Choosing the Academic Job of Your Dreams

Abstract

Though many if not most residents envision a career in academics, only about 20% of emergency medicine jobs are in what most would consider “academics,” and it is not for everyone. Some of the benefits of academic Emergency Medicine are the ability to work collaboratively with your peers, practice in an environment of learning and inquiry, and provide diversity to your career, while some of the tradeoffs include generally lower pay and greater investments of time than in the community or non-academic setting. For those interested, it is critical to assess your goals, desires, and work to create a job within academics that highlights your strengths and provides you with extra clinical time and/or activities that bring you career satisfaction. Though all jobs in academic Emergency Medicine are some blend of the two, you must first decide if you lean more toward clinical teaching with “time” requirements and more patient care or more toward research with time flexibility but more “production” requirements. Once a plan and vision for a job is formulated, it is critical to find a department where you can be supported, where you have the resources to accomplish your goals, and where you have mentors to guide, lead, and assist you.