Objective:In the study, it was aimed to reveal the mental images of faculty members in different medical faculties regarding the concept of medical educator and medical student through metaphors.Methods:A total of 248 faculty members from five different faculties participated in this qualitative research in phenomenology design. The data were collected with a questionnaire form. Faculty members were asked to describe the medical educator and student with a metaphor and to state the reason for the metaphor they used. The research was conducted on a voluntary basis. Content analysis was made on the metaphors. Ethics committee approval was obtained for the study.Results:Faculty members produced 134 medical educator metaphors. These metaphors were grouped under nine conceptual categories; “source/transmitter of information”; “shaper”; “raiser/feeder/grower”; “guiding/inspiring”; “professional”; “altruist/altruistic/developing identity”; “role model”; “counselor” and “scary” medical educator. One hundred and twenty-nine metaphors developed for medical student were collected under seven categories. The categories of medical students were “recipient/reflector of knowledge”, “the constructor/transformer of knowledge”, growing/developing, “processed/valued”, “working/making effort”, “discoverer” and “negatively connotating”.Conclusion:It was observed that “traditional” understanding was dominant about learning and teaching among all the medical faculties. Medical educators continue to maintain their traditional educator-centered understanding, despite the paradigmatic transformation in medical education.
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