Transitions in Medical Education and Medical Educators

A career in academic medicine requires flexibility and adaptability. This is especially true in changing times where support for research is under pressure due to economic challenges. Moreover, as the curricula for training physicians are examined and revised, methods of teaching are shifting away from a primarily lecture-based format toward group-learning formats in which information traditionally taught along discipline lines is now integrated throughout the medical school years. Transitions in the level of support for research, medical school curricula, and the way content is taught lead inevitably to transitions in faculty careers. Such transitions show the necessity for change-aware academic career management. Transitions in the environment of academic careers may be managed in the same way environmental changes are managed by organisms—by adaptation. In this paper, we describe the most frequent types of transitions in the three-fold axis of faculty life—scholarly activities (research), educational activities, and service to the institution including clinical activities. We discuss obstacles to faculty transitions and propose ways in which departmental and institutional administrations may better encourage and support these transitions.