lessons from 30 years in academic medicine rebecca a. silliman, md, phd professor of medicine and...

Lessons from 30 Years in Academic Medicine

Rebecca A. Silliman, MD, PhD

Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology

Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health

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Disclosures

None

Objectives

• To enhance your appreciation of the centrality of personal growth

• To encourage intentional thinking about your career, but also nimbleness

• To promote mindfulness about your journey

My Career Path

• Brown University:6 ½ years - assistant professor

• Tufts University:3 ¾ years - assistant, associate professor

• Boston University:19 ¾ years - associate, professor, section chief

Objective #1

To enhance your appreciation of the centrality of personal

growth

Learn from Your Patients

• Don’t get stuck

• Recognize that there are seasons to life

Get to Know Yourself

• Learn your strengths and use them

• Don’t aspire to be someone that you are not (but keep growing)

Learn about People

• Learn what motivates them

• Choose to work with those who share your values

• Read Quiet

Objective #2

To encourage intentional thinking about your career, but

also nimbleness

Follow Your Heart and Your Passions, but be Nimble

• A role model:Sid Katz

• Sometimes you will be in the right place at the wrong time.

• Sometimes you will be in the right place at the right time.

Learn from Your Mistakes

• Tough environments

• Poor mentors

Look at Other Jobs for the Right Reasons

Right Reasons

Person/environment mismatch

Leadership/policy changes

New opportunities

Personal/family

Wrong Reasons

Job opportunity in which you have no serious interest

Leveraging for pay/status increases

Be Strategic and Efficient

• Don’t apply for grants when the odds are infinitesimal

• Pick journal homes that are the right fit

• Know when and how you work most efficiently

• Manage technology

Objective #3

To promote mindfulness about your journey

Remember That We are Not All Survivors

• Our patients are survivors, but we may not be -

Dennis Jahnigen

• What if you were diagnosed with a glioblastoma today?

What Would You Do?

Take Care of Your Body, Mind, and Soul

Be Generous

• Time

• Talents

• Praise

• Thanks

Summary Points

• Personal growth

• Intentional thinking

• Mindfulness

Thoughts and Questions?(What are these Critters?)

Thank You!