“Being the resource is the number one thing”: health professionals supporting trainees’ professional acts of resistance

Purpose: In health professions education (HPE), trainees’ resistance against structural harm and social injustice has gained prominence. However, understanding faculty perspectives on supporting such resistance remains limited. This study delves into how HPE faculty conceptualize and support trainees’ resistance efforts, exploring boundaries, rationales, and strategies. Method: Using constructivist grounded theory, we interviewed 24 faculty members in HPE, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and physician assistant. Data were analyzed using open, focused coding, and constant comparative methods. We also drew from conceptual frameworks including tempered radicals and personal space theory to help understand faculty’s conceptualization of boundaries. Results: We organized the data into four themes. While most HPE faculty acknowledge the importance of supporting trainees, they hold divergent views regarding when to offer such support and how trainees should engage in acts of resistance. We identify four common boundaries—patient safety, professionalism, professional consequences, and personal safety—that influence faculty considerations. within these boundaries, various supporting strategies were employed, including affirming, building mindset against tokenism, and minimizing DEI performative action. Conclusions: These findings highlight the dual role of faculty in balancing professional standards while fostering a space for trainees’ work, which offer insights for trainees to realign their resistance efforts with these boundaries.