how i became a clinician-educator lawrence s. friedman, md
TRANSCRIPT
How I Became a Clinician-Educator
How I Became a Clinician-Educator
Lawrence S. Friedman, MDLawrence 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 . . .
Writing
1. 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 Serve
Medical 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