Physician-scientists are defined as individuals with an MD degree who perform medical research as their primary professional activity. These investigators have contributed much to this nation’s preeminent position in medical science. The majority of physician-scientists have only 1 professional degree, an MD; a small fraction has a second (eg, PhD, MPH, JD, or MBA). Most physician-scientists conduct clinical investigation along a broad scientific continuum, from disease-oriented (seeking mechanisms that cause diseases and the means to diagnose and treat them) to patient-oriented (using direct patient contact to test hypotheses concerning etiology, pathophysiology, and management) to population-oriented (assessing disease incidence and susceptibility with epidemiologic and biostatistical tools). In addition, many physician-scientists perform basic research (studying fundamental biological processes).1