical educator and contribute to medical education may nurture a deeper awareness of one’s educational mission. Because a hallmark of an educational mission is a focus on the other, a growth in mission awareness requires a shift in focus from one’s own teaching role to the student learning role and their development. This can be facilitated through meaningful encounters with students, for example by mentoring individual students over a longer period of time. In addition, discussing one’s personal patient-care mission with fellow physician-educators and relating it to one’s deeper motives for teaching can support the awakening and maintenance of an educational mission, even when the organisational culture is not supportive of the maturation of educators. Faculty developers who are fully in contact with their own educational mission and put this into practice are helpful and influential as role models. Finally, FD should pay explicit attention to the educational environment and educators’ perception of this environment to support educators’ maturation. Examples of how the workplace can be beneficial include a supportive leadership at all levels of the organisation, rewarding teaching in career paths, and addressing conflicts created by competing tasks. Offering opportunities that foster the development of educators’ competencies, identity, and mission as teachers can be helpful to come to terms with a perceived adverse educational environment. Lastly, we need to recognise that adverse private circumstances can also play a restrictive role in educators’ maturation, but are beyond the influence of faculty developers or administrators. In conclusion We conclude that, in the context of learning-centred education, maturation of medical educators’ perspectives on being a teacher can take place but is not self-evident. Maturation can be influenced and seems to proceed through developmental stages, from educational competencies via educational identity to educational mission awareness. At every developmental stage, the role as physician appears to be a source of motivation to develop as a medical teacher. The process of maturation is influenced by educators’ perception of
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