Introduction: Self-censorship and self-disclosure are two ways students negotiate and reconcile their personal identities with their burgeoning professional identities in order to succeed in the clinical learning environment. In this study, the authors explored how clinical medical students with minoritized identities navigate self-censorship and self-disclosure. Overall, the authors sought to better characterize perceived educational safety among minoritized medical students and identify strategies to better support trainees from diverse backgrounds.

Methods: The authors utilized constructivist grounded theory methodology and conducted individual qualitative interviews from 2022–2024 with 16 clinical medical students in the United States who held one or more minoritized identities.

Results: Participants viewed censorship as a mechanism for self-preservation in the context of biased and hierarchical learning environments, while disclosure served as a tool for connection and practicing authenticity. Navigating censorship and disclosure while holding the weight of minoritized identities proved challenging and affected learning. However, perceiving safety, trust, and invitation from others could facilitate this process. While participants noted the power of disclosure in improving patient care, many found it difficult to engage in disclosure while maintaining professional boundaries. Despite these challenges, participants found ways to use both censorship and disclosure to assert their identities and reclaim power in their identity narratives.

Conclusions: Exploring self-censorship and self-disclosure provides valuable insight into perceived educational safety among students with minoritized identities. It is important for educators to be mindful of self-censorship and co-construct opportunities for disclosure with learners in order to promote inclusivity and equity within the clinical learning environment.