Building Your Path and Enjoying Your Clinician/Educator Journey

Zeb Saeed, MD, a member of the steering committee for the Early-Career Special Interest Group (SIG), says that endocrinologists are trained to understand and translate complex processes, which makes them an educator at heart. Here, she gives some valuable key points to navigate the clinician/educator career journey.

As endocrinologists, we are innate educators at heart.  We channel our understanding of the pathophysiologic processes and complex hormonal feedback loops to effectively teach difficult concepts to learners.  We apply our intrinsic diagnostic ability to diagnose and coach struggling learners. And importantly, we use our empath side which enables us to foster long-term relationships with people struggling with chronic illnesses to putting students and learners at ease and being a mentor and an accessible educator to them.

This parallel between being an endocrinologist and an educator was one of the key things that drew me to the field and perhaps did so for many of us, whether deliberately or unconsciously.

Before I discuss about how to advance one’s career as a Clinician-Educator (CE), let’s establish who a CE is: While yes, every clinician working in an academic medical center is contributing at some level to the education mission, a master teacher or CE is a physician who:

1. Views education as a primary responsibility along with patient care;

2. Mentors learners outside of feedback during daily clinical duties;

3. Administers curricula, programs, or coursework in medical education;

4. May pursue leadership roles in medical education;

5. May pursue formal training in the field of education; and

6. Thinks, creates, and publishes his or her work in medical education.

While how big or small the “E” part of the CE role may vary based on personal preferences and available opportunities, what defines a CE is a physician who engages in educational responsibilities beyond what’s within the clinical realm.

When I completed my fellowship five years ago, I realized unlike the clinical or the research pathways, which have very precise steps and milestones, the path to being a CE is less defined and often unclear. It usually boils down to being the right person at the right time for a role and saying “yes” to an opportunity as it comes, as long as it aligns with your passions and goals.

As endocrinologists, we are innate educators at heart.  We channel our understanding of the pathophysiologic processes and complex hormonal feedback loops to effectively teach difficult concepts to learners.  We apply our intrinsic diagnostic ability to diagnose and coach struggling learners.

Having had several roles in medical education across the spectrum of medical education, from medical school clinical clerkship to residency to fellowship, here are a few key points I learned:

Recognize your strengths and areas to work on; Consider pursuing professional education training 

Think of the feedback you received during your training or early career as a teacher. What do you excel at: Is it boiling down difficult concepts into simple ones? Is it providing difficult feedback to learners? What are the areas you need to continue to work on? Is there a specific faculty educational development course offered by your institution or elsewhere that you may consider doing? Doing such courses not helps in honing one’s skills and adding to one’s toolbox as a CE, but these are great networking opportunities to meet other CEs and people in leadership roles who may think of you when leadership opportunities arise. During my fellowship, I completed a one-year Clinician-Educator Training Pathway, which not only taught me the fundamentals of the science of education but also allowed me to interact with like-minded CEs. Hence when the role of Associate Clerkship Director for the Internal Medicine Clerkship opened up, the Clerkship team knew of my interests in this field and reached out to me to apply for this role: which led to one of the most gratifying roles I have had as a CE.

Identify a mentor 

Find someone both within AND outside your institution who you can meet regularly with, at least once a month, who is a seasoned CE who will help you stay on the path and nominate you for local and national opportunities.

Know the landscape of educational leadership roles

If you are not familiar with the different roles in your institution, make sure to do so. Medical education spans the spectrum of undergraduate medical education roles (medical school preclinical course director, preceptors, clerkship, elective, selective roles), graduate medical education (residency/fellowship program/course directors, coaches), continuing medical education, and hospital institutional educator roles. Knowing and introducing yourself to the key stakeholders at your institution is important so that you may be informed when new opportunities come up.

While a CE pathway is not the most straightforward one, I have found it to be an extremely rewarding one: We as CEs get to inspire so many, mold so many lives, and shape the future of medical education. It’s an honor indeed!

Raise your hand for something and then crush it

Just because you don’t know everything about a role or an opportunity should not stop you from doing it. As a CE, a lot of job prospects in education come from your reputation. Hence the more you do and do well, the more likely you are to get more opportunities come your way. It can start as small as teaching a lecture or a course joining a local, regional, or national committee to saying yes to extra coaching for students. However, once you say yes, give your best as how well you do your task is what will likely determine future roles coming your way. While yes, you may initially do voluntary roles, your goal should be to find positions that will protect your effort!

Network and meet more people

Show up to social events within your institution and outside and go to sessions within conferences focused on education. Going to these events as well other medical education conferences focused primarily on medical education is another excellent way to meet, network, and collaborate with like-minded individuals, which in turn will keep you in the know when opportunities in medical education arise which you can potentially take part in. I would also advise you to subscribe to be on the list-serv for these communities.

Engage in medical education scholarship

Give talks, present posters, and write and publish papers. This is also the key to promotion and portability as a CE. One key rule is that whatever project you are working on, think of how you can present and/or publish it. While I was an associate clerkship director, our team revamped the Internal Medicine Clerkship curriculum with the introduction of gamification and escape rooms into learning and we have presented our work in three different workshops at national and local conferences and are writing a manuscript on our work.

And most important of all, enjoy and trust the process. While a CE pathway is not the most straightforward one, I have found it to be an extremely rewarding one: We as CEs get to inspire so many, mold so many lives, and shape the future of medical education. It’s an honor indeed!

Saeed is an adult endocrinologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, where she will be starting a new role in January 2025 as principal clinical experience (PCE) core faculty in the Medicine Core I Clerkship. Before joining Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was an assistant professor of medicine at Indiana University. During her time at Indiana University, she served as an associate clerkship director for the Internal Medicine Clerkship for four years. Additionally, she was the appointed key clinical educator for the Division of Endocrinology and the associate program director for endocrinology fellowship. She has led multiple workshops at the Academic Internal Medicine Week and is deeply passionate about undergraduate medical education.  Her particular interests include improving precision education and rethinking methods of longitudinal assessment in medical students to support learner growth and success.