When most people think "MD," images of the family physician and his full-time clinical practice come to mind. However, a certain percentage of medical school graduates choose to become academic physicians. With a term like "academic," it is easy to see why some might equate these physicians with being primarily medical researchers, more akin to a PhD or an MD/PhD than a traditional doctor. While it is true that academic MDs participate in research, there is a lot more to their jobs than just that, explains Dr. Leslie Sandlow, Senior Associate Dean in the UIC College of Medicine.

A major difference between an academic physician and an MD/PhD is in the type of research conducted by each. MD/PhDs will usually devote most of their time to bench research in a basic science field, such as immunology, physiology, or molecular biology. On the other hand, the type of research an academic physician participates in tends to be in clinical science. This research is usually connected in some way to the doctor's clinical specialty/subspecialty. For example, a pediatric oncologist may conduct research into a type of cancer, such as neuroblastoma, that predominantly affects children.

However, that leads to the question of where an MD learns the proper statistical and qualitative skills required for scientific research. An MD/PhD has obtained a PhD, but an academic physician has not. Some students, along with attending their classes, also participate in a research project while in medical school. Some medical schools, such as UIC, allow for one of the fourth year eight-week elective units to be devoted to a research clerkship. Moreover, since the majority of academic physicians are specialists or subspecialists, they have completed residencies in such areas as cardiology, oncology, and neurology. Doctors of most of these non-general residencies devote six months to a year to clinical research and its methods.

Aside from conducting research, these physicians spend a large portion of time to educate students. Teaching medicine to new doctors is one of the most significant jobs afforded to an academic physician. Because many of these doctors work at universities and in teaching hospitals, there are various types of teaching that can be done. Some may teach lecture-based courses, while others participate in educational seminars with students. Still others teach in the hospital about clinical methods. Most medical schools, however, do not have a set of courses in their core curriculum on teaching methods. That is why most aspiring teaching doctors do not learn how to teach until their fourth year of medical school or later. Depending on the school, during the fourth year elective courses on teaching methods may be available for the medical student to take. However, some physicians learn these techniques by acquiring a particular masters degree, the Masters of Health Professions Education. This can be done after completing their clinical residency.

The clinical side of the profession is not neglected either. Since the academic physician is a specialized doctor, he or she is usually employed by a hospital or a university. Many do not have a private practice, but they still work with patients in a clinical setting on a regular basis, much like a traditional doctor would.

The academic physician takes a three-pronged approach to the study and practice of medicine. Researching, teaching, and treating patients are the goals of academic medicine, and the goals of anyone interested in being involved with the entirety of medicine.