Academic Medicine

[oryoloblast]

Hello,

So I am an M1 and interested in pursuing a career in academic medicine. I think that participating in research as well as educating medical students and residents would provide me with additional long-term goals as well as a personal reward of contributing to medical advancements and passing on knowledge. I have already established a research position for this upcoming summer. Not particularly set on a specific field yet but have interests in neuro, cv, and surgery. I was looking for some suggestions as to how I can improve my chances at reaching the goal of an academic career. Is an additional year of research during medical school common for those seeking that path? How soon should I make these arrangements if that is the case? Is there time to do research second or third year during rotations? All suggestions and feedback are welcome. Thank you.

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[OnePunchBiopsy]

I was looking for some suggestions as to how I can improve my chances at reaching the goal of an academic career. Is an additional year of research during medical school common for those seeking that path? How soon should I make these arrangements if that is the case? Is there time to do research second or third year during rotations? All suggestions and feedback are welcome. Thank you.

Your best bet on entering an academic career will depend on the residency you attend; you should aim to do your training at an academic institution instead of a community hospital.

Research will never hurt you, so doing some during medical school is a good idea. Personally, I think research can be started anytime during med school if you have the drive to follow through with it. I started working on a project between first and second year, and did not get accepted for publication until the middle of my 3rd year. We had to revise the manuscript 3 times, so I was able to do some of the work during 3rd year.

Get a good Step 1 score, decide your preferred specialty during 3rd year, and do away rotations/get interviews at academic programs.

Best of luck!

 

[CliveStaples]

Generally I haven't found that many people were precluded from a career in academic medicine because of anything they didn't do in medical school besides the things that keep people from specific specialties in general (poor board scores).

Find an interesting research project. Take a year off if a prestigious research fellowship becomes available and it aligns with your research interests (and you're willing to defer the year of income, but if you're interested in academics you aren't chasing money anyways) but there's no need to do the year off for research otherwise. Honestly if you cared about the research that much, then consider hopping on the MD/PhD track if there are openings available.

Do all of these things because you're interested in them. Ultimately your goal is to get into a decent academic program in the specialty of your choice and while the research will be more or less important depending on the specialty, your regular med school things like board scores and evaluations will carry more weight. And yes, you can do research doing rotations and in all years of school - you're an adult and time management is a skill you'll discover.

 

[oryoloblast]

Thank you guys for the great responses! I was hoping that an additional year of research is not extremely common due to the fact that I have a partner. We are both medical students so it would be difficult to make arrangements for residency if we did not apply the same year through couples match.

Having said that I am interested in pursuing research, I have to admit that I do not particularly have an extensive background in it. I have done 1.5 years of bench research in undergrad. The research I have arranged for this summer is also bench but I am hoping to have a chance to work on some additional clinical projects as the summer proceeds.

I am not particularly struggling in class. Usually, I do above average but not every time. I am sure this is less quality of a question, but it is manageable to do research during second year while trying to prepare for step 1 early? Having discovered anki and the wonders that it has done for saving me time I thought I would attempt creating my own step 1 deck over summer as well as throughout second year. My school has a H/HP/P grading scale and I know that the consensus is that preclinical grades do not matter much. However, is that different if I were to focus my application on academic centers? I am eager to start research and learn as much as possible in my free time prior to summer start, however, I do worry slightly about spreading myself thin since I do not have a strong background in research and it may take me some time to adjust. Not that I would change my plans but if you guys have additional suggestions as to how to make my time as productive and well as focused with step prep and research that would be great. Thanks again!

 

[Doctor-S]

In general, there are three separate career paths in academic medicine: tenure track, academic clinician, and clinician-educator. Although there are some other titles and paths (e.g., research professor), I think you're mainly interested in the former.

Stated briefly:

1. Tenure Track Academic. Tenured academics contribute in a meaningful manner to the teaching process, as well as to the advancement of the science and art of medicine, via publication of research; and presentation of findings and techniques at professional conferences or seminars. Many of them receive significant grant money and have a record of serious research experience. It is also common for tenure track academics to have a PhD degree in addition to an MD degree. If you want to become a tenured academic, you should obtain research experience in medical school (or residency); or you can apply for a research fellowship (e.g., neurology).

2. Academic Clinician. Non-tenured clinical faculty members who engage in research time and clinical time (e.g., 30% of their time might be devoted to research; and the rest of their time may be devoted to clinical care). Some of them may also have grant money. Academic clinicians are expected to make contributions to education, research, and clinical care. It is expected that the quality and quantity of the contributions in each of these areas will vary, depending on the faculty member’s professional interests. These individuals might begin their academic career as a "clinical instructor" and then advance through multiple tracks (e.g., clinical instructor to clinical assistant professor, to clinical associate professor, to clinical professor).

3. Clinician-Educator. These are faculty who show excellence in their area of expertise (e.g., as an academic clinician and/or an educator). They are not required to participate in clinical research; and many of them do not want to be involved in research. They often teach residents and fellows. Many clinician-educators also present lectures/cases at professional conferences, write articles, engage in some research (if they so choose), mentor others, etc.

Each career path will have its own separate requirements related to promotion (although the titles themselves and promotion requirements may differ from school to school). It is advisable to review the expectations/requirements of the different schools with which you plan to begin your career in academic medicine. You can also seek guidance and input from the tenure track academics and academic clinicians at your own medical school.

In case you're interested (and as a purely informational resource), here is a link to the medical faculty handbook for Stanford SOM:
https://med.stanford.edu/academicaffairs/administrators/handbook/chapt2/chapt2_2.4new.html
https://med.stanford.edu/academicaffairs/administrators/handbook/chapt2/chapt2_2.4new.html

 

[oryoloblast]

In general, there are three separate career paths in academic medicine: tenure track, academic clinician, and clinician-educator. Although there are some other titles and paths (e.g., research professor), I think you're mainly interested in the former.

Stated briefly:

1. Tenure Track Academic. Tenured academics contribute in a meaningful manner to the teaching process, as well as to the advancement of the science and art of medicine, via publication of research; and presentation of findings and techniques at professional conferences or seminars. Many of them receive significant grant money and have a record of serious research experience. It is also common for tenure track academics to have a PhD degree in addition to an MD degree. If you want to become a tenured academic, you should obtain research experience in medical school (or residency); or you can apply for a research fellowship (e.g., neurology).

2. Academic Clinician. Non-tenured clinical faculty members who engage in research time and clinical time (e.g., 30% of their time might be devoted to research; and the rest of their time may be devoted to clinical care). Some of them may also have grant money. Academic clinicians are expected to make contributions to education, research, and clinical care. It is expected that the quality and quantity of the contributions in each of these areas will vary, depending on the faculty member’s professional interests. These individuals might begin their academic career as a "clinical instructor" and then advance through multiple tracks (e.g., clinical instructor to clinical assistant professor, to clinical associate professor, to clinical professor).

3. Clinician-Educator. These are faculty who show excellence in their area of expertise (e.g., as an academic clinician and/or an educator). They are not required to participate in clinical research; and many of them do not want to be involved in research. They often teach residents and fellows. Many clinician-educators also present lectures/cases at professional conferences, write articles, engage in some research (if they so choose), mentor others, etc.

Each career path will have its own separate requirements related to promotion (although the titles themselves and promotion requirements may differ from school to school). It is advisable to review the expectations/requirements of the different schools with which you plan to begin your career in academic medicine. You can also seek guidance and input from the tenure track academics and academic clinicians at your own medical school.

In case you're interested (and as a purely informational resource), here is a link to the medical faculty handbook for Stanford SOM:
https://med.stanford.edu/academicaffairs/administrators/handbook/chapt2/chapt2_2.4new.html

Thank you so much! I did not realize there were several different tracks that could be followed. I guess I just need to see how successful I can be as a researcher for the next few years to decide what time committment I should contribure to it.

 

[BeddingfieldMD]

Hello,

So I am an M1 and interested in pursuing a career in academic medicine. I think that participating in research as well as educating medical students and residents would provide me with additional long-term goals as well as a personal reward of contributing to medical advancements and passing on knowledge. I have already established a research position for this upcoming summer. Not particularly set on a specific field yet but have interests in neuro, cv, and surgery. I was looking for some suggestions as to how I can improve my chances at reaching the goal of an academic career. Is an additional year of research during medical school common for those seeking that path? How soon should I make these arrangements if that is the case? Is there time to do research second or third year during rotations? All suggestions and feedback are welcome. Thank you.

Depending on the field, becoming an "academic physician" is not necessarily difficult--especially if you do residency at an academic medical center. Having connections with other academic physicians and doing well in your own program will do a lot in the way of getting you a job. Furthermore, academic jobs sometimes bring with them more bureaucracy, non-clinical responsibilities, research expectations, and lower pay. So they are usually desired mostly by people with a strong interest in teaching, research, or focusing on a specific subspecialty within their field.

That said, how well you progress in your academic career is a different story. As stated above, you can usually choose different tracks to hopefully become a full professor. Once you achieve that, you'll usually get more pay, more prestige, more non-clinical days, more research support, and more job security. You can achieve that goal by being a master at publications, a top-rated educator, a productive clinician, or some combination of the above.

Learning how to perform research, write grants, run labs, etc. will definitely help. Going to a well respected, research-oriented med school and residency is helpful. Some academics also go back to get additional degrees, such as MPH or MBA, to add to their CVs and gain administrative experience. Speaking of administration, getting involved in committees is also a big plus in academics (as well as private practice, for that matter).

What you want to avoid is going into academics right out of training, and then getting stuck in the perpetual "clinical instructor" role. These folks frequently get the worst calls, little research support, etc. If you're going to do academics, you need to find your niche and do it well.

Good luck!

 

[DocToBe2018]

I am also considering academic medicine and one of the program directors at my teaching hospital said that the prestige of the medical school plays a decent part when vying for a match to a reputable academic hospital.

 

[oryoloblast]

I am also considering academic medicine and one of the program directors at my teaching hospital said that the prestige of the medical school plays a decent part when vying for a match to a reputable academic hospital.

Well I don't think that is something I can change at this point lol. I am really happy at my school and I have been a few graduating students place into great programs (Mayo, UCSF, etc). I guess a lot of it just depends on step 1

 

[mvenus929]

Well I don't think that is something I can change at this point lol. I am really happy at my school and I have been a few graduating students place into great programs (Mayo, UCSF, etc). I guess a lot of it just depends on step 1

And other things. I have a friend that matched into UCSF Peds with a step 1 score of 210. You should pursue your interests in medical school, without overstretching yourself so much that you lose quality. When you get ready to apply for residency, look for programs that do research in the fields you enjoy and are at academic centers.