Latent Profiles of Professional Identity Formation, Professionalism, Leadership, Resilience, and Well-being among Medical Students

Abstract Introduction Professional Identity Formation (PIF) is central to medical education, reflecting how students internalize the values, behaviours, and roles of the profession. While interest in PIF is increasing, limited work has explored how professional identity, professionalism, leadership, resilience, and well-being co-occur within subgroups. Most studies use variable-centred approaches, overlooking subgroup differences. This study aimed to use Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify distinct sub-groups of medical students based on these constructs, exploring implications for future targeted educational support. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 679 national and international medical students at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland, using 76 items drawn from four validated scales measuring PIF, Professionalism, Leadership, Resilience, and Well-being. LPA was applied to uncover unobserved subgroups, and multinomial logistic regression estimated the associations between covariates and profile membership. Results LPA identified a three-profile solution as optimal: Conscientious Followers ( n = 322, 47%), Development Group ( n = 196, 29%), and Resilient Leaders ( n = 161, 24%) based on distinct patterns of scores across different constructs. Conscientious Followers was characterized by higher scores on perceptions of professional identity, psychological well-being, and professionalism, but lower scores on resilience and leadership. The Development Group demonstrated the lowest scores across leadership, professionalism, perceptions of professional identity, and psychological well-being, while showing moderate levels of resilience. Resilient Leaders displayed higher resilience and leadership scores, moderate perceptions of professional identity and professionalism, and lower psychological well-being. Multinomial logistic regression results showed that students’ region of origin and year of study were associated with group membership. Conclusion Medical students demonstrate distinct latent profiles across professional identity formation, professionalism, leadership, resilience, and well-being. These findings highlight the need for tailored educational support that addresses the distinct developmental needs of each subgroup, alongside developmentally appropriate interventions to foster students’ evolving professional identities and overall well-being throughout medical training.