​My research investigates the impact of identity (especially gender, race, and gender identity) on the ways that individuals interact within academic and medical contexts, as well as the long-term impact of these differences on interaction style. I am particularly well known for my work on cultural and identity taxation, or the extra labor that folks from marginalized groups are expected to take on in the workplace (in academic medicine, this is often called "the minority tax"). I recently published a special issue on this topic with Tiffany Joseph. 
 
In health professions education contexts, my research investigates hidden, informal, and formal curricula related to emotions and communication. I was also named the inaugural Dr. Georges Bordage Medical Education Faculty Scholar in order to study issues related to professional socialization of medical students.

Finally, I have worked to highlight and strengthen the linkages between the fields of sociology and health professions education. My work in this area includes several review articles on the topic and a special issue in Social Science & Medicine Qualitative Research in Health with the Executive Board Members of the Sociology of Health Professions Education Collaborative.

Please see below for links to my scholarship or visit my Google Scholar or OrcID profiles. 

Russel et al. (2023). “How Do Academic Medicine Pathways Differ for Underrepresented Racial Minority Trainees and Physicians? A Critical Scoping Review.”

Joseph & Hirshfield. (2023). “Reexamining Racism, Sexism, and Identity Taxation in the Academy”. Introduction to Special Issue.

Kukulski et al. (2022). “Racial Bias on the Emergency Medicine Standardized Letter of Evaluation.”

Perez et al. (2023). “Quantifying Learner Preferences and Developing Evidence for a Model of Equity in Assessment During Clinical Training using Discrete Choice Experiments.”

Jensen et al. (2022). “A longitudinal, qualitative examination of participant intent-to-change statements that do not match stated learning objectives of American Association of Neurological Surgeons–sponsored continuing medical education activities.”

Kotini-Shah et al. (2022). “Work-Life Balance and Productivity among Academic Faculty during the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Latent Class Analysis.”

Weinreich et al. (2023). “Work–Life Balance and Academic Productivity Among College of Medicine Faculty During the Evolution of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The New Normal”.

Selvaraj et al. (2022). “Parent Perspectives on Adverse Childhood Experiences & Unmet Social Needs Screening in the Medical Home: A Qualitative Study.”

Hirshfield. (2022). “The Promise of a Health Professions Education Imagination.”

Geraghty et al. (2023). “One test to rule them all: A qualitative study of formal, informal, and hidden curricula as drivers of USMLE ‘exam mania’”

Saoud et al. (2022). “Addressing Barriers to Accessing Head Start Programs Via the Medical Home: A Qualitative Study.”

Kaylan et al. (2021). “Applying the lean startup methodology to structure project-based, student-driven curricular enhancements.”

Chow, Hirshfield, and Wyatt. (2021). Sharpening our Tools: Researching Medical Education Using Critical Theory.

Russel et al. (2021). “Training for Professional Uncertainty: Navigating the residency application period.” RIME Supplement.

Jenkins† & Underman† et al. (2021). The Resurgence of Medical Education in Sociology: A Return to our Roots and an Agenda for the Future. special issue: "Medical Sociology: Findings, Challenges, and Future Directions.”)

Smith et al. (2021). Preparedness for Independent Surgical Practice: A Framework for Understanding the Differences Between Training Paradigms.

Balmer et al. (2020). Applying the Theory of Gendered Organizations to the Lived Experience of Women with Established Careers in Academic Medicine

Geraghty et al. (2020). Empowering medical students as agents of curricular change: a value-added approach to student engagement in medical education

Chua et al. (2019). The Patient Experience Debrief Interview: How Conversations With Hospitalized Families Influence Medical Student Learning and Reflection. RIME Supplement.

Hirshfield et al. (2019). Pre‐medical majors in the humanities and social sciences: impact on communication skills and specialty choice

Endo et al. (2018). “Geriatrics Curriculum Needs Assessment for Dermatology Residency Programs.”

Minier et al. (2018). “Schools and Health: An Essential Partnership for the Effective Care of Children with Chronic Conditions.”

Hirshfield & Glass. (2018). “Gender and Diversity in STEM and Medical Careers”

Stephens et al. (2017). “Drawing Doctors vs. Nurses: Gendered Perceptions of Health Professionals

Vyas et al. (2017). Commentary: “Professional Identity and Performance Appraisal: Implications for Indian Medical Education.”

Osta et al. (2017). “Acculturation Needs of Pediatric International Medical Graduates: A Qualitative Study.”

Hirshfield (2017). “‘I Don’t Know Everything, But Ethan Would Know’: Language, Expertise, and the Cultural Mismatch for Women Scientists.”

Hirshfield & Underman. (2017). “Empathy in Medical Education: A Case for Social Constructionism.”

Underman et al. (2016). “Transgender Health: A Standardized Patient Case for Advanced Clerkship Students.”

Hirshfield (2016). “Who’s the Expert?: Gendered Conceptions and Expressions of Expertise by Chemists-in-Training.”

Underman & Hirshfield (2016). “Detached Concern?: Emotional Socialization in Twenty-First Century Medical Education.”

Hirshfield (2015). “‘I Just Did Everything Physically Possible to Get in There’: How Men and Women Chemists Enact Masculinity Differently.”

Hirshfield (2015). “Tokenism.”

Hirshfield (2014). “‘She’s Not Good With Crying’: The Effect of Gender Norms on Graduate Students’ Assessments of their Principal Investigators.”

Hirshfield (2014). “Not the Ideal Professor: Gender in the Academy”

Rogalin & Hirshfield (2013). “Emotion and Leadership: What Scholarship on Status and Identity Can Tell Us.”

Hirshfield & Joseph (2012). “‘We Need a Woman. We Need a Black Woman’: Gender, Race, & Identity Taxation in the Academy.”

Joseph & Hirshfield (2011). “‘Why Don’t You Get Somebody New To Do It?’: Race and Cultural Taxation in the Academy.”

Hauge et al. (2010). “Web-Based Curriculum Improves Residents’ Knowledge of Healthcare Business.”

Hirshfield (2010). “‘She Won’t Make Me Feel Dumb’: Identity Threat in a Male-Dominated Discipline.”