Finding Your North Star: First Year Medical Students Reflect on Humanism and Purpose in Medicine

Medical education often prioritizes technical skills over personal reflection, a critical component of professional identity formation (PIF). We designed and implemented a 45-minute ‘Finding Your North Star’ session for 130 first-year medical students during orientation. Facilitated by senior students and deans, the session included small-group discussions, guided reflection, and the creation of personalized professional purpose statements, which were printed on cards featuring student artwork. Feedback from a post-session survey (n=101) demonstrated the session’s meaningful impact with 85% of respondents reporting a deeper understanding of their purpose in medicine and over 90% finding it valuable to hear senior students’ reflections and share personal values with their peers. Students recommended more time for group interactions and hearing from a wider range of speakers, such as alumni and physicians. Such initiatives may contribute to fostering professional identity and reducing burnout, important factors for health professional resilience, and improved patient care quality. This initiative highlights the need to invest in integrating humanistic reflective activities to prepare students for the multifaceted demands of a career in medicine.