A clinical professor is a member of the faculty or another teaching institution who has been designated the employer to teach professional students in a clinical setting. These professionals are generally regarded as being more practical than other types of professors, whose jobs may be more focused on theory and research. Because theoretical research and clinical practice require very different approaches, schools have begun to designate professors as clinical professors when they primarily teach practical methods rather than theory.
Clinical professors may perform a variety of tasks related to a specific department of a school or university in various job roles. Clinical practice in medicine, for example, is taught a clinical professor in a medical department. Clinical professors are in high demand in medical schools because so many students require specialized training in clinical practice, ranging from outpatient surgery to more complex surgical procedures, as well as ongoing clinical care. In other fields, such as law, a clinical professor will use their specific industry knowledge to teach their students. In the legal field, for example, a clinical professor would concentrate on the practical aspects of working through various local court systems or developing relationships with clients, rather than theoretical or abstract work such as future litigation or legislative trends.
Clinical professorships are available as full-time or part-time positions. These jobs may not be tenured in the same way that other professor jobs are, but employers may offer a variety of incentives to entice potential employees to apply. Some experts believe that working as a clinical professor can have a positive or negative impact on one’s future academic career. In general, an experienced clinical professor will be in high demand due to their demonstrated ability to teach, as clinical skills are so important to students’ future careers. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, such professionals may be likely to engage in active practice, such as medicine or law, depending on their agreement with their employers.
In addition to teaching classes, a clinical professor may perform other duties that are typically assigned to other professors. This includes conducting clinical research. Clinical professors may teach both lecture-based classes and practical clinical labs, in which they demonstrate actual performance of clinical tasks based on their experience and skill. Clinical instructors are described some academics as “teaching example,” whereas others are more likely to teach primarily through didactic methods based on text, statistics, and research.