FEATURE
Features For Fellows & Trainees
The Wide World of
Medical Education
By Hanny Al-Samkari, MD
The field of medical education is constantly reinventing itself, so there are
many opportunities for trainees to find their niche. Hanny Al-Samkari, MD,
a senior clinical fellow in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston, Massachusetts, offers advice for trainees who are passionate about
teaching and interested in pursuing a career in medical education.
You have to do what you love. In medicine,
we are fortunate to have many career oppor-
tunities in addition to patient care – research,
industry, consulting, and education, just to
name a few.
I decided to pursue medical education
because of my experiences with mentors. I
worked with two spectacular mentors at the
University of Pennsylvania: master sub-
specialty clinician-educators Lisa Bellini,
MD, and Todd Barton, MD. Observing them
sparked a strong interest in a career like theirs.
I recognized my passion for teaching
during my residency, when I took a short
course in medical education and learning
theory. Later, I was fortunate to serve as a
chief medical resident, which was essentially
a year-long fellowship in medical educa-
tion, leadership, and administration skills. I
knew then that I wanted to pursue a career
in medical education and I haven’t looked
back since.
research is also an option. Researchers
in medical education assess novel teach-
ing methods, analyze trainee burnout, and
examine new duty-hour rules, among other
pursuits.
It also bears mentioning that in the inter-
nal medicine education world, there is high
demand for sub-specialist leaders – especially
in hematology/oncology, which are rapidly
evolving fields. Leaders in internal medicine
residency programs who understand the new
science well enough to teach it are a necessity.
As an incentive, most institutions consider
leadership roles in medical education to be a
significant commitment and reduce your clini-
cal responsibilities accordingly.
The tricky part of securing one of these
positions is being in the right place at the
right time. The number of positions is typi-
cally fixed and a position is often occupied
for many years.
“It is possible to be a leader in medical
education and clinical medicine and
do collaborative research either in
hematology or in education. That’s
been my blueprint.”
What Does a Medical Educator Do?
To be clear, all physicians are educators: We
teach our patients, our trainees, and each other
on a daily basis. An academic medical educator,
however, devotes more time to teaching train-
ees, developing innovative medical educational
programs, or conducting research projects
relevant to medical education.
Medical educators have numerous oppor-
tunities to practice in both undergraduate and
graduate medical education. A few of the more
common positions include director or as-
sistant director of a medical school clerkship,
program director or assistant program direc-
tor of a residency or fellowship program, or
course master of a preclinical lecture course.
For those who have a drive for scholarship,
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ASH Clinical News
Finding Your Med Ed Path
There is rarely a defined “pathway” for all medi-
cal educators, mainly because of the variety
within our field. For instance, the career path
and skills of the clinician-educator who leads
the hematology/oncology second-year medical
student lecture course may be different from
those of the internal medicine program direc-
tor. So, people often must find their own way,
under the guidance of good mentors.
This should start in residency and fellow-
ship, if possible. First, identify yourself as an
educator at your institution. Set up formal
meetings with medical education leaders,
such as the internal medicine program direc-
tor, to discuss opportunities.
Second, say “yes” to all teaching opportunities
that come your way! Every opportunity is
valuable – even if it isn’t what you initially
had in mind. They can provide excellent
experience, you can add them to your
CV, and you can earn “street cred” at your
institution as a point person for teaching in
hematology and oncology. Remember that
trainees in medicine are all highly qualified,
bright, eager-to-learn individuals. Getting
the chance to teach them and to play a role in
their professional development is a privilege,
but that privilege is usually reserved for those
who have a track record of being good at it.
Finally, look into whether your institu-
tion has a “fellowship” in medical education
that can be completed at the same time as
a sub-specialty fellowship (e.g., during the
research-focused years of a hematology/
oncology fellowship). Many require fund-
ing, which you may be able to secure from
your training program or institution. Some
insti