Are you interested in changing careers and moving into a full time or part-time teaching position? The good news is that these positions exist and are available to physicians.

Dr. Jeffrey Pearl will be speaking at the SEAK Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians Conference October 22-23, 2016 in Chicago.

Dr. Pearl’s topic is Teaching Opportunities for Physicians.

Here is an interview with Dr. Pearl:

Q:  Dr. Pearl, are all of the teaching positions available for physicians all in medical schools? 

Absolutely not. There are opportunities in other post-graduate healthcare fields a s well. In particular there are opportunities in all Physician Assistant Programs. They are required to have a Medical Director to oversee certain administrative aspects and can also teach.

Q:  What skill sets are employers looking for when they interview prospective physician teachers? 

I think the first couple of factors are the breadth of knowledge and experience clinically the Physician has and then prior teaching experience. Obviously, if the candidate is being looked at for a leadership or administrative role as well than prior experience in program development, faculty development, accreditation and the like are important.

Q:  What is the best training physicians can do to get themselves ready for a career as a physician teacher?

Try and do some lectures as an adjunct or guest lecturer. Sign up to proctor practical exams in physical diagnosis, interviewing, doctoring etc. Become a preceptor for students, residents on rotation to start developing that form of interaction and teaching and evaluation.

Q:  Can physicians still practice clinically part-time and pursue teaching positions? 

Absolutely. In fact, many medical school teaching positions require that the faculty member practices clinically as well. Even a full-time position should or often will include teaching at the bedside/clinic during ones practice. There is fairly wide-variation extending form adjunct status teaching on occasion to a full-time pure teaching position.

Nicholas Squittieri, MD has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in medical communications. Currently he is VP/Medical Director with Virtuoso Healthcare Communications. Dr. Squittieri’s past positions include EVP at Evolution Medical Communications LLC, VP, Management Supervisor at Ogily & Mather, and VP Clinical Services at Access Communications, Inc. He received his education at Univerita degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza.” Dr. Squirttieri’s skills and expertise include medical education, medical communications, Pharma, healthcare, and publication planning.