Helping Med Students Become Endocrinologists
Summary
- Though medical fellowships in endocrinology have dramatically increased, fewer medical graduates are pursuing them.
- The lack of endocrinologists results in long wait times for patients.
- The Miller School of Medicine will join the Endocrine Society’s Medical School Engagement Program to encourage students to consider the endocrinology field.
The U.S. needs more endocrinologists to help treat diabetes, thyroid and adrenal disorders and many other pressing medical conditions. However, the trend is going in the other direction, as fewer U.S. medical school graduates are pursuing fellowships in the field.
There has been a 78% increase in endocrinology fellowship positions since 2010. But there has also been a 4% decline in medical school graduates entering endocrinology. As a result, some patients have to wait 90 days or even longer to see an endocrinologist.
To help solve this problem, the Endocrine Society established its Medical School Engagement Program. The initiative gives students unique opportunities to investigate endocrinology and, perhaps, choose it as their specialty. Recently, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine was selected to join the 2025-2026 cohort.
“The program is born out of the realization that there’s a worldwide shortage of endocrinologists and patients sometimes have to wait a long time to see one,” said Zeina Hannoush, M.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism who helps run the Miller School’s endocrinology fellowship and leads its Medical School Engagement Program. “There’s an epidemic of diabetes and endocrine diseases, and we really need more endocrine professionals to provide that care.”
The Medical School Engagement Program
First rolled out in 2024, the Medical School Engagement Program is a two-year program that helps faculty engage with medical students who are interested in endocrinology. The Miller School will be part of the program’s second cohort. With her extensive experience in medical education and commitment to advancing endocrinology, Dr. Hannoush was an obvious choice to lead the project.
The program provides a small grant to support endocrinology interest groups. Students explore the field through research, panel discussions, guest speakers and other activities. All interest-group members receive free Endocrine Society memberships.
The program officially begins at the Miller School in August. Dr. Hannoush and colleagues are deep into the planning stages, focusing on hands-on experiences. A structured mentorship program will pair interested students with faculty members. Dr. Hannoush would also like to reward student research. She envisions a friendly competition, with the winners receiving free travel and registration to an upcoming Endocrine Society national meeting.
The program’s first two cohorts overlap, so Dr. Hannoush will soon get to meet with the inaugural awardees at the upcoming Endocrine Society meeting. She looks forward to picking their brains as her team designs the Miller School Medical School Engagement Program.
“There’s going to be an event for the different programs, which will be a great opportunity to exchange ideas,” she said. “We’ll get to learn about how they’re creating interest groups and keeping students engaged.”
Finding Future Endocrinologists
Dr. Hannoush is working closely with Violet Lagari-Libhaber, D.O., an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and the program director for the endocrinology fellowship at the Miller School, and Diana Soliman, M.D., also an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, who manages the endocrinology module for the Miller School. That module could be a particularly fertile place to find interested students.
“The endocrinology module is one of the best places to seek out students, because that’s when they’re learning about the thyroid and diabetes and everything endocrine,” said Dr. Hannoush. “Some of those students are going to walk away from that unit thinking, ‘Endocrinology is awesome. I want to learn more.’ Those are the people we hope to engage.”
Tags: Division of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism, Dr. Diana Soliman, Dr. Violet Lagari-Libhaber, Dr. Zeina Hannoush, Endocrine Society, endocrinology