I have hired multiple clinician educators in my institution, all of whom are doing wonderful clinical and academic work. The academic output by my team is remarkable given the competing priorities of clinical expectations.I refer you to this recent article on the evolution of the the clinician educator published in Academic Medicine.
The article is insightful and neatly summarizes the role of clinician educators in academic medical centers, particularly the critical role that these faculty play in the dedicated teaching of students and residents. The clinician educator role has evolved through formal faculty development, educational scholarship in dedicated journals (e.g. Academic Medicine) and through the appearance of professional societies (e.g. Academic Alliance of Internal Medicine).
I agree with all the above but lets call like it is.
The major and present obstacle to academic success as a clinician educator is the current primacy of clinical RVUs. Until we carve out dedicated time and funding for academic roles such as teaching, education will always be second fiddle.
Budgets and compensation are a reflection of priorities and values- simple as that.
