How To Become A Medical Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Medical instructors teach medical students at a post-graduate level. They prepare course materials, plan and impart classes, and support their students on their path to becoming medical doctors. Apart from giving lectures and seminars, they evaluate their students' progress as well, grading tests, exams, and assignments.

Working in this position, you might also conduct research in your area of expertise and publish your results in scientific journals. Essentially, you will have an academic career, specializing in an area of theoretical medicine. You might work in colleges, technical schools, teaching hospitals, or universities.

You will need a degree in your area of specialization to work as a medical instructor. You will need to get licensed and registered to teach as well, and clinical experience in your field of studies is also usually required. Working in this position will earn you an average salary of $55,456 per year.

ScoreMedical InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $58,118

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.21%

Black or African American 7.31%

Hispanic or Latino 10.39%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.85%

Gender

female 72.28%

male 27.72%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical instructor

Explore medical instructor education requirements

Most common medical instructor degrees

Bachelor's

34.4 %

Associate

25.4 %

Master's

11.9 %

Start to develop specific medical instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Medical Terminology	10.93%
Anatomy	9.35%
Physiology	7.30%
CPC	6.09%
Clinical Procedures	4.19%

Complete relevant medical instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical instructors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical instructor resumes.

Gain additional medical instructor certifications

Medical instructor certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical instructor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical instructors include Medical Assistant and Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS).

More About Certifications

Research medical instructor duties and responsibilities

Instruct high school students on a daily basis to help them achieve there CDA.
Instruct students on proper usage and placement of EKG leads to include proper patient contact.
Utilize nursing process and critical thinking skill and manage flight medic activities in combat deployment environment.
Create and implement curriculum for classes including clinical procedures, medical assistant procedures, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, etc.

Prepare your medical instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical instructor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable medical instructor resume templates

Build a professional medical instructor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical instructor resume.