The influence of academic discourses on medical students' identification with the discipline of family medicine.

Purpose: To understand the influence of academic discourses about family medicine on medical students' professional identity construction during undergraduate training.

Method: The authors used a multiple case study research design involving international medical schools, one each from Canada, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK). The authors completed the fieldwork between 2007 and 2009 by conducting 18 focus groups (with 132 students) and 67 semistructured interviews with educators and by gathering pertinent institutional documents.