Reimagining the White Coat: Constructing the Contemporary Physician

Abstract

This thesis examines how contemporary public opinion of medical professionals shapes professional identity formation and expectations among aspiring physicians in the United States. Drawing on Charles Cooley’s Looking Glass Self, Erving Goffman’s Presentation of Self, and Social Identity Theory, this paper investigates how pre-medical and medical students internalize, negotiate, and perform professional identities within a post-pandemic environment amid eroding public trust, digital visibility, and contradictory societal expectations. Using a qualitative-priority mixed-methods design, the study combines twelve in-depth semi-structured interviews with premedical students and a Qualtrics survey of 57 pre-medical and medical students across multiple U.S. institutions. Interview data was analyzed through inductive thematic analysis, with survey data used for methodological triangulation. Five themes emerged: (1) the effortless performance, wherein students feel compelled to project seamless success; (2) the internalization of contradictory public expectations, balancing clinical expertise and humanistic warmth; (3) the paradox of digital visibility, where media both inspires and distorts professional aspirations; (4) the negotiation between authenticity and professional conformity; and (5) structural inequalities in belonging shaped by race, gender, class, and cultural capital. Findings suggest that aspiring physicians actively interpret and reshape public narratives, constructing professional selves through ongoing impression management and identity negotiation. These insights have implications for medical education and healthcare institutions in cultivating a physician workforce capable of navigating the expectations of the past, present, and future.