Teaching Gigs

[JelloBrain]

How are official teaching gigs viewed during residency applications? Is there any weightage given to someone with teaching experience or is that specialty specific? I am asking about teaching at faculty level in allied healthcare and pre-med programs mainly. My main reason to ask is to see how significantly I need to work this into my PS and CAF for the next cycle.

Any views/advice from anyone with insight/experience would be much appreciated, both from other applicants'/residents' as well as from PDs' perspective.

Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ludicolo]

It will probably be more program specific, rather than specialty specific. There are enthusiastic teachers in every specialty, but not necessarily at every program. Maybe a smaller, community, more service-oriented program wouldn’t look at teaching experience as favorably as a larger academic program. But I overgeneralize.

From a “weightage” standpoint: does it compare to board scores, clinical experience, or research accomplishments? Nah. But any real life work experience, if spun correctly, will be valued by PDs/residency selection committees. In any case, your teaching experience certainly won’t hurt you. If you spent a significant time teaching and you enjoyed it, if it's applicable to your specialty of choice, if it’s something that shaped you and made you a better physician (and how could it not?) – I would emphasize that in your PS. At the very least it will give you something more to talk about on interviews.

 

[JelloBrain]

Thanks Ludicolo. I am sorry I didn't thank you earlier. I will be teaching Human Physiology as a part-time Assistant Professor at a local college and guest lecturing in Human Neuroanatomy at another college for the Spring 2011 semester, while also working in my current job as a post-doc. So I am excited and looking forward to it as this will be my first official teaching gig. Hopefully when I apply for residency, it will be "liked" by the powers that be.

 

[atsai3]

How are official teaching gigs viewed during residency applications? Is there any weightage given to someone with teaching experience or is that specialty specific? I am asking about teaching at faculty level in allied healthcare and pre-med programs mainly. My main reason to ask is to see how significantly I need to work this into my PS and CAF for the next cycle.

Any views/advice from anyone with insight/experience would be much appreciated, both from other applicants'/residents' as well as from PDs' perspective.

Thanks.

It won't hurt. But it also can't make up for other elements of a subpar application...

-AT.