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Exploring Academics: How Medical Students and Residents Can Get Involved in Academic EM
By Max Griffith MD, Kathryn Wiesendanger, Rachel Dahl MS, and Hamza Ijaz, MD on behalf of the SAEM/RAMS Faculty Development Committee Academic medicine plays a vital role in scientific advancement through innovative research, development of medical breakthroughs, and dissemination of knowledge. "A STRONG MENTOR WILL Over time, the concept of academic medicine has evolved to encompass much more, including opportunities for HELP A STUDENT DEVELOP mentorship, teaching, administrative roles, and collaboration. In part because of this variety, academic medical AND HONE INTERESTS professionals have reported less burnout and better career satisfaction when compared to their nonacademic colleagues. THAT GUIDE CAREER While the majority of medical education focuses on mastering the basic sciences, recognizing pathologies, and developing DIRECTION, AS WELL AS clinical skills, it may benefit students and residents to explore some of the non-clinical aspects of medicine. Because these SHARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR may or may not be built into medical school or residency curriculum, getting involved with academics requires some PROJECTS, CONFERENCES, initiative. Early exploration can help develop a professional niche and guide your approach when applying to residency, AND NETWORKING." and eventually, your career as an attending.
Testing the Waters: Academic Medicine for Medical Students
Among the challenges medical students face when deciding on a potential future in academic emergency medicine (EM) is a lack of significant exposure to what constitutes “academic” EM. New medical students may not have a clear understanding of what academic medicine entails, or how some EM residency programs with a more academic focus may have different expectations from applicants. There are a variety of resources in medical school to help students gain a better understanding of careers in academics and to develop a competitive application for residency.
Seeking early opportunities to participate in academic projects in medical school, such as research, teaching, or committee work, allows for exploration of EM or other specialties of interest prior to advanced clerkships. It also helps build skills in leadership, teaching, and writing, and provides the opportunity to identify mentors.
Mentors can be critically important assets for medical students, starting with sharing their own experiences working in academic EM and its unique features. A strong mentor will help a student develop and hone interests that guide career direction, as well as share opportunities for projects, conferences, and networking. Mentors can offer constructive criticism for improving one’s CV and guidance for standing out in increasingly competitive application cycles. They can be helpful resources in understanding which programs place more emphasis on academics and have a higher percentage of graduates who go on to become fellows and/or faculty at university hospitals.
SAEM’s Medical Student Ambassador program offers an excellent opportunity for medical students looking to explore academic EM. The student ambassadors serve as liaisons during the SAEM Annual Meeting and are paired up with faculty mentors. Not only does this look great on a CV, but it also allows students the opportunity to learn about national issues facing EM.
Building a well-balanced resume in medical school, with exposure to leadership, research, and/or teaching activities, helps residency applicants stand out in the application pool and provides interesting fodder for conversations during interviews. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presents new challenges for rising fourth years. They face having fewer opportunities to stand out from the crowd, with the delay of Step 2 CS, a lack of away rotations, the removal of medical students from EM clerkships, and the resultant lack of SLOEs. Yet for all the setbacks COVID-19 has caused in medical education and patient care, the pandemic has created new opportunities for student leaders and researchers to step up, whether developing creative ways to virtually deliver a curriculum, deploying medical students to assist hospital staff in ancillary roles, or directly contributing to research efforts.
EXPLORING ACADEMICS from Page 57
The most critical component in the process of determining residency and career interest is initiative by the medical student. Medical students should be encouraged by faculty early on to seek out resources and mentors relevant to their interests. However, even if they lack that support, students should be proactive in getting involved with activities that demonstrate their interest in academic EM. This may include, but is not limited to, becoming active members of national professional organizations; participating in committee work in these organizations or at their own schools; participating in publishing and presenting research; attending academic conferences; and tutoring or facilitating small group discussions.
Taking the Plunge: Academics During Residency
Most will agree that residency is first and foremost an opportunity for trainees to develop and hone clinical skills. For residents interested in academic careers, it is also important to carve out time for teaching, research, and leadership opportunities during training. Medical school graduates already involved in medical education can build on these experiences in residency, while those who are relatively new to academic medicine can start to explore projects that complement their clinical training.
While accomplished graduates from any residency program can land a job in academics, different residencies may emphasize academics to varying degrees. Residency applicants may want to consider how much funding is available to support research and travel to conferences; whether there are faculty mentors with experience publishing research and a track record of involving residents as authors; and whether the career exploration afforded by a four year program is worth the extra time in training. Residencies are increasingly offering career development tracks in areas such as ultrasound, research, or global health, which may also be valuable for residents trying to develop a niche. Some residencies have scholarly requirements for graduation, such as presenting at a national conference or publishing in a peerreviewed journal. Some may view this as just another obstacle to graduation, but it might also indicate that the residency views academics as a priority.
Residents looking to become involved with academic medicine have many options. Signing up to give lectures or lead procedure labs for a medical student clerkship can help develop teaching and presentation skills. One way to get involved with research is simply to reach out and ask faculty mentors directly — whether to answer some burning question you’ve already identified or simply to inquire about ongoing projects. There are many leadership opportunities for residents at the departmental, institutional, and national level and likely no shortage of committees in need of residency
representation at residency meetings. SAEM and other national emergency medicine organizations also have multiple resident committees with annual application cycles for those looking to get involved. SAEM-RAMS is always looking to increase its membership by recruiting interested medical students and residents to collaborate with. (Join a 2021-2022 RAMS Committee!)
Not only do these opportunities look great on a resume, the right opportunity can pay dividends. Teaching or committee work are often valuable sources for future scholarship. That new lecture series or simulation session you facilitated for medical students can become a research project, innovation report, or poster presentation. Getting involved is also a networking opportunity to meet peers and mentors with similar interests.
Letting it Soak In
The main question for students and residents may not be “am I interested in academic medicine?” but rather “do I have time?” Given the demands of training, dedicating extra time and energy to academics is a big ask. Yet just as faculty involved with academics report decreased rates of burnout, many residents consider extracurricular projects as a source of energy, not a drain. Having a project to focus on outside of everyday patient care, and the sense of achievement in seeing that project to completion, can provide a welcome creative outlet during residency. Not every trainee will love their experiences with academics. The incremental process of research, the challenges of managing learners as a teacher, and the extra responsibility of administrative roles are not for everyone. If after dabbling in academics, a medical graduate enters the workforce with a firm conviction that they want to focus only on clinical medicine, previous experience with academics will make them more confident in that decision. However, by exploring and branching out early in training, many will find a path to a more fulfilling and varied career, with the opportunity to improve medicine for the next generation of doctors and patients. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Dr. Griffith is a third-year resident at the University of Michigan with an interest in Medical Education and Med Ed research.
Kathryn Wiesendanger is a third-year medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland and aspiring emergency medicine physician. A gun violence survivor and contributor to the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM), Kathryn is passionate about gun violence research and injury prevention. Rachel Dahl is a third-year medical student at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and concurrently pursuing an MPH through the University of California Berkeley. Rachel plans to pursue a career in either emergency medicine or neurocritical care, with additional interests in community and global health. Dr. Ijaz is a second-year resident at the University of Cincinnati. He is interested in medical education and emergency department operations and administration.
Join a RAMS Committee!
RAMS is looking for committee members to help chart the course for the future of academic emergency medicine by developing educational, professional, and career solutions that address the needs of SAEM residents and medical students. If you are interested in championing the next generation of emergency medicine academicians and leaders, please review the RAMS committee descriptions and consider signing up for a 2020-2021 RAMS Committee.
