Reshaping physician identity

This chapter examines how two emerging practice fields in US healthcare – Integrative Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine – have catalyzed fundamental shifts in physicians&s; professional identity within an increasingly corporatized healthcare environment. Drawing on practice-driven institutionalism, the analysis traces how these fields have evolved from marginalized movements to legitimated medical specialties through their professional organizations: the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. The chapter demonstrates how physicians practicing at the intersection of conventional medicine and complementary approaches navigate complex identity tensions through narrative reconstructions of their professional roles. By applying principles of narrative medicine to organizational contexts, the study reveals how these practitioners effectively “re-story” their professional identities to encompass broader understandings of healing, while also maintaining their status as medical authorities. This analysis contributes to our understanding of professional identity evolution in healthcare and highlights how narrative processes facilitate organizational legitimation, offering insights into how professional fields transform while preserving essential expertise and social standing.