How to choose the right project

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860
Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills

2
00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260
to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

3
00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340
As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients.

4
00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380
When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find

5
00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780
that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research

6
00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200
program.

7
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480
Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit.

8
00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580
However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.

9
00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200
For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians

10
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800
the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

11
00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,000
Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.

12
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,120
I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is a pleasure to be speaking with you today.

13
00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:11,160
I am especially excited about today's topic, which is about choosing a research project

14
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,160
to work on.

15
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:18,600
Now, if you're a seasoned researcher, you already know you have a whole slew of ideas

16
00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:24,280
that you want to put into practice, that you want to execute, but if you're not, if you

17
00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,760
are like, I don't know which research project to work on, there's so many before me, there's

18
00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,560
so many I could work on, then this episode is for you.

19
00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,680
If you are seasoned and you have no trouble, you should definitely just forward this on

20
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:43,800
to your mentees, but if you need to know how to choose, I'm going to just share some insights

21
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:44,800
with you.

22
00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,600
Now, why do I do this?

23
00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:51,320
I am a clinician scientist myself, and I lead a research team.

24
00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:57,040
We have a health services research program, and I also coach people to succeed in research.

25
00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,640
Now, what's the difference between mentoring and coaching?

26
00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,280
Well, I have a group of mentees who are part of my research program, and I help them kind

27
00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,320
of move forward in the way I've moved forward.

28
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,900
So I've successfully submitted manuscripts.

29
00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:10,760
Now they are learning how to do that.

30
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,280
I've successfully submitted grants.

31
00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,060
They're learning how to do that.

32
00:02:14,060 --> 00:02:18,680
But as a coach, I can help more people, and what I do is I don't necessarily do the work

33
00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,920
for people or show people how to do things, but I help them think about how to best get

34
00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:29,000
the most out of their experience so that they can get what they want.

35
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,800
And so that's helping people kind of think strategically, that's helping people get connected

36
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:40,960
with what they want, and that's helping people really make an investment in themselves so

37
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:46,680
that they can be the best that they can be in moving forward in their careers, because

38
00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,800
your career is only as good as you.

39
00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:53,840
So your fund of knowledge is great, but only to the extent to which you develop yourself,

40
00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,120
are you really able to accelerate and take advantage of the opportunities around you.

41
00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,720
And so that's what I do as a coach.

42
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,600
If you're looking for a coach, reach out to me, send me a DM.

43
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:09,000
I would love to work with you because it is important that we are all really playing our

44
00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:15,360
best game because we win, our families win, and our institutions win as well.

45
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,440
And then clearly our mentees win as well.

46
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:23,960
So anyway, so if you're thinking, how do I consider choosing a research project, I hope

47
00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:31,320
that you won't be like me, because when I started, I just had so many options and there

48
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,560
were so many options and there were so many faculty members saying, hey, come work with

49
00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:39,440
me and hey, I'll help you move forward in this way and hey, I'm going to mentor you.

50
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,360
And it's great when you have all of those options, but then which one do you choose?

51
00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,680
And so if you were like me and you're like, I'll just do everything and hope for the best

52
00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,000
and I'll go with the one that works.

53
00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,680
As I know, that's not the way to think about it.

54
00:03:54,680 --> 00:04:00,160
And I'm going to tell you about five things to think about as you move forward and as

55
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:05,360
you're moving forward in your research career and choosing what projects to work on.

56
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,040
So the first thing that I will say is that you should start with why.

57
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,040
So this is the title of a book written by Simon Sinek and I think it's a book worth

58
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:19,240
reading, but it's important to think about why are you doing this?

59
00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,060
Many times when we first of all started in our careers, we were doing these research

60
00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:25,960
things transactionally.

61
00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:31,440
A lot of the academic scholarly things we did were transactions, like if I do it, I

62
00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:41,640
get credit for doing it and then I'm able to change in or cash in the credit for my

63
00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:42,640
next level.

64
00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:49,800
So I'm a medical student, I do research, okay, I can go on to residency.

65
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:54,480
I am a resident, I do research, great, I can cash in the credit so I can go on to fellowship.

66
00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,440
And so there's a lot of that going on.

67
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,680
But when you finally get to a place where you're kind of like really thinking about

68
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,840
launching your own career, it's not a transaction anymore.

69
00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:06,860
It's what you want to do.

70
00:05:06,860 --> 00:05:10,360
And so you're not exchanging what you're doing for the next level.

71
00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,920
What you're doing is the next level.

72
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:14,600
It is the journey.

73
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,900
And so research is not a destination, it's a journey.

74
00:05:18,900 --> 00:05:23,920
It's a journey that allows you to make an incredible and lasting contribution.

75
00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,440
But to be honest, the journey never ends.

76
00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,040
It's not a journey anyway.

77
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:32,280
You get to the contribution and you're like, that was it, my final contribution.

78
00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,320
There's always more that can be contributed.

79
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,360
So you're going to get to a point in your career where you're going to say, I've contributed

80
00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,040
enough, I'm now going to move on to the next thing.

81
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,940
And maybe that's retirement, maybe that's another research program, maybe that's an

82
00:05:42,940 --> 00:05:44,520
administrative role.

83
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,540
You get to decide because there really is no end.

84
00:05:46,540 --> 00:05:49,680
And so it's important to enjoy the journey.

85
00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:51,280
It's important to enjoy the journey.

86
00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,440
Yes, accolades will come.

87
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,520
You'll get really great research papers out of it.

88
00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:58,160
You'll get great abstracts.

89
00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,360
You'll be called to present in different places.

90
00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,660
All that will happen in due time.

91
00:06:02,660 --> 00:06:05,320
It will happen in due time.

92
00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:09,880
But what's really important when all those things, all those shiny things are not around

93
00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:15,520
you, that you're still engaged and you're still energized by the work you do.

94
00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,820
And you love the discoveries that you're making.

95
00:06:18,820 --> 00:06:23,280
For that reason, it's important to start with why.

96
00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:25,120
Make sure this is work you want to do.

97
00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,640
Make sure this is a population that you really want to invest in.

98
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:30,120
You want them to win.

99
00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:31,120
And so make that investment.

100
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:36,640
Now, it doesn't mean you should only do one single solitary project in that field.

101
00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,040
But if you have a sense of the greater area to which you want to contribute, it frees

102
00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,920
you up to take off little pieces of that and continue to move projects that are kind of

103
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,280
like centered around a theme forward.

104
00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:54,360
And so yes, one project may fail, but they're all centered around a theme.

105
00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,280
So they build upon each other.

106
00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:01,980
They allow you to move things forward so that, okay, this one may fail, but I can now take

107
00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:05,880
all the things I learned from this one and put it in the other one.

108
00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,900
Starting with why allows you to have a sense of purpose about your work.

109
00:07:09,900 --> 00:07:13,760
It allows you to focus and have energy for the work you do.

110
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:18,120
When the rejections come, and they inevitably will, it allows you to pick yourself up and

111
00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,840
move forward because your why is so clear.

112
00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,800
And so if for whatever reason you're disconnected from your why, you're not able to really have

113
00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,400
a clear sense of your purpose, it's there.

114
00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,640
You're just not able to really reveal it.

115
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,460
Working with a coach can be helpful to help you figure it out.

116
00:07:33,460 --> 00:07:37,000
It's a safe space for you to really think through why are you here?

117
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:38,000
Why did you come?

118
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,120
What is a thing to which you can contribute that would really energize you?

119
00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:44,920
And working with a coach can be helpful to help you do that.

120
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,440
So I'm always saying, hey, if you don't have a coach, shout out to me and I'd love to work

121
00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:50,800
with you.

122
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:51,800
So that's it.

123
00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:53,480
Start with why.

124
00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,520
Number two is the power of laser focus.

125
00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,840
I will tell you that as clinicians, we love many shiny things.

126
00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:08,320
We're like TTP, oh, oh, exciting, TMA, whoa, whoa, exciting, single cell, wow, I love single

127
00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:13,120
cell, thrombosis, oh my goodness, it's all thrombosis.

128
00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,520
As clinicians, we love clinical things.

129
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:23,640
We are medicine or med peds, docs at heart, and we're just interested in so many things.

130
00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:29,060
But the problem with shiny object syndrome is that your energy is diffuse.

131
00:08:29,060 --> 00:08:34,900
It's just, you're just doing so many things so you can't gain traction in any one area.

132
00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:39,960
And in reality, if you're going to succeed, if you're going to succeed wildly, if you're

133
00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:44,880
going to succeed and use the least amount of energy doing it, you're going to learn

134
00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,760
how to be super focused.

135
00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,760
It doesn't mean you only do one project and take it to its bitter end.

136
00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,240
And if it failed, it's like, well, I lost seven years of my life.

137
00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:56,240
Doesn't mean that.

138
00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:02,720
But it does mean that you choose a narrow area of focus that you are contributing in.

139
00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,800
And to be honest, there's so much that we don't know.

140
00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,640
So that even a narrow area of focus can even be made more narrow.

141
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,200
But essentially, I think if I think about it as a clinician, choose one disease area

142
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,800
of focus, choose one particular thing that you're interested in, and start chipping

143
00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:20,320
away at that.

144
00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,760
And don't just chip at one spot.

145
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,360
Find a second spot and start chipping away at the second spot.

146
00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:26,560
Find the third spot.

147
00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:28,200
Start chipping away at that.

148
00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,480
And as long as it's all in the same thing, it all is propelling you forward.

149
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,480
So yes, you submitted a grant in the first area which you're chipping away at.

150
00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,600
And then when it comes to the third area, there's still a lot of basic foundational

151
00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,280
structure that you can carry over to the other area.

152
00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:52,300
And so it helps you really gain traction as you're moving forward.

153
00:09:52,300 --> 00:09:57,120
And so it's important to be laser focused.

154
00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:02,280
The other thing to think about, number three, is the value of time spent thinking about

155
00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,140
your project.

156
00:10:04,140 --> 00:10:09,640
When you are working on the same thing day in and day out, even when you're sleeping,

157
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,940
your mind is working.

158
00:10:11,940 --> 00:10:13,720
It's thinking about the project.

159
00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:15,240
It's unraveling things.

160
00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,160
It's kind of dealing with thorny issues.

161
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:24,600
And so the more time you are spent focused in an area of work, the more mileage you're

162
00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:29,520
able to get out of it because your mind is constantly processing.

163
00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:31,560
It's bringing ideas to the fore.

164
00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:32,960
It's workshopping them.

165
00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:38,240
And sometimes you just get these eureka type moments and it looks like serendipity, but

166
00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,760
the reality is that your mind has been working on it because this is just something you keep

167
00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:47,900
bringing to your mind day after day as you engage the project, as you engage different

168
00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:49,580
aspects of the project.

169
00:10:49,580 --> 00:10:55,600
So remember that there is really value to time invested in a project.

170
00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:59,560
And that's why you don't want to just do every project that comes your way.

171
00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:04,360
You want to be strategic about the projects that you choose.

172
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:08,480
Number four is recognizing the power of compound interest.

173
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:13,080
Okay, so it's not compound interest because we're not really talking about investments,

174
00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,360
but we really are talking about investments.

175
00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:19,600
We're not talking about investments of money, but we're talking about investments of time,

176
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,760
energy, focus.

177
00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:27,040
And really over time, all of that effort starts to compound.

178
00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:32,120
And so there may be a long lag time where it looks like there's barely any growth, where

179
00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,280
it looks like there's barely any movement.

180
00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:41,000
And then all of a sudden it just explodes and things start to work and opportunities

181
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,080
start to come.

182
00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,120
They come as you are investing time and energy.

183
00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:53,320
And really all of that time, energy and effort, it compounds over time.

184
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:59,040
And it may take a long time to start compounding, but when it does, it really, really starts

185
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:00,440
to move.

186
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,080
And a lot of that is because you've been investing in one area.

187
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:13,200
Yes, you're diversifying your portfolio in that area, but you're moving forward every

188
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:14,200
time.

189
00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,640
And when things start to move, they really, really, really move because there's the power

190
00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:24,720
of just your continued investment in that area and it really helps to accelerate you

191
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,520
in your work over time.

192
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,080
Don't lose heart as you're waiting for that acceleration to come.

193
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,040
It's why you got to be enjoying the journey.

194
00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:37,720
It's why you start with why so you're in the place that you really want to be when things

195
00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,960
are not going like they're supposed to.

196
00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:46,200
So think about the power of just compounding your efforts and your investments in one area

197
00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,640
of focus.

198
00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,160
The fifth thing you want to think about is the importance of sustainability.

199
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:59,120
Look, you are in an academic career, I hope, for the long haul.

200
00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:05,520
And so I'm thinking 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, possibly 40 years.

201
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,220
You want to enjoy the journey.

202
00:13:08,220 --> 00:13:11,040
You want to make it sustainable.

203
00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:16,400
You want to make sure that this job you're doing, you're going to be able to do it decades

204
00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,400
from now.

205
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:18,400
You're going to be healthy enough.

206
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:24,160
You're not going to be burned out and worn out and just overwhelmed with everything.

207
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:29,360
And so as you're thinking about research projects, think about the importance of sustainability.

208
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,240
So don't just go for the first thing you see.

209
00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,200
Don't just do a knee-jerk reaction and say, I don't want this person to be mad.

210
00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,040
I'll just take it.

211
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,760
You're building a long career.

212
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,600
You're building a long-term career.

213
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:46,640
You're building a long, long, long-term career.

214
00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,760
And you want to make sure that you're going to be able to sustain your interests over

215
00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:52,040
the course of your career.

216
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,380
So I encourage you to think about that as you're thinking about research projects to

217
00:13:56,380 --> 00:13:57,520
work on.

218
00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,680
Ultimately, you get to make the choice.

219
00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:04,600
Nobody else can make the choice for you unless you abdicate your choice and have somebody

220
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:05,600
else choose for you.

221
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,800
And I would say that there is no wrong choice.

222
00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:08,840
There is no right choice.

223
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:14,760
But it is wrong if it's not what you want to do and you're doing it because you're afraid,

224
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:19,200
afraid that there won't be another opportunity, afraid that there won't be another mentor,

225
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:24,520
or afraid that your mentor will abandon you forever and you'll be stuck.

226
00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,520
Don't let fear guide your decision.

227
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,080
Have a sense of purpose.

228
00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,000
Have a sense of abundance.

229
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:40,120
And then trust that as you're choosing, opportunities are going to open up over time so that your

230
00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,160
impact is really maximized and it goes as far as it can.

231
00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,880
I want to invite you, if you've enjoyed this episode, that you would share it with someone

232
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:49,880
else.

233
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:51,600
Leave us a five-star review.

234
00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,720
Help other people find us.

235
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,000
And send me feedback.

236
00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:01,480
I will be looking for your DMs through Facebook or Instagram or even on LinkedIn.

237
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:07,120
I am open to hearing from you about how we can better serve you on the podcast.

238
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,120
It's been a pleasure to talk with you today.

239
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:20,600
I look forward to the next time.

240
00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:25,960
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic

241
00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:31,400
clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they

242
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:32,760
have a mentor.

243
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:38,880
If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.

244
00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:40,600
Someone else needs to hear it.

245
00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,660
So take a minute right now and share it.

246
00:15:44,660 --> 00:15:50,120
As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation

247
00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:56,080
of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.