7 Things to Consider Before Pursuing a Career in Academic Medicine

Are you considering a career in academic medicine? It can be an advantageous career pathway, with good pay, benefits, and prestige attached to these roles. For nurses looking for a job beyond working in a hospital or primary healthcare setting, academic medicine can be the way to go.

But what exactly is academic medicine? This is a specialized career field in which doctors and nurses work for non-profit, healthcare or private health organizations and institutions that both educate students and offer healthcare services to patients. For instance, some organizations will offer healthcare but also conduct research using their treatment while training future doctors and nurses as well.

Part of the decision to work in academic healthcare as a nurse is figuring out if you want to undertake a PhD vs DNP nursing qualification. But you also need to understand everything there is to know about this career field, which this informative article will assist you with. 

What Do These Acronyms Stand For?

Before comparing the two qualifications, let’s first teach you what these particular acronyms mean within a nursing context. DNP is short for Doctor of Nursing Practice, and a PhD in the nursing field stands for Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing. Both qualifications require a deep understanding of the nursing field and offer excellent career development opportunities in academic medicine. 

Now that we’ve explained what these acronyms stand for and what the qualifications mean, we’ll now get into what you need to know about working in this field.

• Flexible and Friendly Hours

Traditionally, medical careers for both doctors and nurses have been associated with long, grueling hours. Some nurses can work upwards of 12 hours a day or split shifts, with minimal break time in between. Doctors have been known to work even longer hours. 

A benefit of academic medicine jobs is that they offer a more life-friendly schedule, with typical days being around 8 hours long – which is par for the course for many careers. In addition to this, many workplaces will offer increased flexibility, such as the ability to alter your hours to accommodate personal commitments such as childcare, family responsibilities, and more. For those seeking a career in healthcare without the abyssal hours, academic medicine can be a great career choice.

• Protected Time

When working in career medicine, you’ll still have to put in some clinical work with patients. However, there is an incentive offered by many organizations and companies called “protected time”. This essentially is a method of reducing the amount of clinical hours you have to work in favour of administrative time. You “buy down” the number of clinical shifts you need to work to maintain your salary and instead use the time for leadership tasks, educational reasons, or research. As long as you’re providing benefits to the institute, organization, or company, this time isn’t overly scrutinized.

• Access to Specialists

Another significant benefit of working in academic medicine is that you will often have access to all degrees of specialists in various fields, as these institutions tend to attract the cream of the crop. It’s excellent for a healthcare professional such as a specialist nurse to be able to network and draw on the expertise of specialist physicians, nurses, psychiatrists, surgeons and other roles. You never know when you need this expertise until a situation arises, so it’s great to work in a place where you can literally walk down the hall and knock on a door if you need an expert opinion.

• Increased Educational Opportunities

One excellent benefit of a career in academic medicine or nursing is that you’ll have increased educational opportunities as you work there. If you’re halfway through a certain degree, you’ll often get time to study and time off to attend exams, lectures, or classes. In addition to this, once you’re qualified, if you want to attain further qualifications, you will be supported to do so if they’re of benefit to your career within the organization. For instance, master’s degrees in public health or business administration are viewed favorably as you’ll be able to utilize these qualifications in leadership roles. Some organizations may even offer scholarships or contribute to tuition. 

Now, let’s explore some of the potential downsides to working in academic medicine so you’re presented with a balanced opinion and can make a truly informed decision.

• Less Pay

It’s no secret that academic nurses and physicians tend to make less than their counterparts working in private or even public healthcare. Part of this is due to the healthier hours – fewer hours means fewer hours paid to you. But also, on average, academic medicine careers don’t pay as well compared to if you were working in a direct clinical role. As we’ve mentioned, the counterpoint to this is better flexibility and a chance to work on tasks that aren’t clinical, expanding your skillset and offering variety. 

• Fewer Bonuses

Again, related to pay, academic medicine careers tend to offer less in the way of bonuses and financial incentives. Whereas private nurses or doctors may be offered sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses and other pay incentives, there is less of this offered in academic medicine. The incentives offered instead are bought time, flexibility, and the ability to pursue exciting research and educational advancements, as we’ve discussed above.

• Promotions are Difficult to Get

Finally, another drawback to a career in academic medicine as a nurse is that promotions are harder to come by. People tend to stick around in the sound, senior jobs, and even a promotion doesn’t always mean a massive pay rise as it might mean in other sectors. 

In Summary

This informative article has discussed the difference between DNP and PhD qualifications in nursing within the context of career options in academic medicine. Furthermore, we’ve discussed seven things you need to know about this career pathway, including some benefits and drawbacks. By now, you’re fully informed about this potential career opportunity. 

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