Conceptual thresholds in Health Professions Education (HPE) research: identifying key transition points in developing HPE research expertise and identity

When health care professionals (HCPs) who are socialised into a clinical and scientific worldview venture into health professions education (HPE) research, they enter unfamiliar territory. While the disorientation, disquiet and dissonance faced by HPCs transitioning into HPE research has been described in the literature, this has not been theorised. Conceptual thresholds provide one way of thinking about how novices learn and the transition points at which novices ‘make learning leaps, develop their identities as researchers, and start to work at a critical, conceptual and creative level’ commensurate with increasing expertise. Using theory can provide deeper insights into how novices develop expertise in HPE research and guide our thinking about the implications for facilitating a culture of learning.