The gifts of a research 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 --> 00:01:01,080Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.1200:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,620Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.1300:01:03,620 --> 00:01:07,800I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is such a privilege to be talking with you today.1400:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,480Thank you for taking the time to tune in and to listen.1500:01:11,480 --> 00:01:18,200I keep talking because you keep listening, and I want to thank you that you would create1600:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,960space for me to share my views and my thoughts with you.1700:01:21,960 --> 00:01:23,760And so thank you.1800:01:23,760 --> 00:01:25,280Thank you for listening.1900:01:25,280 --> 00:01:33,480I want to invite you, if you have time available, on Monday, November 20th at 6 p.m., I'll be2000:01:33,480 --> 00:01:40,040talking about five key, five critical steps in the transition from clinician to research2100:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,040leader.2200:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,560You don't want to miss it.2300:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,360You should show up there.2400:01:44,360 --> 00:01:49,600Use information on the podcast website, clinicianresearcherpodcast.com.2500:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,040The banner will give you information.2600:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,680Or you can go to our website, coedcoach.com, and look for events.2700:01:56,680 --> 00:02:02,180And in case you miss it, there will be another webinar, and I will continue to do things2800:02:02,180 --> 00:02:05,400and share things that will help you make your transition.2900:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,840And I want to thank you for letting me help you do that.3000:02:09,840 --> 00:02:14,840If you are not going to be available, you can still sign up, and that means that you3100:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,320will get the recording once it becomes available.3200:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,720So please sign up and learn all that I want to share about making that transition, which3300:02:23,720 --> 00:02:24,720is critical.3400:02:24,720 --> 00:02:25,720Okay.3500:02:25,720 --> 00:02:31,000Today, I'm talking about the gift of a research career.3600:02:31,000 --> 00:02:39,480And I really want to, you know, talk first about how my life has changed since I made3700:02:39,480 --> 00:02:45,480the transition from being a full-time clinician to leading a research program.3800:02:45,480 --> 00:02:51,760I will tell you that I've always had the dream of leading a research program, but I didn't3900:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,160know how.4000:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,760I didn't understand what was necessary.4100:02:57,760 --> 00:03:03,400I had no idea about the structures that needed to be created to support your research and4200:03:03,400 --> 00:03:09,880your writing, I had no idea about how to write a research question, how to think about a4300:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,840research question, how to even answer a research question.4400:03:13,840 --> 00:03:18,200And I think I was completely confused every time I would submit a grant and get all this4500:03:18,200 --> 00:03:19,200awful feedback.4600:03:19,200 --> 00:03:24,240And I kept thinking, why is this not working?4700:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,120But it was what I wanted to do.4800:03:26,120 --> 00:03:33,320The real of the pursuit was really because I had this dream of research just being my4900:03:33,320 --> 00:03:34,800life, being my experience.5000:03:34,800 --> 00:03:43,200So I may come across potentially as extroverted on the podcast, but I really love to be by5100:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,200myself.5200:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,960Give me a book and give me eight hours.5300:03:45,960 --> 00:03:52,200I will like curl up in a corner and just read, read, read, read, read.5400:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,640At least that's what I did when I was younger.5500:03:54,640 --> 00:04:00,320And even now as an adult, my happy place is sitting and writing and thinking big thoughts5600:04:00,320 --> 00:04:05,960and synthesizing information and synthesizing data.5700:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,580It's what I've always enjoyed doing.5800:04:08,580 --> 00:04:11,440And so research really allows me to do that.5900:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,360And so, but I didn't know that.6000:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,520I didn't recognize that that would be a gift in the research for me until I really started6100:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,600to make the transition.6200:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,720And the reason, so I want to share with you the gift of a research career is that many6300:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,880times are very focused on the challenges of the research career.6400:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,400Oh, I have to write another grant again.6500:04:33,400 --> 00:04:34,720Or the grant was rejected.6600:04:34,720 --> 00:04:35,720What?6700:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,320It's been four times.6800:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,840It's been submitted four times.6900:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,520There's a lot of frustrations.7000:04:42,520 --> 00:04:43,520Don't get me wrong.7100:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,360I am not even here to take your frustrations away.7200:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,280But what I am here to do is to show you the gift.7300:04:50,280 --> 00:04:55,680Just to show you the gift to look to because the moment you have a clear sense of the gift7400:04:55,680 --> 00:05:03,040that you get from a particular endeavor that you undertake, it changes your experience.7500:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,960You're no longer, oh, I have to go through a slog.7600:05:07,960 --> 00:05:13,840You're more really thinking about, okay, I just have to jump through four obstacles to7700:05:13,840 --> 00:05:16,080get to the vision to get to my goal.7800:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,160Okay, I can do that.7900:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,920But the key is clarifying what your goal is.8000:05:21,920 --> 00:05:28,320And that's why I want to share with you gifts, the gifts of leading a research career.8100:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,520And I want to share them with you so that you can focus on those gifts rather than focusing8200:05:33,520 --> 00:05:39,200on the challenges because the challenges, again, they are just part of every endeavor.8300:05:39,200 --> 00:05:45,180So I would like you to point out, point to one place in your life where you have not8400:05:45,180 --> 00:05:46,820had any challenges.8500:05:46,820 --> 00:05:51,540And if you can do that, then I will submit to you that perhaps you can have a research8600:05:51,540 --> 00:05:53,640career without challenges.8700:05:53,640 --> 00:05:59,120But if life is full of challenges, then I'm going to assure you that your research career8800:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,160will be full of challenges.8900:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,680But I don't want you to focus on the challenges because the challenges are just a free gift9000:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,360that comes with their research career.9100:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,760I want you today to focus on the gift.9200:06:10,760 --> 00:06:18,120The very first gift I want to share with you is the gift of intellectual freedom.9300:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,800That is such a beautiful gift.9400:06:20,800 --> 00:06:30,840The gift to think expansively, the gift to craft discourse, the gift to synthesize knowledge,9500:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,000the gift to write.9600:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,480It is the gift of intellectual freedom.9700:06:37,480 --> 00:06:39,560No one has to tell you what to think.9800:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,000You don't even have to agree with all of the experts.9900:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,800You could be the one dissenting voice in the universe.10000:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,360And if you can write it eloquently enough, and if you can justify it well enough, and10100:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,240if you can cite enough literature, you can write it.10200:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,280Somebody will accept your publication.10300:06:57,280 --> 00:06:59,240You will be that dissenting voice.10400:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,360It will be beautiful.10500:07:01,360 --> 00:07:09,040To most of us, not dissenters, we are kind of mostly, you know, we're like, yes, this10600:07:09,040 --> 00:07:10,200is what the literature says.10700:07:10,200 --> 00:07:12,680I agree wholeheartedly.10800:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,480But then the literature is obviously never all in harmony.10900:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,040There is always, you know, there are always things that are different from what we consider11000:07:21,040 --> 00:07:22,960to be dogma.11100:07:22,960 --> 00:07:28,480So the gift of intellectual freedom is really freedom to think.11200:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,520Think in the way you want.11300:07:30,520 --> 00:07:31,960Think in a way that enhances you.11400:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,400Think in a way that transforms you.11500:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,920And you know, it is freedom of thought.11600:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,200And sometimes people balk at that because they're like, well, you can't just think anything11700:07:40,200 --> 00:07:41,200you want.11800:07:41,200 --> 00:07:47,120And in reality, I will say that as clinicians, we do love science.11900:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,040I mean, science is what led us to patient care.12000:07:50,040 --> 00:07:51,280We love patient care.12100:07:51,280 --> 00:07:52,560We love to take care of the patient.12200:07:52,560 --> 00:07:58,120We love to think critically about what it means to make things better.12300:07:58,120 --> 00:08:04,600And so our intellectual freedom is about investigating that further and answering questions that12400:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,000benefit patients.12500:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,960So yes, I think that intellectual freedom for clinicians is a beautiful gift of a research12600:08:11,960 --> 00:08:13,040career.12700:08:13,040 --> 00:08:14,040And it really is.12800:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,040And I mean, it's the gift and the challenge, right?12900:08:17,040 --> 00:08:21,480Because if people don't like your ideas, they may not want to fund them.13000:08:21,480 --> 00:08:26,840But the most important person to like the ideas that come out of your mind is you.13100:08:26,840 --> 00:08:36,320And if your intellectual abilities, if your intellectual freedom blesses you and you enjoy13200:08:36,320 --> 00:08:44,840it, and you love it, you can be strategic and think about how to fund your continued13300:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,720intellectual freedom.13400:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,840So the first gift of a research career is your intellectual freedom.13500:08:51,840 --> 00:08:59,280That may be for me the highest and most powerful gift that a research career has given me.13600:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,860That's number one.13700:09:01,860 --> 00:09:05,080Number two is flexibility.13800:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,960Flexibility.13900:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,560The gift of a research career is flexibility.14000:09:11,560 --> 00:09:19,180Now, the people who appreciate flexibility the most are people who have had to or have14100:09:19,180 --> 00:09:23,580experience in flexibility in their careers.14200:09:23,580 --> 00:09:31,080As an example, when I started in my faculty career, I was seeing patients five days a14300:09:31,080 --> 00:09:32,080week.14400:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,680Yes, it was 80% time.14500:09:34,680 --> 00:09:38,400I was 20% protected to do research.14600:09:38,400 --> 00:09:44,560But somehow that math came down to five days a week.14700:09:44,560 --> 00:09:45,560It was rough.14800:09:45,560 --> 00:09:52,040I had a young child at home, another one on the way.14900:09:52,040 --> 00:09:57,040Clinic started at 8 a.m. every day I was in clinic.15000:09:57,040 --> 00:10:02,720Procedures because at the time I was, I staffed apheresis procedures.15100:10:02,720 --> 00:10:08,680They started between 730 and 8 a.m. and you needed to be there to see the patient.15200:10:08,680 --> 00:10:14,760I was literally always running out the door to make it through traffic so that I could15300:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,200start to see the patients.15400:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,440And then when the day ran long, I was literally there.15500:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,520Well, I can't say I was closing the door because the doors of the hospital actually never closed.15600:10:25,520 --> 00:10:26,520But I was there late.15700:10:26,520 --> 00:10:33,120So it was one of those things where, I mean, you know, I don't even have to say this.15800:10:33,120 --> 00:10:34,840I'm preaching to the choir.15900:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,840When the patient shows up, you better be there.16000:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,280Like what is your excuse?16100:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,000The patient is in the room.16200:10:42,000 --> 00:10:43,280Where are you?16300:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,400And so there's a kind of inflexibility with that.16400:10:46,400 --> 00:10:51,840And the other piece of it is if the patient is crashing, do not tell me you have dinner16500:10:51,840 --> 00:10:52,920reservations.16600:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,960It's the reality of patient care.16700:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,520And again, I'm preaching to the choir here.16800:10:58,520 --> 00:11:03,920And so to be honest, even though that's so noble and so awesome, and we do love to be16900:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,960able to really give of ourselves in that way and really serve someone to where you're like17000:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,840you are crashing and I was there for you because I'm your doctor, I'm responsible, I will do17100:11:13,840 --> 00:11:14,840this for you.17200:11:14,840 --> 00:11:16,720It is a beautiful thing.17300:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,400I do not denigrate it.17400:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,320But it is also a challenging thing.17500:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,760Is a beautiful thing to be able to give your life in service of another.17600:11:27,760 --> 00:11:33,400And it is also a challenging thing when you have to do it Monday through Friday, every,17700:11:33,400 --> 00:11:38,600every week, month after month, it is challenging.17800:11:38,600 --> 00:11:47,080And so one of the things, having come through that, having had that experience, one of the17900:11:47,080 --> 00:11:52,840things that is a gift to me in my research career is flexibility.18000:11:52,840 --> 00:12:00,080Now I said flexibility, I didn't say, oh, easy work, because being in research is actually18100:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,840pretty challenging.18200:12:01,840 --> 00:12:03,560It's work in a different kind of way.18300:12:03,560 --> 00:12:10,480It's not physically tasking, but it's very, very intellectually heavy and sometimes emotionally18400:12:10,480 --> 00:12:11,600tasking as well.18500:12:11,600 --> 00:12:18,200So you get up from a full day of working within your research program and you are tired.18600:12:18,200 --> 00:12:23,920For me, it's good tired because I love the intellectual freedom that I get from the space.18700:12:23,920 --> 00:12:30,360So when I say flexibility, I'm not saying easy work, but I am saying flexibility in18800:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,640the hard work that you do.18900:12:32,640 --> 00:12:38,360That means there is no such thing as a crashing research experiment.19000:12:38,360 --> 00:12:43,840Maybe two, three days of cell culture type work went to waste, you will do it again.19100:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,480But there's no emergency within your research program.19200:12:47,480 --> 00:12:53,160And because of that, it gives you flexibility to work around your needs.19300:12:53,160 --> 00:12:57,720And so, for example, today I had a child who had a recital.19400:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,560You know, ordinarily, I would not break my clinic.19500:13:00,560 --> 00:13:06,120I will not even cancel or end the clinic early so I could be at a recital.19600:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,000It's just that the challenges of jumping through those hoops and then trying to reschedule19700:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,600patients who are moved is so big.19800:13:12,600 --> 00:13:17,000Like the mere thought of it would cause me to shudder inside and I would be like, I will19900:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,240miss this recital because I don't want to have to deal with the fallout.20000:13:21,240 --> 00:13:26,560But when it comes to my research program and I'm like, well, I pause meetings and I'm like,20100:13:26,560 --> 00:13:30,680well, this paper, I'm coming back to you as soon as the recital is over.20200:13:30,680 --> 00:13:35,240And it was such a beautiful thing to be able to get up, go do that, come back and keep20300:13:35,240 --> 00:13:36,680the day going.20400:13:36,680 --> 00:13:42,440It does mean that I was up later than I wanted to be, but I had the flexibility to do that.20500:13:42,440 --> 00:13:46,400And that is one of the greatest gifts of my research career.20600:13:46,400 --> 00:13:51,420And I will say, to be honest, it's right there, right up there next to intellectual freedom.20700:13:51,420 --> 00:13:55,360And sometimes I'm not sure which is the more beautiful gift.20800:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,960The flexibility is so important.20900:13:57,960 --> 00:14:07,800It's so powerful because having the flexibility allows you also to continue to pursue intellectual21000:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,200freedom in the way you want to, in the way you desire to.21100:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,160So intellectual freedom, number one, and then flexibility is number two.21200:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,440And then within flexibility is designing your work, right?21300:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,120Creating your own schedule, choosing your own schedule.21400:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,120And all of that falls within the flexibility piece.21500:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,720Number three, which these things are so, they're so high up there.21600:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,120It's like, is impact really number three?21700:14:35,120 --> 00:14:42,280Impact is so, it's a close second to flexibility because the reason I came into medicine, I21800:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,960don't know about you, but the reason I came in was to make a difference.21900:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,680Because I look around and people are suffering and healthcare is just not where it could22000:14:51,680 --> 00:14:58,960be and people are marginalized in our healthcare system and I want change.22100:14:58,960 --> 00:15:00,400I want lives transformed.22200:15:00,400 --> 00:15:01,760I want people changed.22300:15:01,760 --> 00:15:03,600I want problems solved.22400:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,440I want diseases cured.22500:15:06,440 --> 00:15:07,440It's my dream.22600:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,160It's the reason I came into medicine.22700:15:10,160 --> 00:15:17,360And honestly, it didn't take me until the end of residency before I started to see that22800:15:17,360 --> 00:15:22,640the way we're doing healthcare now is not the way that moves us forward in the direction22900:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,040I want to go.23000:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,720Part of that is recognizing the limitations of the data we have available.23100:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,220I'm a hematologist.23200:15:30,220 --> 00:15:35,360Most of the stuff we quote, okay, we do have clinical trials, but we don't have the kind23300:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,400of clinical trials that like cardiology has, for example.23400:15:38,400 --> 00:15:43,400So there's a lot, especially in my field of rare thrombotic disorders where we're looking23500:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,520through the case series and we're like, this is a case series of 16 patients.23600:15:46,520 --> 00:15:47,520This is pretty phenomenal.23700:15:47,520 --> 00:15:57,640For example, I presented a case conference today and I pulled out a paper that had 7123800:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,440patients and that was amazing.23900:16:00,440 --> 00:16:07,000And so we know that there are limitations to the data that we cite to care for our patients24000:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,880and you're either going to settle and say, well, this is the way it is, or you're going24100:16:10,880 --> 00:16:12,120to contribute to the data.24200:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,440You're going to contribute to the literature and that's what I want to do.24300:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,000I came for impact.24400:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,960I came for transformation.24500:16:20,960 --> 00:16:22,480I came for impact.24600:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,200I came for transformation.24700:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,200And my research program gives me opportunity to do that.24800:16:29,200 --> 00:16:36,200And so, you know, every time we submit a paper, not even that it gets published, but we submit24900:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,920a paper, we look at this paper and we say, this was good work we did.25000:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,320Oh my goodness, the satisfaction of that is amazing.25100:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,720Like we already know it's going to have a home.25200:16:46,720 --> 00:16:52,800Yes, it may be, you know, three rejections away from its home, but we know it has a home.25300:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,920And when it's finally published, other than the relief that the publication finally was25400:16:57,920 --> 00:17:05,440accepted, there is just the feeling of satisfaction that no matter how small, it is a contribution25500:17:05,440 --> 00:17:09,600to the literature and it makes a difference in somebody else's life.25600:17:09,600 --> 00:17:15,880And that is an unbelievable, wonderful thing to have as part of my career as a research25700:17:15,880 --> 00:17:16,880leader.25800:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,800It is, you know, impact.25900:17:20,800 --> 00:17:25,880You can get impact in seeing patients, but for me, what I was looking for was more than26000:17:25,880 --> 00:17:30,080just, you know, the impact of seeing one patient after the other.26100:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,120I really wanted to be able to help a lot of patients.26200:17:33,120 --> 00:17:38,760And so research is a vehicle by which I'm able to do that.26300:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,760The fourth thing, and again, these things are so amazing.26400:17:42,760 --> 00:17:48,040They're so, so, so beneficial is mentorship.26500:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,760Oh my goodness, mentorship.26600:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,240I don't know about you, but one of my favorite parts of being a clinician is being a teacher.26700:17:55,240 --> 00:18:00,160I love to see the next generation of physicians be transformed.26800:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,140I love to see it.26900:18:02,140 --> 00:18:06,480I will tell you that my favorite thing to do clinically now is to work with residents27000:18:06,480 --> 00:18:07,480and fellows.27100:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,200I love the joy and the enthusiasm that they bring.27200:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,960And they just remind me of how, you know, how I was when I was a young person, when27300:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,520everything was new and so exciting and so amazing.27400:18:18,520 --> 00:18:23,760I'm not a cynical person today, but you know, a lot of that stuff has lost its novelty.27500:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,760It's like, yeah, I've seen it before.27600:18:25,760 --> 00:18:30,200I've seen TTP respond to plasma exchange.27700:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,440It's a beautiful thing, but I've seen it before.27800:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,120They haven't seen it before.27900:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,760And it's just delightful to watch their joy and excitement.28000:18:38,760 --> 00:18:44,880It really literally is like watching a little child and not in a derogatory way, but just28100:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,040in the excitement and the joy.28200:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,880Oh, it's such a powerful thing.28300:18:49,880 --> 00:18:56,480And so mentorship is so important to me, not just because I get to help another clinician28400:18:56,480 --> 00:19:02,080scientist on their journey or even a clinician in my role as a clinician, but because of28500:19:02,080 --> 00:19:08,600how it changes me, because of how it humbles me, because of how it reminds me of all the28600:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,920things I still don't know.28700:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,080And it's okay.28800:19:13,080 --> 00:19:18,240And because of all the brilliant sharp minds that surround me and challenge me to think28900:19:18,240 --> 00:19:23,960differently or to make my thinking explicit, to lay it on the table and say, this is why29000:19:23,960 --> 00:19:30,760I think the way I think, or to say, this is why I think this paper should take this shape.29100:19:30,760 --> 00:19:36,840To be able to share that with another generation of physicians is incredible.29200:19:36,840 --> 00:19:43,120And so your research career gives you the gift of being a mentor, because in being a29300:19:43,120 --> 00:19:46,480mentor you're being transformed in the process.29400:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,520And it is unbelievable.29500:19:51,520 --> 00:19:56,480Number five, and this definitely is not one of the top four, but it's a very important29600:19:56,480 --> 00:20:02,120one too, is collaboration synergy.29700:20:02,120 --> 00:20:07,360You know, I think I wanted to say collaboration, but then I added the synergy because it's29800:20:07,360 --> 00:20:12,780not just the collaboration, it's the synergy that comes from collaboration.29900:20:12,780 --> 00:20:17,280So the book that's on my mind right now that I need to share with you, it's called Who,30000:20:17,280 --> 00:20:23,120Not How, The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork.30100:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,400It's by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy.30200:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,840Great book, I totally recommend it.30300:20:29,840 --> 00:20:34,560And I think it's so relevant to this conversation of collaboration synergy, because if you think30400:20:34,560 --> 00:20:39,400about it, you are a master clinician in your own right, you have your field of expertise,30500:20:39,400 --> 00:20:40,880you are good in this area.30600:20:40,880 --> 00:20:44,200And what you're not so good at is other stuff.30700:20:44,200 --> 00:20:46,760I'm a master hematologist.30800:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,760I'm good on the rare thrombotic disorders.30900:20:49,760 --> 00:20:50,760But am I a cardiologist?31000:20:50,760 --> 00:20:51,760No.31100:20:51,760 --> 00:20:52,760Do I want to be?31200:20:52,760 --> 00:20:53,760Definitely not.31300:20:53,760 --> 00:20:58,480No disrespect to any cardiologist listening to me.31400:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,080I think cardiology is a great field, just not for me.31500:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,960But many of the things that I do are relevant to cardiology.31600:21:06,960 --> 00:21:13,480For example, I'm particularly interested in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, TTP,31700:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,640and it presents sometimes as myocardial infarction.31800:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,240That's a cardiology problem.31900:21:19,240 --> 00:21:24,200But I'm a hematologist treating a hematologic disorder, and I need a cardiologist on my32000:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,240team as my partner working with me.32100:21:28,240 --> 00:21:36,600And so I bring my hematology, hemostasis thrombosis brain, and my cardiology partner brings their32200:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,480heart amazingness.32300:21:39,480 --> 00:21:40,480And we come together.32400:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,800Oh, the synergy of that is beautiful.32500:21:42,800 --> 00:21:44,440I don't have to learn more cardiology.32600:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,840I don't need to go back to fellowship, shudder, shudder.32700:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,120Oh, real shudder.32800:21:50,120 --> 00:21:53,960I don't have to go back and do another residency or a fellowship in cardiology.32900:21:53,960 --> 00:21:54,960I don't have to do that.33000:21:54,960 --> 00:22:00,880But I can connect with my cardiology colleague, and we can make amazing things happen in our33100:22:00,880 --> 00:22:05,760research program, as I think critically about the hemostasis thrombosis issues, and they33200:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,640think critically about cardiology issues.33300:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,440The synergy is beautiful.33400:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,840I enjoy that.33500:22:11,840 --> 00:22:17,200Just two minds coming together and just, oh my gosh, it's so beautiful.33600:22:17,200 --> 00:22:18,200Mm-hmm.33700:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,400It's amazing.33800:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,000And that's when you leave where you're trying to do everything by yourself, because being33900:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,640a research leader is definitely not about doing all things by yourself.34000:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,680It's definitely about doing as little as possible by yourself and really resourcing teams to34100:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,080support you to do that.34200:22:36,080 --> 00:22:37,600That sounds like business.34300:22:37,600 --> 00:22:38,600Yes.34400:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,600Yes, it kind of is like business.34500:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,520And the most beautiful things in business relationships are just when you can partner34600:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,160with another partner.34700:22:46,160 --> 00:22:47,800The synergy is really amazing.34800:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,120So that's number five, collaboration, synergy.34900:22:51,120 --> 00:22:54,720And I can't separate the two because it's so beautiful.35000:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,720They can't be separated.35100:22:56,720 --> 00:22:58,040Okay.35200:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,600Number six is big picture thinking.35300:23:01,600 --> 00:23:09,520Oh, I love when I sit down and I think about the data before me, and I think, hmm, what35400:23:09,520 --> 00:23:10,520does this mean?35500:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,000How do we interpret this one?35600:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,120What do we say about it?35700:23:15,120 --> 00:23:20,000And to start to think, okay, where does it fit in the big picture of the literature?35800:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,840And you know, oh my goodness, you know, people have been writing papers for a long time.35900:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,080There's a lot of stuff that's accumulated over time.36000:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,480It's a lot.36100:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,520And so when you write a manuscript, or even when you're, you know, writing the introduction36200:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,800to your grant and you're trying to situate your work within the context of other people's36300:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,120work, it's a big, big deal.36400:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,440And you really have to like step back and expand your mind to grab it all.36500:23:45,440 --> 00:23:46,920And then you can't even do that.36600:23:46,920 --> 00:23:48,920It's so big.36700:23:48,920 --> 00:23:55,120And so it is such a powerful thing to think big and to think, okay, well, what's possible36800:23:55,120 --> 00:23:56,120here?36900:23:56,120 --> 00:23:58,080Based on this data, what's possible?37000:23:58,080 --> 00:24:03,640And even to think big about, can I solve this problem of early TTP diagnosis?37100:24:03,640 --> 00:24:04,980Can I be the one to do that?37200:24:04,980 --> 00:24:06,720How would I do that?37300:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,840It is so wonderful to be able to think big.37400:24:08,840 --> 00:24:10,040It just transforms you.37500:24:10,040 --> 00:24:11,680It just, you know, takes you out of your mind.37600:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,200It's like, whoa, this is so good.37700:24:14,200 --> 00:24:15,200Yes.37800:24:15,200 --> 00:24:20,360Big picture thinking is gift number six.37900:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,960Gift number seven.38000:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,240Gift number seven is creating the future.38100:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,880I love the fact that when I'm writing my research proposals, and this is not thinking about38200:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,320whether they're going to be accepted or funded or not, it's that I have to create a future38300:24:37,320 --> 00:24:43,920that does not yet exist on paper or in a Word document or pages, if that's what you use.38400:24:43,920 --> 00:24:48,480Yes, I am creating the future as I write.38500:24:48,480 --> 00:24:53,800And sometimes I'm creating the future and there's this sense of incredulity, like, hmm,38600:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,340this sounds fanciful, but I'm going to put it down anyway.38700:24:57,340 --> 00:25:01,420Because what, you know, research proposals help you do is to take the big pie in the38800:25:01,420 --> 00:25:04,440sky idea and just make it practical and concrete.38900:25:04,440 --> 00:25:05,440It's like, great.39000:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,280I know that you're going to transform health care and tell me your approach.39100:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,160And then, you know, the reality check.39200:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,920It's like someone pours a bucket of cold water in your head and you have to, like, make it39300:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,280real.39400:25:16,280 --> 00:25:17,840But you're writing the future.39500:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,400It's a future that hasn't happened yet.39600:25:20,400 --> 00:25:25,600And because you write it down and you think about the critical components of it, you're39700:25:25,600 --> 00:25:31,280giving voice to a future that's going to come to pass because you dared to put it down on39800:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,520paper.39900:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,200That is incredible.40000:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,180And I hear some of you cynics saying, yeah, that's if it gets funded.40100:25:37,180 --> 00:25:40,560And the truth is, no, it's not about whether it gets funded or not.40200:25:40,560 --> 00:25:45,200It's about the fact that you dare to put an idea down on paper that you all of a sudden40300:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,500have now created space to bring to pass.40400:25:48,500 --> 00:25:54,160Because the kinds of ideas that you work on, I hope you're working on ideas that you actually40500:25:54,160 --> 00:25:59,160care about, are the kinds of ideas that are so exciting or should be.40600:25:59,160 --> 00:26:06,080But I hope that's what you do, that the moment you commit it to paper or you commit it to40700:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,240a Word document, your mind starts to go to work thinking, how can we get this done?40800:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,040How can we get this done?40900:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,280And OK, so maybe the first funder doesn't fund you.41000:26:14,280 --> 00:26:15,780Who else can fund you?41100:26:15,780 --> 00:26:21,960And all of a sudden it activates within you a desire to see your work go all the way.41200:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,440And all of a sudden you become creative about how do we get this future that we just put41300:26:26,440 --> 00:26:27,720down on paper?41400:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,400How do we get it to come to pass?41500:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,580And yes, maybe that means that you're submitting a couple of grants here and there and then41600:26:33,580 --> 00:26:38,040you're piecemealing it and sending this piece off and that piece off doesn't matter.41700:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,260All that matters is that you've created a future with your mind.41800:26:42,260 --> 00:26:45,600And all of a sudden you want to see it come to pass.41900:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,360It is so amazing.42000:26:48,360 --> 00:26:53,240It's so good.42100:26:53,240 --> 00:26:54,640I really enjoy that.42200:26:54,640 --> 00:27:00,440I enjoy sitting down and just thinking, wow, I'm creating a future that does not yet exist.42300:27:00,440 --> 00:27:01,760It's a beautiful thing.42400:27:01,760 --> 00:27:06,720And so, yeah, six months later, somebody may come back around and say, rejected.42500:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,920Ha ha, not discussed.42600:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,640And yeah, that's painful, but they cannot take away.42700:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,900They cannot take away the fact that you've already birthed.42800:27:15,900 --> 00:27:22,560You birthed something amazing and they cannot take away the fact that whatever you birthed42900:27:22,560 --> 00:27:27,360is already taking root in your mind and you're already thinking about how do I bring it to43000:27:27,360 --> 00:27:30,400pass whether they fund me or not.43100:27:30,400 --> 00:27:36,160And so creating the future is gift number seven of your research career.43200:27:36,160 --> 00:27:37,780So I just told you about seven gifts.43300:27:37,780 --> 00:27:39,520Number one is intellectual freedom.43400:27:39,520 --> 00:27:40,520Number two is flexibility.43500:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,480Number three is impact.43600:27:42,480 --> 00:27:43,480Number four is mentorship.43700:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,160Number five is collaboration synergy.43800:27:46,160 --> 00:27:47,840Number six is big picture thinking.43900:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,640And number seven is creating the future.44000:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,560And I tell you, these are amazing gifts.44100:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,800These are amazing gifts.44200:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,720And I invite you, I invite you to think about your research career.44300:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,080Think about the gifts that you already have from your career.44400:28:02,080 --> 00:28:03,480I only told you seven.44500:28:03,480 --> 00:28:05,160There's so much more.44600:28:05,160 --> 00:28:06,160What are some of those gifts?44700:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,200Now I want to invite you to make a list today of all the gifts that have come to you from44800:28:10,200 --> 00:28:11,200your research career.44900:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,640Or maybe you don't yet have a research career.45000:28:13,640 --> 00:28:14,640You're imagining one.45100:28:14,640 --> 00:28:15,640You're dreaming of one.45200:28:15,640 --> 00:28:20,120What are the gifts that you hope your research career will give you beyond the ones that45300:28:20,120 --> 00:28:22,480I've already said?45400:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,240Write them down and share some of them with me.45500:28:25,240 --> 00:28:26,240Come find me.45600:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,240Come find me on Instagram.45700:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,360Find me on Facebook.45800:28:30,360 --> 00:28:36,000Find me on LinkedIn and share the gifts that you either already have or you're expecting45900:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,560from your research program.46000:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,320I would love to hear them.46100:28:39,320 --> 00:28:44,160Better still, leave me a voicemail on the podcast voicemail.46200:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,000That's clinicianresearcherpodcast.com.46300:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,560And then leave me a podcast voicemail and I will incorporate your podcast, I mean your46400:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,160voicemail into a future episode.46500:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,560I have to tell you that it's been a pleasure to talk with you today.46600:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,120That was so fun telling you about the gifts of my research career.46700:29:01,120 --> 00:29:06,440I want to go now and create so many more of those gifts.46800:29:06,440 --> 00:29:07,440And I hope you do too.46900:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,360Thanks for taking the time to listen.47000:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,560It's been a pleasure to talk with you today.47100:29:11,560 --> 00:29:20,480Have a great, great day.47200:29:20,480 --> 00:29:25,840Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic47300:29:25,840 --> 00:29:31,200clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they47400:29:31,200 --> 00:29:32,600have a mentor.47500:29:32,600 --> 00:29:38,600If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.47600:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,440Someone else needs to hear it.47700:29:40,440 --> 00:29:44,520So take a minute right now and share it.47800:29:44,520 --> 00:29:49,960As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation47900:29:49,960 --> 00:30:11,000of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.