Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine 2008-0387 12 0 2019 09 04 1 15 EN Leila Bazrafkan Assistant Professor, Clinical Education Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Ali Hayat Assistant Professor, Clinical Education Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Seyed Ziaaddin Tabei Professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Philosophy in Health Care, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Leila Amirsalari Researcher, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. 2018 12 31 2019 09 03 Today, role modeling is an essential component of medical education that facilitates the students' learning and affects their attitudes and behaviors. Hence, this study aimed to examine the characteristics of positive and negative role models using a mixed method approach. In the quantitative part, data were collected using a questionnaire with 24 items. The research population included medical students who were in their clinical period between May 2017 and December 2018 at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (n = 750). A total of 282 questionnaires were completed by these students, and in the qualitative part, 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with them. The most important components of role modeling for students included: individual characteristics, clinical skills and competence, teaching skills and professionalism, in that order. The qualitative analysis confirmed the results of the quantitative analysis. The findings showed that the characteristics of a negative role model can also be classified in four main components. The results demonstrated that 46.8% of the students identified one or more medical teachers as negative models. Students paid attention to not only the positive characteristics of their teachers, but also their negative features, stating that they had been influenced by both. Therefore, it can be concluded that clinical teachers should improve their performance as positive role models through reducing these negative effects and reinforcing positive characteristics. https://jmehm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jmehm/article/view/526 https://jmehm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jmehm/article/download/526/309