Which field of medicine is best for teaching?

[alwaysbehappy]

Almost done MS3, and what I have realized is I love teaching medicine way more than actually practicing medicine alone. Although I would love to teach medical students, however, I don't love research.
After much soul searching, I realize I didn't fall in love with any rotation, but I'm considering peds or internal since I believe they have opportunities to teach.
Which one is better for teaching? Also has anyone out there made a career in medical education and what path did they chose to do so?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Oso]

I think both IM and peds, especially as a hospitalist at a teaching hospital, are great opportunities for teaching. You'd have students and residents rotating through the general wards as part of their core rotations. You'd also have opportunities to get involved with things like running the M3 clerkship or Sub-I, etc.

Although you can be a great teacher in many, many fields, if you so desire. I don't know if there really is a "best" field for it.

 

[naijacardriodoc]

Almost done MS3, and what I have realized is I love teaching medicine way more than actually practicing medicine alone. Although I would love to teach medical students, however, I don't love research.
After much soul searching, I realize I didn't fall in love with any rotation, but I'm considering peds or internal since I believe they have opportunities to teach.
Which one is better for teaching? Also has anyone out there made a career in medical education and what path did they chose to do so?

I would say any field...all specialties have physicians who are excellent teachers!

 

[alwaysbehappy]

Thanks! I realize every field you can teach... just wondering which field would provide the most opportunity for teaching, as that is what I most passionate about

 

[wonderdog]

Emergency Medicine, but i'm biased

 

[Frogger27]

Thanks! I realize every field you can teach... just wondering which field would provide the most opportunity for teaching, as that is what I most passionate about

You have to be passionate about WHAT you are teaching... so pick what field you enjoy best. If it is medicine in general, then probably IM would be best (+ gives you the opportunity to subspecialize after residency if you develop new interests)

 

[Goro]

Almost done MS3, and what I have realized is I love teaching medicine way more than actually practicing medicine alone. Although I would love to teach medical students, however, I don't love research.
After much soul searching, I realize I didn't fall in love with any rotation, but I'm considering peds or internal since I believe they have opportunities to teach.
Which one is better for teaching? Also has anyone out there made a career in medical education and what path did they chose to do so?

Several of my former students came back to us as Faculty. They still do clinical practice on the side.

Offhand, I'd say our best clinical faculty have been pediatricians and hospitalists. Our pathologists have been a mixed bag.

 

[Donald Juan]

If you want to teach med students, sticking to something more general in the core rotations or pathology would likely be the best bet. If you wanted to work with residents, really any specialty could be worth while.

 

[Rendar5]

Teaching clinical medicine to residents and ms3/4’s, or teaching preclinical medicine.? Pathology for the latter. If it’s the former you still have to pick a field since all fields have excellent opportunities for teaching if you work at an academic hospital.

 

[alwaysbehappy]

Teaching clinical medicine to residents and ms3/4’s, or teaching preclinical medicine.? Pathology for the latter. If it’s the former you still have to pick a field since all fields have excellent opportunities for teaching if you work at an academic hospital.

How does pathology link you to preclinical studies? I would love to do both preclinical and clinical

 

[Aerus]

How does pathology link you to preclinical studies? I would love to do both preclinical and clinical

Because medical students have to take a lot of Pathology their first two years. The Pathology part of each system at my school is taught by an MD pathologist. If you specialize in something like Internal Medicine or Pediatrics, you can teach medical students in their third year, but you probably won't get too many opportunities the first two years.

 

[alwaysbehappy]

Because medical students have to take a lot of Pathology their first two years. The Pathology part of each system at my school is taught by an MD pathologist. If you specialize in something like Internal Medicine or Pediatrics, you can teach medical students in their third year, but you probably won't get too many opportunities the first two years.

I guess that makes sense.... I love studying pathology in 1st and 2nd yr.... but Im not becoming a pathologist.... not a microscope type

 

[y123]

Pathology for sure

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Pathology for sure

Literally one post above yours:

I guess that makes sense.... I love studying pathology in 1st and 2nd yr.... but Im not becoming a pathologist.... not a microscope type

 

[gyngyn]

Anything with a required clerkship allows for teaching in an academic center.
Peds and medicine are equally good, though medicine often has more than one required rotation.

 

[bananafish94]

I also definitely want to be involved in education as a resident and beyond. There's teaching in all fields but like others have said I think those that offer the best opportunities are core clerkship specialties like IM, pediatrics, etc. I'm on IM right now and the residents that are really passionate about teaching enhance the experience so much - I hope to be in their shoes in a few years!

 

[wholeheartedly]

I guess that makes sense.... I love studying pathology in 1st and 2nd yr.... but Im not becoming a pathologist.... not a microscope type

I wouldn't rule out path without doing a rotation first.

 

[navigator]

Dr. Sattar's a pathologist

 

[Keladry]

IM or EM would prob also let you teach in preclinical years - things like physical exam skills, history-taking, etc.

 

[mvenus929]

Because medical students have to take a lot of Pathology their first two years. The Pathology part of each system at my school is taught by an MD pathologist. If you specialize in something like Internal Medicine or Pediatrics, you can teach medical students in their third year, but you probably won't get too many opportunities the first two years.

The PD of our pediatrics program was one of the first course directors we had as MS1s. We have a pediatrician who does classroom teaching for both M1/2 and M4. One of our Deans for Student Affairs was a general pediatrician and mentored students all the time. You can definitely make it work.

OP, you need to find out what you like about teaching, or what sort of role you want. For instance, me and my co-chief are both interested in medical education, but we both see ourselves functioning at residency level or higher. Our new PD just stepped up from being clerkship director. But we also have a lot of faculty who are very clinical and predominately do clinical teaching. One of our Peds ID docs used to run the pathophysiology course for M1/M2. One of our community pediatricians precepts individuals one-on-one to help them build their clinical skills.

So, I would focus less on what field gives you most opportunity to teach, and focus on which field you like the medicine of best. Then make opportunities for yourself to do teaching.

 

[TheIllusionist]

path preclinical aka Sattar and Goljan

IM (najeeb methinks) cardio clinical aka Conrad and Dusty

 

[deleted645092]

I’m only a second year but I would say it depends on what your favorite subject is. At my school we have mixed faculty between MDs, DOs, and PhDs for our basic sciences, I’m not sure how common that is; One MD teaches some micro and pathology, and the other is a pathologist who bounces between pathology and anatomy. Our clinical skills course is mixed between MD and DO, and during second year we get blocks of OB/GYN, surgery, IM, and pediatrics, with each lecturing on their respective specialty. Some were only there for a lecture or 2, while the pediatricians got us every weekday morning for the whole first semester.

My current plan, if I go into something that allows me to have the free time, is to head back to my undergrad to either teach our basic anatomy and physiology courses as associate faculty, even if it’s just for guest lectures on specific subjects/ case studies.

EDIT: Depending on if you want to do pre-med, pre-clinical, or clinical teaching, the more specialized you are, the less opportunities you’ll get to lecture.