Family Physician that teaches?

[WindChaser]

Forgive me if I sound incredibly ignorant. I apologize ahead of time.

Is it possible to be an outpatient Family Physician and teach part time at a teaching hospital? I am very interested in being a family physician and I also LOVE teaching more than anything, but have zero interest in doing research. I'm ashamed to admit it, but life-style is also very important to me.

With that said, does anyone know if one can be an outpatient family physician with a normal 8-5 schedule but also teach on the side as well? How difficult would it be to accomplish this? Is the pay very bad? I wouldn't mind a pay-cut, as long as salary is still above 100k.

Thank you for any help!

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[Dharma]

I have professors who teach and practice. They don't usually have an 8-5 schedule everyday though, since they need the time to teach. But I think they get pretty darn close.

BTW no shame in wanting a life outside of medicine. You're not alone.

 

[brats800]

What you are describing is definitely possible. While I also do some inpatient work, I am primarily outpatient. I usually only work 8-5 M/Tu/Th/F. I have medical students (1st-3rd year) + the occasional NP/PA student in clinic. I also teach each semester at the medical school, teaching H&P + physical exam skills to 1st & 2nd year students. The pay for the teaching is less than I'd make in clinic but set at approximately the 50% percentile of the national average FM salary.

You just need to look for the right job. From what I've seen, working for a medical group affiliated with a medical school / residency program will give you the most teaching opportunities. It probably goes without saying but working AT a residency program could also provide you the opportunity to work outpatient only and still do plenty of teaching.

 

[WindChaser]

I have professors who teach and practice. They don't usually have an 8-5 schedule everyday though, since they need the time to teach. But I think they get pretty darn close.

BTW no shame in wanting a life outside of medicine. You're not alone.

Awesome to hear. Thanks!

What you are describing is definitely possible. While I also do some inpatient work, I am primarily outpatient. I usually only work 8-5 M/Tu/Th/F. I have medical students (1st-3rd year) + the occasional NP/PA student in clinic. I also teach each semester at the medical school, teaching H&P + physical exam skills to 1st & 2nd year students. The pay for the teaching is less than I'd make in clinic but set at approximately the 50% percentile of the national average FM salary.

You just need to look for the right job. From what I've seen, working for a medical group affiliated with a medical school / residency program will give you the most teaching opportunities. It probably goes without saying but working AT a residency program could also provide you the opportunity to work outpatient only and still do plenty of teaching.

Thank you so much for sharing! When do you normally teach - on Wednesdays? And is it normal for teaching time to replace clinic time? Are faculty positions at medical schools/residency programs generally very competitive?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Thank you again for your time!

 

[brats800]

I lead my small group on Friday afternoons during the school year. I do the small group instead of a 1/2 day in clinic. There are options to do things like that almost any afternoon of the week so in theory I could have done it on my day "off" (but then it wouldn't be off, now would it?). The competitiveness of these opportunities will be based on how many positions there are. I'm one of probably 50-60 small group leaders each semester so it isn't competitive. If I wanted to truly teach a course or be a course director etc then yes there would be more screening & competition. The last time I saw a position to be a course director open up at our medical school (coming with teaching the class x hours/week etc) the job was a 50% position (meaning I'd only be in clinic 50%) and that was more than I wanted for the teaching side a this time.

 

[galactus]

I practice in an academic setting, so I do clinic 100% of the time and have med students rotate with me throughout the year.

So yes it's possible.

 

[styphon]

I practice in a "private"/government setting, I work clinic 8-5 M-F (but I work elsewhere in addition by my own choice) and I take on a med student every other month. I also have been asked to give lectures, go to student interest groups..

 

[WindChaser]

I lead my small group on Friday afternoons during the school year. I do the small group instead of a 1/2 day in clinic. There are options to do things like that almost any afternoon of the week so in theory I could have done it on my day "off" (but then it wouldn't be off, now would it?). The competitiveness of these opportunities will be based on how many positions there are. I'm one of probably 50-60 small group leaders each semester so it isn't competitive. If I wanted to truly teach a course or be a course director etc then yes there would be more screening & competition. The last time I saw a position to be a course director open up at our medical school (coming with teaching the class x hours/week etc) the job was a 50% position (meaning I'd only be in clinic 50%) and that was more than I wanted for the teaching side a this time.

Wow, thank you! Would you say that positions affiliated with large academic institutions, like UCSF or Stanford, would be more competitive than your average teaching hospital position?

I practice in an academic setting, so I do clinic 100% of the time and have med students rotate with me throughout the year.

So yes it's possible.

That's awesome! Sorry for my ignorance, but is clinic synonymous with "inpatient"? Or does it refer to seeing patients in general? And does this mean you always have a med student under you if they rotate under you? Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

I practice in a "private"/government setting, I work clinic 8-5 M-F (but I work elsewhere in addition by my own choice) and I take on a med student every other month. I also have been asked to give lectures, go to student interest groups..

Wow, that's amazing and sounds like the dream job for me. Pardon my ignorance, but what are student interest groups? Groups that are affiliated with an academic institution? Thank you for sharing your experiences, by the way! I really appreciate it!

 

[deleted87716]

Sorry for my ignorance, but is clinic synonymous with "inpatient"?

Clinic = outpatient.

I prefer the term "office." It's less...clinical.

 

[styphon]

student interest groups are just speciality interest groups established by M1/M2/M3s. They usually hold meetings at attendings houses, meet the FM residents, talk to attendings/residents about application processes etc.

I have friends who do academic FM in the nearby large city, they work much more than me. They do Inpatient, clinic, and OB call and must be present for admissions.

 

[Roguelyn]

Work at a residency program. You'll do inpatient, outpatient and teach residents. The research requirements are slim, if any, for non-major educational institutions. In a program with enough attendings you would only have weekends during your inpatient weeks. There are loads of places desperate for FM faculty.