seven steps to becoming a SUCCESSFUL doctor
"Success is knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming"
Coach John Wooden (1910-2010)
I am sometimes asked by junior colleagues about the ingredients for success in a medical career. I am framing the following essay based on a summary of the advice I have received from many friends, senior colleagues and mentors over the years.
Here goes.....Recipes for success:
1. Pursue your passion: If in medical school you really enjoy a certain specialty then go for it and don't hold back. If you love research or educating others then pursue that. Don't choose a career because of lifestyle choices or because you will get more time off or money. Never be frightened to pursue your ambition. At the end of the day you will be spending the majority of your waking (and some of your sleeping!) hours working so make sure that whatever you do, you really love doing it. The other benefit of this approach is that if you love doing something, you will also tend to want to spend a lot of time doing it. Just as Malcolm Gladwell stated in his book "Outliers" mastery is achieved by those that spend a lot of time practicing. It is easier to practice something to achieve mastery if you really enjoy it. In due course people who are accomplished in any discipline will be sought out by others to share their skills. The process of teaching others your own skills further leverages your capacity for making positive change.
To medical students approaching the end of medical school and unsure of your career choice my advice is don't fear making the wrong choice at first. I was a 'late bloomer' and struggled to choose a specialty. It was only during my first year as a doctor that I decided that anaesthesia was for me (see post in archives on why I chose to become an anesthetist). Most medical training systems are constructed to make it possible to change so don't be frightened of making a commitment early on.
2. Set goals: In the words of Yogi Berra "If you don't know where you are going you might end up someplace else." Successful people make goals and then set timelines to achieve them. Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). However sometimes it does no harm to have a 'stretch' goal in there also. Sometimes called BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals), these are objectives that might occur if everything goes exactly according to plan and if failure is not possible. It never does any harm to dream a bit!
3. Take the time to invest in your passion: If you have successfully gained entry to your career of choice make sure you take time to invest in it. As an absolute minimum you should set aside a few hours each week to read and invest in your areas of interest. As a primary goal make sure you both gain and maintain expertise in your area of focus. For physicians that means competence in clinical practice. Once that is covered see what areas might interest you further. Get involved in leadership, quality, education or research. Join and contribute to a national or international medical society, supervise students but more important than anything, have fun and give back!
4. Find great mentors: I have been fortunate throughout all stages in my career to have had mentors who have given me crucial, unbiased advice. Although it is exciting to set goals and plan a strategy for achieving them the advice of individuals who have "done it all before" is vital. Choosing a mentor is a very personal thing and needs to be self-directed for the most part although in some departments a list of possible mentors is provided. People need mentors and coaches at all stages of their career. Even now I have several mentors who I can trust to give me honest, unbiased advice about important decisions. It is possible to be successful without a mentor just as it is possible to run a marathon without a coach. However few are going to run to their best ability without one!
5. Think of others before yourself: Most people enter into a career in medicine to care for others. Sometimes in the craziness of modern life especially as the stresses of career, family and mortgage weigh on us, it is possible to become very self-focused. However few successful people in history have placed their own interests above others and all successful people have had a passion for a cause and given themselves to leading or contributing to that cause. Trust is a vital part of building good relationships and good relationships are vital for success. The Trust Equation (http://www.slideshare.net/derekwinter/the-trust-equation) underlines the importance of reducing self-orientation to build trust. In other words, those individuals who think more about others and less about themselves build trusting relationships most easily. Trusting relationships are vital for working in teams and building success.
6. Surround yourself with positive people: In the words of Jim Rohn "You are the average of the five people you spend most time with." Successful people surround themselves with positive people who are happy, enthusiastic and optimistic. When I started medical school I was often very negative about other people until I started spending time with a good friend who used to 'call me out' every time I criticized someone else. After a while I realized that the only way I was going to keep a valuable friendship was if I started thinking more positively about others. I have changed my attitude since that time and I have a good friend to thank for that. Try to spend time with friends or colleagues who are trying to "push you up" and not "bring you down". Spend time with people who are creating ideas, looking to make a positive difference in the world and don't waste time with people who are consistently negative or who like to gossip about or criticize others behind their back.
7. Look after your health: Eat healthily, exercise regularly and sleep for at least seven hours per night. If you don't look after your own health "burn out" is inevitable and you will be useless to the people that depend most on you (your family, your patients and your colleagues). Take time to develop some interests outside work and take regular breaks away from work. The seven areas described above are the key lessons that I have received from my mentors and friends in the last 25 years. I wish you the very best in your own career and remember the words of Winston Churchill "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
Coach John Wooden (1910-2010)
I am sometimes asked by junior colleagues about the ingredients for success in a medical career. I am framing the following essay based on a summary of the advice I have received from many friends, senior colleagues and mentors over the years.
Here goes.....Recipes for success:
1. Pursue your passion: If in medical school you really enjoy a certain specialty then go for it and don't hold back. If you love research or educating others then pursue that. Don't choose a career because of lifestyle choices or because you will get more time off or money. Never be frightened to pursue your ambition. At the end of the day you will be spending the majority of your waking (and some of your sleeping!) hours working so make sure that whatever you do, you really love doing it. The other benefit of this approach is that if you love doing something, you will also tend to want to spend a lot of time doing it. Just as Malcolm Gladwell stated in his book "Outliers" mastery is achieved by those that spend a lot of time practicing. It is easier to practice something to achieve mastery if you really enjoy it. In due course people who are accomplished in any discipline will be sought out by others to share their skills. The process of teaching others your own skills further leverages your capacity for making positive change.
To medical students approaching the end of medical school and unsure of your career choice my advice is don't fear making the wrong choice at first. I was a 'late bloomer' and struggled to choose a specialty. It was only during my first year as a doctor that I decided that anaesthesia was for me (see post in archives on why I chose to become an anesthetist). Most medical training systems are constructed to make it possible to change so don't be frightened of making a commitment early on.
2. Set goals: In the words of Yogi Berra "If you don't know where you are going you might end up someplace else." Successful people make goals and then set timelines to achieve them. Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). However sometimes it does no harm to have a 'stretch' goal in there also. Sometimes called BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals), these are objectives that might occur if everything goes exactly according to plan and if failure is not possible. It never does any harm to dream a bit!
3. Take the time to invest in your passion: If you have successfully gained entry to your career of choice make sure you take time to invest in it. As an absolute minimum you should set aside a few hours each week to read and invest in your areas of interest. As a primary goal make sure you both gain and maintain expertise in your area of focus. For physicians that means competence in clinical practice. Once that is covered see what areas might interest you further. Get involved in leadership, quality, education or research. Join and contribute to a national or international medical society, supervise students but more important than anything, have fun and give back!
4. Find great mentors: I have been fortunate throughout all stages in my career to have had mentors who have given me crucial, unbiased advice. Although it is exciting to set goals and plan a strategy for achieving them the advice of individuals who have "done it all before" is vital. Choosing a mentor is a very personal thing and needs to be self-directed for the most part although in some departments a list of possible mentors is provided. People need mentors and coaches at all stages of their career. Even now I have several mentors who I can trust to give me honest, unbiased advice about important decisions. It is possible to be successful without a mentor just as it is possible to run a marathon without a coach. However few are going to run to their best ability without one!
5. Think of others before yourself: Most people enter into a career in medicine to care for others. Sometimes in the craziness of modern life especially as the stresses of career, family and mortgage weigh on us, it is possible to become very self-focused. However few successful people in history have placed their own interests above others and all successful people have had a passion for a cause and given themselves to leading or contributing to that cause. Trust is a vital part of building good relationships and good relationships are vital for success. The Trust Equation (http://www.slideshare.net/derekwinter/the-trust-equation) underlines the importance of reducing self-orientation to build trust. In other words, those individuals who think more about others and less about themselves build trusting relationships most easily. Trusting relationships are vital for working in teams and building success.
6. Surround yourself with positive people: In the words of Jim Rohn "You are the average of the five people you spend most time with." Successful people surround themselves with positive people who are happy, enthusiastic and optimistic. When I started medical school I was often very negative about other people until I started spending time with a good friend who used to 'call me out' every time I criticized someone else. After a while I realized that the only way I was going to keep a valuable friendship was if I started thinking more positively about others. I have changed my attitude since that time and I have a good friend to thank for that. Try to spend time with friends or colleagues who are trying to "push you up" and not "bring you down". Spend time with people who are creating ideas, looking to make a positive difference in the world and don't waste time with people who are consistently negative or who like to gossip about or criticize others behind their back.
7. Look after your health: Eat healthily, exercise regularly and sleep for at least seven hours per night. If you don't look after your own health "burn out" is inevitable and you will be useless to the people that depend most on you (your family, your patients and your colleagues). Take time to develop some interests outside work and take regular breaks away from work. The seven areas described above are the key lessons that I have received from my mentors and friends in the last 25 years. I wish you the very best in your own career and remember the words of Winston Churchill "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."