DO graduate seeking teaching career

[future-doctor1995]

Hey guys. I just graduated from an osteopathic medical school in the US. Throughout medical school, I suffered from lots of anxiety and depression, and I decided this year that a career in medicine is not a right fit for me, so I did not apply to the match. I have been brainstorming multiple career options and after evaluating my goals and interests I realized that I had a passion for teaching. I taught multiple pre-med classes as a supplemental instructor in undergrad, did some tutoring for EOF, taught the MCAT for the Princeton Review, and I enjoyed teaching other medical students on rotations during 3rd and 4th year of medical school. I am looking to transition to a career in teaching but I am struggling to figure out how to get started, who to reach out to, where to look, how to improve my resume, and what additional credentials/certifications are required, if any. Ideally, I want to teach adults because I don't think I have the patience for children/teens. Also, I want to be able to utilize my medical degree and areas of expertise so I'd like to teach subjects related to biology/medicine. Income is important as well, I have $250k worth of loans so I'd like to eventually have a 6 figure salary. Right now I can get by teaching the MCAT, Level 1 and 2 but these positions are only part time and I want a job I can do full time. I'd like to teach at a medical school but I also think residency and/or PhD is required for those roles. Given my current situation I think I may be able to teach at an undergraduate level but I'm not sure. If anyone has any advice and/or knows anything about this subject please let me know. All recommendations are much appreciated. Thanks!

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[Kardio]

Off the top of my head, community college may be a good place to look for a teaching position.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Contact other DO schools for teaching positions. They always need OMM faculty and H/P Physical Diagnosis faculty. I have taught at both our local Uni MD school and a nearby DO school.

 

[Goro]

With new DO schools breeding like rabbits, definitely send in your CV.

 

[DrMcLovin]

My recommendation would be to complete at an intern year. That way you are eligible for licensure in some states which can boost your credibility for non-clinical jobs. I think it will make your income ceiling higher for whatever path you take. Good luck

 

[Med Ed]

Given my current situation I think I may be able to teach at an undergraduate level but I'm not sure. If anyone has any advice and/or knows anything about this subject please let me know. All recommendations are much appreciated. Thanks!

You're in a tough spot. A professional degree is certainly worth something, but without residency you have exposure to a lot of different things but expertise in none of them. Undergrad schools tend to hire PhD types with deep experience in their respective fields, publications, and the chance of bringing in extramural funding.

So maybe you could snag a position at a community college teaching health science students. Maybe you could land something at a new DO school, but do you really want to spend your life teaching physical exam skills like a glorified fourth year? Perhaps you could end up at one of the tiny little places where about 5 faculty teach the entire basic science curriculum, but I think that would get old really fast.

If you want a stable teaching job with some earning potential, IMHO your best bet is to get a Masters in human anatomy and go teach that. Finding anatomy faculty is the hardest thing to do in medical education hiring. The PhD anatomists have mostly died off, and their major replacement is a collection of disgruntled PhD physical anthropologists. Even without residency or a medical license, a physician with some legit anatomy chops can find a comfortable gig these days.

 

[War of Arts]

Undergrad A&P and MSK courses. My undergrad had chiropractors to teach these classes to a class size of over 200+. This was at a major public senior college. The problem is all of them were adjuncts so the pay wasn't good. You need a PhD

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

1) Why do you not want to do residency? Is it because you have no interest in medicine or because you're burnt out?
2) If it's the depression and anxiety then go seek help for that. Hate to say it but all jobs are triggering and produce anxiety. Deadlines at a university are going to stress you out too.
3) If you're interested in focusing on your life then do a residency in Occupational Health or Family medicine. Hell consider OMM residency. You can work part time and or teach actual medicine because you'll actually have meaningful training.

I also echo the above. At least do an intern year. You've burnt 200+ thousand on an education and you've suffered through a decent bit. You can at least do a job that is highly supervised for a year and gain enough clinical experience to be able to at least open up some pathways in the future.

 

[Goro]

My school wouldn't hire you without you doing residency.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Even if you never want to practice clinically, opting out of a residency and becoming board eligible is going to limit your options. I agree your most likely route is going to be teaching anatomy at community colleges or something of the like. Though I don’t really know what kind of CV is needed to get a teaching job at a new DO school.

 

[Osminog]

Realistically, it would be very challenging to pay off your debt with a higher education teaching career.

Why are you not interested in a career in medicine? If you don't enjoy clinical work with patients, you can pursue training in pathology or preventive medicine (after a clinical intern year). If you're worried about experiencing anxiety or depression during residency, you can apply to chill programs in lifestyle-friendly specialties (e.g., community psychiatry or FM program with barely any call). As an attending in any specialty, you'll have a vast array of opportunities to teach residents and medical students.

If you're dead set on finding a teaching job without medical training, you could consider applying for teaching jobs at Caribbean medical schools. They might be more likely to consider hiring an instructor who didn't complete residency.

 

[gyngyn]

If you're dead set on finding a teaching job without medical training, you could consider applying for teaching jobs at Caribbean medical schools. They might be more likely to consider hiring an instructor who didn't complete residency.

They have more than enough of their own grads to choose from!