Exploring Physician Career Options in Academic Medicine

This resource is a full-length non-patient contact elective course for teaching faculty to implement/host for their 4th year medical students. It has been converted to meet the needs of a videoconferencing platform for a total of 10 two-hour sessions. Reading citations, instructor directions, sample calendar, sample study guide, objective exam and presentation rubric are provided for further adaptation. The course objectives are as follows: 

• Accurately define Academic Medicine (i.e. Institutional missions, professorial track options, mentorship, well-being, investigation, clinical teaching leadership, patient advocacy) 
• Provide students with a snapshot of what careers in Academic Medicine look like currently 
• Present current research on career paths in Academic Medicine to inform students of their choices
• Present the shared values and expectations common to academicians in medicine 
• Promote self-reflection and career planning around students’ value systems through academic articles, journaling, and discussion of career aspirations 
• Expose students to current academicians to facilitate a better understanding of the various academic paths and their day-to-day 
• Sensitize students to the various leadership styles and organizational cultures in the academe 
• Foster a learning environment that promotes a true intellectual community and allows for uninhibited discourse, self-exploration, and respect for peer and professors’ views and contributions