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Professional Identity Formation is the dynamic evolution to “think, act and feel” to become part of a professional community. This document presents the development and the study that aimed to assess the usability of a m-Learning Identity App (MLIA) focused on the formation of professional identity among undergraduate medical students.

MLIA development included four phases: Conceptual, prototype, pilot and implementation, before further deployment. The conceptual model was designed by eight faculty members from three Latin American universities. The prototype was developed and tested with stakeholders. The pilot was performed during 5 weeks before the implementation. Cross-sectional data collected during implementation from 138 medical students who completed a survey to assess the usability of MLIA are presented. During deployment, 977 posts were made on Professional Identity Formation, and examples of these posts are presented.

The prototype and pilot phases demanded improvements. The survey explored (1) Familiarity, (2) Perceived ease of use, (3) Perceived usefulness for Professional Identity Formation, (4) Satisfaction, (5) Intention to reuse (6) Digital aesthetics and (7) Safety. Results from the usability assessment suggest that students perceived MLIA as a secure space with positive aesthetics and ease of use.

Important limitations of the present study include, firstly, that it does not provide information on the effectiveness of the MLIA in shaping professional identity in medical students, it focuses exclusively on its development (conceptual model, prototype, pilot and implementation) and usability. Secondly, the study design did not consider a control group and, therefore, does not provide information on how the App compares with other strategies addressing self-reflection and sharing of meaningful experiences related to professional identity.

MLIA introduces a different approach to education, simulating a secure, easy-to-use, social media with a friendly interface in a safe environment to share academic and motivational moments, transitioning from being to becoming a professional.

The current emphasis within education is on collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and assessment driven accountability. Medical education is now being oriented to guarantee patient-centered care. Having appropriate data from student outcomes is crucial for decision making on both educational and health care institutions. This paper describes the development of a mobile app to assess the clinical competencies of medical students for timely and quality feedback.

The app development included 4 phases. The conceptual model was designed on collaborative and multidisciplinary focus groups with clinicians, information technology professionals, hospital directors, and change managers. The prototype was an app with functional and friendly features to assess students with Patient-Centered Learning perspectives. Innovative features included student profiles, multiple examiners, customizable instruments, and data reports. The pilot started with faculty training and monitoring by information technology professionals. For a broader implementation, detailed rubrics were applied to assess the clinical competencies on bedside (ambulatory care, surgical procedures and emergency skills) and non-bedside learning moments (case discussions and rounds).

Non-bedside learning moments had the highest frequency (55.3 vs 28.8 per cent) of the records. Case discussions represented 40.7 per cent of assessments while rounds accounted for 14.6 per cent. In contrast, regarding the bedside learning moments, the emergency department had the lowest figures (3.5 per cent). It seems that faculty prefers to grade students on academic activities rather than complex student patient encounters.

Obtaining multiple results from real-time feedback promoted awareness of patient centeredness on medical students. Both the medical school and the hospital now have accountable information for decision making.