Don’t Give Up: Notes From My Journey to the SCAI Board of Trustees
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Recently, I have taken on a new challenge, becoming a member of the Board of Trustees for the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). As I look back and reflect, I want to share the lessons I have learned from my journey over the years.
I have a deep-rooted passion for medicine and cardiology in particular, with cardiovascular disease as the number-one cause of death. My desire to help others in this clinical area has always been at the forefront of my mind.
Despite my enthusiasm, I had to recognize my limited resources. As a physician in private practice with limited infrastructure for becoming an influential clinical leader, I also wondered if I would be able to meet the expectations and responsibilities of a leadership role centered on clinical excellence. It was an unpaved, undefined, and long path I had yet to fully understand and envision for myself, which did cause some insecurities. Nevertheless, my hopes outweighed my uncertainties. I met inspiring mentors, overcame challenges, and ultimately started the journey on my desired path to becoming a clinical excellence leader from the private sector.
By sharing my own journey, I hope to inspire others to create their own transformative arena and collectively make a difference.
Planning
Planning was the first step. What do you aspire to do? Dreams and aspirations alone are not enough. You have to evaluate your current state from personal and professional aspects. I wanted to practice in an academic setting, but the location where my family and I wanted to settle didn’t have any academic job availability. Geographic location was the most important factor for my job due to personal reasons. Yet I knew that working exclusively in private practice would not satisfy my educational ambitions in the long term. Working without interest is a job, not the career you were destined to pursue.
I was hoping to find an inclusive clinical practice that accepted and supported my continuous learning process. With that in mind, I planned out my path in advance. I was challenged by some seniors/mentors in both positive and negative ways about this innovative pathway. While I was excited about this unpaved path, I doubted whether I could be successful. What if I failed? What were the alternatives? After careful assessment, I decided I didn’t have a lot to lose, and moreover, working in private practice will be a great learning experience for my early career.
I kept updating lists of mentors, seniors, colleagues, and friends who could be supportive in this voyage. The best mentors are those who are interested in helping you for the long term, those who can advise on how to maximize your goals with your values in place, and those who have a perspective and opinion on how to move forward. Potential mentors will communicate their passion, availability, time, and commitment.
Dedication
Driving success through true collaboration is the way to reach your career goal. I invested a lot of my valuable time, education, and money in this process. As a private practitioner, you are supposed to build your practice and expected to work certain hours. I offered my coverage to peers on weekends and on their leave, which in turn gave me the liberty to attend many conferences and do a lot of educational work whenever I needed. I worked hard when I was available to keep up my productivity, which gave me leverage to cover my educational days off. I started sharing my work. Highlighting the successes and failures of your work amongst your peers, mentors, leaders, and societies builds the foundations of your career. Transparency removes any guesswork about the level of your talent and commitment goes a long way.
Commitment and Collaboration
The collaborations, partnerships, and engagement in education with societies and journals strengthens the patient care of clinicians. Education and work are my passions. I don’t discriminate among opportunities and worked for several journals for whatever opportunities I got. Most importantly, I ensured I delivered excellent quality work on time. By collectively bringing together our resources and expertise, you can make a lasting impact in your career. I was able to achieve my academic goals through participation in the American College of Cardiology, SCAI, Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting, American Heart Association, and several other societies locally, nationally, and internationally. Participating on committees, writing groups, and faculties seasoned my experience and brought my career to a different level.
I envisioned elevating the status of interventional cardiology locally and then initiated a local chapter meeting for women in interventional cardiology for Northern California. I found that the talent is enormous. Through this group we learn, share our thoughts on an everyday basis, and stay in touch with the cutting edge of our field. We were able to increase our relevancy and amplify our voices through a community presence.
Execution
It can be valuable to reach back to your roots and home whenever you think of a change and the impact you desire to make at large. I applied to the Board of Directors for the Northern California women in interventional cardiology group, and was voted in. Now it was high time to upscale my career and make a positive, effective impact on my goals for broader cardiovascular patient care. Medical societies are a highly influential vehicle to achieve affirmative change. I sought out a Board of Trustees role with SCAI and my application was granted.
Conclusion
As I look back, I see how the opportunities around me were actually enormous (and not unique to me alone!); you just need to think and work. Seek out mentors and participate in visionary, recognized, and respectable societies like SCAI. I hope I will continue my journey for years and give others the same inspiration or even more that I was given with my footsteps. I encourage you to participate, influence, and contribute alone or with collaborations. Be innovative in finding a way to be the most impactful, to reinvigorate your professional journey, and be a trendsetter.
How Do I Get Where I Want to Go?
Pearls:
- Decisiveness about your career goals is key.
- Explore your thoughts and ideas, and find mentors to discuss them with.
- Dedication, commitment, and execution should be applied in a strategic fashion.
- Attending live conferences helps in mentorship, exposing you to diverse ideas, and boosting your motivation.
- Setbacks, negativism, and demoralization are common but you should move past these moments by seeking out the support of your family, friends, and mentors.
- Stay away from negativity and pessimism.
References and Suggested Reading
- Kusum L. Clinical academia: challenging but possible in private practice. Cath Lab Digest. 2020 Dec; 28(12). https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/cathlab/content/clinical-academia-challenging-possible-private-practice
- Doll JA, Lata K, Kearney KE. Feedback and the early career proceduralist: how am I doing? J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 Mar 29; 79(12): 1215-1219. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.08.079
- Brush JE Jr, Oetgen WJ. Maintenance of competence in cardiovascular training and practices: worth the effort? Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J. 2020 Jul-Sep; 16(3): 199-204. doi:10.14797/mdcj-16-3-199
- Forsetlund L, O'Brien MA, Forsén L, Reinar LM, Okwen MP, Horsley T, Rose CJ. Continuing education meetings and workshops: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 15; 9(9): CD003030. doi:10.1002/1465
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