How I Became a Clinician-Educator

Lawrence S. Friedman, MD

How I Became a Clinician-Educator . . .

An Anecdotal Tale

Doctor = Teacher

See patients

Teach

Do research

( . . . and live well)

The Triple Threat

See patients

Translation

The Triple Threat….

Protect patients from placebos

Have student/resident around to catch your pearls

( . . . and live fabulously)

The triple threat is a state of mind.

It’s better to do one thing superbly than all things very well.

Ten Rules for Becoming a Clinician-Educator*

*or Clinical Scholar

Rule #1

Read, read, read . . .

then read some more.

It is astonishing how little reading a doctor can do to practise medicine, but it is not astonishing how badly he may do it.

William Osler, MD

Reading

For any topic, someone will always know more than you.

Everyone else thinks they know more than you.

Reading

General (the news)

Specific (about patients)

To study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an unchartered sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.

William Osler, MD

Rule #2

Write, write, write . . .

Writing1. Organizes your thoughts

2. Clarifies complexities

3. Improves patient care

4. Improves teaching

5. A publication is a frequent flyer coupon . . .accumulate enough, and you can upgrade

Publications are the currency of academic promotion.

Rule #3

Have a mentor and role models.

Rule #4

Choose your boss carefully.

The Boss

Does not remake you into a molecular biologist

Appreciates what your value is

Understands your values

Removes hurdles and open doors

If you become the Boss . . .

You must delight in other people’s successes and in helping them solve their problems.

But don’t let administration get in the way of your work.

Rule #5

Don’t teach! . . .

facilitate learning.

Federman’s Rules

1. Think out loud.

2. Stick to basics.

3. Be kind.

Rule #6

Focus on the illness . . .

not the disease.

Don’t try to compete with a textbook.

Rule #7

Find a niche (a medical “hobby”).

Rule #8

Try to break even.

Like your grandmother, you don’t want to be a burden.

Rule #9

Early in your career . . .

just say yes!

Ways to ServeMedical school, department, and hospital committees

Regional and national societies

Writing projects

Community service

Teaching!

Rule #10

Be a student of Medicine.

Research

A good thing!

It’s OK to do some.

Lessons Learned

You meet the same people on the way down that you met on the way up.

Take risks.

Patients are your best teachers.

To remain fresh and current, work with young people.

My Ideal Teaching Scenario

A patient

A student/resident/fellow

A paper I wrote

Many positions

Several affiliations

One job

Clinician-Educator