Fostering Leadership Competency and Professional Identity Formation Through Near Peer Educator Programs.

Introduction: Leadership competency development is a pivotal component of physician professional identity formation (PIF), and its instruction across undergraduate medical education (UME) institutions is diverse. Near-Peer Educator Programs (NPEPs) foster experiential leadership development through teaching junior learners. We evaluated the impact of participation in a structured longitudinal NPEP on medical students' self-reflections of their leadership growth. Methods: Medical students serving as Near-Peer Educators (NPEs) were invited to complete a baseline survey prior to facilitating any sessions and a follow-up survey after facilitating more than 1 session. The surveys, measured using a 7-point Likert scale, were modeled on a validated clinical educator self-assessment tool and questions were aligned to reflect seven leadership competencies defined as developmentally appropriate for graduating medical students. Baseline surveys measured self-perception of leadership skills before participation, while follow-up surveys assessed perceived improvement and practice of these skills. Results: Fifty-eight new NPEs completed the baseline survey, and 82 students completed the follow-up survey. At baseline, NPE's self-ratings were highest for the team dynamics (5.2 ± 1.2), and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (5.5 ± 1.2) competencies. In the follow-up survey, students reported significant improvements across all leadership domains, with the highest improvement scores in fostering adaptive learning and growth mindset (5.6 ± 1.2) and developing emotional intelligence (5.6 ± 1.2). Conclusion: Participation in a NPEP improved perception of competency across various leadership domains, contributing to the PIF of medical students. Near-peer educator programs offer a well-established, adaptable model for integrating experiential and longitudinal leadership training into UME curricula.