Transcript
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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills
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to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.
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As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients.
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When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find
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that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research
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program.
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Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit.
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However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.
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For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians
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the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.
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Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.
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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.
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I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is an absolute pleasure to be talking with you
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right now.
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Thank you so much for tuning in.
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I am excited to be bringing you today's episode about broadening your circle of influence.
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Again, broadening your circle of influence.
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And I'm so excited to bring this episode to you because it comes from a recent experience
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I had of sitting in a room.
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Actually, it was a virtual room, a virtual room full of physicians, women physicians,
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who are working to improve their financial knowledge.
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And I joined this community about a year ago today, and it never ceases to just change
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my mind because I have to tell you that as an academic physician, I don't talk about
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many very much.
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I just, in general, we talk about money, not at all.
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Sometimes we talk about a raise, maybe, you know, for the most part, it's just not part
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of our conversation.
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And I don't know about you, but as a medical student, as a resident, as a fellow, nobody
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was talking about money.
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And if they were, they were talking about it kind of on the, you know, in secret as
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if it was something to be ashamed about.
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And I know that the experience can be different for women versus men.
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So I don't know what your experience was.
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But in general, I think our society doesn't talk openly about money.
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We do gripe about it.
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We complain about it, but we don't always talk openly about strategies to improve our
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lot.
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Now, this episode is not about money, but I share my experience in this community to
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say that every time I'm around this group of women, my mind is blown because I'm like,
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oh my goodness, is that a strategy?
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What?
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And I'm always surprised.
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And what's really cool is that because, you know, it's money, so you don't have to necessarily,
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you know, have your own special specialty to be part of this group.
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It's very much a multi-specialty, multidisciplinary group.
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For that reason, I interact in this group with more people than I do, more people outside
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my specialty than I do at work.
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Because at work, I'm a hematologist, I hang out with the hematologist, and sometimes I'm
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consulting for maybe the surgeons or the internist.
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But there are people in the hospital I'll never meet because you know what?
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We just don't have any reason for us to run in the same circles at work.
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So it's been a real pleasure to be part of this group.
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And just for in the interest of full disclosure, and because I really value this group, it's
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Money Fit MD group with Dr. Latifat.
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She just does a great job.
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I mean, she's outstanding.
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You should look her up.
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Absolutely.
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She's been on the podcast before.
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So if you haven't already, look up her episode.
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But I share that to say that it is so vital, so important for us to step outside of our
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circle of influence.
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Because the only way we ever broaden our own influence is by broadening our circle.
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And in broadening our circle, we also broaden our circle of influence.
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Now I'm advocating that we think about ways in which we can up the ante in exposing ourselves,
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and I mean that in a good way, to people who are not like us.
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Like I don't talk to GI doctors, those proceduralists always scoping.
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I don't do scoping.
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I'm an E&M doc, right?
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There's no reason I would run into a GI doc unless they were consulting or something like
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that.
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But in these circles, everyone's talking about money, everyone's concerned about money.
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And so the GI docs are there.
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They have a different perspective.
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They have different strategies they think about.
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And so I realize that by being in a circle of people who think differently from me, who
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approach life differently, who solve problems differently, I get strategies that help me
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in my E&M medicine world.
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And now I'm not just talking with regard to finances or clinical work.
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I'm just talking in general that every time you're in a space, you're exposed to other
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people, something changes.
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And so that's what I'm here to talk about.
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Okay.
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The first thing I want to share is that it broadens your perspectives.
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So you're a cool person.
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I don't know who you are listening to me right now, but I just need you to know you're super
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cool.
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I know that because first you're listening to me and cool people recognize cool people.
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Haha.
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But also you went to medical school.
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You took this crazy leap of faith and you throw away your 20s.
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And you decided it was a worthy investment to serve humanity.
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And that makes you super cool.
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You've learned a lot.
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You had a lot of experiences.
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You came out on the other side of your training, totally different than how you walked in.
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You are super cool, super cool.
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And you could be cooler still because there are so many cool people you haven't even met
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yet who will broaden your perspective, who will show you that in fact, your view of the
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world is kind of small.
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As a case in point, I had a meeting with statisticians today and this was a particular statistical
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collaboration that's coming to an end.
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And I remember thinking, I remember where I was before I met you in this collaboration.
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I knew very little about statistics.
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Now I've taken all those statistical courses that you've probably taken too, statistics
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one and two, advanced statistics.
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And I still am no nearer to being a statistician than I was when I didn't take any statistical
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courses.
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Right.
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And my conversation with them on a weekly basis transformed my understanding of statistics
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because they broaden my perspective.
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And to be honest, what I realized is that I did not have respect for statisticians like
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I should have, but now I have a great deal of respect.
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What I realized is that they have knowledge gaps about clinical medicine, but I have knowledge
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gaps about that statistics.
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And so it has been a wonderful exchange of clinical for statistical knowledge.
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They have broadened my perspective.
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They're like iron sharpening my iron.
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So together we're sharpened.
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Sparks fly, sometimes there are fires, but we are both better at the end.
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And so whoever is in your circle right now, you came into the circle, right?
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You didn't used to be in medicine.
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You came into clinical medicine.
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You were up shoulders with all these amazing physicians that you work with.
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That's great.
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And now there's opportunity for more.
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You didn't used to do research in health services and then you came into health services research
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research.
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You had all these collaborators that you've been working with and there is more.
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There is more opportunity to broaden your networks and don't be afraid to lean into
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it.
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Don't be afraid to step into it.
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Don't be afraid to do the impossible, to do the unthinkable.
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And I mean that in a good way, but definitely you want to broaden your perspectives because
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it changes who you are as a scientist.
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It changes who you are as a clinician.
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And it's absolutely important.
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Number two goes without saying, networking opportunities come from interacting with people
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that you usually wouldn't interact with because honestly, people are the only people that
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open doors for other people.
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Yes, I know that is all circular, but in life, the difference maker will always be, has always
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been people.
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Like the people who, the things that really make you mad, people.
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The things that really bring you joy, people.
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The things you love so much, people.
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These people.
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And so whenever you can broaden your networks of people, that's another opportunity for
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an introduction to the next thing or the next thing or the next thing after that.
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I'll give an example.
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I got an email today from someone who was like, we think you're an expert who can speak
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to blah, blah, blah.
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And in my mind, I'm first of all like, well, yeah, I can see that I'm, well, I don't know.
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I'm not even, I didn't even feel so confident I was the expert they were looking for.
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But my first thought was where, how did you find me?
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I don't know you.
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How did you find me?
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I mean, but clearly it's a legit, legit request, but I didn't know this person.
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But I don't know how they got my information, but clearly it has to come from someone else.
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So people knowing people, knowing people, knowing people.
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People is how you grow your networks.
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People is how you have opportunities.
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People is how you have access to opportunities.
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So whatever it is that you don't have within you, and you got a lot within you, it exists
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in somebody who is already within your circle.
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Whatever you need already exists in you or in somebody that surrounds you, right?
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Or someone who's connected to someone in your circle.
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And so networking opportunities abound when you leave your safe space and go occupy space
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elsewhere.
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And now this is something I want to point out.
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You know, I don't know about you, but I've done all these career development type things
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where you go and you're together with a group for a weekend and you have such a blast.
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You're like, oh my gosh, you are so cool.
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The weekend is over and that's it.
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It's like, well, you know, the weekend's over.
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You never connect again.
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And I want to say that there is something to be said about being in community routinely,
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consistently over an extended period of time.
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And that's something that I've found to be really beneficial because sometimes the treasure
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that is in people takes time to be revealed.
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And so, you know, many times we talk about networking, about going to conferences and
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meeting people and I tell you that that's good.
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And I totally recommend and encourage that.
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What's important is to establish relationships, establish long-term opportunities for connectedness
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because more important than the one-off meetings at meetings, at conferences are the relationships
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that are sustained even if they're not deep relationships.
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The women I meet with in this group, we meet once a week.
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That's it.
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We meet once a week.
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We're not best friends, but when we do get together, we have a great time and we're able
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to think about each other because we kind of meeting routinely.
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Right.
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And so there's more opportunity for connections to occur because it's a long-term, long-term
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relationship or long-term community.
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So I just encourage finding community, real community as you're building and expanding
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your networks.
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Okay.
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So networking opportunities, number two.
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Number three is learning and growth.
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I already talked about, you know, my experience with statisticians.
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I, you know, I feel like I know a thing or two about statistics, but there's a lot I
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don't know.
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And so being in a constant, constant experience, constant community with statisticians over
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the course of a year or two years, three years, I've really learned a lot.
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I've expanded.
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I have a new appreciation for statisticians and the work they do.
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I have a new recognition of how long it really takes to give me that simple page of statistics
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I think I want.
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I'm learning.
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I'm growing.
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In fact, I can speak statistically now.
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Actually, to be honest, I can't still, but what happens though is now when they're having
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conversations, I just don't feel like I'm lost, right?
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Now I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, regression, of course.
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Yeah, of course.
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Yeah, I know what that means.
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Where before it was like, what are they saying is this English?
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And so there's opportunity for learning and growth that comes from leaving your circle
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to meet new friends, to meet new colleagues.
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Number four is innovation and creativity.
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Innovation and creativity.
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So here's the thing.
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There's nothing new in this world.
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Nothing really.
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What we're doing is we're borrowing from other fields and bringing them to our field.
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And then it's like, oh, this is innovative.
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Yeah, innovation is just about borrowing what somebody else is doing, a way they've solved
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their problem to solve your problem.
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It's a new way of looking at really old problems, right?
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Innovation, creativity, it's applying your knowledge to creating new things, right?
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And so when you go elsewhere, you're like, oh, okay, they solved it this way.
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That's interesting.
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It makes you think differently about the problems you're looking at.
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And that is so wild as a scientist.
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So awesome.
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Because what are we doing in science?
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We're solving problems.
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And then somebody else has already solved a problem or at least has got further than
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we have in their sphere.
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And then we connect with them and we think, wait a minute, we could apply that to our
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sphere of research.
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And what would that break?
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And so it spurs innovation and creativity.
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And it's funny.
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It's like they've been doing it before.
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So it's not like it's new to them.
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It's new to you.
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It's new to your field.
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It changes the way you think.
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It is so awesome.
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Like when the light bulb moment you have when you want somebody else solve a problem that
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you have and you're like, wait a minute, you mean I could do X, Y, Z. It is so powerful.
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Doesn't happen in the circle of friends that you know and love and are safe and comfortable
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with.
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It happens when you expose yourself to people who think differently from you, people who
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have problems that are different from your problems.
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So taking the time to step outside of your comfort zone and going and immersing yourself,
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especially longitudinally in a community that's different from yours is so helpful because
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it transforms the way you think.
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All right.
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That is innovation and creativity.
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Number five is career advancement.
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Yes, career advancement.
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So you know the thing they tell you where you come, you put your head down, you work,
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work, work, work, work, you meet the metrics, you get promoted, all of it is a lie?
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Actually I walk that back.
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I walk that back.
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They're not lying to you.
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They just are not giving you the whole picture.
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I'm only just realizing now that doing all of that hard work is fine, and please do it,
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but that there are people who don't do that and they still advance like they're crazy.
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And it's like, wait a minute, I have more publications than you.
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How are you further ahead than me?
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And please don't do that.
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Don't compare yourself to other people because it's always a losing battle.
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Talk to us.
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What I'm saying is that you realize that when you want to compare papers to papers, grants
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to grants, many of the people who are moving ahead at a pace that's faster than you would
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expect them to move.
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If someone has published 3,000 papers, you're like, of course, I expect that you're a full
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professor with tenure and three endowed chairs because you've done this crazy stuff.
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So those people we get were like, yeah, you definitely got above and beyond.
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You totally deserve all that.
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And then there's some people who are like, oh yeah, I don't get it.
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Yeah, it doesn't make sense.
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And I realized that many times, not always, but many times the difference maker is that
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they have networks and relationships.
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You know what, if you're going to invite someone to come give a talk at your institution and
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you had a choice between famous guy, so famous, but you don't even know who he is and not
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quite so famous, but your buddy from med school, who are you going to invite?
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Yeah, okay.
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That's exactly how people think.
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People want to connect with people they already are connected with.
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Here we are talking about leaving your connections, like going outside.
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And in reality, people like to stick with people they already know.
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And so many times when we talk about this whole need for national recognition, for people
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to invite you for talks, well, you think that the more papers you publish, the more invitations
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you get.
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It's like the more people know you, the more invitations you get.
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And if they know you because you were connected in high school or you went to some one year
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longitudinal career development program together, same difference.
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You've taken 20 years to build your portfolio and now they know you.
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Or it's been 10 years or five years in your portfolio, but they still know you.
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People want to connect with people they already know.
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And so all those things about national reputation and international reputation, it all comes
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from people you know.
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I'll tell you that I was recently putting together materials for promotion and I found
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out as I was in researching metrics that were going to help explain my impact beyond the
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H index, I found out that I had published over 50% of my papers with international collaborators.
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Was it 38%?
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It was a high percentage where I was like, what?
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Who do I know who's international?
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And it turns out that I have an international collaborator I've worked with long term, but
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they weren't international technically when they started because we were working at the
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same place.
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But I was like, oh yeah, this person is international, but I hadn't really thought about it.
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But now I go to get promoted and that matters.
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All of a sudden it looks like, I mean, I do, but it looks like I have international connections
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and I do have international connections, but not in the way I'm thinking about, right?
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Because I'm thinking, yes, they know me because now my papers are circulating the world.
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Most people's papers will not circulate the world until long after their death, but your
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friends will circulate.
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So many of the things that go into promotion are really based honestly on who knows you.
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The more people you know, especially outside of your little sphere, the more you are able
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to succeed in the things that people think we're supposed to put our head down and write,
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write, write, write, write, and publish, publish, publish.
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Don't get me wrong, all those things are important and good.
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That's all you're doing.
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You are playing a losing game.
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And I say that kindly, I hope you receive it as kind because that's what I learned a
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few, actually it wasn't even that long ago.
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And they were like, Toyosi, this is one of my colleagues who may be listening.
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And he was like, Toyosi, Toyosi, Toyosi, if you are putting your head down doing all this
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work, it's not the way it works.
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And I appreciate him.
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Usually a guy, I feel like who has the inside information.
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It's like, wait a minute, where was I when you were getting all this information?
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Anyway, but no, no, no harm, no foul.
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It's all good.
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But I do want to share with you that if you are really serious about advancing, and some
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of you don't care to advance in the academic environment, that's fine.
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But if you are interested in advancing, you're going to want to broaden your circle for sure.
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You don't want to do it in a way that's organic and natural to you, not feeling like, oh,
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must make friends, must connect, must do mentoring and networking.
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Don't think of it that way.
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Just relax.
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You're good at making friends.
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You've been doing it all your life.
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This is the same thing.
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Just make sure you put yourself in spaces where it becomes easy to do that, rather than
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the drive by during conferences.
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Oh, wait a minute, can I shake your hand as you're running to the next thing?
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So anyway, I feel like I've said, I've talked about that a lot.
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So career advancement.
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Number six is support and mentorship.
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Now I don't know what it is about our own institutions, but many people are invested
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in keeping the status quo.
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And sometimes the status quo does not support early career faculty.
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And I'm not sure why that is, but it is.
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It is what it is.
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The status quo doesn't always favor early career faculty.
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And even though your mentors are lovely, and I have and have had lovely, lovely mentors,
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many times people at your own institution, whether they know it or not, unconscious bias
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is a real thing.
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They're trying to maintain the status quo.
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And so when you come with your brilliant ideas and you're like, oh, this is what I want to
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do, they're like, yeah, we've never done it like this before.
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And they support you, but they're kind of lukewarm about it.
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Right?
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They are.
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Because you're threatening the status quo and people are people.
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They like things to stay exactly the same, even when everything is changing, they're
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going to hold on to their little corner of sameness.
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I'm like that too.
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So this is not a judgment on people.
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It's just the way it is.
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Right?
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But it's a challenge for you because you're coming in with new ideas and innovations and
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you want to advance things and you want to transform things.
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You're pushing hard.
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Now some people have great mentorship and everybody loves the new ideas that they bring,
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which is great.
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Most of us don't have that.
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Right?
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So one of the things that you can do is break outside of your institution.
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And it's so important actually to cultivate a network of mentors and sponsors outside
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of your institution.
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So what's the difference between a mentor at your institution versus a mentor at another
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institution?
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Location.
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Yes.
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All politics is local politics.
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Right?
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If you are trying to advance in this way, somebody else is seeing you as threatening to their
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position in your institution, the person at the other institution couldn't care less
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how well you advanced.
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Right?
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Like, well, we don't care because your management doesn't affect me.
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So they're more likely to be open.
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They're more likely to share with you things that your mentors might not share with you
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because they kind of are biased or they have conflict.
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Right?
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00:22:02,260 --> 00:22:07,620
And so if you only have mentors at your own institution, you are doing yourself a disservice.
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And even if your mentors are great, you're doing yourself a disservice because what you
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need is a diversity of mentors and you need mentors who are outside your institution.
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So you want to cultivate your network of mentors and sponsors outside of your institution.
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As much as you have great people at your institution, please make sure that you are cultivating
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outside of our institution.
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Okay?
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All right.
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That's number six.
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Finally, number seven has to do with increased influence.
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The more people know you, the more people know you.
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And the more people know you, the more people who know you are impressed by how many people
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know you.
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And they're like, well, I don't think much about her, but all these other people from
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all these other institutions are saying she's great.
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Maybe there is something to be said for that.
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People just don't think much about the people they already know.
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Nobody can be great in their own family in the way that they're like, wait a minute,
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I changed your diapers.
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What do you mean you're like top dog and I should look up to you with respect?
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People are just people.
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Right?
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And it's fine.
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It's the way it is.
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It's your institution.
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Until somebody else comes and says, this person's really, really cool.
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And they're like, huh, this person?
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And then they look at you with new eyes.
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So it increases your influence.
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00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:23,500
All right.
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Seven things I'm going to recap.
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Number one, broadens your perspectives.
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Number two, gives you networking opportunities.
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Number three, it helps you learn and grow.
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Number four, gives you innovation and creativity.
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Number five, career advancement for sure.
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Number six, increases your support and mentorship networks.
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Number seven, increases your influence even within your own institution.
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I hope you will consider, and I'm inviting you to consider, what are some spaces that
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are open to you that are not the people you typically hang out with that you will pursue
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00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:03,380
this week?
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Maybe it's a career development award opportunity.
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Maybe it's just a professional development opportunity.
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Maybe it's a career development opportunity.
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Whatever it is, what circles can you insert yourself into?
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Longitudinal, not talking about the drive-by networking thing.
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What longitudinal circles can you insert yourself into in the next week or apply for or put
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on your list of things to apply for that gets you connected with people who don't think
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like you, don't look like you, don't walk like you, don't talk like you?
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I invite you to think about that this week.
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And then I'd love for you to tell me about it because I'd love to hear how your expanded
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networking is transforming your career, especially as a clinician researcher.
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I want to say that it's been so fun talking with you today.
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I was so excited to talk about this topic and I'm so glad that you stayed till the end.
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00:24:52,940 --> 00:24:58,540
I look forward to talking with you again next time on the Clinician Researcher Podcast.
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00:24:58,540 --> 00:25:05,460
Thank you for listening.
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Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast where academic
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00:25:10,820 --> 00:25:16,260
clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they
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have a mentor.
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If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.
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Someone else needs to hear it.
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00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:29,520
So take a minute right now and share it.
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As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation
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of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.