Jacqueline Birnbaum, MD
Assistant Professor, Medicine

Collaborator(s): Justin Bullock, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Jonathan Ilgen, MD, PhD, Department of Emergency Medicine

Abstract: Physicians engage in ongoing identity work to reconcile their professional roles with their personal values and identities. While professional identity formation has been widely studied in trainees, less is known about how practicing physicians continue this process. This qualitative study will explore how general internal medicine physicians experience and actively shape their identities in response to systemic, cultural, and personal influences.

Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we will conduct semi-structured interviews with general internal medicine hospitalists and primary care physicians at the University of Washington. Our analysis will examine the strategies physicians use to navigate identity-related challenges, the internal and external factors shaping these processes, and how emotionally significant moments—such as those involving fulfillment, burnout, or conflict—reveal how physicians make meaning of their professional lives.

This study will contribute to medical education by offering deeper insight into how physicians navigate the ongoing integration of personal and professional identities. Findings may inform strategies at multiple levels—individual, interpersonal, and institutional—for supporting identity development and well-being. In particular, this work may guide the design of educational interventions that incorporate structured reflection, helping trainees build the skills needed to engage in identity work throughout their careers.

Date & Time:
Thursday, March 12, 2026
9:00am – 10:00am  PT

Location: Zoom (Link will be in registration email)

Registration:https://forms.office.com/r/gin60S33HP