From academic burnout to career withdrawal: the progressive path and intervention strategies of professional identity crisis among medical students

Professional identity crisis among medical students represents a major challenge in contemporary medical education. In this narrative review, we synthesize its multidimensional determinants and propose a three-stage developmental framework comprising academic burnout, professional identity erosion, and career withdrawal intention. These stages represent a progressive broadening of disengagement, from strain centered on medical training, to destabilization of the professional self, and ultimately to reconsideration of a future in medicine. We further organize intervention strategies at the individual, educational, and social/policy levels according to the major problems arising across these stages. By integrating previously fragmented evidence on burnout, professional identity, and career disengagement, this framework provides a conceptual basis for stage-informed intervention and a testable structure for future longitudinal research.