Is it time to stop being a team player?

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 --> 00:01:01,240Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.1200:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,840Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.1300:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,160I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is an absolute pleasure to be talking with you.1400:01:08,160 --> 00:01:09,760Thank you for listening.1500:01:09,760 --> 00:01:14,920I'm talking today about whether it is time to stop being a team player, and I recognize1600:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,960that the title of this podcast episode seems a little controversial.1700:01:18,960 --> 00:01:19,960What do you mean?1800:01:19,960 --> 00:01:22,840I should stop being a team player.1900:01:22,840 --> 00:01:28,600I'd like to point out that the title of the podcast episode is, is it time to stop being2000:01:28,600 --> 00:01:29,600a team player?2100:01:29,600 --> 00:01:30,600That's a question.2200:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,040It's a question you got to answer.2300:01:32,040 --> 00:01:37,000I did toy with calling it, you should stop being a team player, but you know, that is2400:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,600more controversial than the question.2500:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,840So I like the question because it's, you know, it's tentative.2600:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,000You get to decide.2700:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,360Perhaps the answer at the end of the podcast episode is, oh, definitely no, or maybe it's2800:01:46,360 --> 00:01:47,360yes.2900:01:47,360 --> 00:01:48,360Let's see.3000:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,880Anyway, but the reason I want to bring this up is because it came up yesterday and it3100:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,000came up in the context of a conversation I was having with an external invited speaker3200:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,800who I was taking to the airport because it made sense for me to take her to the airport.3300:02:01,800 --> 00:02:06,400I was going to be able to connect with her and I didn't live too far from the airport.3400:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,960So anyway, so we're conversing and the conversation turns to call.3500:02:10,960 --> 00:02:16,500So she has a specific, you know, makeup of her clinical work and she doesn't participate3600:02:16,500 --> 00:02:22,080in a certain call and so I asked, oh, you have this number of providers in this area.3700:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,120How do you manage call?3800:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,960It's always a question that's interesting to me because what I find is as a hematologist,3900:02:27,960 --> 00:02:29,840they're not many hematologists.4000:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,360And so let's say there are three or four at one institution.4100:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,880It's like, wow, do you guys split, you know, the call three ways for the entire year?4200:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,180I'm always curious to know how people do it.4300:02:39,180 --> 00:02:43,960So what she said, she was like, well, I don't participate in that call because I have my4400:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,800own call schedule that nobody else covers for me.4500:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,920And she's like, but of course I'm a team player.4600:02:51,920 --> 00:02:58,960And that is the exact phrase that leads me to this podcast episode because I only hear4700:02:58,960 --> 00:03:04,280that team player term in the context of taking on more work.4800:03:04,280 --> 00:03:09,960And so here I am ready to talk about this episode and why I think it applies to clinicians4900:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,120who are working to lead research programs.5000:03:14,120 --> 00:03:15,760What does it mean to be a team player?5100:03:15,760 --> 00:03:20,920Well, I will tell you that I was a kid who did sports in elementary school.5200:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,560So I understand playing on a team.5300:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,400I also now as a parent take my kids to play games.5400:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,640I get being on the team.5500:03:29,640 --> 00:03:34,440And so I'd like to just lay out for you what I see as being on a team and being a team5600:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,840player in the context of sports.5700:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,780And then I want to bring it back to academic medicine and try to correlate it because I5800:03:41,780 --> 00:03:46,240think there's a challenge in the way we're defining the game in academic medicine and5900:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,760a way in which we're defining the team.6000:03:48,760 --> 00:03:54,320And I'd like to just offer some suggestions as to whether it truly is a team sport and6100:03:54,320 --> 00:04:00,120to clarify your role as a player on this team and whether playing on the team is right for6200:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,600you in the context of your academic career or not.6300:04:03,600 --> 00:04:04,600OK.6400:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,920So let's take the game of basketball because now I am learning a lot about basketball because6500:04:09,920 --> 00:04:11,640my son plays basketball.6600:04:11,640 --> 00:04:12,640OK.6700:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,920There are, to my understanding, five players on each team.6800:04:16,920 --> 00:04:23,840And the five players on one team know that the goal is to get the ball in the hoop as6900:04:23,840 --> 00:04:29,640many times as possible over the course of the game so that at the end of the game there7000:04:29,640 --> 00:04:35,440are more hoops or more points to your team compared to the other team.7100:04:35,440 --> 00:04:37,560And that is how a win is defined.7200:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,920And in the context of playing the game, there are things called fouls.7300:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,200There are things you're not allowed to do.7400:04:43,200 --> 00:04:49,200And clearly the real goal ultimately is to score the basket.7500:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,640And when you score a basket, you score as many as possible.7600:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,340You prevent the other team from scoring a basket and you win.7700:04:56,340 --> 00:05:01,120And if you win enough games over the course of a season, you end up with a championship7800:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,400ring and a trophy.7900:05:03,400 --> 00:05:04,400OK.8000:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,200That's the game of basketball.8100:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,640If I've gotten it wrong, feel free to send me a DM and school me.8200:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,240I would appreciate it.8300:05:11,240 --> 00:05:12,400OK.8400:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,080Let's now come to academia.8500:05:14,080 --> 00:05:15,080Hmm.8600:05:15,080 --> 00:05:19,360Well, in academia, what is the game?8700:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,160What is the game?8800:05:21,160 --> 00:05:27,000To my understanding, the game of academia is about excelling in scholarship.8900:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,560The reason you excel in scholarship is because when you excel in scholarship, it brings you9000:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,280reputation.9100:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,040You are known as a scholar in X field.9200:05:37,040 --> 00:05:42,480Your growing reputation grows the reputation of your institution.9300:05:42,480 --> 00:05:48,080And so the more you're growing your scholarship and all of you on the team, the more you're9400:05:48,080 --> 00:05:53,000all doing it, all the faculty are growing scholarship, it increases the reputation of9500:05:53,000 --> 00:05:59,920the faculty on the scholarship and the institution increases its reputation, thus also continuing9600:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,560to increase the reputation of faculty.9700:06:03,560 --> 00:06:04,880That's my understanding.9800:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,440And if I'm wrong, this is also an opportunity to school me.9900:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,960Now here's the challenge in academic medicine, especially for us clinicians.10000:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,840It sounds like scholarship is not the only thing that we do.10100:06:14,840 --> 00:06:15,840OK.10200:06:15,840 --> 00:06:17,160As clinicians, we take care of patients.10300:06:17,160 --> 00:06:22,600And if we define the game of taking care of patients, our goal is to take care of patients10400:06:22,600 --> 00:06:27,760safely and to help them be as healthy as possible.10500:06:27,760 --> 00:06:34,000If you work in the ICU, it feels as if your game is to not let patients die, maybe.10600:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,240But anyway, our goal is patient care, right?10700:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,160The overall health and well-being of the patient.10800:06:40,160 --> 00:06:41,160OK.10900:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,400So that's the part that is patient care.11000:06:44,400 --> 00:06:50,360And then administration, the goal of an administrator is to make sure things run smoothly, is to11100:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,360set the direction of the organization.11200:06:53,360 --> 00:06:58,840And OK, I forgot about another mission, the mission of education, which is different from11300:06:58,840 --> 00:07:03,840the mission of scholarship, because scholarship is about research and it's about moving forward11400:07:03,840 --> 00:07:06,000knowledge.11500:07:06,000 --> 00:07:07,760So then there's the part of education.11600:07:07,760 --> 00:07:13,680And the goal of education is to educate the mind, the mind of usually students in the11700:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,200institution who bring in money to the institution through their tuition that they pay.11800:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,360And that is the goal of education.11900:07:20,360 --> 00:07:27,800So for us, clinical faculty or academic clinical faculty, there's a little bit of confusion12000:07:27,800 --> 00:07:29,760because scholarship is part of our role.12100:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,640Though for many of us, we really have more of a clinical role than we have a scholarship12200:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,120role, yet we're still required.12300:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,400We're still held to a scholarship standard.12400:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,040However small that may be, there's still a scholarship standard.12500:07:42,040 --> 00:07:46,240And then there's also a need for teaching.12600:07:46,240 --> 00:07:51,840And so teaching, clinical care, and scholarship sometimes clash with each other.12700:07:51,840 --> 00:07:57,960We try to do our clinical care in the context of education, but sometimes educating limits12800:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,000our ability to do the clinical work well.12900:08:01,000 --> 00:08:07,480But we recognize that the benefits of educating the next generation far outweigh the drag13000:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,000that it brings to our clinical work.13100:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,240Because if you were running by yourself, it would be so much faster.13200:08:13,240 --> 00:08:18,480But if you're running with a trainee, it will be much more fun, though slow.13300:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,880So we're able to integrate the concept of education within clinical care.13400:08:22,880 --> 00:08:29,400Okay, when it comes to clinical care though, and scholarship, how we can overlap them,13500:08:29,400 --> 00:08:34,000they don't always overlap, but how we can overlap them is to make the scholarship relevant13600:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,080to the clinical care.13700:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,240But in executing the scholarship, they really don't go well together.13800:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,840So for example, you're in clinic, it makes it hard to write the paper.13900:08:43,840 --> 00:08:45,800It makes it hard to write the grant.14000:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,640You have to finish with the clinic, dispense with the activities of the clinic before you14100:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,920can go do all the other scholarship work.14200:08:52,920 --> 00:08:57,720But advancing scholarship is the goal of any academic institution.14300:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,800And any academic institution that abandons its scholarly work to focus solely on all14400:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,880its other work is no longer really an academic institution.14500:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,400It's an institution, it's a hospital probably, but not an academic institution.14600:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,920Okay, so now that's part of the challenge.14700:09:13,920 --> 00:09:20,320As academic physicians, academic clinicians, we've got a lot of roles, and sometimes they14800:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,480don't overlap.14900:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,360Sometimes your ability to provide what people say is excellent patient care, which usually15000:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,040is seeing as many patients as possible, and that may or may not be excellent.15100:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,440We can talk about that another day.15200:09:33,440 --> 00:09:38,880Just being able to do that does not allow you to move the scholarship forward.15300:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,320And so then the question is, which do you choose?15400:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,180And that's a challenging question, but we're not really here to talk about how you prioritize15500:09:48,180 --> 00:09:49,440one over the other.15600:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,020But I do think that our institutions do that for us, right?15700:09:53,020 --> 00:09:58,560When we are coming into a faculty position, we're agreeing, I mean, 50% clinical and 50%15800:09:58,560 --> 00:09:59,560research.15900:09:59,560 --> 00:10:05,280So agreeing at the split of our hours is between clinical and research.16000:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,240Now obviously it's more complicated than that.16100:10:07,240 --> 00:10:12,160It's never exact, but you know, on paper, that's what it says.16200:10:12,160 --> 00:10:17,480And so, but whenever there is a need to kind of like overstep the boundary of your scholarship16300:10:17,480 --> 00:10:22,220and pull you in to do more clinical, let's say for example, there are five of you esteemed16400:10:22,220 --> 00:10:28,420hematologists at the institution, and two people quit, all of a sudden there are three.16500:10:28,420 --> 00:10:32,440My understanding is that being a team player means leaving everything else to make up for16600:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,080the load of two more people.16700:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,760And I think the question I would ask is, is that playing the right game?16800:10:39,760 --> 00:10:46,180Is it really being a team player to drop everything and pick up the load of two extra people?16900:10:46,180 --> 00:10:48,320Is that really playing as a team?17000:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,720And that's the context in which I keep hearing the term team player.17100:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,400It's like, hey, leave all your work so that you can help the team.17200:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,600But I think it's important to define the goal of the team.17300:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,120I think it's also important to define who is included on the team.17400:11:03,120 --> 00:11:10,000Now when a championship team wins a championship, everybody celebrates the trophy together because17500:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,120the trophy belongs to the team.17600:11:12,120 --> 00:11:17,080Now if you leave the team, you don't get to take the trophy because the trophy belongs17700:11:17,080 --> 00:11:18,620to the team.17800:11:18,620 --> 00:11:22,520But in a championship game, everybody gets a championship ring.17900:11:22,520 --> 00:11:27,600And no matter where you go, the championship ring stays with you.18000:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,760So in the context of playing on a team, it's important to recognize that only the members18100:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,540of the team get to claim the reward of the team.18200:11:36,540 --> 00:11:42,280If for whatever reason you are not a member of the team, when it comes to the time for18300:11:42,280 --> 00:11:44,720the reward, you don't get one.18400:11:44,720 --> 00:11:50,980For example, let's say you've been following this basketball team around for a while and18500:11:50,980 --> 00:11:56,560you didn't know that all along you were actually just the janitor and they were giving you18600:11:56,560 --> 00:12:03,200a suit to wear and you were not allowed to play and nobody told you you were not on the18700:12:03,200 --> 00:12:04,200team.18800:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,360But they were doing some weird shady things that make you think, am I really on this team18900:12:08,360 --> 00:12:09,680or not?19000:12:09,680 --> 00:12:15,040When it came to time to collect the championship ring, it became clear who was on the team19100:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,840and who was not on the team.19200:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,740OK.19300:12:19,740 --> 00:12:23,960And so that's one of the things that comes up, especially for people who are underrepresented19400:12:23,960 --> 00:12:30,600in academia, is a question of who is really on the team and are you counted as an equal19500:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,320and respected member of the team?19600:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,000I think this is something that's important to clarify because it defines your role on19700:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,000the team.19800:12:39,000 --> 00:12:44,480Are you actually there as a true player that is respected for their contributions to making19900:12:44,480 --> 00:12:46,580the team advance?20000:12:46,580 --> 00:12:50,080And so the two components, it's like, what's the game that's being played?20100:12:50,080 --> 00:12:51,720How do we know we win?20200:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,920And who is a true member of the team?20300:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,600So I say all that to set the stage for the points that I'm going to raise.20400:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,080Number one is that the game of academia is confusing.20500:13:02,080 --> 00:13:08,180It's confusing because, you know, in a regular game of basketball, the rule is very clear.20600:13:08,180 --> 00:13:13,000You're trying to get your baskets and then your shots in the basket and you're trying20700:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,680to do it and prevent the other team from doing it so that at the end you have more shots20800:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,400in your basket than the other person.20900:13:20,400 --> 00:13:25,520In academia, the game can be confusing because it's not always clear exactly what that game21000:13:25,520 --> 00:13:26,520is.21100:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,520But I would argue that if we're in academic medicine, if we're in an academic institution,21200:13:30,520 --> 00:13:36,840then scholarship is the win because scholarship is what makes the academic institution academic.21300:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,480And everything else really rests on the foundation of scholarship.21400:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,880And I get that patient care is the foundation of our institutions because we must care for21500:13:44,880 --> 00:13:49,520the person, but we care for the person in the context of scholarship and we don't get21600:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,400to really advance patient care until we can advance scholarship.21700:13:53,400 --> 00:13:58,760So really, scholarship and patient care are integral and one should not have to suffer21800:13:58,760 --> 00:14:00,160at the expense of the other.21900:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,920And I believe it's possible that both can move forward together.22000:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,400But academia can be confusing because sometimes what I see people saying is that, no, no,22100:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,960no, clinical care matters more than scholarship.22200:14:10,960 --> 00:14:17,320And I think the reality is that scholarship and clinical care must move forward and sometimes22300:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,120scholarship is critical to advance clinical care.22400:14:21,120 --> 00:14:25,800And so the game of academia is confusing and that's why it's important to clarify, hey,22500:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,960if we're talking about being a team player, let's clarify the game we're playing and22600:14:29,960 --> 00:14:31,880what the rules of the game are.22700:14:31,880 --> 00:14:32,920Okay.22800:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,880Number two is that academia is about excelling in scholarship, right?22900:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,720I'm here to excel in scholarship.23000:14:39,720 --> 00:14:45,600If I was here only to excel in clinical care, I wouldn't be here because I'm at an academic23100:14:45,600 --> 00:14:50,620institution because there's an academic focus to my clinical care.23200:14:50,620 --> 00:14:55,880So I would like to argue that academia is about excelling in scholarship within the23300:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,440context of patient care and within the context of learner education.23400:15:00,440 --> 00:15:01,440Okay.23500:15:01,440 --> 00:15:11,200Number three is that taking on more academic work can hurt your scholarship.23600:15:11,200 --> 00:15:16,840Because in order for you to do scholarship within the context of an academic institution,23700:15:16,840 --> 00:15:21,240you do need to have space created for the scholarship.23800:15:21,240 --> 00:15:28,340And whenever, number one, you're not given space to do the scholarship or your time for23900:15:28,340 --> 00:15:36,200scholarship is taken away in favor of another task, no matter what the task is, then it24000:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,600hurts your scholarship.24100:15:39,600 --> 00:15:47,040If I take on more non-academic work, it hurts my scholarship and therefore in the grand24200:15:47,040 --> 00:15:51,920scheme of things, it hurts the team and we don't win in the way we're supposed to win24300:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,400in scholarship.24400:15:53,400 --> 00:15:54,400Okay.24500:15:54,400 --> 00:16:00,760Number four is that when people ask you to be a team player, they're not saying, hey,24600:16:00,760 --> 00:16:01,760you should be a team player.24700:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,400You need to continue to advance scholarship.24800:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,800They're saying, hey, you need to be a team player.24900:16:06,800 --> 00:16:11,300You should do less scholarship so that you can take on these non-scholarship tasks because25000:16:11,300 --> 00:16:13,840these non-scholarship tasks make you a team player.25100:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,120But do they really?25200:16:16,120 --> 00:16:21,080If we are down two physicians in a practice that needs five physicians, then it means25300:16:21,080 --> 00:16:25,660we don't have capacity as a team to take care of the patients we have and then we have to25400:16:25,660 --> 00:16:26,880decrease our capacity.25500:16:26,880 --> 00:16:27,880Right?25600:16:27,880 --> 00:16:33,360So if we are working in a factory and one of the machines breaks down, then it means,25700:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,120okay, well, we're not able to fulfill our quota today.25800:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,120But if we say, well, the machine is down, therefore I'm going to try to work like a25900:16:41,120 --> 00:16:46,960machine, I might break in the process and that's a problem as well.26000:16:46,960 --> 00:16:53,560Now, as institutions, we are responsible for making sure that the people who are working26100:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,840with us do not break in the process.26200:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,040Let's go back to the sports analogy.26300:16:58,040 --> 00:17:05,220A player is playing and gets hit on the head, has a concussion, the game stops.26400:17:05,220 --> 00:17:09,720The game stops long enough for the player to be carried out, usually on a stretcher,26500:17:09,720 --> 00:17:16,960to be attended to because a hurt player in the game is no benefit to himself or herself26600:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,960and is not a benefit to the team.26700:17:19,960 --> 00:17:25,720Why is it in academic medicine that we allow people who are hurt to continue to play, they're26800:17:25,720 --> 00:17:31,680getting more hurt while the game is going on and the institution of the team is suffering?26900:17:31,680 --> 00:17:33,700That's not being a team player.27000:17:33,700 --> 00:17:39,200So somebody is saying, hey, I'm not going to give you any extra support or any extra27100:17:39,200 --> 00:17:45,080effort or any extra time for taking on additional work, which I know is actually stressful to27200:17:45,080 --> 00:17:54,120you and your life outside of academia, then they're not really playing a game that is27300:17:54,120 --> 00:17:59,720a good game and that game doesn't lead anybody to win.27400:17:59,720 --> 00:18:07,160Playing with a team full of players who are hurt does not lead the team to a win.27500:18:07,160 --> 00:18:13,360Playing with players who are overstretched beyond their capacity does not lead to a win27600:18:13,360 --> 00:18:17,420for anybody.27700:18:17,420 --> 00:18:23,280So this concept of asking people to become team players by taking on more tasks that27800:18:23,280 --> 00:18:30,920do not enhance their scholarship or the scholarship of the institution is suspect.27900:18:30,920 --> 00:18:36,680Point number five is that when women and people who are underrepresented in medicine are asked28000:18:36,680 --> 00:18:41,760to be team players, they're usually being guilted into taking on projects that may not28100:18:41,760 --> 00:18:43,240advance them.28200:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,240Hey, be a team player.28300:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,440Will you take on this task?28400:18:47,440 --> 00:18:49,320It's a guilt strategy.28500:18:49,320 --> 00:18:50,640I've noticed it.28600:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,620I've noticed it.28700:18:52,620 --> 00:18:54,920It's a guilt strategy.28800:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,640Or I should say it's a strategy of inducing guilt.28900:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,880Oh, be a team player.29000:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,240Take on this project.29100:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,600But that project may not advance you.29200:19:06,600 --> 00:19:10,580And if it doesn't advance the player, that means it doesn't advance the team.29300:19:10,580 --> 00:19:13,400Any strategy that doesn't advance the player doesn't advance the team.29400:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,120OK, let me go back to the basketball analogy.29500:19:17,120 --> 00:19:21,120So this last game I went to play, I went to see my son didn't play in the game the whole29600:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,120time.29700:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,560So he didn't get play time, but that's fine.29800:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,240Play time is not the only time that you get to play.29900:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,520You get to play also when you're practicing.30000:19:31,520 --> 00:19:32,880You get to enhance your skills.30100:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,280Your skills are enhanced the more you play.30200:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,600But I could see that it was a tough game.30300:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,840And I could see that in that game, they only wanted to field their very, very best players.30400:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,520So literally the same five kids played the entire time.30500:19:45,520 --> 00:19:46,520I got it.30600:19:46,520 --> 00:19:47,520It was a really tough game.30700:19:47,520 --> 00:19:48,520I was a little worried.30800:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,720I was like, wow, never seen elementary school.30900:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,480Actually, they were not elementary age.31000:19:52,480 --> 00:19:53,480They're middle school.31100:19:53,480 --> 00:19:54,480They really played.31200:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,960It was one of those really important fights.31300:19:57,960 --> 00:19:59,400Or I should say it was a game.31400:19:59,400 --> 00:20:00,760It was a really important game.31500:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,920But anyway, so he didn't play on the game, but that's fine.31600:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,960As part of the team, we expect that throughout the season, there are games that he's going31700:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,360to be able to play.31800:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,000And there might be games where he may not play as much.31900:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,240But at the end of the day, there is development of the player that comes every time the player32000:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,840is asked to play.32100:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,760If a player is not asked to play throughout the season, then they're not being developed.32200:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,320And that means the team is not being developed.32300:20:27,320 --> 00:20:31,540And if any of those five players have major injury and none of the other players have32400:20:31,540 --> 00:20:36,200been developed, then that means that the team doesn't really get to move forward in the32500:20:36,200 --> 00:20:37,200same way.32600:20:37,200 --> 00:20:44,360So I think I'm saying all of this to say that any game that does not benefit players and32700:20:44,360 --> 00:20:50,320benefit players by helping them advance and grow is not a good game for either the team32800:20:50,320 --> 00:20:55,720or the players, as long as these team members are actually part of the team.32900:20:55,720 --> 00:21:02,800So any game that says some people don't get support to advance doesn't actually advance33000:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,320the whole team.33100:21:04,320 --> 00:21:10,440Any game that says some people are the only ones responsible for X, Y, Z, whatever that33200:21:10,440 --> 00:21:17,800may be, is not really a game that's good for the team or for the player.33300:21:17,800 --> 00:21:24,160So what I want to say with my point number six is that when people ask you to be a team33400:21:24,160 --> 00:21:28,600player, I'd like to ask you to pause.33500:21:28,600 --> 00:21:36,380Ask them to define the game, ask them to define the win, and help clarify that you're actually33600:21:36,380 --> 00:21:38,040a member of the team.33700:21:38,040 --> 00:21:42,200And this is important because I think what we're seeing in academia is that there are33800:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,280a couple of games being played at the same time.33900:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,400It's not all a cohesive game that clearly leads to a win.34000:21:48,400 --> 00:21:49,400And that's okay.34100:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,040You know, you think about a basketball season, there are several games being played all on34200:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,040the way to the championship game.34300:21:55,040 --> 00:21:56,520And so it's fine.34400:21:56,520 --> 00:21:58,120But you want to be clear.34500:21:58,120 --> 00:22:02,920When someone says, hey, be a team player, say, hey, what's this game?34600:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,960And how do we know that we win?34700:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,000And am I a member of the team?34800:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,000Am I?34900:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,320Am I a member of the team such that when the win happens, I am also part of the win?35000:22:13,320 --> 00:22:18,160And this is the point at which I want to stop and recognize this concept of Simone's Maxims.35100:22:18,160 --> 00:22:19,760I don't know if you've heard of them.35200:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,200Dr. Simone is a guy who wrote an article.35300:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,560Actually, he did a lot more than write that article.35400:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,640But that article anyway was introduced to me by a colleague.35500:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,400And he would always bring up the article whenever we got upset with the institution.35600:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,160Like I can't believe this happened to me.35700:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,400It's like the institution doesn't love you back in Simone's Maxims.35800:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,040So I think there are like maybe seven to 10 Maxims.35900:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,720And it just reminds you of how you and the institution are different.36000:22:44,720 --> 00:22:50,240For example, it talks about how the institution has a long time horizon.36100:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,520And so you can't be comparing yourself to the institution.36200:22:52,520 --> 00:22:57,320The institution will be here long after you get back and long after you're done.36300:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,440And so you want to be clear that your time horizon is different from the institution's36400:23:01,440 --> 00:23:02,440horizons.36500:23:02,440 --> 00:23:07,640One of the favorite things, one of the favorite pieces of advice from that article my colleague36600:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,720would bring up each time is that the institution doesn't love you back.36700:23:10,720 --> 00:23:15,200This is important because sometimes there's this sense that as clinicians, our job is36800:23:15,200 --> 00:23:20,480to sacrifice ourselves on behalf or on the platform of the institution, which is not36900:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,040appropriate.37000:23:22,040 --> 00:23:27,160Because if we burn ourselves in the process of trying to bring light to the world, then37100:23:27,160 --> 00:23:33,080at the end, there is no light and we're still gone.37200:23:33,080 --> 00:23:38,640And so when people ask you to be a team player, you want to be clear, what is this game that37300:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,120we're playing?37400:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,960Because not every game is a good game.37500:23:42,960 --> 00:23:47,600Not every game leaves everyone in the team with a win at the end.37600:23:47,600 --> 00:23:53,120Not every game is considering all team members to be equivalent, equal, respected members37700:23:53,120 --> 00:23:54,800of the team.37800:23:54,800 --> 00:23:59,840So especially if you are underrepresented in the academy, you want to be clear when37900:23:59,840 --> 00:24:05,920people ask you to be a team player that you understand the game, understand the win, and38000:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,520to clarify that you are a respected team player who's going to be part of the win when the38100:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,120win is announced.38200:24:13,120 --> 00:24:20,020So my very final point to you is that you should ask these questions so that you can38300:24:20,020 --> 00:24:26,080decide for yourself if it is in fact a game you want to play.38400:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,280You should decide for yourself if it is in fact a game that you want to play.38500:24:32,280 --> 00:24:37,280I will say that every game is not a game to be played.38600:24:37,280 --> 00:24:38,280It's like the Hunger Games.38700:24:38,280 --> 00:24:39,640It's like, oh, these are games.38800:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,560But at the end of the game, some people die.38900:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,240Is this the game you want to play?39000:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,920You got to decide that.39100:24:46,920 --> 00:24:54,000And so my call to action this week is to ask yourself if the game you're playing is the39200:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,800one you want to play.39300:24:56,800 --> 00:25:02,760And I'm going to ask you, if you're not clear what game it is you're playing to go clarify,39400:25:02,760 --> 00:25:10,280please don't play a game where at the end you burn up as part of the games being played.39500:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,440Don't play it.39600:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,520But if you're going to play it, you want to play it intentionally.39700:25:14,520 --> 00:25:18,360You want to know that, oh, OK, this is the game I play where at the end I'm sacrificed39800:25:18,360 --> 00:25:19,360at the end of the game.39900:25:19,360 --> 00:25:20,360You want to know.40000:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,600Because if you want to do that, you should do that.40100:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,140That's called being in the military.40200:25:25,140 --> 00:25:28,680It's like I am serving on behalf of my nation.40300:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,700And if I die in the process, this is the price I choose to pay.40400:25:32,700 --> 00:25:35,800It's serving the military, but it's not playing a basketball game.40500:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,160Playing a game is not the same as serving the military.40600:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,640But what I want you to do is to clarify what you're doing, what game you're playing when40700:25:43,640 --> 00:25:50,280people ask you to be a team player so that you can decide, is it time?40800:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,640Is it time to stop being a team player?40900:25:52,640 --> 00:25:54,360All right.41000:25:54,360 --> 00:25:56,960I am glad to have brought you that episode.41100:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,040Clearly, I have a lot of thoughts in my mind surrounding that episode.41200:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,080I'd like to hear your thoughts.41300:26:02,080 --> 00:26:06,360And I also want to invite you to consider coaching, because I think it transforms your41400:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,880life as a clinician, especially a clinician who's trying to build a research program,41500:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,620when you might not actually have the support to do that.41600:26:13,620 --> 00:26:20,120So let's talk about how I can help you shape the career that you actually want to have.41700:26:20,120 --> 00:26:23,660For everyone else, I invite you to please share this episode with somebody else who41800:26:23,660 --> 00:26:30,480needs to hear it, because it's important that we are playing games that we want to play,41900:26:30,480 --> 00:26:35,040and that at the end of our sacrifice, at the end of our really pulling, we know that the42000:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,520award that's coming to the team is also coming to us.42100:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,760And I invite you to please share it with someone else who needs to hear it today.42200:26:41,760 --> 00:26:42,760All right.42300:26:42,760 --> 00:26:43,760Thank you for listening.42400:26:43,760 --> 00:26:55,880I look forward to talking with you again the next time.42500:26:55,880 --> 00:27:01,240Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic42600:27:01,240 --> 00:27:06,480clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they42700:27:06,480 --> 00:27:08,040have a mentor.42800:27:08,040 --> 00:27:14,120If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.42900:27:14,120 --> 00:27:15,880Someone else needs to hear it.43000:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,920So take a minute right now and share it.43100:27:19,920 --> 00:27:25,400As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation43200:27:25,400 --> 00:27:38,280of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.