“Scientists are becoming more and more aware of the need to communicate the importance of science ”
Susmita Pati is Chief Medical Program Advisor for the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University as well as a Professor of Pediatrics at Stony Brook University. We discuss the importance of scientists being able to communicate with the public, what is at stake (credibility & funding), and the tools she and her team have to help us get better, including the upcoming Immersion program. The inclusivity and the importance of this work resonate!
Key learnings
1. How Susmita came to realize importance of clear communication as the child of immigrant parents
2. Emphasizing communication skills for when a scientist connects with the public
3. How aware are scientists about the gap between public expectations and their skill set
4. The expectation from those who fund science to have the findings be properly communicated to the public
5. What is at stake when we are asked to speak to the public: credibility and funding
6. The international impact of the Alda Center to date
7. Choosing the word “scientist” in creating the scope of this project
8. The value of creating experiential workshops along the dictum “see one, do one, teach one”
9. Learning “Yes, and…” along with the value of making your teammates look good
10. The components that make the workshops maximally effective
11. Where pushback comes from and what success looks like
“In some ways, you’re picking for someone that you don’t yet know”
David Epstein is an investigative reporter and author who just released the exquisite and challenging #1 New York Times bestselling book “Range.” In this conversation we explore specialization in medicine, the importance of having range, & Match Quality, which is the smartest take on the origins of burnout I’ve heard. Absolutely fascinating barely describes David’s research and perspectives this was really fun.
Key Learnings
1. Walking into the Lion’s Den of specialization in medicine
2. Increasing specialization in medicine as inevitable, beneficial, but also riven with side effects
3. Wherein we discuss partial meniscus repair and orthopedic surgeon jokes
4. The problem with “years of acceleratingly narrow study” in a teacher-student relationship
5. Specialization as driver or mitigator of burnout in medicine
6. Match Quality and how it can change how we consider burnout in medicine
7. The error in thinking that specialized technologies can replace a human doctor
8. Diversity, pluripotency and our shared journey with Match Quality
9. The difference between having range and being a dilettante
10. Reaching outside the core of your normal network to become a better leader and colleague
11. Enabling range through technology
12. The concept of Talent-Based Branching and the importance of coaching to help optimize Match Quality
13. The time of fastest personality change and how it overlaps with when doctors choose their career
14. The origin of David’s interest in medicine and writing about Sudden Cardiac Death
Jen Gunter is the Internet’s Gynecologist, a New York Times contributor, and an amazing voice on social media. She is simultaneously releasing her highly anticipated book “The Vagina Bible” and her TV show “Jensplaining.” She joins me to discuss how authenticity and expertise brought her to this point, meeting people where they live, and the Jen Gunter Twitter Response Pyramid
Photograph by Chloe Jackson Photography
Key Learnings
1. The importance of mission-driven decision making in building a body of work
2. How Jen has become a physician-celebrity without changing her mission
3. The importance of facts and informed decision-making in Jen’s mission
4. Creating “The Vagina Bible” and how Jen writes like she talks
5. The Jen Gunter Twitter Response Pyramid & dealing w/ Twitter attacks
Shikha Jain is an Oncologist at Rush University who is an expert at many things: research, public speaking and podcasting. Where she is truly ascendant is in creating spaces for collaboration and community in the form of the Women in Medicine Summit. We have a spirited discussion about Heat-Checks, making conferences forward-facing to the public, and internet trolls.
Key Learnings
1. The Shikha Jain Heat-Check
2. The continuum of collaboration from social media to conferences
3. Origins of Women In Medicine Summit
4. Including men in conversations and conferences around gender bias
5. Lost opportunities when conferences are only for a live audience
6. Bringing conference content to a wider audience
7. Pluses and minuses around making conference material available live on social media
8. Inviting people to use social media during a presentation & the impact it has
9. Being ready for negative feedback & pushing through Imposter Syndrome
10. Dealing with Internet Trolls and eyebrow insults
Laurie Baedke is Director of Healthcare Leadership Programs at Creighton University as well as an entrepreneur, leadership coach, author and speaker who has helped physicians, organizations and leaders of all stripes do one thing: get better. We tackle how she has dismantled stereotypes, what Growth Mindset means to her (Rose Lavelle’s World Cup goal is prominently featured) and the tension of administrator growth vs physician growth. An absolute treat to speak with her.
Key Learnings
1. Starting off a career in coaching and speaking
2. Getting past the stereotype that physicians resist outside input
3. Laurie’s expertise in building growth through seeking insight from her audience
“I’ve never regretted having agency. I’ve only been ashamed of the times when I didn’t value my own voice.”
Rana Awdish is an ICU physician, Medical Director of Care Experience for Henry Ford Health System, and the author of the stunning book “In Shock.” In this discussion we go into the darkness and make our way back towards the light while discussing her lived experience and this extraordinary book. Rana is tough, brilliant, and amazing to speak with, this is important stuff.
Key Learnings
1. The unrelenting nature of Rana’s journey
2. Walking into the Darkness around the culture of medicine
3. Seeing the book become something foundational in repairing our culture
4. Findings partners with a vision to make healthcare better and do it in a scalable way
5. Exploring the concept of “assuredness” and recognizing it is a learned skill
6. Why saying someone does or does not have a good bedside manner can be a lie
7. Fostering values instead of demonstrating a checklist approach to communication
8. Safe spaces to communicate with ourselves and our teammates
9. Recognizing the extent of injury to physicians and the acceptance of it as “normal”
10. The act of firing a physician
11. Why Rana didn’t share the book with anyone until after publication
12. Which book is the fictional equivalent of “In Shock”
13. Parts of life that feel different now
14. Two amazing stories about letting your spouse edit your book and how illness illuminates a relationship
15. The role clinical medicine plays in her life & making the decision to go back to work
“The new academic has the potential to release the research Kraken”
Teresa Chan is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at McMaster University and Social Media Lead for the Department of Medicine. She is also a cornerstone in the emergence of digital and social media in the profession of medicine. We discuss her extraordinary list of achievements to date, the importance of job security, #SoMe as a leveler, and the fun of mentorship in this space. She is smart, accomplished, witty, and a true visionary.
Key Learnings
1. An incredible checklist!
2. Connecting digitally as a tool for driving creativity and research
3. Boardgames!
4. Job security as an accelerant of social media use
5. Leveling the professional playing field on social media
6. How employers, journals & professional societies are adapting to the new social media landscape
7. Folding Instagram into the current #SoMe workflow
8. Excitement around mentorship in the social media world and the thrill of elevating others
“I’m in the unique position to say things that physicians can’t.”
Janae Sharp is the founder of The Sharp Index and a powerful voice for physician well-being in the wake of her husband’s suicide. She is a remarkably strong person and an incredible physician advocate. We cover the current state around physician burnout, what makes us angry, creating The Sharp Index, and her wish list to make things better including a proper Next-Level Bonkers idea (23:20)
Key Learnings
1. Coming to decision to share her story around physician suicide
2. Places where things are getting better around physician suicide and burnout.
3. Frustrations and anger around blame-shifting & lack of attention for survivors
4. Why the voice of non-physician is so resonant in speaking on behalf of physicians around burnout and suicide
5. The seed crystal idea behind creating The Sharp Index and demonstrating the maxim “perfection is the enemy of progress”
6. Learning about the impact of electronic health records with her health IT background.
“We have to be sure we create the world where everybody is heard, everybody has value, & we embrace everybody”
Tom Varghese is the Executive Medical Director of The Huntsman Cancer Institute and a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. He is also an incredibly kind and positive ambassador for the profession of Medicine on stage, in the OR, and on social media. We discuss a new day in surgical culture, being a He for She ambassador, and how men can be allies in the fight for gender equality in medicine
Key Learnings
1. Tom’s evolution on social media and impact of positive communication
2. How’s Tom’s approach reflects on a new era of building culture in the profession of surgery and in the operating room
“Uncertainty never goes away. You just cultivate this beautiful, terrible relationship with it over time”
Jennifer Best is Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at University of Washington. She joins us after spending several weeks serving as supervising attending physician for a multidisciplinary team including a group of new Internal Medicine interns. We discuss helping change mindset from medical student to physician, building a relationship with uncertainty & answering the question “does this get easier?”
Key Learnings
1. The mindset needed for an attending to help interns settle in and create group expectations
2. An exercise in team-building that resonates and why Medicine Team A is hired
3. Recurring tension points that Jennifer is alert for working with new interns (this is gold!)
4. Why its time to retire “Intern” as a label
5. The value of direct language in a team structure
6. Building a relationship with uncertainty
7. Superstitions & nutrition points that are passed down through the generations
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