Measuring professional identity in health and social care students: single-item question versus the Macleod Clark Professional Identity Scale (MCPIS-9)

The study compared two methods for measuring professional identity among health and social care students. The research included 864 students from 11 programs (mean age 24 years, 77% women). The MCPIS-9 scale achieved a mean score of 4.15 (standard deviation 0.54), while the single-item question had a lower mean score of 3.58 (standard deviation 0.99) with twice the variation. Both measurement tools correlated (Spearman ρ = 0.61, p < 0.001) and detected higher professional identity among students in later academic years. The single-item question showed a larger difference between first and final year (0.68 points) compared to MCPIS-9 (0.19 points). Both methods identified academic year and choosing the program as first choice as most strongly associated with higher professional identity. The single-item question is simpler and places less burden on respondents, making it a useful alternative.