Residents: Career Profiles
Dr. Lauren Stern - Clinician Educator
I am a clinician educator in the Renal Section at the Boston University School of Medicine. Being a clinician in a large academic medical center gives me the opportunity to see interesting patients with diverse backgrounds and disease, to take part in the education of students and house staff, and to have easy access to experts in many different fields.
Since nephrology is a very diverse field, I have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of clinical activities at my job. A typical day for me usually begins in the general nephrology clinic where I see patients with chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, nephrolithiasis, electrolyte abnormalities, hypertension, and glomerular disease, to name a few. I also have the opportunity of seeing patients at our multi-specialty amyloidosis referral center. This clinic gives me the opportunity to work in conjunction with a team of specialists including oncologists, cardiologists, rheumatologists, and pulmonologists. After clinic, I often participate in house staff educational activities during the noon conference session. My teaching duties include giving talks on general nephrology topics and mediating case conferences. In the afternoon, I round on a shift of hemodialysis patients. I like that rounding weekly in a chronic hemodialysis unit gives me the opportunity to get to know my patients not just medically, but also on a personal level.
The ability to interact with medical students, residents, and fellows is one of the things I enjoy most about my job. Getting to see an interesting patient through the eyes of a student or resident who is experiencing it for the first time makes rounds exciting. I always enjoyed being a student, and working in an academic medical center allows me to continue learning on a daily basis.
Having a work-life balance is also important to me. I try to make a little time everyday (well, almost!) to focus on activities that I enjoy outside of work. Enjoying time with family and friends, having an interesting and challenging career, remaining physically active and getting lost in a good (non-medical) book is what life is all about for me.