Purposeful Imprinting in Graduate Medical Education: Opportunities for Partnership

Imprinting is a psychological term for “the process by which an organism develops a tendency to remain in proximity with the first stimuli to which it is exposed.” Imprinting stimuli are more or less constant during a very critical period of early development, and unlike associative learning, are not induced by consequences (either rewards or negative feedback). Imprinting comes from stimuli that are early, immersive, and innately comfortable. Similar effects are seen in medical education. Some have referred to imprinting as a “hidden curriculum” that exists in both medical school and graduate medical education (GME), potentially trumping the actual curriculum in terms of lasting impact on practice.