Forging physician-scientist professional identity: the roles of integration, relationships, and boundary crossing in training

Professional identity formation is acknowledged to be vital in the training of physicians. There are several theories about the importance and development of professional identity in physicians, but little is known about the development of professional identity in dual-degree physician-scientist trainees. It is unclear which elements are important in physician-scientist trainees’ professional identity creation. We performed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with individuals currently enrolled in or recently graduated from an MD/PhD program. We used phenomenologically informed thematic approach to identify, categorize, and relate factors influencing participants’ experiences of professional identity formation. Twenty current students and recent alumni completed interviews in 2025. Two major themes of influences on professional identity were identified: (1) the need to achieve an integrated view of clinical and research practices and contexts and (2) the importance of a network of relationships to help navigate the boundaries and tensions between clinical and research roles. Subthemes of the second domain included specific relational types: meaningful relationships with other established physician-scientists, relationships with classmates, and the influence of PhD advisors. The first theme—integration of clinical and research activities—is distinct from physician professional identity formation and involves “boundary crossing” between physician and scientist professional identities. The second theme (and subthemes) regarding importance of relationships for navigating boundary crossing fit existing social-contextual theories of professional identity formation in physicians. These themes provide areas for further exploration and highlight the need to intentionally build opportunities for professional identity formation into physician-scientist training.