An Inquiry Into the Early Careers of Master Clinicians

Residents and fellows often seek to emulate master clinician role models; however, the activities these expert clinical faculty pursued early in their careers are not known.

We studied the early career clinical experiences and learning behaviors of peer-defined master academic clinicians.

We performed a retrospective, qualitative interview study of 17 members of the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Medicine Council of Master Clinicians. Between March 1 and May 31, 2016, we interviewed participants using a semistructured interview guide surveying their early career clinical experiences and learning habits. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We used a general inductive approach to code transcripts and to identify consistent themes.

Of the 28 council members invited to participate, 17 (61%) responded and were interviewed. Participants included 12 men and 5 women, with an average of 27 years in clinical practice (range, 13-50 years). Six participants were general internists, and 11 were internal medicine subspecialists. Based on thematic analysis of interview transcripts, 4 themes of clinical development emerged: (1) consistent learning efforts; (2) rigorous skill development; (3) cultivating habits of mind; and (4) clinically rich environments.

Our study describes the early career experiences and learning behaviors of master clinicians. We aggregated key dimensions of the findings into a guide for residents, fellows, and junior clinicians interested in the pursuit of clinical excellence.