Understanding role navigation among health professions educators: Insights from a global South context

Introduction Health professions education (HPE) faces challenges in preparing future healthcare professionals for complex environments. Educators must therefore adopt pedagogical approaches that foster adaptability and responsiveness, equipping students for real-world complexities. While considerable research has focused on how to provide faculty development, less attention has been given to how faculty navigate their roles within these complex healthcare and higher education contexts. This study aimed to explore how health professions educators navigate their multiple roles as teacher, clinician and researcher within and across intersecting communities of practice.Methods This exploratory study was undertaken at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Qualitative methods with purposive sampling were employed. Fourteen faculty members from six undergraduate departments participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data analysis followed Braun and Clark’s six-phase approach.Results Three themes were developed: negotiating role expectations, conceptualising roles within evolving contexts, and aligning multi-role performance with institutional and professional mandates. These themes highlight how the roles of health professions educators are negotiated across clinical, academic, research and institutional domains.Discussion Engagement and boundary-crossing were shaped by differing valuations of teaching, research and clinical service, often constraining participation and highlighting systemic undervaluation of teaching, especially in South Africa. Role navigation involved ongoing meaning-making, relationship-building, and drawing on clinical and research expertise to enhance teaching. Additionally, educators engaged in complex alignment work with institutional policies, professional norms and ethical obligations, acting as boundary spanners. Sustainable role integration thus requires institutional support, embedded faculty development, mentorship, and communities of practice that legitimise and support educators’ multifaceted roles. Faculty development should be situated, reflective, collaborative and responsive to contextual realities.