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Top 12 tips for research success in fellowship and early academic faculty years
Congratulations! You have matched in a competitive medical subspecialty or you have secured your first faculty position. But what do you do now? Success in your early career – as a new fellow or a new attending – requires both hard work and perseverance. We present our top 12 tips for how to be successful as you transition into your new position.
Tip #1: Be kind to yourself
As you transition from medical resident to GI fellow or from GI fellow to first-time attending, it is important to recognize that you are going through a major career transition (not as major as fourth year to intern, but probably a close second). First and foremost, remember to be kind to yourself and set reasonable expectations. You need to allow yourself time to transition to a new role which may also be in a new city or state. Take care of yourself – don’t forget to exercise, eat well, and sleep. You are in the long game now. Work to get yourself in a routine that is sustainable. Block out time to exercise, explore your new city, meal plan, and pursue your interests outside of medicine.
Tip #2: Set up for success
Since you are going through this major life/career transition, it is really helpful if you can set yourself up for success by having some projects that are easily completed during this challenging time so that you can demonstrate success. If you have projects in different stages of development, you will always have something you can work on when some projects are delayed for reasons outside of your control. In particular, it is great to have a few papers ready to go during late fellowship so they are published during your first year as an academic attending! This will allow you to continue your research trajectory as you learn the ropes of your new position.
Tip #3: Ask for help
It turns out you cannot do everything on your own! Make sure you are getting help professionally and personally so that you are set up for success. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or confused; we all do at some point or another. Fellowship and early academic faculty years are stressful and nobody expects you to do it alone. Chances are your mentors or cofellows have had similar struggles, and in opening up, this dialogue may help you both.
Tip #4: Write out your 5-year plan
You need to know where you are going before you can figure out how to get there. Take some time for “soul searching”: Think about where you would like to be in 5 years and work backward (along with help from your mentors; see Tip #5) to determine how best to get there. If you think a career in academia might be for you, it’s never too soon to start networking and involving yourself in research. If a specific institution or clinical position draws your attention, check out the current faculty. You can use their CVs as a roadmap of types of experiences and honors that should be on your radar throughout these 5 years. Remember that your 5-year plan is not written in stone – this is something that you should re-evaluate as your interests and priorities change throughout your career.
Tip #5: Develop your personal ‘Board of Directors’
Instead of trying to find the perfect mentor, we suggest you seek out a personal “Board of Directors” who can serve as your mentoring team. There will never be a single perfect mentor for you and it is likely that you will need separate mentors to help guide you on different aspects of your career. I personally have separate individuals serving as my clinical mentor, my research content mentor, my research methods mentor, my career mentor, and my personal/life mentor. Having multiple mentors allows you to maximize the impact of your different mentors’ strengths across each component of your career. Further, your mentors themselves may have past histories of collaboration that you may then leverage to buoy your own fledgling career. When deciding on who to choose as a mentor, it is important to talk to prior mentees about their experiences with a mentor to help you decide if you may be a good match.
Tip #6: Master the art of “Menteering”
Now that you have identified mentors, you need to do your part in nurturing this mentee-mentor relationship. Be an excellent mentee: Show up, stick to a timeline, bring ideas and enthusiasm, and make it easy for your mentor. Your mentors want to see you succeed and sometimes this requires you to help them help you. If you know your own learning style and how you like to interact, have that conversation with your mentor upfront (for example, you may need strict deadlines or you may prefer having more time to develop ideas). Having these conversations before you start a project or a relationship will help set the expectations and ensure effective communication with your mentor. If you find that your mentor is doing something that hinders your progress, such as asking for updates too often or not checking in enough, have a constructive conversation with them about how you feel. Come prepared for meetings with your mentor with an agenda and timeline. Be specific if there is something you need from your mentor and be respectful of their other commitments. For example, if you would like your mentor to review your grant application, let them know the grant deadline and find out when you need to get them a draft so that they will have time to provide meaningful feedback.
Tip #7: Identify sponsors
Equally, if not more important than your mentoring team, are sponsors. These are people in positions of power who will promote you and help push your career forward. Sponsors can be people more senior to you, cofellows, or even acquaintances in industry or pharmaceuticals. Your mentor may also be your sponsor, but not always. As early academic faculty, it is important to get your name out there with speaking engagements related to your clinical and research niche, and that is one way a sponsor can help bolster your career.
Tip #8: Develop your personal brand – what is on your T-shirt?
As medicine becomes more and more subspecialized, finding your brand is becoming increasingly important. A brand could be anything from your academic niche to social justice, or even social media utilization. Your brand should encompass what you are naturally excited by within your field. Finding your brand will not only distinguish you from your peers but will also provide you with expertise which you can then offer to your colleagues, near and far. Practice the “elevator pitch” of your personal brand so that you can effectively (and efficiently) describe yourself and your interests when meeting new people and networking.
Tip #9: Meet thought leaders in your field
Think of the top five or six most prominent and influential people in your area of clinical or research interest and introduce yourself. This can be done at a national meeting or simply over email, though in person is always best if possible. Although thought leaders are busy, in my experience, if you are persistent, you can always find a few minutes to make an introduction. I’ve shared cab rides just to get a few minutes of someone’s time. In my first few years on faculty, I met with most of the thought leaders in my field; some of these meetings led to fruitful collaborations and important introductions (see tip #7). Meet others at your career level too. They can be great to bounce ideas off, and they will be future leaders in the field. Inviting thought leaders to come to your institution to give talks (in-person or virtually) is another great way to show your interest in their work and also find time to introduce yourself.
Tip #10: Apply, apply, apply
Remember that feedback is a gift and the best way to receive feedback is to apply to as many opportunities as you can. Any successful person in GI will have a ‘CV of failures’ far longer than their actual CV documenting their successes. I applied to 8 grants before landing my first one, but I received invaluable feedback and improved my writing skills in the process. Success in fellowship and early faculty takes immense grit – work on building a thick skin and finding the learning opportunity within any outcome.
Tip #11: Don’t get sucked into the email abyss
It is easy to fill your time completing low priority, but easy to complete, tasks such as responding to emails. Time management is key and you need to make sure that you dedicate time to more time-consuming tasks – such as writing and developing projects/grants – that have a high reward. Dedicate time on your calendar for high-priority tasks and make sure you don’t open your email during this time. Turn off the email pop-up window and do emails at the end of the day (or whenever you are done writing and thinking). Limiting distractions will help get your creative juices flowing.
Tip #12: Don’t always say yes
In fact, don’t ever say yes to a career or research opportunity within the first 24 hours to allow yourself time to weigh the pros and cons of the commitment, to assess the timeline feasibility, and to decide it fits into your 5-year plan. You can say you need to talk to your mentor about it first. If you decide you cannot accept an opportunity, a great way to mitigate that is to simply say “I’d love to, but my mentor says no.” Act as a sponsor to someone else by suggesting a potential colleague who might be interested in the opportunity. As you accept more responsibilities, think about what you might be able to give up to give yourself time to be successful in this new opportunity (and not distract from yourself or your 5-year plan).
Conclusion
Success in research and early academic faculty years takes planning and determination. We hope these tips provide a broad outline for what to think about and how to approach planning your future career. First and foremost, you must put in the time to think about what you really want and what will make you happy in the long run. Academic success is a broad term that each of us defines differently. What does it mean to you? Once you figure that out, make your 5-year plan and run with it!
Dr. Rebello and Dr. Long are with section of gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center and Boston University. They have no conflicts to report.
Congratulations! You have matched in a competitive medical subspecialty or you have secured your first faculty position. But what do you do now? Success in your early career – as a new fellow or a new attending – requires both hard work and perseverance. We present our top 12 tips for how to be successful as you transition into your new position.
Tip #1: Be kind to yourself
As you transition from medical resident to GI fellow or from GI fellow to first-time attending, it is important to recognize that you are going through a major career transition (not as major as fourth year to intern, but probably a close second). First and foremost, remember to be kind to yourself and set reasonable expectations. You need to allow yourself time to transition to a new role which may also be in a new city or state. Take care of yourself – don’t forget to exercise, eat well, and sleep. You are in the long game now. Work to get yourself in a routine that is sustainable. Block out time to exercise, explore your new city, meal plan, and pursue your interests outside of medicine.
Tip #2: Set up for success
Since you are going through this major life/career transition, it is really helpful if you can set yourself up for success by having some projects that are easily completed during this challenging time so that you can demonstrate success. If you have projects in different stages of development, you will always have something you can work on when some projects are delayed for reasons outside of your control. In particular, it is great to have a few papers ready to go during late fellowship so they are published during your first year as an academic attending! This will allow you to continue your research trajectory as you learn the ropes of your new position.
Tip #3: Ask for help
It turns out you cannot do everything on your own! Make sure you are getting help professionally and personally so that you are set up for success. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or confused; we all do at some point or another. Fellowship and early academic faculty years are stressful and nobody expects you to do it alone. Chances are your mentors or cofellows have had similar struggles, and in opening up, this dialogue may help you both.
Tip #4: Write out your 5-year plan
You need to know where you are going before you can figure out how to get there. Take some time for “soul searching”: Think about where you would like to be in 5 years and work backward (along with help from your mentors; see Tip #5) to determine how best to get there. If you think a career in academia might be for you, it’s never too soon to start networking and involving yourself in research. If a specific institution or clinical position draws your attention, check out the current faculty. You can use their CVs as a roadmap of types of experiences and honors that should be on your radar throughout these 5 years. Remember that your 5-year plan is not written in stone – this is something that you should re-evaluate as your interests and priorities change throughout your career.
Tip #5: Develop your personal ‘Board of Directors’
Instead of trying to find the perfect mentor, we suggest you seek out a personal “Board of Directors” who can serve as your mentoring team. There will never be a single perfect mentor for you and it is likely that you will need separate mentors to help guide you on different aspects of your career. I personally have separate individuals serving as my clinical mentor, my research content mentor, my research methods mentor, my career mentor, and my personal/life mentor. Having multiple mentors allows you to maximize the impact of your different mentors’ strengths across each component of your career. Further, your mentors themselves may have past histories of collaboration that you may then leverage to buoy your own fledgling career. When deciding on who to choose as a mentor, it is important to talk to prior mentees about their experiences with a mentor to help you decide if you may be a good match.
Tip #6: Master the art of “Menteering”
Now that you have identified mentors, you need to do your part in nurturing this mentee-mentor relationship. Be an excellent mentee: Show up, stick to a timeline, bring ideas and enthusiasm, and make it easy for your mentor. Your mentors want to see you succeed and sometimes this requires you to help them help you. If you know your own learning style and how you like to interact, have that conversation with your mentor upfront (for example, you may need strict deadlines or you may prefer having more time to develop ideas). Having these conversations before you start a project or a relationship will help set the expectations and ensure effective communication with your mentor. If you find that your mentor is doing something that hinders your progress, such as asking for updates too often or not checking in enough, have a constructive conversation with them about how you feel. Come prepared for meetings with your mentor with an agenda and timeline. Be specific if there is something you need from your mentor and be respectful of their other commitments. For example, if you would like your mentor to review your grant application, let them know the grant deadline and find out when you need to get them a draft so that they will have time to provide meaningful feedback.
Tip #7: Identify sponsors
Equally, if not more important than your mentoring team, are sponsors. These are people in positions of power who will promote you and help push your career forward. Sponsors can be people more senior to you, cofellows, or even acquaintances in industry or pharmaceuticals. Your mentor may also be your sponsor, but not always. As early academic faculty, it is important to get your name out there with speaking engagements related to your clinical and research niche, and that is one way a sponsor can help bolster your career.
Tip #8: Develop your personal brand – what is on your T-shirt?
As medicine becomes more and more subspecialized, finding your brand is becoming increasingly important. A brand could be anything from your academic niche to social justice, or even social media utilization. Your brand should encompass what you are naturally excited by within your field. Finding your brand will not only distinguish you from your peers but will also provide you with expertise which you can then offer to your colleagues, near and far. Practice the “elevator pitch” of your personal brand so that you can effectively (and efficiently) describe yourself and your interests when meeting new people and networking.
Tip #9: Meet thought leaders in your field
Think of the top five or six most prominent and influential people in your area of clinical or research interest and introduce yourself. This can be done at a national meeting or simply over email, though in person is always best if possible. Although thought leaders are busy, in my experience, if you are persistent, you can always find a few minutes to make an introduction. I’ve shared cab rides just to get a few minutes of someone’s time. In my first few years on faculty, I met with most of the thought leaders in my field; some of these meetings led to fruitful collaborations and important introductions (see tip #7). Meet others at your career level too. They can be great to bounce ideas off, and they will be future leaders in the field. Inviting thought leaders to come to your institution to give talks (in-person or virtually) is another great way to show your interest in their work and also find time to introduce yourself.
Tip #10: Apply, apply, apply
Remember that feedback is a gift and the best way to receive feedback is to apply to as many opportunities as you can. Any successful person in GI will have a ‘CV of failures’ far longer than their actual CV documenting their successes. I applied to 8 grants before landing my first one, but I received invaluable feedback and improved my writing skills in the process. Success in fellowship and early faculty takes immense grit – work on building a thick skin and finding the learning opportunity within any outcome.
Tip #11: Don’t get sucked into the email abyss
It is easy to fill your time completing low priority, but easy to complete, tasks such as responding to emails. Time management is key and you need to make sure that you dedicate time to more time-consuming tasks – such as writing and developing projects/grants – that have a high reward. Dedicate time on your calendar for high-priority tasks and make sure you don’t open your email during this time. Turn off the email pop-up window and do emails at the end of the day (or whenever you are done writing and thinking). Limiting distractions will help get your creative juices flowing.
Tip #12: Don’t always say yes
In fact, don’t ever say yes to a career or research opportunity within the first 24 hours to allow yourself time to weigh the pros and cons of the commitment, to assess the timeline feasibility, and to decide it fits into your 5-year plan. You can say you need to talk to your mentor about it first. If you decide you cannot accept an opportunity, a great way to mitigate that is to simply say “I’d love to, but my mentor says no.” Act as a sponsor to someone else by suggesting a potential colleague who might be interested in the opportunity. As you accept more responsibilities, think about what you might be able to give up to give yourself time to be successful in this new opportunity (and not distract from yourself or your 5-year plan).
Conclusion
Success in research and early academic faculty years takes planning and determination. We hope these tips provide a broad outline for what to think about and how to approach planning your future career. First and foremost, you must put in the time to think about what you really want and what will make you happy in the long run. Academic success is a broad term that each of us defines differently. What does it mean to you? Once you figure that out, make your 5-year plan and run with it!
Dr. Rebello and Dr. Long are with section of gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center and Boston University. They have no conflicts to report.
Congratulations! You have matched in a competitive medical subspecialty or you have secured your first faculty position. But what do you do now? Success in your early career – as a new fellow or a new attending – requires both hard work and perseverance. We present our top 12 tips for how to be successful as you transition into your new position.
Tip #1: Be kind to yourself
As you transition from medical resident to GI fellow or from GI fellow to first-time attending, it is important to recognize that you are going through a major career transition (not as major as fourth year to intern, but probably a close second). First and foremost, remember to be kind to yourself and set reasonable expectations. You need to allow yourself time to transition to a new role which may also be in a new city or state. Take care of yourself – don’t forget to exercise, eat well, and sleep. You are in the long game now. Work to get yourself in a routine that is sustainable. Block out time to exercise, explore your new city, meal plan, and pursue your interests outside of medicine.
Tip #2: Set up for success
Since you are going through this major life/career transition, it is really helpful if you can set yourself up for success by having some projects that are easily completed during this challenging time so that you can demonstrate success. If you have projects in different stages of development, you will always have something you can work on when some projects are delayed for reasons outside of your control. In particular, it is great to have a few papers ready to go during late fellowship so they are published during your first year as an academic attending! This will allow you to continue your research trajectory as you learn the ropes of your new position.
Tip #3: Ask for help
It turns out you cannot do everything on your own! Make sure you are getting help professionally and personally so that you are set up for success. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or confused; we all do at some point or another. Fellowship and early academic faculty years are stressful and nobody expects you to do it alone. Chances are your mentors or cofellows have had similar struggles, and in opening up, this dialogue may help you both.
Tip #4: Write out your 5-year plan
You need to know where you are going before you can figure out how to get there. Take some time for “soul searching”: Think about where you would like to be in 5 years and work backward (along with help from your mentors; see Tip #5) to determine how best to get there. If you think a career in academia might be for you, it’s never too soon to start networking and involving yourself in research. If a specific institution or clinical position draws your attention, check out the current faculty. You can use their CVs as a roadmap of types of experiences and honors that should be on your radar throughout these 5 years. Remember that your 5-year plan is not written in stone – this is something that you should re-evaluate as your interests and priorities change throughout your career.
Tip #5: Develop your personal ‘Board of Directors’
Instead of trying to find the perfect mentor, we suggest you seek out a personal “Board of Directors” who can serve as your mentoring team. There will never be a single perfect mentor for you and it is likely that you will need separate mentors to help guide you on different aspects of your career. I personally have separate individuals serving as my clinical mentor, my research content mentor, my research methods mentor, my career mentor, and my personal/life mentor. Having multiple mentors allows you to maximize the impact of your different mentors’ strengths across each component of your career. Further, your mentors themselves may have past histories of collaboration that you may then leverage to buoy your own fledgling career. When deciding on who to choose as a mentor, it is important to talk to prior mentees about their experiences with a mentor to help you decide if you may be a good match.
Tip #6: Master the art of “Menteering”
Now that you have identified mentors, you need to do your part in nurturing this mentee-mentor relationship. Be an excellent mentee: Show up, stick to a timeline, bring ideas and enthusiasm, and make it easy for your mentor. Your mentors want to see you succeed and sometimes this requires you to help them help you. If you know your own learning style and how you like to interact, have that conversation with your mentor upfront (for example, you may need strict deadlines or you may prefer having more time to develop ideas). Having these conversations before you start a project or a relationship will help set the expectations and ensure effective communication with your mentor. If you find that your mentor is doing something that hinders your progress, such as asking for updates too often or not checking in enough, have a constructive conversation with them about how you feel. Come prepared for meetings with your mentor with an agenda and timeline. Be specific if there is something you need from your mentor and be respectful of their other commitments. For example, if you would like your mentor to review your grant application, let them know the grant deadline and find out when you need to get them a draft so that they will have time to provide meaningful feedback.
Tip #7: Identify sponsors
Equally, if not more important than your mentoring team, are sponsors. These are people in positions of power who will promote you and help push your career forward. Sponsors can be people more senior to you, cofellows, or even acquaintances in industry or pharmaceuticals. Your mentor may also be your sponsor, but not always. As early academic faculty, it is important to get your name out there with speaking engagements related to your clinical and research niche, and that is one way a sponsor can help bolster your career.
Tip #8: Develop your personal brand – what is on your T-shirt?
As medicine becomes more and more subspecialized, finding your brand is becoming increasingly important. A brand could be anything from your academic niche to social justice, or even social media utilization. Your brand should encompass what you are naturally excited by within your field. Finding your brand will not only distinguish you from your peers but will also provide you with expertise which you can then offer to your colleagues, near and far. Practice the “elevator pitch” of your personal brand so that you can effectively (and efficiently) describe yourself and your interests when meeting new people and networking.
Tip #9: Meet thought leaders in your field
Think of the top five or six most prominent and influential people in your area of clinical or research interest and introduce yourself. This can be done at a national meeting or simply over email, though in person is always best if possible. Although thought leaders are busy, in my experience, if you are persistent, you can always find a few minutes to make an introduction. I’ve shared cab rides just to get a few minutes of someone’s time. In my first few years on faculty, I met with most of the thought leaders in my field; some of these meetings led to fruitful collaborations and important introductions (see tip #7). Meet others at your career level too. They can be great to bounce ideas off, and they will be future leaders in the field. Inviting thought leaders to come to your institution to give talks (in-person or virtually) is another great way to show your interest in their work and also find time to introduce yourself.
Tip #10: Apply, apply, apply
Remember that feedback is a gift and the best way to receive feedback is to apply to as many opportunities as you can. Any successful person in GI will have a ‘CV of failures’ far longer than their actual CV documenting their successes. I applied to 8 grants before landing my first one, but I received invaluable feedback and improved my writing skills in the process. Success in fellowship and early faculty takes immense grit – work on building a thick skin and finding the learning opportunity within any outcome.
Tip #11: Don’t get sucked into the email abyss
It is easy to fill your time completing low priority, but easy to complete, tasks such as responding to emails. Time management is key and you need to make sure that you dedicate time to more time-consuming tasks – such as writing and developing projects/grants – that have a high reward. Dedicate time on your calendar for high-priority tasks and make sure you don’t open your email during this time. Turn off the email pop-up window and do emails at the end of the day (or whenever you are done writing and thinking). Limiting distractions will help get your creative juices flowing.
Tip #12: Don’t always say yes
In fact, don’t ever say yes to a career or research opportunity within the first 24 hours to allow yourself time to weigh the pros and cons of the commitment, to assess the timeline feasibility, and to decide it fits into your 5-year plan. You can say you need to talk to your mentor about it first. If you decide you cannot accept an opportunity, a great way to mitigate that is to simply say “I’d love to, but my mentor says no.” Act as a sponsor to someone else by suggesting a potential colleague who might be interested in the opportunity. As you accept more responsibilities, think about what you might be able to give up to give yourself time to be successful in this new opportunity (and not distract from yourself or your 5-year plan).
Conclusion
Success in research and early academic faculty years takes planning and determination. We hope these tips provide a broad outline for what to think about and how to approach planning your future career. First and foremost, you must put in the time to think about what you really want and what will make you happy in the long run. Academic success is a broad term that each of us defines differently. What does it mean to you? Once you figure that out, make your 5-year plan and run with it!
Dr. Rebello and Dr. Long are with section of gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center and Boston University. They have no conflicts to report.
