Crossroads experiences for promoting self-authorship of clinical medical students: A qualitative survey.

Background: The capacity of self-authoring one's own beliefs, identity, and relationships is core to many expected outcomes of future health-care professionals. Students' personal and professional development for self-authorship can be promoted by the variety of developmentally effective "crossroads" experiences that they encounter. Identifying the characteristics of the crossroads experiences in clinical rotations can provide a foundation for medical educators to provide an environment that can foster self-authorship.