A-I-T
Forum Features Advice for Tomorrow's Cardiovascular Specialists
With
opportunities and funds flowing, there may never have been a
better time to pursue a career in medical research. Four renowned
physician-investigators concurred on this point during the 2002
Affiliates-in-Training Forum. Their audience included more than
500 Affiliate-in-Training members of the American College of
Cardiology who had assembled during the lunchtime presentation
to gather advice on career planning and success.
The College's Cardiology Training and Workforce Committee
and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Inc., host the A-I-T Forum every
year, typically focusing on career options for cardiovascular
fellows-in-training. The committee's chair, Valentin Fuster,
MD, PhD, titled this year's forum, "What I Want to Be" and
personally addressed prospects for physicians who plan to
become "a triple threat," the venerable intersection of clinician,
educator, and investigator." Invited speakers included Eugene
Braunwald, MD, who discussed careers in clinical investigation;
Bradford C. Berk, MD, who focused on basic investigation;
and Eric N. Prystowsky, MD, who provided insights into being
"a clinician with a niche."
"Never
have funds been more available for research," observed Dr.
Fuster. Dr. Braunwald agreed: "The time has never been better
for cardiovascular research," he said. "I have been around
the track a number of times, and the opportunities—in
terms of questions that we are able to ask now and try to
answer as a result of the biologic revolution—have never
been more plentiful. These are important questions that are
going to make a difference in patient care."
Along
with such observations, each presenter dished up words of
wisdom, along with observations about the state of the field,
in bite-size pieces:
-
Employ a "personal search and approach," advised
Dr. Fuster. "Find out what you are good at, and then pursue
it wholeheartedly. You have to pursue what you are, not
what the world appears to be offering you," he said. "It
doesn't matter if you end up being an echocardiographer,
a clinician, …whatever it is, do it well and enjoy it."
-
Exploit the creativity that comes with youth.
"The biological clock ticks very steadily. Our peak powers
of creativity come relatively early in life," said Dr. Braunwald.
"If you're going to pursue a career in research, get on
it as quickly as you can."
- Be
focused.
"This is very difficult to do when you're young, but it's
crucial. You'll open like an umbrella with time. Don't start
out like an umbrella. If you do, it'll be raining constantly,
and you'll be in trouble," warned Dr. Fuster, whose comment
was seconded by Dr. Prystowsky. "It helps to have your own
little niche…. You have to have fun, or it won't be worth
doing," he said. (Watch for the next issue of Affiliates
in Training, which will examine the host of such niches
available for today's cardiovascular specialists.)
-
Learn how to write a grant application. "That
is going to be your calling card for the future," noted
Dr. Berk.
-
Devote yourself to the study of a question, a problem, or
a disease, and stay with it. "The
question is what is important. Don't become the slave of
a single technique, but do master the techniques that are
required to answer the question," recommended Dr. Braunwald.
"It's a very common trap…no longer asking questions but
instead becoming technicians."
-
Choose your mentor—or mentors—carefully. "The
more mentors you have, the better…the chair of medicine,
the chief of cardiology, your laboratory director, …all
these are critical mentors," advised Dr. Berk. "You should
actually create a committee of several people who could
guide you." But don't select mentors casually, warned Dr.
Braunwald. "It is very, very easy for the wrong laboratory
mentor to ruin an aspiring scientist," he noted.
-
Have idols, or heroes.
Have role models, such as Nobel Prize winners, and learn
how they achieved success, advised Dr. Berk.
-
Surround yourself with the best people.
"That's my take-home message," said Dr. Berk. "Find a laboratory
that challenges you because you think the people there are
so smart. …Talk to people who have been through the lab.
Make sure there's a sense of excitement about what's coming
out in the journals. That's what will make you think about
your own research."
-
Don't get discouraged.
"Research is a creative process," noted Dr. Braunwald. "Don't
get discouraged if you don't knock the ball out of the park
the first time you're at bat." Research is also time consuming,
added Dr. Berk. "No matter how good you are, research takes
time," he said. "There are no shortcuts, only incomplete
experiments."
|
