Axiosphere of Medical Students: Formation and Structure

Svetlana Zabolotnaya^*

The Department of foreign languages, Orenburg state medical university, Orenburg, Russia

Abstract

The problem of axiosphere formation and its content is considered to be cutting-edge scientific idea. Humanistic values are thought to be the most important sense-creating elements of future doctor’s axiosphere. It is shown that axioshere is an integral system of valuable connections and relations, it includes such values as "human", "health", "life", "professional knowledge", "practical skills", "mercy", "compassion".

Keywords

Axiosphere, Medical Students, Values, Future Doctors

Received: July 1, 2015
Accepted: July 12, 2015
Published online: August 24, 2015

@ 2015 The Authors. Published by American Institute of Science. This Open Access article is under the CC BY-NC license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

1. Introduction

The profession and everyday activity of a medical doctor implies a lot of skills both theoretical and practical. But what is more, any medical doctor is considered to be a person with highly developed humanistic values. In our opinion, moral values are abstract ideas objectifying social ideals acting as samples of due for the community, whole mankind, and every definite person. Values, in particular, guide a person in the world of everyday activity and influence human behavior [1,3,9]. Values play such a role, they guide person’s actions. Well-known Russian psychologist S.L. Rubinstein considered values to be the items people do not pay for, but live for [5,6].

The society is changing constantly but there must be bonds connecting people, their thoughts and idea, generations on the whole [8,10]. It goes without saying that every person has his / her valuable sphere, so called axiosphere, considering values not from the material point of view, but moral one. We find the problem of value sphere of a medical student to have become the most important educational, developmental, and instructional challenge.

The core idea of educational area of medical higher school involves getting professional knowledge and practical skills on rendering medical aid. But it is impossible to bring up a good doctor without displaying initiative, adherence to principles, and due care in realization of his / her professional activity. During the process of studies the value system establishment of a medical student takes place. All pedagogical conditions have to be created to allow and support interiorization of such moral values as "human", "health", "life", "mercy ",and" compassion".

Self-determination of a future doctor in the world of values performing regulation function causes emotional experience of different strength, stimulating various actions and behavior activity induced by professional duty and morality, and the main principle of medical ethics "noli nocere". It’s quiet clear that personal values represent elements of a complex system – axiosphere (from Greek "axios" – valuable and "sphaira" – a ball shape) of a future doctor. All these elements are connected with each other by definite interrelations which unite them into integral system.

2. Research Significance

What does axiosphere really mean? According to V.N. Sagatovskii, axiosphere is the assembly of values that are generalized and stable conceptions in which previous experience of a person has been concentrated on the basis of which he / she renders a decision about own further behavior. Therefore, it is system of values that is the basic ground for human mode of life [7]. In M.S. Kagan’s point of view, axiosphere is not simple assembly of these or that neighboring values, but their integrality – system of different forms of valuable attitude of a person to the surrounding world [2].

So, in our opinion axiosphere represents value – oriented system, the establishment of which is influenced by extragenic ("external" values) and intragenic ("inner" values).

Therefore, the choice of personal values is connected not only with individual needs and interests of a medical student, but with external factors as well. Generally speaking, on axiosphere formation and acquisition of personal values social values have a great influence.

This very idea allows us to come to the conclusion that axiosphere of a future doctor is an integral system of valuable connections and relations to the professional world of a medical doctor himself as the representative of profession and society including such values as professional knowledge, practical skills, life, health, human, mercy, compassion [9]. The axiological matrix of orientation of a medical student in the world of values while creating own axiosphere is the activity coordination of such mechanisms as: Search – evaluation – choice – projection [3,9]. The work of the coordinated mechanism may be presented in the following way:

• search – the process of getting by a medical student professionally important information that provides passage to integrated and fundamental medico-biological and clinical knowledge prophylaxis, diagnostics, and treatment of different diseases;

• evaluation – subjective experience of actuality of professionally important information and defining its significance for activity realization;

• choice – correlation by a future doctor inner and external plan of own life-sustaining activity. It allows performing the transformation of received fundamental knowledge into new context of subject activity on prophylaxis, diagnostics, and treatment;

• projection – both the process and the result of transfer of own qualities and states on external objects when using received professionally oriented information.

Being the binding link between theory and practice this mechanism realizes axiological attitude of a subject to an object (other objects) allowing personality of a medical student to orient in the world of values, selecting the most important for him / her future doctor gets an opportunity to create the project of professional future according to adopted values. This matrix shows how the person makes socially significant choice in life and professional situation on the basis of axiological orientations.

3. Experimental Investigation Procedure

To investigate the process of axiosphere formation and its content we used both theoretical and empiric methods [4]. Theoretical methods applied in our investigation are: analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, modeling, conceptual foresight, generalization. Among empiric there are: inquiry, interchange, questionnaire, testing, reflexive observations. We also asked students to write essays. They could choose the definite themes ("The way I choose", "Doctors and their patients", "My future profession", "The doctor I would like to be", "The ideal doctor (in my oppinion)") or even they could create their own theme, but expressing the idea of medical doctor’s affairs, thoughts, ideas. It is worth pointing out that essays were very popular with the students.

It occurs that axiosphere formation reflects the representation development dynamics of a medical student about the essence of a medical doctor activity on rendering medical aid on the basis of creation of integrated ideal image of the doctor. It is imaginative sphere that possesses great significance in perception of surrounding world, development of axiological personal potential, comprehension of moral (spiritual) significance of life it connects past with present and future.

The conducted experimental investigation showed that axiosphere of a future doctor comprises two equivalent substructures: values-purposes and values-means. Axiological matrix of future doctor’s axiosphere is presented by values-invariants and values-variants. The explanation for that is changing in hierarchy of values in time and space.

Our experimental work gave us an opportunity to show that according to the opinion of medical students values-purposes (terminal values) include: life, health, interesting work, active strenuous life, professional knowledge, practical skills, personal development, social esteem, endowed life.

As for values-means (instrumental values) – they comprise: tolerance, responsibility, delicacy of feeling, encyclopedism (scholarship).

The first-year medical students (n = 257) among values-purposes distinguish: interesting work – 90.62%;

active strenuous life – 93.31%;

social esteem – 90.62%;

endowed life – 86.4%;

 personal development – 69.35%.

Such values as: health and life are extremely important for future doctors: 99.37% and 96.58%, accordingly.

As values-means medical students pick out: mercy – 75.81%;

compassion – 72.37%;

tolerance – 71.87%;

responsibility – 67.93%;

encyclopedism – 65.72%.

It is of particular importance to mention here two items from the questionnaire which students think to be the most interesting and significant in understanding the value system of a future doctor. Honestly speaking, some students gave rather vast answers. "What makes a person happy: - interesting work; - friendly family. Beloved person; - true friends; - respect of other people; - professional achievements; - peace of mind; - other". "What humanistic moral ideas you consider to be the characteristic of a medical doctor: - kindness towards a patient; - deep professional knowledge; - sensitiveness to the problems of other people; - high general culture; - passion for profession; - desire to be of use; - active life attitude; - demand and uncompromising stand; - sociability and rapport; - sense of humor; - other". Practically all these items got students’ recognition. All these categories help to define the content of axiosphere of a future specialist in medicine.

4. Discussion

The conducted questionnaire survey let us include into axiosphere of a medical student such values (according to their emphasized hierarchy) as: health, mercy. On the whole, the values that the students define as basic main included into axiosphere are indicative of occupational orientation to medical profession. By graduating class reevaluation of values and redistribution in hierarchy of values take place inside axiosphere of a future doctor where students pay special attention to endowed life. As a result of differentiation of value profile we can conclude about the formedness of axiosphere composition. Consequently, axiosphere development of a medical student takes place in the course of interiorization of moral, ethical, social values, notably this process – not always uniform and progressive. Value place in individual axiosphere is determined by means of value status in a system for the person.

Medicine values define the attitude of a future doctor towards the constituents of doctor’s activity: patient, other doctors, disease, states, techniques, diagnostics, treatment, life.

It is worth pointing out that all values of socium become personal because of their selectiveness and subjectivity as they are the results of conceptualization, experience, and evaluation by a person the events of surrounding reality. One more important feature of axiosphere of a future doctor is its integrity that gives rise to appearance and persistence of its structural integrity. And with integrity we connect organized nature of axiosphere, i.e. definite structure and functioning. As any other functioning system, axiosphere of a future doctor carries out a number of functions in personality becoming: orientation (helps to orient a person a world of values); motivational (which is directly connected with goal setting); estimative (actualizes reflexive skills and evaluation of own activity); normative (regulates orderliness of relations and connections between the system elements). Establishment of valuable system (axiosphere) in the process of individual development takes place by means of interiorization of social group values and transforming them into the sources of personal motivation alongside with earlier genetic individual needs. As for personal values – they are realized, reflected, and the most common sense bearing formations. What is more – they conduct the choice and evaluation of behavior, and action. They are organized into a system and regulated according to the importance degree (hierarchy) of them to the person.. That is why values serve as system-forming commencement of axiosphere and besides value system serves as fundamental basis of behavior of a future doctor. Value is intermediator between a person and existence, the greatest idea of the latter is the steps of ascension of a person upward the hierarchical ladder of values. Value hierarchy depends upon the inner structure of the value itself. Conducting investigation we found the morphology of axiosphere to be defined ontologically. Axiosphere structure is defined on the basis of peculiarities of axiological relations between the subject and the object. It is defined by socio-cultural space and characterized by self-organizing processes. Axiosphere of a future doctor is controlled by establishment of axiological evaluation combining subjective and objective parameters. Objective parameter lies in the fact that in previous experience of mankind set of values has already been established which is applicable to a person in the process of his / her socialization. Subjective parameter comes from the idea that establishment of individual axiological attitude takes place in awareness of a definite individual and in a definite real-life situation [10].

We consider axiosphere as the result of activity both constructive and integrative on the one hand, on the other hand it serves as the purpose of professional activity.

The peculiarities of axiosphere include:

1.   Assembly of interrelated and interdependent hierarchically existing values, ascension to which with the simultaneous ascension to the values of classical culture guarantees formation of rich set of value orientation, and personal attitudes of a future doctor.

2.   The presence of system of socially organized possibilities for effective personal development. Axiosphere acts as regulated, stable interrelations of a person with socium that are oriented to axiological self-determination (personal identity) and his / her self-actualization (realization of personal potential). It provides a variety of choice of the optimal trajectory of development and personality becoming and it also serves as integrated condition of human personal development.

As axioshere of a future doctor represents integral valuable characteristics of a personality of a medical student  that is created and changed (enriched and specified) in the process of life-sustaining activity via his / her active attitude towards himself / herself, activity object and other people.

Our investigation proved as well the multifunctionality of axiosphere. We would like to emphasize such its functions as: subjectivity- developing – that provides content fullness and gradual development of axiological potential of a medical student as the subject of professionally-oriented activity;

• professionally-activating – that is displayed through actualization of professionally-valuable purposes and attitudes in which orientation of personality towards activity on rendering qualified and effective medical help;

• prognostic – that is expressed in future doctor’s skills to fix premises for further life-sustaining activity according to axiological orientations of a personality and requirements of the community.

Axiosphere influences on a personality and may help discover vitality, will, belief, inner world formation, transform already existing in the awareness of a person his /her own set of values , orientations and attitudes, it also contributes to social self-determination, cultural, personal, mentally-emotional development, changes in world understanding and finding reason of individual existence and behavior.

When training and instructing future doctors the development and enrichment of person’s axiosphere help prepare medical student to autonomous professional activity and realization of the main functions: organizational, diagnostic, consultative, therapeutic, and prophylactic. But a question may arise if mercy, compassion, benevolence, tacticity, responsibility, carefulness, readiness to deliver medical care, unselfishness, empathy, self-actualization - values or personal qualities of a future doctor. How they correlate. According to the analyzed literature and own investigations we can conclude that professionally important qualities of a future specialist in medicine that are necessary for effective realization of professional medical activity directed to prophylaxis, diagnostics, and treatment are being formed during the process of personality’s orientation in the world of values when acquiring them and percepting them personally significant, i.e. during the process of axiosphere establishment. So, in our opinion values have to be converted into personally important qualities when being interiorized and become the inner essences of a person.

5. Summary and Conclusions

In axiosphere of a future doctor the reflexion of axiological perceptions about professional activity on health and life maintenance as a value that implies importance for a medical student its contents (factors of which are realization of personal potential, axiological attitude towards a human-being, achievement of success in profession).

Axiosphere of a future doctor is specifically hierarchirized, multidimensional, respectively stable complex of historically formed values and represents generalized conceptualization (imaginations) about the most important processes and events on human health and life maintenance that are perceived as benefit. We have to point out that enrichment of future doctor’s axiosphere assumes actualization of personal attitude of a medical student towards his / her future profession. On the whole, axiosphere unites varied ideals as reference of student’s image and understanding doctor’s world functioning, allowing expressing valuable attitude to things and events. It is axiosphere that being the base of social life helps to keep stability in spite of conflicts and contradictions. The assignment of values is to immerse person’s consciousness into the world of high-minded meanings of life. Axiosphere provides ascension of a medical student to professional, cultural and personal, i.e. humanistic values. It turns out that axiosphere is the vector of human behavior and medical doctor realizes his / her professional activity on helping people to lead healthy life on the basis of its content. And the core of this training consists in formation of future doctor’s readiness to develop line of his / her own professional behavior on rendering effective medical aid with the support of medico-biological and clinical knowledge, practical skills, moral principles, and valuable orientations. We believe that axiosphere theory is a potent theoretical tool for understanding the structure and content of value domain.

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