Clinical Professor
You're a clinical professor at a health sciences school — teaching, supervising clinical training, and typically continuing to practice clinically. The role lives at the intersection of academic faculty and active clinician.
What it's like to be a Clinical Professor
Most days tend to involve a blend of teaching, clinical supervision, and clinical practice — leading lectures or small-group sessions, supervising students or residents in clinical settings, and seeing patients yourself. You'll often spend part of the time on scholarly or service work — curriculum development, committee work, or program evaluation.
The harder part is often balancing the multiple demands of teaching, clinical care, and scholarship simultaneously. You'll typically work with students and residents at varying readiness levels, while staying credible clinically with the colleagues and patients who depend on your practice.
People who tend to thrive here are clinically grounded, patient teachers, and comfortable with the academic rhythm of teaching cycles and promotion timelines. The trade-off is the salary differential between academic and full-time clinical practice and the cumulative pressure of carrying multiple identities. If you find satisfaction in shaping clinicians who go on to practice for decades, the work can carry meaning that pure clinical practice doesn't.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
How this category is changing
Skills & Requirements
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