How to take ownership of your career

100:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills200:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.300:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients.400:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find500:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research600:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200program.700:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit.800:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.900:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians1000:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.1100:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,060Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.1200:01:01,060 --> 00:01:05,140Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.1300:01:05,140 --> 00:01:09,700I'm your host Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is a pleasure to be talking with you today.1400:01:09,700 --> 00:01:18,420Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode as I talk about how to advance1500:01:18,420 --> 00:01:19,420your career.1600:01:19,420 --> 00:01:20,420Yes.1700:01:20,420 --> 00:01:23,500Today I'm talking about how to advance your career.1800:01:23,500 --> 00:01:29,120And while it may seem intuitive and obvious to some, I think it's not always intuitive1900:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,580and obvious to everybody.2000:01:31,580 --> 00:01:33,700And for that reason, I do want to make it explicit.2100:01:33,700 --> 00:01:37,500We want to make it explicit because I needed somebody to make it explicit for me when I2200:01:37,500 --> 00:01:38,500first started.2300:01:38,500 --> 00:01:43,300And to be honest, somebody did.2400:01:43,300 --> 00:01:51,660But it is hard to fit career advancement as a faculty member into the framework we've2500:01:51,660 --> 00:01:56,740built over the course of our medical education and training.2600:01:56,740 --> 00:02:01,300So personally, I remember going to medical school.2700:02:01,300 --> 00:02:07,260And medical school, I don't know about your experience, but for me was a slog.2800:02:07,260 --> 00:02:11,740I finished, I mean, just like made it, barely made it through all the first year, and then2900:02:11,740 --> 00:02:15,380it was time for second year, and then it was time for third year.3000:02:15,380 --> 00:02:18,940And then, oh, fourth year was here and everything was over.3100:02:18,940 --> 00:02:22,880And it just felt like every time you were learning something new and every time with3200:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,660an overwhelming amount of knowledge, that you were just following the curriculum.3300:02:27,660 --> 00:02:29,860I was just going through the motions.3400:02:29,860 --> 00:02:37,400And as long as I was studying hard and passing my tests, I was going to make it through.3500:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,780And then I got to residency and intern year was a fair.3600:02:40,780 --> 00:02:44,340And it was just so intense and there was so much learning.3700:02:44,340 --> 00:02:46,620And it literally took up most of my life.3800:02:46,620 --> 00:02:49,820And then there was second year and then there was all this learning about how to be a senior3900:02:49,820 --> 00:02:52,720resident and then there was third year.4000:02:52,720 --> 00:02:53,720And then it was over.4100:02:53,720 --> 00:02:59,140Anyway, so there's a pattern being established here.4200:02:59,140 --> 00:03:04,140There's a pattern of, wow, so busy, I can barely look around and breathe.4300:03:04,140 --> 00:03:05,620But there's this curriculum.4400:03:05,620 --> 00:03:09,220And as long as I'm following the path and doing all the things and taking the test,4500:03:09,220 --> 00:03:10,760I'm making it through.4600:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,900So unthinkingly, I'm just working hard.4700:03:14,900 --> 00:03:16,500I'm making it through.4800:03:16,500 --> 00:03:19,580And then of course, there was fellowship and there was more of the same.4900:03:19,580 --> 00:03:26,580But then when I got to my faculty career, all of a sudden, there's all this responsibility.5000:03:26,580 --> 00:03:28,420There's all this stuff to do.5100:03:28,420 --> 00:03:32,540But now the end of the road is not so clear.5200:03:32,540 --> 00:03:34,260It's like, so what are we heading for?5300:03:34,260 --> 00:03:35,500Where are we going?5400:03:35,500 --> 00:03:38,080At the end of this, what is the big prize?5500:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,080Is there a certificate?5600:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,820Is there an award?5700:03:43,820 --> 00:03:45,260No.5800:03:45,260 --> 00:03:46,460Is there more money?5900:03:46,460 --> 00:03:50,740And sometimes the answer to that too is no.6000:03:50,740 --> 00:03:53,780And so it feels nebulous.6100:03:53,780 --> 00:03:59,340And so when a faculty member sat down with me and went through all the things it takes6200:03:59,340 --> 00:04:04,200to succeed as a faculty member, I have to tell you that I didn't have any frame to hang6300:04:04,200 --> 00:04:05,200it in.6400:04:05,200 --> 00:04:06,200You know, you just get information.6500:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,200You're like, oh, there's nowhere to put that, throwing that away.6600:04:09,200 --> 00:04:15,660Because when you think about the way we remember things, the way memory works is you take something6700:04:15,660 --> 00:04:19,660new and you attach it to something that's a little bit similar.6800:04:19,660 --> 00:04:23,220And there you are able to kind of solidify that memory.6900:04:23,220 --> 00:04:24,680There's a more technical way to say that.7000:04:24,680 --> 00:04:25,680But you know what I mean.7100:04:25,680 --> 00:04:30,680It's just that one thing connects to another and then you're able to make sense of it.7200:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,940And so if there's no clear connection, it's hard to make sense of it.7300:04:34,940 --> 00:04:37,940And so I feel like all the advice I got, that's exactly what happened.7400:04:37,940 --> 00:04:39,600I was like, oh, there's no way to put this.7500:04:39,600 --> 00:04:40,860Thank you and no thank you.7600:04:40,860 --> 00:04:43,300Fortunately, I wrote a lot of it down.7700:04:43,300 --> 00:04:48,500And so over the years, I've been able to go back and say, oh, that's what this person7800:04:48,500 --> 00:04:49,500was saying.7900:04:49,500 --> 00:04:53,940Oh, this is what it means to succeed as a faculty member.8000:04:53,940 --> 00:04:58,100And I'll give you the Cliff Notes version first, and then I'll explain it in different8100:04:58,100 --> 00:04:59,160terms.8200:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,940Because I think there's a difference between all the steps and the motions you need to8300:05:02,940 --> 00:05:10,660go through and the responsibility that you take, the ownership you take for your career.8400:05:10,660 --> 00:05:16,020And that's why the title of this podcast episode is How to Take Ownership of Your Career.8500:05:16,020 --> 00:05:20,380Because you can go through motions as we did in medical school and residency and probably8600:05:20,380 --> 00:05:22,740for some of you fellowship.8700:05:22,740 --> 00:05:26,820But going through motions does not equal success.8800:05:26,820 --> 00:05:32,600It equals success in training, but it does not equal success as a faculty member.8900:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,580Because to be a successful faculty member, you've got to define a direction for your9000:05:37,580 --> 00:05:40,580career and then lead that direction.9100:05:40,580 --> 00:05:43,360It's very different from all of the training.9200:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,660And so when you first get started in your faculty career, it just doesn't feel like9300:05:46,660 --> 00:05:50,060anything you've ever done before because it's not.9400:05:50,060 --> 00:05:53,980And there's still a feeling of deficit because you're like, well, here I am trying to succeed9500:05:53,980 --> 00:05:57,460as an academic and I don't even really know how.9600:05:57,460 --> 00:06:00,060And oh, I'm looking around and is there a mentor who can guide me through?9700:06:00,060 --> 00:06:04,220And if there's none, or if we perceive there to be none, then we feel lost.9800:06:04,220 --> 00:06:06,860We feel like, well, I guess we just keep going through the motions.9900:06:06,860 --> 00:06:10,480And unfortunately, going through the motions of your faculty career usually doesn't get10000:06:10,480 --> 00:06:11,740you to where you want to be.10100:06:11,740 --> 00:06:16,040And that's why I want to talk about taking ownership of your career.10200:06:16,040 --> 00:06:23,020And today I think I have five things to talk about as far as taking ownership of your career.10300:06:23,020 --> 00:06:30,380And the very, very first one, and I think is the most important one, is to first of10400:06:30,380 --> 00:06:33,380all take responsibility.10500:06:33,380 --> 00:06:35,180Yes.10600:06:35,180 --> 00:06:42,720Number one way to advance your career is to take responsibility.10700:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,500That means you say, I am in charge.10800:06:45,500 --> 00:06:49,020You raise your hand and you say, it's me.10900:06:49,020 --> 00:06:53,200I am the one responsible for my career advancement.11000:06:53,200 --> 00:06:57,700I would like to invite you, if you're willing, to just pause what you're doing right now11100:06:57,700 --> 00:06:59,580and raise your right hand.11200:06:59,580 --> 00:07:02,020If you're left handed, please let it be your left hand.11300:07:02,020 --> 00:07:04,060And in fact, it doesn't matter which hand you choose.11400:07:04,060 --> 00:07:06,060Just raise a hand, please.11500:07:06,060 --> 00:07:13,100And say after me, I am responsible for my career advancement.11600:07:13,100 --> 00:07:15,220I'd like to invite you to say it one more time.11700:07:15,220 --> 00:07:19,620I am responsible for my career advancement.11800:07:19,620 --> 00:07:20,620Okay.11900:07:20,620 --> 00:07:26,020The reason I wanted you to say it with me is because it's true.12000:07:26,020 --> 00:07:31,460And it's because sometimes you have to hear yourself say it to agree that it's true or12100:07:31,460 --> 00:07:34,940to decide whether you believe it or not.12200:07:34,940 --> 00:07:39,900And the reality of the statement you just made alongside me or you just repeated after12300:07:39,900 --> 00:07:43,180me is that it's always been true.12400:07:43,180 --> 00:07:45,860It's always been true.12500:07:45,860 --> 00:07:50,400Who applied for you to get into medical school?12600:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,140Who took the MCAT for you?12700:07:53,140 --> 00:07:57,220Who went to all those interviews for you?12800:07:57,220 --> 00:07:59,580Who applied to residency?12900:07:59,580 --> 00:08:02,260Who went through all the residency interviews?13000:08:02,260 --> 00:08:05,500Who went through intern year and survived?13100:08:05,500 --> 00:08:07,620Who did residence?13200:08:07,620 --> 00:08:09,740Who did their resident year?13300:08:09,740 --> 00:08:13,220For us it was a junior assistant resident year and then it was a senior assistant resident13400:08:13,220 --> 00:08:14,220year.13500:08:14,220 --> 00:08:15,540It was a three-year program.13600:08:15,540 --> 00:08:17,620For some of you, maybe it was four or five.13700:08:17,620 --> 00:08:18,620Who did that for you?13800:08:18,620 --> 00:08:19,620You did that yourself.13900:08:19,620 --> 00:08:21,100And yes, there was a curriculum.14000:08:21,100 --> 00:08:24,540And yes, there was a group of things you were going through, but you took ownership and14100:08:24,540 --> 00:08:25,540you did it.14200:08:25,540 --> 00:08:26,540You applied.14300:08:26,540 --> 00:08:28,040You went for interviews.14400:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,580You said all the right things.14500:08:29,580 --> 00:08:32,940You researched all you were supposed to say and do.14600:08:32,940 --> 00:08:39,420You have been in charge of your own career advancement from the very beginning.14700:08:39,420 --> 00:08:47,260And so why do you get to your faculty career and suddenly hand that over to someone else?14800:08:47,260 --> 00:08:50,060There's the sense that there's somebody else who knows better.14900:08:50,060 --> 00:08:52,460There's somebody else who can tell me where to go.15000:08:52,460 --> 00:08:54,340There's somebody else who's done it before.15100:08:54,340 --> 00:08:55,940Therefore, they're responsible.15200:08:55,940 --> 00:08:59,660But at the end of the day, it's really you.15300:08:59,660 --> 00:09:03,920The reason it has to be you, the reason nobody can do it for you is because your life is15400:09:03,920 --> 00:09:05,600so amazingly unique.15500:09:05,600 --> 00:09:10,620It is so incredibly yours, so uniquely yours.15600:09:10,620 --> 00:09:12,980Nobody has lived your life before.15700:09:12,980 --> 00:09:15,420Nobody came from the same place that you came from.15800:09:15,420 --> 00:09:18,660No one's passed through the same kind of challenges you've come through.15900:09:18,660 --> 00:09:22,140No one has the same career as you.16000:09:22,140 --> 00:09:28,340And yes, there's a general framework for how academic faculty careers can work.16100:09:28,340 --> 00:09:34,420There's a general framework of what things are considered academic currency, so to speak,16200:09:34,420 --> 00:09:36,100signing papers and submitting grants.16300:09:36,100 --> 00:09:43,260Yes, there is that overarching window or overarching banner of what a faculty career should look16400:09:43,260 --> 00:09:44,340like.16500:09:44,340 --> 00:09:50,000But the individual issues, the specifics are really yours.16600:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,660And so nobody can take ownership of it like you can.16700:09:53,660 --> 00:09:56,460So don't abdicate responsibility.16800:09:56,460 --> 00:10:00,620Take ownership and say, hey, I'm the one who's responsible for this career advancing.16900:10:00,620 --> 00:10:03,980And no, it doesn't mean you disregard your mentors.17000:10:03,980 --> 00:10:06,140It doesn't mean you stop looking for them.17100:10:06,140 --> 00:10:10,060It doesn't mean you don't go get what you need.17200:10:10,060 --> 00:10:12,980It doesn't mean you don't take advice from people.17300:10:12,980 --> 00:10:17,300But it does mean you're not just accepting whatever you're told.17400:10:17,300 --> 00:10:20,660You're synthesizing it in light of your career.17500:10:20,660 --> 00:10:25,660And you're saying, okay, I get that these are all the metrics.17600:10:25,660 --> 00:10:29,380How can I make it work in a way that's uniquely mine?17700:10:29,380 --> 00:10:33,540Because sometimes what happens to us is that people say these are the metrics to succeed.17800:10:33,540 --> 00:10:34,540Okay.17900:10:34,540 --> 00:10:38,900And then they say, well, if you take this project and do this and apply for this grant18000:10:38,900 --> 00:10:41,860funding and do this, you will succeed.18100:10:41,860 --> 00:10:43,140And they're not wrong.18200:10:43,140 --> 00:10:50,460If you follow verbatim everything your amazing mentor outlines for you to do exactly to a18300:10:50,460 --> 00:10:57,620T, you probably will succeed because they're probably outlining for you the way they succeeded.18400:10:57,620 --> 00:11:01,820And at the end of the day, succeeding in academic medicine really is about following a set of18500:11:01,820 --> 00:11:03,700principles.18600:11:03,700 --> 00:11:07,740But the set of principles could be skinned in different ways.18700:11:07,740 --> 00:11:10,420And one person did it one way and another person did it the other way.18800:11:10,420 --> 00:11:12,860And everybody swears by their method.18900:11:12,860 --> 00:11:15,620The question is what works for you?19000:11:15,620 --> 00:11:20,680I think about the fact that mentors can advise you whether or not they're in the same life19100:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,660situation as you.19200:11:22,660 --> 00:11:26,300But the specifics of how it works out is yours.19300:11:26,300 --> 00:11:30,660For example, one of my mentors doesn't have young children.19400:11:30,660 --> 00:11:34,220Like, now that my children are older, I get it.19500:11:34,220 --> 00:11:39,180There's an amnesia that happens once you pass the stage where your children are toddlers19600:11:39,180 --> 00:11:43,500or even in the stage where they're not even sleep trained yet.19700:11:43,500 --> 00:11:45,020There's an amnesia that happens.19800:11:45,020 --> 00:11:46,760You totally forget that stage.19900:11:46,760 --> 00:11:50,340You forget that your mind was fuzzy and cloudy all the time.20000:11:50,340 --> 00:11:53,060You forget that you barely knew left from right.20100:11:53,060 --> 00:11:54,660You forget that you were tired.20200:11:54,660 --> 00:11:55,860You just forget all of that.20300:11:55,860 --> 00:11:57,060I've forgotten.20400:11:57,060 --> 00:11:59,340Intentionally so.20500:11:59,340 --> 00:12:03,340But the reality is if you're in the middle of it, it is your reality.20600:12:03,340 --> 00:12:04,540You are living it.20700:12:04,540 --> 00:12:09,340And so when someone tells you that this is the way I worked it out and I did this and20800:12:09,340 --> 00:12:15,060I did that and then I didn't sleep for three weeks in a row and then I did this, it's great.20900:12:15,060 --> 00:12:19,660What I want you to take from that is the principle that's underlying it.21000:12:19,660 --> 00:12:25,160The fact that when you are committed to something, you do what it takes to succeed.21100:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,180I get that.21200:12:27,180 --> 00:12:31,360And then the question is how does it fit in the life that you're living right now?21300:12:31,360 --> 00:12:35,740Do you have the resources to do that kind of thing, to make that kind of commitment21400:12:35,740 --> 00:12:40,660today or do you need to take it a little bit easier right now because the season of life21500:12:40,660 --> 00:12:43,940you're in doesn't let you do that?21600:12:43,940 --> 00:12:48,620That's something that only you can decide because I don't know about you, but in my21700:12:48,620 --> 00:12:50,820mentoring conversations, we are not talking about my kids.21800:12:50,820 --> 00:12:53,060We are not talking about how much they sleep.21900:12:53,060 --> 00:12:54,980We're not talking about what stage of life they are.22000:12:54,980 --> 00:12:59,660For the most part, they're kind of just not part of the conversation.22100:12:59,660 --> 00:13:01,160And maybe it's not your kids.22200:13:01,160 --> 00:13:07,780Maybe it's a significant other and a big relationship problem that you are experiencing.22300:13:07,780 --> 00:13:12,500That's not at the table, but that's really taking up a lot of space and energy in your22400:13:12,500 --> 00:13:13,500life.22500:13:13,500 --> 00:13:15,460And they're all important.22600:13:15,460 --> 00:13:17,100All of it is important.22700:13:17,100 --> 00:13:22,300The one person who has the vantage point and can actually synthesize all of it is you.22800:13:22,300 --> 00:13:27,760And therefore, I tell you and you know that the one person who needs to take ownership22900:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,380for the career is you.23000:13:30,380 --> 00:13:33,340And I invite you to step up and take ownership.23100:13:33,340 --> 00:13:37,020Again, it doesn't mean that you disdain the advice that you get.23200:13:37,020 --> 00:13:42,580All the advice is important and asking for help is still important, but recognizing that23300:13:42,580 --> 00:13:47,260really you're making the final decisions and that it's okay to live a career where you're23400:13:47,260 --> 00:13:52,060not trying to make everybody else happy because making everybody else happy usually is not23500:13:52,060 --> 00:13:55,220honoring yourself, not honoring your needs.23600:13:55,220 --> 00:13:58,940It's not recognizing your needs and tailoring life to your needs.23700:13:58,940 --> 00:14:06,540So, number one, and I spent a long time on that one, was take responsibility.23800:14:06,540 --> 00:14:09,340The second thing is to look for your blind side.23900:14:09,340 --> 00:14:10,620You got to look for your blind side.24000:14:10,620 --> 00:14:12,180What does that mean?24100:14:12,180 --> 00:14:15,060You know when you are driving a car, there's a blind spot.24200:14:15,060 --> 00:14:16,060It's a blind spot.24300:14:16,060 --> 00:14:17,060Not your blind spot.24400:14:17,060 --> 00:14:18,060It's your blind spot.24500:14:18,060 --> 00:14:28,860And you can't tell what's in that blind spot unless you angle your head to look around.24600:14:28,860 --> 00:14:31,180The mirror is great.24700:14:31,180 --> 00:14:38,820There's a particular part of your car and some cars driving in this zone, you can't24800:14:38,820 --> 00:14:40,500see it.24900:14:40,500 --> 00:14:45,300And so, the blind spots in your career are the things you don't yet know that you don't25000:14:45,300 --> 00:14:46,700know.25100:14:46,700 --> 00:14:51,340The transition from being a trainee to being a faculty member is a huge transition.25200:14:51,340 --> 00:14:53,100It's really like nothing you've ever done before.25300:14:53,100 --> 00:14:55,940And yeah, the clinical stuff, you've got that down.25400:14:55,940 --> 00:15:01,300But all the other stuff, there's just no one's, you haven't done it before.25500:15:01,300 --> 00:15:03,800And it's hard to know what you don't know.25600:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,340Even if you have been so equipped and so prepared and you have mentors who have been telling25700:15:07,340 --> 00:15:10,980you from the beginning, you didn't really have any place to hang it until you actually25800:15:10,980 --> 00:15:14,540started walking the path as a faculty member.25900:15:14,540 --> 00:15:18,780And even then, it just feels like one big ball of fuzz.26000:15:18,780 --> 00:15:24,140It's hard to know exactly what you're supposed to do until you begin to do it.26100:15:24,140 --> 00:15:28,940And so, there's so much that's out of your fear of knowledge.26200:15:28,940 --> 00:15:30,340And so, you have blind spots.26300:15:30,340 --> 00:15:36,580There are things you can't see that you should see because if you collide with them, they26400:15:36,580 --> 00:15:40,820kind of will hurt you.26500:15:40,820 --> 00:15:43,100There are things you don't yet know.26600:15:43,100 --> 00:15:44,620And so, what do you do?26700:15:44,620 --> 00:15:47,500How do you look out for your blind spots?26800:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,300Well, it's helpful if you have a specialized kind of mirror.26900:15:51,300 --> 00:15:54,500Okay, now I'm talking about driving.27000:15:54,500 --> 00:15:59,260But really, it's helpful to have somebody else help you, help you see what those blind27100:15:59,260 --> 00:16:01,000spots could be.27200:16:01,000 --> 00:16:06,240It's helpful for you to have peers that you can ask questions of.27300:16:06,240 --> 00:16:11,220It's useful for you to have mentors that you can ask questions of.27400:16:11,220 --> 00:16:15,060What's important is when you know that there are things you don't know, it changes the27500:16:15,060 --> 00:16:21,140way you behave because it means you go out seeking to find those blind spots, making27600:16:21,140 --> 00:16:25,500sure that they are not hidden from view.27700:16:25,500 --> 00:16:29,900It's just coming into your career, knowing and understanding that there are things you27800:16:29,900 --> 00:16:35,860do not know, and then taking the steps to go figure it out.27900:16:35,860 --> 00:16:40,780But what you want to do is you want to make sure that you are acknowledging the fact that28000:16:40,780 --> 00:16:46,980there are some things you do not yet know, and it's okay.28100:16:46,980 --> 00:16:53,420The next step, once you've figured out your blind spots, not your blind sites, is to pursue28200:16:53,420 --> 00:16:54,420knowledge.28300:16:54,420 --> 00:16:58,580And if you're going to succeed in your faculty career, you're going to want to pursue knowledge28400:16:58,580 --> 00:16:59,580desperately.28500:16:59,580 --> 00:17:04,060Now, you're a physician, so pursuing knowledge is something you've done for years and years28600:17:04,060 --> 00:17:05,900and years of your training.28700:17:05,900 --> 00:17:07,780It's a different kind of training.28800:17:07,780 --> 00:17:10,480It's a different kind of pursuit of knowledge now.28900:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,420Now it's not the pursuit of knowledge of how do I take care of patients?29000:17:13,420 --> 00:17:14,420What's the path of physiology?29100:17:14,420 --> 00:17:19,340But you're going to continue to do that forever and ever as long as you take care of patients.29200:17:19,340 --> 00:17:20,380Amen.29300:17:20,380 --> 00:17:26,300But it's the knowledge of what does it mean to be recognized in your field?29400:17:26,300 --> 00:17:32,140What does it mean to have a program of research that's highly regarded?29500:17:32,140 --> 00:17:35,420What does it mean to be internationally renowned?29600:17:35,420 --> 00:17:38,340What does all that stuff mean anyway?29700:17:38,340 --> 00:17:39,980Pursue knowledge.29800:17:39,980 --> 00:17:43,340And I want to invite you to not just pursue knowledge within your own sphere.29900:17:43,340 --> 00:17:49,380And I think this is a mistake that I made that I do see other people making as well.30000:17:49,380 --> 00:17:53,580This sense that everything begins and ends at their own institutions or within their30100:17:53,580 --> 00:17:56,340own divisions or within their own mentoring networks.30200:17:56,340 --> 00:17:59,340And the reality of this world is that it's huge.30300:17:59,340 --> 00:18:01,060It is so huge.30400:18:01,060 --> 00:18:07,020And sometimes knowledge gained from outside of your sphere, your immediate sphere, feels30500:18:07,020 --> 00:18:11,680more valuable than knowledge gained from your immediate sphere.30600:18:11,680 --> 00:18:12,680Because I don't know what it is.30700:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,740The moment someone comes from outside and tells us the same thing, it's like, oh, yeah,30800:18:16,740 --> 00:18:18,700of course, this is true.30900:18:18,700 --> 00:18:22,140Sometimes it's harder to believe from the people we already know.31000:18:22,140 --> 00:18:23,980And so pursue knowledge.31100:18:23,980 --> 00:18:26,820Pursue knowledge about how to grow as a faculty member.31200:18:26,820 --> 00:18:31,460Pursue knowledge about how to succeed in publications.31300:18:31,460 --> 00:18:35,020Pursue knowledge about how to succeed in grant writing.31400:18:35,020 --> 00:18:39,020How to succeed in getting funded.31500:18:39,020 --> 00:18:40,020It's knowledge.31600:18:40,020 --> 00:18:41,220It can all be learned.31700:18:41,220 --> 00:18:45,940Sometimes I hear people say things like, oh, you know, no one's succeeding anymore and31800:18:45,940 --> 00:18:46,940it's not true.31900:18:46,940 --> 00:18:49,940There are people succeeding all the time.32000:18:49,940 --> 00:18:51,860There are a lot of people talking about not succeeding.32100:18:51,860 --> 00:18:53,860And then there are people who are not talking.32200:18:53,860 --> 00:18:55,520They're just doing it.32300:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,460What you want to do is leave all the people who are talking about it and not doing it32400:18:58,460 --> 00:19:00,780and find the people who are doing it.32500:19:00,780 --> 00:19:05,860And I tell you that the reason you don't see them or hear them is because they're just32600:19:05,860 --> 00:19:07,100too busy doing it.32700:19:07,100 --> 00:19:12,180They're just too busy applying principles and succeeding based on those principles.32800:19:12,180 --> 00:19:16,860I'm not saying that, oh, the economy is not hard or that grant funding is not difficult.32900:19:16,860 --> 00:19:18,460I'm not saying all of that is not true.33000:19:18,460 --> 00:19:22,500I'm just saying that there are people who spend time talking about it all the time and33100:19:22,500 --> 00:19:23,980there are people who don't talk about it.33200:19:23,980 --> 00:19:27,820They just get going and get to like working at it.33300:19:27,820 --> 00:19:35,700And at the end of the day, the principle, the principle of pursuing and persevering33400:19:35,700 --> 00:19:38,860always work.33500:19:38,860 --> 00:19:44,900And so pursue knowledge, pursue knowledge like crazy because the knowledge you get is33600:19:44,900 --> 00:19:49,180a knowledge that transforms your career.33700:19:49,180 --> 00:19:52,700Number four, don't just pursue knowledge.33800:19:52,700 --> 00:19:55,780Oh, my goodness.33900:19:55,780 --> 00:19:57,540We've been pursuing knowledge for years.34000:19:57,540 --> 00:20:01,740Some of us a decade or more, but take action.34100:20:01,740 --> 00:20:07,020You're going to learn things that you have not done before.34200:20:07,020 --> 00:20:10,660And you can stop and say, ah, that doesn't sound like it's ever going to work.34300:20:10,660 --> 00:20:14,760Or you can take action and test for yourself whether it's going to work.34400:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,040You can say, you know what, I submitted one grant four years ago.34500:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,160That thing doesn't work.34600:20:19,160 --> 00:20:25,660Or you can say, how about I do it again and this time use this strategy or this time take34700:20:25,660 --> 00:20:31,620the feedback I was given and do it this way or this time go and establish a feedback loop34800:20:31,620 --> 00:20:34,100and do it that way.34900:20:34,100 --> 00:20:41,340You could just take the knowledge and just be full of knowledge or you could take the35000:20:41,340 --> 00:20:44,340knowledge and take action.35100:20:44,340 --> 00:20:45,940Because I don't know about you.35200:20:45,940 --> 00:20:51,100I had, you know, the experience I had in residency sometimes was, oh, if I could go back and35300:20:51,100 --> 00:20:58,100do med school over, all that information would now stick because now I've been using it.35400:20:58,100 --> 00:21:01,060So now it makes sense to me.35500:21:01,060 --> 00:21:04,100And I feel like I would go back and I would learn it so much better.35600:21:04,100 --> 00:21:06,740And it's the same thing.35700:21:06,740 --> 00:21:12,540Experiential action is so much better than experiential knowledge.35800:21:12,540 --> 00:21:13,540Yes.35900:21:13,540 --> 00:21:20,220Like, knowledge as you work is so much better than knowledge as you, you know, that you36000:21:20,220 --> 00:21:23,900just imbibe and you're not really doing anything with.36100:21:23,900 --> 00:21:26,980And so don't just pursue knowledge.36200:21:26,980 --> 00:21:29,660Don't just get knowledge from everywhere.36300:21:29,660 --> 00:21:32,460But take action.36400:21:32,460 --> 00:21:37,500The last thing I want to say and what number am I at now?36500:21:37,500 --> 00:21:38,620Take responsibility.36600:21:38,620 --> 00:21:39,980Look for your blind spots.36700:21:39,980 --> 00:21:41,180Pursue knowledge.36800:21:41,180 --> 00:21:42,180Take action.36900:21:42,180 --> 00:21:43,180Aha.37000:21:43,180 --> 00:21:45,220Number five, get connected.37100:21:45,220 --> 00:21:46,660Okay.37200:21:46,660 --> 00:21:48,500Someone's got this information.37300:21:48,500 --> 00:21:52,020You could spend a lot of time looking it up or you could connect to the person who already37400:21:52,020 --> 00:21:53,540knows it.37500:21:53,540 --> 00:21:56,140And for many of you, that's your mentor.37600:21:56,140 --> 00:21:57,140Great.37700:21:57,140 --> 00:21:58,340It's a peer mentor.37800:21:58,340 --> 00:21:59,340Awesome.37900:21:59,340 --> 00:22:03,860Or it's somebody who's just, you know, putting out that information like me.38000:22:03,860 --> 00:22:09,700There's a lot of treasure in this podcast platform, if I may say so myself.38100:22:09,700 --> 00:22:11,860But I'm not the only one, right?38200:22:11,860 --> 00:22:16,740I'm not the only one putting out information about how to succeed as a faculty member.38300:22:16,740 --> 00:22:19,740So many other people are doing that.38400:22:19,740 --> 00:22:23,840And so go get the information.38500:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,260Get connected to someone who can show you how to do it.38600:22:26,260 --> 00:22:27,260Don't wait.38700:22:27,260 --> 00:22:28,820Don't wait for the information to come to you.38800:22:28,820 --> 00:22:30,700Don't say, well, my mentor didn't tell me.38900:22:30,700 --> 00:22:33,900Don't say, well, it's not something anybody talks about at my institution.39000:22:33,900 --> 00:22:35,980Don't say nobody will pay for me to do that.39100:22:35,980 --> 00:22:37,460Please do not do that.39200:22:37,460 --> 00:22:38,860This is your career.39300:22:38,860 --> 00:22:41,860Remember at the beginning of this episode, you raised your hand with me and you said,39400:22:41,860 --> 00:22:42,860I take responsibility.39500:22:42,860 --> 00:22:45,420I take responsibility for my career.39600:22:45,420 --> 00:22:46,980Remember that?39700:22:46,980 --> 00:22:48,980Because it's true.39800:22:48,980 --> 00:22:53,580If you don't succeed, your mentor will be sad, or at least a little bit.39900:22:53,580 --> 00:22:54,580And then they'll move on.40000:22:54,580 --> 00:22:57,620They'll keep living their lives because they were before you came along.40100:22:57,620 --> 00:23:02,460But if you don't succeed, you get stuck with the bill, right?40200:23:02,460 --> 00:23:05,980If your career doesn't go the way you want it to, if your career is crazy, if it's not40300:23:05,980 --> 00:23:08,180the career you want, you get stuck.40400:23:08,180 --> 00:23:11,780You get stuck with the bill at the end.40500:23:11,780 --> 00:23:16,300And so I want to encourage you to connect to people who will accelerate you, people40600:23:16,300 --> 00:23:19,540who will advance you, people who will help you be everything you can be.40700:23:19,540 --> 00:23:24,180And I want to invite you, I want to invite you to think today of all the things we talked40800:23:24,180 --> 00:23:25,180about.40900:23:25,180 --> 00:23:26,180So we talked about five things.41000:23:26,180 --> 00:23:28,100We talked about taking responsibility.41100:23:28,100 --> 00:23:32,380Remember we raised our hands together and we said, I take responsibility for my career.41200:23:32,380 --> 00:23:36,060And then number two, we talked about looking for the blind spots, the things you don't41300:23:36,060 --> 00:23:37,300know that you don't know.41400:23:37,300 --> 00:23:41,980We talked about pursuing knowledge inside your institution, outside your institution.41500:23:41,980 --> 00:23:45,300We talked about the importance of not just having the knowledge, but actually taking41600:23:45,300 --> 00:23:46,300the action.41700:23:46,300 --> 00:23:49,380And then we talked about the importance of getting connected.41800:23:49,380 --> 00:23:57,620I invite you to just take one of those things and use it.41900:23:57,620 --> 00:24:02,300I invite you to just take one of those things and just do it this week.42000:24:02,300 --> 00:24:06,180Take responsibility, maybe take action, maybe pursue knowledge.42100:24:06,180 --> 00:24:07,820Just one thing, just one thing this week.42200:24:07,820 --> 00:24:08,820Don't do too much.42300:24:08,820 --> 00:24:10,340One thing.42400:24:10,340 --> 00:24:12,220And then I want you to come tell me about it.42500:24:12,220 --> 00:24:15,700Come tell me about what you did and how it helped you advance your career.42600:24:15,700 --> 00:24:20,180Or even if it hasn't yet advanced your career, it hasn't obviously advanced your career,42700:24:20,180 --> 00:24:24,860tell me about how it helped you feel confident, feel more confident that you were heading42800:24:24,860 --> 00:24:26,820in the right direction.42900:24:26,820 --> 00:24:31,740Because the moment you decide that you're in charge of this career, you show up differently.43000:24:31,740 --> 00:24:32,740Yeah.43100:24:32,740 --> 00:24:35,260All right.43200:24:35,260 --> 00:24:38,940I want to thank you for taking the time to listen today.43300:24:38,940 --> 00:24:45,860I look forward to the next time that we can talk about how you can advance your own career43400:24:45,860 --> 00:24:48,860and maybe advance the career of other people around you as well.43500:24:48,860 --> 00:24:49,860All right.43600:24:49,860 --> 00:24:50,860Thanks for listening.43700:24:50,860 --> 00:25:00,860I look forward to talking with you again the next time.43800:25:00,860 --> 00:25:06,220Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic43900:25:06,220 --> 00:25:11,660clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they44000:25:11,660 --> 00:25:13,020have a mentor.44100:25:13,020 --> 00:25:18,980If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.44200:25:18,980 --> 00:25:20,860Someone else needs to hear it.44300:25:20,860 --> 00:25:24,900So take a minute right now and share it.44400:25:24,900 --> 00:25:30,380As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation44500:25:30,380 --> 00:25:36,340of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.