Gupta - REV13 Word Bookmarks

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or
transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or
other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Copyright © 2021 by Amol Gupta, MD & Kush Gupta, MD.
Illustrations © 2021 by Amol Gupta, MD & Kush Gupta, MD.

R E A C H O U T !
Unleash the Power of Mentorship
to Achieve Your Peak Potential in Medicine
Wisdom from 100+ Physician Mentors
Amol Gupta, MD & Kush Gupta, MD
Hosts, The Medicine Mentors Podcast

CONTENTS
The Story Behind The Medicine Mentor’s Podcast 2
Footprints of Wisdom 4
Acknowledgements 6
Introduction 7
PART 1 WHAT IS MENTORSHIP ALL ABOUT?
1. A Game-Changer 10
2. The Team 14
Mentor, Coach, Sponsor, and Role Model 16
A Team of Experts 18
Peer Mentorship 20
Mentorship is Lifelong 21
PART 2: WHY DO WE NEED MENTORS?
3. Grow as a Person 23
It Starts with the Why 24
Mentors Raise the Right Questions 25
The Right Questions Can Change Your Life 27
Focus on the Big Picture 28
It Ends with Finding Yourself 30
4. Grow as a Physician 32

The Relationship-Task-Relationship Framework 34
Before Entering the Room 35
Walking in… 36
First Words 37
Listen to the History (Key word: Listen) 39
Use Human Language 41
The ‘Golden Rule of Medicine’ 42
5. Grow as a Leader 44
Challenge Yourself 45
Redefine Failure 47
When A Door Closes, Look to Open a New One 49
PART 3: HOW DO WE CONNECT WITH MENTORS?
6. Adopt the Mentorship Mindset 52
Be Vulnerable 53
Seek Feedback 55
Be Receptive to Criticism 56
Own Your Experiences 58
7. Identify the Right Mentors 60
Recognize the Motivation of Great Mentors 61
Value Similarities Beyond Professional Interests 62
Do a “Reference Check” 64
Listen to Your Gut 65
8. Be Fearless in Reaching Out 67
What’s in it for the Mentor? 68

Be Aggressive in Seeking Mentors 71
Cast a Wide Net 72
Use Matchmakers 74
Hit the Send Button 75
9. Develop Meaningful Relationships 77
The Onus is on the Mentee 79
Say ‘Yes’ 82
Be a Closer 84
Pay it Back, Pay it Forward 86
10. Troubleshoot 90
Mentors are People Too 91
Be Honest with Your Mentor 92
One Size Does Not Fit All 94
About the Contributors 97

Dedicated to physicians-in-training around the world...
May we all be inspired to reach out to mentors and
achieve our peak potential in medicine.

THE STORY BEHIND
THE MEDICINE MENTOR’S PODCAST
T
his project began with a basic objective: to interview peak
physician performers to understand the secret to their success.
What key principles enabled them to reach their goals? What
differentiates them from their peers? What critical decisions shaped
their destiny? During the increased isolation of the COVID-19
pandemic, we hoped these lessons from the top academic physicians
in the country would serve as a source of inspiration.
It proved to be so much more.
After just a few interviews, a pattern emerged: Successful physicians
highlighted the importance of mentorship and credited mentors for
playing a significant role in their journeys. As we followed their life
stories, we uncovered deeper insights into what mentorship really is,
why it is the lynchpin of success in medicine, and how we can create an
actionable plan for ourselves to unleash its potential.
Through our podcast and this subsequent book, we aim to
democratize this wisdom for every physician-in-training. We aim to
not only inspire our colleagues, but rather empower them with the
tools they need to practice and build lives that inspire future
generations.
Our hope is that this roadmap helps you reflect on what mentorship
means to you — the relationships you have and those you’d like to
cultivate. Above all, we hope it shows you the benefit of reaching out
to the individuals you admire and starting a discussion. After hours of
conversations with a diverse group of physicians, we’re convinced that
there’s no need to hesitate: Mentors really do want to guide us. All we
must do is reach out!
2

THE STORY BEHIND THE MEDICINE MENTOR’S PODCAST
As you reach out to mentors, we hope you’ll draw on The Medicine
Mentors, a national podcast that blossomed out of a project at The
Brooklyn Hospital Center. Not only is The Medicine Mentors keeping
mentorship alive in a time of increased isolation, it has also created an
ever-expanding network of support, guidance, and wisdom for young
physicians all over the country.
For more on this project, and to listen to The Medicine Mentors
podcast, head to www.themedicinementors.com. We welcome you to
join us on this journey.
—Amol Gupta, MD & Kush Gupta, MD
3

F O O T P R I N T S O F W I S D O M
4

5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
W
e are indebted to those who have walked a wise path before us,
who have learned the ways of success, fulfillment, and mastery.
Their footsteps make it that much easier for us as we travel our
journey. We are twice as indebted to those mentors who have retraced
their paths on our podcast to guide the next generation.
In these pages are the accumulated experiences of some of the most
accomplished physicians in the world. They have offered their insights,
traits, and best practices garnered from countless hours of training,
research, and practice. If it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert,
then these masters have offered us well over hundreds of thousands
of hours of experience. Their knowledge is a continuation of a greater
stream of wisdom that they received from their mentors.
With the humility of a student, we bow here in gratitude to our
physician mentors who have provided us with a toolkit to achieve our
true potential in medicine. Please visit the ‘About the Contributors’
section at the end of the book to read a brief biography of our
physician mentors.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our mentor, Dr.
Viswanath Vasudevan, for his inspiration and support in starting this
initiative at The Brooklyn Hospital Center.
6

INTRODUCTION
M
entors open doors. It is understood that they help advance our
careers by providing access to opportunities. However, this
commonplace definition — which better aligns with the term sponsor
— minimizes the true benefits of this special relationship.
During our interviews, we spoke to over two hundred physician
mentors who depicted a dramatically richer, more complex vision. If
the conventional understanding of mentorship could be characterized
as transactional, the definition of mentorship that emerged from hours
of conversation should be described as humanistic, that is, based on
and driven by the human need for purpose, connection and
continuous improvement.
The goal of mentorship is not to help us sprint up the ladder of
medical success. It’s not about getting a better title or a bigger paycheck
or more people to manage. It’s about facilitating something more
profound: the ongoing pursuit of greatness, as a person, as a physician
and as a leader. Mentors help us cross the bridge from good to great
by helping us build a plan to achieve our personal potential.
This book is divided into three parts.
In Part 1, we’ll lay the groundwork for our discussion by defining
mentorship and where to look for it. Rather than limiting ourselves to
a single mentor, we’ll explain why we need a team of mentors and
describe what that team looks like.
In Part 2, we’ll listen to what these expert physician mentors say
about how mentorship can help us grow as a person, as a physician,
and as a leader — what we refer to as the art of life, the art of medicine,
and the art of impact. By asking the big picture questions, mentors help
us stay focused on our why and grow as a person. They remind us of
7

REACH OUT!
the value of relationship, observation, listening and respect as we grow
as physicians. They prepare us to challenge ourselves and redefine
failure to grow as leaders in our community and beyond.
In Part 3, we’ll delve into the how of mentorship, starting from
what it means to adopt the “mentorship mindset” — an openness to
admit vulnerability and a willingness to accept criticism. Then we’ll
discuss how to identify the right mentors and share the tips we’ve
gleaned about how best to reach out, connect with and develop
meaningful relationships with our mentors. Finally, we’ll share advice
about how to troubleshoot common problems that may come up
during the process.
It is our hope that by sharing these lessons, our readers are inspired
and equipped with the right tools to build meaningful lives supported
by mentors. While we may be able to acquire knowledge through
individual experience, connecting with the wisdom of mentors at the
beginning of our careers will undoubtedly give us a competitive edge
on our personal journey from good to great.
8

PART 1
WHAT IS MENTORSHIP ALL
ABOUT?
9

CHA PTER ON E
A GAME-CHANGER
“You're dealing with an uncertain world. If it were linear, you wouldn't
need a mentor - AI or Google could tell you what to do. But that's just
not the world we live in.”
—Dr. Robert Wachter
10

D
A GAME-CHANGER
r. Gregory Kane found himself in the middle of a poignant family
discussion with three sons who were dealing with the slow decline
of their mother’s health. Realizing her death was imminent, the
children started to disagree - each one arguing for a different vision for
her final days. Dr. Kane took a deep breath and interrupted,
“Gentlemen, please. I can see in your passion how much each of you
love your mother. I know this isn't easy, but we've all got to come
together with one plan to make the situation as good as it can possibly
be.”
After walking away from the encounter with a pleasant sense of
surprise that he had been able to navigate a sticky situation, Dr. Kane
realized he’d risen to the occasion by drawing on the guidance of his
mentors. “My brain was subconsciously processing: ‘How would Bill
Figueroa have dealt with this? How would Howard Weitz have dealt
with this? Or Gretchen Diemer? Darilyn Moyer?’”
From being our subconscious guide during challenging moments to
providing us with what Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal calls a “mental model
of what we could be like”, mentors can have a subtle yet profound
impact. “You need to see people that are doing things that you can
visualize yourself doing,” says Dr. Monika Safford.
Tip #1
You need to see people doing the things that you
visualize yourself doing.
—Dr. Monika Safford
At the heart of mentorship is a simple truth: “It is not possible to
do anything alone,” says Dr. Sanjay Desai. “Mentors are the reason
people are successful. I would not limit that to professional success. I
would expand that to personal and professional accomplishments.”
Dr. Rahma Warsame speaks to the importance of mentorship: “A
mentor is so much more than just medicine. It's about someone who
truly invests in you and cares about you as a complete human being.
11

REACH OUT!
Because sometimes the greatest limiting factor has nothing to do with
medicine at all. It's a struggle with something personal.”
The complexity of medicine — as an art, a science and a profession
— is such that “a rich professional life requires a lot of things you can't
develop by yourself,” reflects Dr. Robert Harrington. “You really do
require help along the way.” Medicine is a team sport, not a solo
performance. “It's a big world out there. It can be lonely, but if you
have somebody that can push you in the right direction, it's incredibly
helpful. Solicit all the advice you can get. Some of it will be good. Some
of it will be bad. But don't do it on your own,” advises Dr. John
Perfect.
Tip #2
To build a rich professional life as a physician, you really do
require help along the way.
—Dr. Robert Harrington
Some physician mentors have a heightened appreciation of
mentorship because of their early career experience without that kind
of guide. “I really didn't have mentors. I was self-driven, but I made a
lot of mistakes. I expended a lot of energy running in directions that
were a waste of time,” says Dr. Sriram Narsipur. “Later in my career,
when I started to realize the value of having a coach, a mentor, an
advisor, it became more fruitful.”
While anecdotes are illuminating, Dr. Hugo Rosen points to a body
of published literature correlating lack of mentorship to negative career
outcomes for physicians. “We now know from published literature
that people who are not mentored burn out. If you look at physicians
who drop out of academic medicine, they largely attribute that to a
need to have been mentored.”
Not only are mentors helpful, “they are often essential in helping
us identify and realize our peak potential” reflects Dr. Viswanath
12

A GAME-CHANGER
Vasudevan. “What is it about us doctors who think that ‘A-rod needs
a coach, LeBron needs a coach, but I don’t’? We can all get better, even
at the things that we're really good at doing,” says Dr. Seth Landefeld
emphasizing the importance of mentors in helping us move from good
to great. “Folks who want to be in their own bubble and chug along
and meet the status quo may be perfectly happy not having mentors.
But those who keep their career path moving forward and take on
leadership roles to make a difference in their field, have a really great
mentoring team behind them,” reflects Dr. Carla Spagnoletti. Dr.
Fariha Shafi explains why mentorship has such significant power:
“Those who stand behind us are the ones who inspire us to be the very
best we can. Having somebody who’s got our back, a mentor who
believes in us, can help instill confidence and make us fearless.”
Tip #3
The most successful people need coaches. We can all get better,
even at the things that we’re really good at.
—Dr. Seth Landefeld
Over a hundred interviews with physician mentors confirmed that
mentorship is an essential factor in helping us unleash our maximum
potential in medicine and have the impact that great physicians have
had before us. Join us as we explore how physician leaders build a team
of mentors to support them in their careers and lives.
Rx
1. Mentors can serve as subconscious guides and give us a
mental model for our own careers.
2. Lack of mentorship leads to negative career outcomes.
3. Medicine is a team sport. Most people who are successful have
great mentoring teams behind them..
13

CHA PTER TW O
THE TEAM
“Different mentors have different roles to play. You really need a
team.”
—Dr. Mark Siegel
14

M
THE TEAM
entorship is like hematopoiesis. Dr. Charles Wiener explains
how all of us are pluripotent stem cells at different stages in our
development. It’s critical to be exposed to the right growth factors
(mentors) at the right time in our differentiation (personal
development). Depending on where we are temporally in our
differentiation and phenotypically in what we want to develop into, we
need different growth factors, and thus different mentors. Therefore,
it is critical that we create an environment around us where we can be
exposed to multiple mentors so that we can access the right people
(growth factors) at the right time to transform into the physicians we
strive to become.
The power of Dr. Wiener’s metaphor lies in its emphasis on the
plural aspect of mentorship, a team approach that was universally
supported by all the physician mentors we interviewed. They spoke of
the rich perspectives they received from having multiple mentors, each
of whom contributed to a unique aspect of their development. Even
those who celebrated individual mentors recognized the impact a
chorus of voices had throughout their career.
Having a team of mentors ensures that we obtain high-level insight
from people who excel in each area we wish to pursue. A master
clinician isn’t necessarily the person we want to mentor us on research,
nor is a workaholic the person we want to help us find work-life
balance. Not only do we need different mentors for different areas, but
we can also benefit from multiple mentors within a single realm.
Exposure to diverse — even dissenting — opinions can help us avoid
getting caught in an echo chamber. Multiple perspectives enable us to
get a more comprehensive view of any given situation, allowing us to
determine the best course of action moving forward.
In this next section, we will outline the kinds of mentors we want
on our team and the array of functions they perform. That said, we
shouldn’t get too caught up in narrow definitions. Assembling a team
15

REACH OUT!
of mentors is not about filling a roster or ticking off checkboxes. It’s
about creating an environment that exposes us to the right growth
factors at the right time. Dr. Jennifer Swails encourages us to “broaden
your definition of a mentor. Lower the stakes on the people you count
as your mentor. They don't have to be in your subspecialty of interest.
They don't have to match your demographics. They don't even have
to be within medicine.” As we transform over time, we’ll naturally have
occasion to revisit the team and reshape it to our current needs, so we
shouldn’t worry too much about staffing it perfectly from day one.
What’s important is that we get started.
Tip #4
Broaden your definition of a mentor. Lower the stakes on the
people you count as a mentor.
—Dr. Jennifer Swails
Mentor, Coach, Sponsor, and Role Model
Reflecting on the origins of the word, Dr. Robert Harrington shares:
“The word mentor comes from the Greek. Mentor was the person that
Odysseus left his son with when he went off to travel the globe. And
for those of you who have read the Odyssey, that was a long journey.
So, ‘mentor’ carries a special meaning, because it’s both someone with
a very personal relationship but also someone who is charged with
helping you grow and develop.” During our interviews, it was evident
that while the word ‘mentor’ is often used as an umbrella term, more
specific terms like coach, sponsor, and role model were frequently
contrasted with mentor to more narrowly define the role and
expectations of the relationship.
Contrasting the coach-coachee relationship with a mentor-mentee
one, Dr. Odaliz Abreu-Lanfranco compares himself to the coach of a
basketball team and his residents to players. “The coach understands
that each one of the players has an idea of where they want to go, what
16

THE TEAM
they want to achieve. They have the answers. The coach’s job is to help
them set goals and meet them. Coaching is more about being an active
listener whereas in mentorship, the mentor is seen as the person that
has the answers and shares their experience.” Dr. Lanfranco
acknowledges that the same individual might be a coach and a mentor,
but it’s important to “be clear when you’re coaching versus when
you’re mentoring.”
Contrasting mentors and sponsors, Dr. Starr Steinhilber offers a
simple differentiator: “a mentor talks to you, but a sponsor talks about
you.” Whereas a mentor supports us in our day-to-day work and
decision making, a sponsor advances our career by nominating us for
new opportunities. “A sponsor is someone that gives you the
opportunity to be a leader,” says Dr. Sarah Sofka. “They advocate for
you. You act as their protégé. They make sure you have the
opportunities that you deserve.”
In contrast to the more active functions of a mentor, coach or
sponsor, the term ‘role model’ was also used in many of our interviews
to describe the people we look up to and strive to emulate. In fact,
many of our interviewees, including Dr. Yul Ejnes, began mentoring
relationships with individuals they looked up to as role models. Dr.
Ejnes recalls the way a role model shaped the entire direction of his
career. “One general internist made a great impact in my decision on
what I wanted to be. I wanted to be him, basically.”
Tip #5
Mentoring relationships often start with individuals we
look up to as role models.
—Dr. Yul Ejnes
Last are the informal mentors, also referred to as ‘allies’. Described
by Dr. Harrington as “people who befriend and help you on your
journey,” allies might start out as informal relationships and formalize
over time. They might be the people you vent to about a difficult day,
17

REACH OUT!
or they might be the people you use as a sounding board for a nascent
idea.
Some people on our team might clearly occupy one of these
categories; others might toggle between various roles, depending on
the time and circumstance. We don’t need to cling too tightly to these
definitions, just understand the various functions in order to maximize
our team’s potential.
A Team of Experts
“Mentoring is like childcare. The kind of childcare you need for a
neonate, a toddler, and an elementary child is radically different.
Similarly, you need different mentors at every stage,” reflects Dr. Clyde
Yancy. One mentor simply can’t do it all. Medical training is too
multifaceted for any one person to have all the answers which is why
Dr. Lisa Willett encourages us to “build a portfolio of mentors.
Depending on what areas you need help with, you should have
mentors for each. If it is research, find somebody who does that well.
I’m a female physician with children and a spouse. I needed mentors
who I could talk to about work-life balance. And when your kid is sick,
how do you negotiate with your partner? You can find people in all
aspects of your personal and professional life. I think you should have
as many as possible.”
Tip #6
You need different mentors at every stage. One mentor
simply can’t do it all.
—Dr. Clyde Yancy
Today in medicine there are more paths than ever before. We need
mentors to help us in the traditional four — research, clinical,
education and leadership — as well as in the countless other career
possibilities open to us. Physicians are making an impact in media
through simplifying healthcare news for the public on television and
18

THE TEAM
writing op-eds for major publications. We are developing software that
improves efficiency and measures outcomes in hospitals. We counsel
private equity firms on medical investment decisions and politicians on
issues of health equity, advocacy and policy. In order to be
meaningfully exposed to the endless possibilities that exist and find our
niche, we need a broader net of mentorship now than ever before.
Tip #7
Build a portfolio of mentors.
One for every area you need help with.
—Dr. Lisa Willett
Having a team is also the best way to get the most relevant guidance
for our unique circumstances. Dr. Sriram Narsipur sees the team as
providing depth as well as breadth: “Not only do you need mentors for
different aspects of your life, but even within those aspects, it's helpful
to have more than one person. It is not unreasonable to ask multiple
people for mentorship about the same issue. It might be which
direction to go in your research, or whether to apply to a certain type
of residency program. These things are too complicated for one person
to have sufficient perspective.”
Reflecting on his career, Dr. David Reuben contrasts the role of
two physicians - one a role model and the other a mentor - both of
whom had a tremendous impact in his career. Dr. Reuben describes
his role model as being “very much a people’s person and became just
like a father to me.” Whereas his mentor “was well established in the
field and did more for my career than anyone else, but was not the
nicest of people and was, in some respects, a mentor from hell.” He
often advises younger faculty and residents that “your mentor and your
role model should not be one person.” There needs to be a composite
of different figures, some providing inspiration and others demanding
perspiration to achieve an optimal outcome.
19

REACH OUT!
When we have a plurality of opinions, experiences, and
perspectives, we make the best decisions.
Peer Mentorship
In the traditional view, mentorship means a senior mentor transmitting
wisdom to a mentee, often decades junior. Our interviewees
highlighted the importance and value in peer mentoring, one that
should not be taken for granted. “Peer-to-peer mentoring is often
underutilized and yet has such a huge advantage,” says Dr. Dominique
Cosco. Because they have the experiential know-how of having just
gone through it, they can give us “timely, applicable, and specific
feedback.”
Underscoring the importance of seeking guidance from a group
that “speaks your language,” Dr. Carla Spagnoletti believes that “peer
mentors may be in the best position to understand where you're
coming from or the types of problems or challenges that you're
facing.” In the case of near-peer mentoring, a resident looking to take
the next step in their career might benefit from a fellow who has just
gone through the process; for someone about to enter the job market,
a junior faculty member might have the most relevant insight about
current trends.
Tip #8
Don’t overlook the power of peer mentorship. They are best
positioned to give timely, applicable, and specific feedback.
—Dr. Dominique Cosco
Dr. Stacy Higgins shares a story about the remarkable impact of her
peer mentorship group, one she developed with six other underrepresented
peers. Not only did they use their respective skill sets to
mentor one another, but they also used their collective power to
approach senior faculty to mentor the group. This year-long “nontraditional”
mentorship experience had a tremendous impact on the
20

THE TEAM
members of this group, many of whom today are full professors and
leaders at their respective institutions. (For more on mentorship in the
context of women, underrepresented minorities and international
graduates, see Chapter 7).
Mentorship is Lifelong
Over the course of our career, our team will change shape and size,
members will come and go. Some will take on different roles, and
others may evolve into our colleagues, confidants and friends. What
stays constant is the importance of mentorship at every stage of our
careers. “I don't think that you're ever done with mentors,” says Dr.
Alysia Kwiatkowski, “Even after training, you’re always going to have
and need them.” Dr. Stephen Knohl’s decades-long experience
testifies to the ongoing importance of mentorship: “I've been out of
medical school since 1997. I still look to mentors and I know that as I
age, I'm going to need mentors for whatever life brings. Mentorship is
lifelong.”
Rx
1. Mentors perform different functions including: a traditional
mentor who focuses on long term growth, a coach who helps
improve performance, a sponsor who provides opportunities,
and a role model whose best qualities you aspire to emulate.
2. In medicine today, the career possibilities are endless. It’s
more important than ever to have specialized mentors for
each area we wish to develop.
3. Peer mentors are best positioned to give timely, applicable,
and specific feedback.
21

PART 2
WHY DO WE NEED
MENTORS?
22

CHA PTER THREE
Mentors help us …
GROW AS A PERSON
“Setting priorities, which sometimes happens hour by hour, is just like
taking care of patients. Sometimes you have to dry out the lungs and
the kidneys are going to protest for a day or two until you give them
back that fluid. You’re not going to do irreversible damage; you're just
going to stress them a little bit. Life is no different than that.”
—Dr. Charles Wiener
23

I
REACH OUT!
n med school, I was pretty lost. There was a lot of rote
memorization in 1997. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it. I got
disillusioned to the point that when I was in M2 I thought about
changing career paths. I decided to take a year off, not out of
constructive thoughts, but a little bit out of defeat and disillusionment.
Dr. Aashish Didwania had always been a hard-working student.
Spurred on by his elder sister (a physician) and good MCAT scores, he
applied for medical school. Yet during this early phase of his medical
training, he found himself asking questions that had never come up
before: “What am I doing here? Why am I doing this? What is my
purpose?” Today, these are the questions that he encourages his
trainees to think about, not only to fuel success but to sustain them
through tough times. “Know your why,” Dr. Chethan Bachireddy
urges, “It will get you through the how of medicine.”
It Starts with the Why
All of us who dream of becoming physicians have a spark of
motivation but often don’t know how to ask ourselves the right
questions to think through the why that brought us into the profession.
A vague sense of purpose won’t survive the rigors of training. A keenly
honed purpose is foundational, serving both as an internal compass to
orient us when we are lost and a reason to persevere when we have
failed.
Tip #9
Know your ‘why’. It will get you through the ‘how’ of medicine.
—Dr. Chethan Bachireddy
As our ideas of medicine collide with the realities of training, and
as we naturally evolve as individuals, we risk losing track of our
mission. It’s in these moments of transition and uncertainty that Dr.
Didwania gives us a tip to reconnect with our why. “Remember that
24

GROW AS A PERSON
medical school essay. Remember that residency personal statement. As
corny as they may be, there is some real truth in there. You’ll cringe at
this but go back and look at those essays. It will help you remember
why you came into this.”
Dr. Richard Baron articulates the importance of coming back to
that why: “Look for your why every day. Look for when you’re being
unfaithful to it, because you will be. There will be days where you're
tired. Hang on to the reason you wanted to do it, and chase it every
day, every way you can. Use it as a prism through which to refract every
opportunity. That's as good a North Star as anybody can follow.”
Tip #10
Read your med school essay every six months. It will help
you stay connected with your ‘why.’
—Dr. Aashish Didwania
Mentors Raise the Right Questions
How do mentors contribute to this self-assessment? Whereas we
might lose the forest for the trees, mentors tend to have a bird’s eye
view. “The mentee has one perspective, but the mentor has ten,” Dr.
Harvir Singh Gambhir points out. “When the mentor shares that
guidance, it helps the mentee take a step back and think about it.”
Sometimes a mentor’s big-picture perspective is what we need to find
the contours of an undefined passion. “If you’re having trouble finding
your why, ask someone else,” advises Dr. Abby Spencer. “Ask them
when they notice you getting excited. Sometimes other people can spot
what lights you up before you can.”
Mentorship is most powerful when it’s not about dispensing
knowledge. “The best thing any of my mentors have done for me is to
listen and ask questions,” shares Dr. Sima Desai. “Then they would
reflect back to me what I said, in order to push me to understand the
25

REACH OUT!
deeper meaning beneath that statement.” For Dr. Todd Simon, the
mentor’s role in the decision-making process is to “prod people to
think about what it is they love.” This kind of engaged coaching orients
our thinking, widening our focus from immediate issues to the bigger
picture questions that will alter the trajectory of our careers.
To assist her mentees in adopting this mindset, Dr. Stephanie Call
often asks them a series of questions during their first meeting with
her: “What's important to you? What are your core values? What are
the characteristics of the environment that are going to enable your
success professionally? What do you want to accomplish
professionally, big picture?” This line of questioning helps her students
navigate the choices that align best with their growth and well-being.
Tip #11
A mentee has one perspective, but a mentor has ten.
—Dr. Harvir Singh Gambhir
As mentors guide us with these questions, internalizing their lessons
cultivates an independent habit of re-orienting ourselves to our why.
When describing the self-assessment process that she developed over
time, Dr. Amber Deptola suggests we ask ourselves, “‘Where am I?
What in my career and in my life is giving me energy and what is
draining me?’ Write that down and then think, ‘What were my values
a year ago? What are they today? How have my experiences impacted
those values and how do the decisions I'm making align with them?’
It's important to take time to reflect on our values and our current
state. We're all so busy that sometimes it's difficult to be able to step
back, but it's been critical to me making decisions that align with my
core values, and ultimately that keeps me happy.”
When we think about mentors as partners in self-reflection, their
specific guidance about how to reach the next decision becomes
secondary. The greater benefit is the sense of purpose they help us
reveal, which establishes a solid foundation for all our actions and
26

GROW AS A PERSON
supports our growth as people. By instilling a big picture mindset,
mentors help us become our own most effective guides. They hone
our ability to locate our North Star and orient ourselves to it, regardless
of what is going on around us.
Tip #12
Regularly reflect on your values and assess how your
current decisions align with them.
—Dr. Amber Deptola
The Right Questions Can Change Your Life
When we are at crossroads, asking the right question can often have a
life-altering effect. Dr. Sriram Narsipur recalls meeting with his faculty
research adviser at the end of his fellowship. While he was grappling
with the details of various job offers, his adviser told him, “‘The most
important part of the contract is not the salary or vacation days, it’s
your job description: whether or not you’re going to love doing what
you’re doing.’ That reoriented my mind in a way that nothing else could
have. Mentorship is not necessarily about the details. It's about getting
your head around the bigger picture.”
The right line of questioning at the right time helped give Dr. Calvin
Thigpen the push he needed to change directions in his career. After
having completed a fellowship in oncology, he realized the job he was
about to take would not suit his combination of passions. His mentor,
Dr. Stephen Geraci helped him reconnect with his why and make some
career-defining decisions by asking, “What is it that you really love
doing? What are you good at? And where do those two things meet?
If you want to do part oncology, part general medicine and work with
a residency program, then tell people that's what you want to do. The
worst thing that they can say is no.” Dr. Thigpen reflects, “That's what
I did, and it worked out. I owe a lot to Dr. Geraci. He was brutally
honest, and it's made a huge difference in my career.”
27

REACH OUT!
Dr. John McPherson had a similarly life-altering conversation with
his mentor, Dr. Ian Sandbach. While Dr. McPherson was “going
through the motions” of looking at academic jobs, Dr. Sandbach asked
some fundamental questions. Upon hearing Dr. McPherson’s goals in
practicing interventional cardiology and engaging in clinical trials, Dr.
Sandbach offered a piece of advice that “knocked me for a loop
coming from a big academic mentor: go into private practice.” The
unconventional advice proved spot-on, allowing Dr. McPherson to
build a career in alignment with his priorities and continue to work
towards his big-picture objectives during the early part of his career.
Tip #13
Look to your mentors to help get your head around the bigger
picture, rather than to work out the details.
—Dr. Sriram Narsipur
Dr. Narsipur, Dr. Thigpen, and Dr. McPherson reveal the true
value of a mentor: Asking the right questions at the right time to help
us make decisions that, over time, add up and lead us in the right
direction.
Focus on the Big Picture
Once we have found our why, it becomes easier to keep what is truly
important front and center. Dr. David Reuben shares an approach he
uses with his mentees to help them take a step back, “There are two
kinds of things: things that in five years will still be very important and
things that in five years, or maybe five minutes, you likely won't even
remember. You really want to focus on the long-haul things.”
While it’s important to realize that “all things are valuable, they’re
not necessarily all of equal value,” reflects Dr. Lisa Skinner on the topic
of “triaging” our priorities. “Every day you have to make iterative
decisions about what you will and will not do. And you may not have
28

GROW AS A PERSON
the time to necessarily plan through each decision in the moment, but
you definitely have that opportunity at the end of the day or week or
quarter, to reflect in general about how you are spending your time.
You may over the course of a day feel like your life is out of balance,
but if over the course of a month or a year that persists, then your
triage algorithm needs to change.”
Tip #14
When setting your priorities, ask yourself, “Will this matter in
five years?” and act accordingly.
—Dr. David Reuben
Dr. Charles Wiener elucidates this big-picture mindset with a
medical analogy: “Setting priorities, which sometimes happens hour by
hour, is just like taking care of patients. [In a CHF patient] sometimes
you have to dry out the lungs and the kidneys are going to protest for
a day or two until you give them back that fluid. You’re not going to
do irreversible damage; you're just going to stress them a little bit. Life
is no different than that.”
“Once a year, empty your backpack,” suggests Dr. Stephanie
Halvorson, sharing one of the best pieces of mentorship advice she
received, from Dr. Sharon Anderson, the first woman dean at the
Oregon Health & Sciences University School of Medicine. For people
who like to do a lot of things, setting priorities can be a challenge, but
the results are worth the struggle. “Around the time of my annual
review, I take everything I’m doing out of my ‘backpack’ and then
become really intentional about what to put back in. Then I do have
enough time.”
While navigating an impactful career and a busy home life, Dr.
Katrina Armstrong realized that “if I want to be a doctor and do
research and I love my family and I love cooking, I won’t be perfect at
it all. In fact, I’ll probably have lots of days where I didn’t make a very
good dinner, and my kids might go to bed without a bath. But there’s
29

REACH OUT!
a magic in being able to accept your own limitations and forgive
yourself.”
Tip #15
Empty your backpack once a year. Be intentional
about what to put back in.
—Dr. Stephanie Halvorson
It Ends with Finding Yourself
“Not everyone shares the exact definition of what success looks like
for them.” When addressing how to get the most out of mentorship,
Dr. Rob Bradsher emphasizes how important it is for us to define who
we are. “I tell my residents that I am committed to their phenomenal
success, but in order for me to help, we need to define what that is.”
A mentor won’t prescribe a career path for us. “It isn't for me to decide
what a resident or a fellow wants to do,” says Dr. Robert Finberg. “My
job is to try to bring that out of them and guide them toward that.”
We all have unique stories and unique aspirations, and that is why
the goal of a mentor is “not to mold the mentee into a carbon copy,
rather help them explore their own hidden strengths and how they can
use that to their advantage,” says Dr. George Abraham. This process
of asking the right questions and focusing on the big-picture is how
“the most formative mentors help you become yourself,” says Dr. Lisa
Skinner, reflecting on her own mentors who understood that “every
single person has a superpower that comes from their own personal
story. Mentors dig deep to understand what matters to you. They don’t
have a huge agenda. Their only agenda is to help you find your
superpower.”
30

GROW AS A PERSON
Tip #16
Mentors help you become your best self by helping you
find your ‘superpower’.
—Dr. Lisa Skinner
Dr. Bradsher leaves us with his philosophy: “The goal is not to
move. We could go 20 miles down the road in the wrong direction and
end up in the wrong city. It’s important to look at the map, define
where you are and where your destination is. The goal is not to move
in any direction. It’s to move in the right direction.” And that direction
is often determined by our “why.”
Rx
1. A well-defined why should be our North Star, to reorient us
when we are lost and help us persevere thru failure.
2. Mentors raise the right questions to help us identify our ‘why’
and make decisions in line with what is truly important to us.
3. By teaching us to prioritize long-term success over short-term
gains, mentors help us develop a big-picture mindset.
31

CHA PTER FOUR
Mentors help us …
GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
“We’re all pressed for time during the encounter and it’s easy to forget
that it’s a person in front of you, not a mannequin. My role models did
things to show the patient that we’re people too, not just robot
doctors.”
—Dr. Michael Karp
32

A
GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
s Physician-in-Chief at Vanderbilt Hospital, Dr. Kimryn Rathmell
often reviews patient feedback and how patients perceive ‘a great
doctor’. “It’s partly about the clinical outcome, but it’s much more
about their experience with that doctor. Whether the doctor was
listening to them, if they felt as if they were part of the solution and
had the confidence that the doctor had their best interest at heart. The
therapy they get may be similar, but when a patient feels engaged, heard
and well taken care of, that’s when a doctor crosses over from good to
great.”
The elements that Dr. Rathmell highlights as crucial to becoming a
great physician are not as related to the science of medicine, as they are
to the ‘art.’ In the words of Dr. Christopher Jackson, “The art of
medicine is about going back to the things that allow us to humanize
our patients and humanize ourselves.”
In a world where new technologies such as artificial intelligence
promise to help physicians access knowledge and treat patients in realtime,
Dr. Vijay Shah emphasizes that the “most beautiful niche for
humans will be in their ability to be human - their empathy,
compassion, ability to care and creativity - these will remain AI-proof.”
It is this humanity that paves the way to advocating for our patients.
“The right thing for the patient is the right thing for everyone, always,”
says Dr. Robert Morrison. “Medicine begins with the patient, stays
with the patient, and ends with the patient.”
Tip #17
As AI progresses, the most beautiful niche for humans will
be in their ability to be human.
—Dr. Vijay Shah
Echoing Sir William Osler’s sentiment, “The good doctor treats the
disease; the great doctor treats the patient who has the disease,” we
asked our mentors a similar question:
33

REACH OUT!
“Imagine I am a fly on the wall observing you interact with patients.
Walk me through the habits that you have developed over time that
you have found to have a profound impact on building a relationship
with your patient.”
While nothing can replace watching a clinical mentor in action,
we’ve distilled actionable insights from our physician mentors to build
the art of medicine within each step of the patient encounter.
The Relationship-Task-Relationship Framework
The art of medicine begins with a framework that master clinician Dr.
Gurpreet Dhaliwal calls “Relationship-Task-Relationship,” which
refocuses us from a “task only” mindset to a “task plus relationship”
mindset. He explains:
“We all have a task to do: collect information, synthesize it, come
to a diagnostic conclusion, and devise a management plan. Instead of
jumping straight to the task, what I picked up on, from watching great
clinical role models, was to start and end with the relationship. When
I enter the room, I try to start with some point of connection. I see a
sports cap that shows me that they're from Wisconsin, the same state
I'm from. Or I see that they have a book in hand that I've read as well.
Or I see that someone in the waiting room is joining them, and I ask
them about them. Every once in a while, their answer is diagnostically
rich, but it is also to signal that I care more about them as a person
than I do about their condition. It takes just a minute, but when the
relationship is built in such a way, I become more effective at the task.
The relationship at the end is signaling that this wasn't a transaction.
I've decided that they have gout, and I've talked to them about the
NSAID, but there is still gratitude: “Thank you for coming in.” There's
a reflection of what they told me, “It sounds like if we treat this gout,
you'll be able to chase after your grandkids like you told me before.”
There's a connection, “This is the way to reach me if things don't go
34

GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
well. I don't want to subject you to that horrific phone tree.” Closing
with ‘relationship’ is a really important point. It's mutually satisfactory
to both parties.”
Tip #18
Practice a “relationship-task-relationship” framework. Start every
visit by finding a point of human connection. End every
visit by reaffirming it.
—Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal
Now that we have the framework, let’s isolate the parts of the
patient encounter and add the art of medicine to each.
Before Entering the Room
The patient encounter actually starts before we walk in the room - by
taking a moment to get in the right mindset. Dr. Stephen Knohl
suggests we think of ourselves as actors getting into character before a
scene: “One where the patient is the most important individual in the
room, not me.” Although the acting metaphor may imply
inauthenticity, Dr. Knohl uses it to emphasize the importance of
embodying the role, without getting distracted by any personal
baggage, so that we can give the patient our fullest attention.
Dr. Sanjay Saint suggests we rethink one of the most prosaic (but
often overlooked) parts of any physician’s day: sanitizing our hands.
Rather than see it as an item on the checklist, Dr. Saint repurposes it
into an opportunity to center himself on his patients at the Ann Arbor
Veterans Affairs Hospital.
“Rather than washing our hands mindlessly before we enter into a
patient's room, what if we took a moment and paid attention to the
alcohol-based hand rub on our palm? We notice the smell. We notice
the touch. It’s a reminder that for me, as a hospitalist, this may be one
of 15 veterans that I see this morning. But for that veteran, these next
35

REACH OUT!
10 minutes will arguably be the most important of the day. It's when
we let them know what we found in the CT scan, in the biopsy. Did
the cancer come back or is it gone? It's a reminder to be fully present.”
Tip #19
Turn handwashing into a mindful ritual. Remember, the next 10
minutes will be the most important 10 minutes in
your patient’s entire day.
—Dr. Sanjay Saint
Walking in…
“When patients come into the hospital, we take away all of their
control. We tell them when they can get out of their bed, when they
eat, when they take their medication. When you go into the room,
show respect by giving the patient every modicum of control you can,”
says Dr. Richard Pittman, reflecting on the advice he received from his
mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Weise. “Before I flip the lights on, I ask ‘Hey, is it
okay if I turn on the lights?’ or ‘Do you mind if I mute your TV?’” By
attending to details, we build the rapport that is essential for a healthy
therapeutic relationship.
This mindful awareness means that we cannot script our encounters
but instead need to observe the patient and take their individual needs
into account. Dr. John Pandolfino explains the importance of reading
the room and acting accordingly. “You have to be cognizant that each
patient is in a different state and requires a different interaction. If I
walk into a patient's room on rounds, and they're watching TV, I'll ask
them about what they're watching. But there are other people who
have a list of questions ready when I walk in the room. They don't
want me to ask them what they're watching on TV.”
It’s important to notice our own body language and other forms of
nonverbal communication. When interacting with his patients, Dr.
36

GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
George Abraham sits on a stool, with the patient seated at a higher
level on the exam table, to underscore his respect for them: “I don’t
want to appear that I’m talking down to the patient.” These physical
cues can foster a more familial environment that puts the patient and
their family in the best possible frame of mind to make decisions. Dr.
Gregory Kane recalls how one of his mentors created a familial feel to
hospital room discussions, as if they were taking place “around the
kitchen table.” He elaborates, “Many of us growing up have had
important family discussions around the kitchen table. It's informal,
it's open, but oftentimes the issues are very important.”
Tip #20
Give the patient every modicum of control that you can. Is it okay
if I turn on the lights? Do you mind if I mute your TV?
—Dr. Richard Pittman
First Words
Our first words set the tone for the whole visit. In keeping with the
“relationship-task-relationship” framework, the conversation should
begin on a personal, rather than a medical note. Dr. Michael Karp
describes his shift from the checklist mentality, to a more fluid
approach: “We’re all pressed for time during the encounter and when
you have to ask certain questions and conduct the examination in a
certain way, it's easy to forget that it's a person in front of you, not a
mannequin. My role models did things to show the patient that we’re
people too, not just robot doctors.” Dr. Katrina Armstrong recalls the
way her mentor, Dr. Stephen Achuff, “would walk into a room and
instantly sense the patient’s emotional situation. He would start by
asking about something other than their illness. Patients are so scared
of their illness. It's so consuming if you have a chronic illness. So, he
would talk about golf or their vacation, and you could watch the patient
start to recognize that they weren't alone, that this was somebody who
37

REACH OUT!
was going to be part of their journey. I remember that when I was a
medical student I was like, ‘Wait, isn't he supposed to ask them about
their orthopnea? What is he doing?’ It turns out you can learn way
more about somebody's heart failure by whether they can walk 18
holes on a golf course than anything else. Ask patients to share what's
going on with them. Ask them, ‘What's been the best thing that's
happened to you over the last couple of weeks? What have you been
worried about the most?’”
“In order to truly practice medicine in a patient- centered way, we
have to get to know our patients,” says Dr. Andrew Thurston, “and
the only way to do that is to hear their stories.” Dr. Thurston uses a
technique he calls The Teddy Bear Principle. It goes like this: Imagine
you are walking into your patient’s room and lying next to your patient
is a stuffed teddy bear. The odds are that a family member or a friend
put that there — or the patient brought it in themselves. Make it your
job to ask about that teddy bear. There’s a story behind it, guaranteed,
but you won’t know it unless you ask. When you ask about the bear,
you’re really asking to hear about your patient’s story.
Tip #21
Ask about the Teddy Bear. There’s a story behind it, but
you won’t know if you don’t ask.
—Dr. Andrew Thurston
This focus on the relationship requires a small investment that
yields significant dividends. It may even save time in the long run. Dr.
Rebecca Andrews remembers advice she received from a medical
assistant who reminded her that “rushing into the business of the visit
was never going to get me where I wanted to go, and it was certainly
going to take a lot longer to get anywhere good. I wish that I had
listened to my mentors who told me to do two minutes of socialization
with my patient. To start with that trip to Alaska that they mentioned
in their last visit, and then what brought them in.” Dr. Andrews’ self-
38

GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
reflection reminds us of the very core of our purpose as physicians:
treating the patient who has a disease, and not just a disease. Taking
these hard-earned lessons to heart will enable us to master the art of
medicine.
Listen to the History (Key word: Listen)
We need to give the patient space to tell their story, says Dr. Richard
Baron, as hard as it might be for us to hold our tongue: “Thirty years
ago Dr. Howard Beckman did a study in which he timed interactions
between doctors and patients. He discovered that after asking the
patient an opening question like ‘What brings you in today?’, the
average time the patient spoke before the doctor interrupted was just
17 seconds! The longest a patient spoke uninterrupted was two
minutes,” says Dr. Baron, “It feels like a lifetime, but it’s really only
two minutes.” 1
The goal is not just to be quiet, rather to listen intently. “When
people are having true myocardial pain, they rarely describe it as pain.
They describe it as discomfort or pressure. I can't tell you how many
times I've seen a resident ask a patient, ‘How long ago did your chest
pain start?’ And the patient says, ‘Well, it's not really pain, it's
discomfort. It started last week.’ And then the resident says, ‘Does the
pain get worse when you exercise?’ The patient says, ‘Yes, but it's not
really pain, it's discomfort.’ And the resident says, ‘What makes the
pain feel better?’ And the patient gives up.”
Tip #22
Don’t interrupt the patient during their history. They will
literally take less than two minutes.
—Dr. Richard Baron
__________________
1 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-101-5-692
39

REACH OUT!
After the patient has given their history, we should keep the
dialogue open-ended and avoid heading straight to ’yes’ and ‘no’
questions. “The more questions you can ask your patients that hit at
an emotional level, the more it brings out our humane tendencies,”
says Dr. Robert Smith. “When we’re so busy all the time, those
tendencies can easily get lost.” Listening can also help understand the
rationale behind the decisions that patients make, Dr. Laura Davisson
emphasizes, “We need to step back and really listen to their stories. If
you do that, you will often find out some of the reasons why they’re
making the choices that they make. It would be very easy to judge your
patients if you don’t take the time to hear their stories.”
Sometimes listening can be the best medicine. “To have a patient
tell you they’re feeling better even though you did nothing more than
listen to them,” says Dr. Robert Morrison, “is a measure of success
with no dollar value on it.”
Tip #23
Step back and really listen to the patient’s story. It will help you
understand why they make the choices they do.
—Dr. Laura Davisson
Observing the patient’s body language is just as important as
listening to their words. Good listening requires interpreting “all the
signs the patient is giving you,” says Dr. Steven Berk. He refers to this
ability as “emotional IQ.” We also need to be cognizant of the fact that
we’re oftentimes not the first ones asking the patient these questions,
Dr. De Fer reminds us. The first item on the agenda at any patient
meeting should be to let the patient know, “I want to know your story.
Many people prior to me have asked the same questions, but I'm here
with this purpose of hearing it from you in your own words.”
Physicians can communicate empathy in a multiplicity of ways, Dr. De
Fer asserts, “from our body language, to our choice of words, to being
quiet when we need to be quiet.”
40

GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
Use Human Language
At the tail end of the ‘task’ comes the diagnosis and the treatment. As
we make a determination about the significance of the patient’s story,
we need to make sure they come along with us. After all, the success
of the treatment is limited by how well they understand and trust our
recommendations. Dr. James de Lemos advises us to “use human
language, not medical language. Even if they have medical knowledge,
it comes across as stilted. A less formal style allows for empathy and a
little humor that is essential to building trust in the relationship.”
To help patients understand their diagnosis or treatment plan, Dr.
Kimryn Rathmell has found drawing visual images to be an effective
tool for engagement and education: “I always have something that I
need to draw and show them: a schematic outlining a treatment plan,
a picture of a kidney with a tumor. Sometimes it's a gorgeous
masterpiece, and sometimes it's just a scribble, but a lot of patients
want this piece of paper at the end. It is not at all uncommon, three or
four years later, for me to be saying something and for them to pull
out this piece of paper and say, ‘Well, way back you showed me this.’
It's really valuable to them.”
Dr. Marijane Hynes, an obesity specialist, reflects on the
importance of building trust with patients by using the right phrases.
“We need to tell our patients, ‘I can help you.’ We don’t seem to say it
enough as physicians. ‘I can help you. I’ve helped a lot of patients and
I can help you.’ A lot of patients are tired and feel a little beat up by
the time they come to see us. We are a fresh face and offer renewed
hope and motivation for change.”
Tip #24
Use human language, not medical language with patients. It helps
bring empathy and a little humor into the conversation.
— Dr. James de Lemos
41

REACH OUT!
The ‘Golden Rule of Medicine’
The “relationship-task-relationship” mentality requires that the visit
meets the standard that Dr. Deeb Salem calls his “golden rule of
practicing medicine: After every encounter, the patient should feel
better than they did before it started.”
That can be challenging, says Dr. Jane Liebschutz. “I do a lot of
addiction work and I meet people who are completely down and out.
I make a conscious effort always try to find something in them that I
admire, and I name it with them. It works wonders to get people’s trust
and to help them be in a positive place for their own growth and
improvement.”
Tip #25
At the end of the encounter, assess your performance against the
‘Golden Rule of Medicine.’ Does the patient feel better now
than they did before it started?
—Dr. Deeb Salem
The ‘relationship’ portion of the framework is as essential to
achieving better health outcomes as the ‘task’. Dr. Sima Desai advises
us, “Spending 1-2 extra minutes can have a profound effect on the way
that you interact with that patient and how the two of you can create a
plan that could potentially be a road to better health.”
42

GROW AS A PHYSICIAN
Rx
1. Use the “Relationship-Task-Relationship” framework: start
and end every visit with a focus on the patient as a person,
not just a patient.
2. Before you enter the room, mindfully wash your hands.
3. Start the visit by asking about the Teddy Bear.
4. Listen to the patient tell their history. (It won’t take more
than 2 minutes, promise!)
5. Use human language to discuss the diagnosis and treatment
plan.
6. Assess your performance against the Golden Rule of Medicine.
43

CHA PTER FIVE
Mentors help us …
GROW AS A LEADER
“Good is where I am right now. To be a great internist, the single most
important thing is to ask, ‘What do I need to do to get better?’ It cannot
be a stagnant process.”
—Dr. Sima Desai
44

L
GROW AS A LEADER
eadership is not about a title or a designation, says writer Robin S.
Sharma, “It’s about impact.” The impact we create is based on our
role, aspirations, and mindset, which change throughout our careers.
Dr. Vijay Shah shares the typical stages in a physician’s career.
“During the early-career phase of ambition, we obtain our first
successes and aim to scale our impact. This may be as a junior faculty
getting their first grant, then parlaying it in multiple grants or taking on
more administrative or education roles within an organization.
In our mid-career, we enter the phase of magnanimity. Recognizing
that our legacy will be built by what we have done for others, we focus
on sharing our experiences and helping members in our community
create impact in their own work.
Finally comes the visionary phase where we recognize that if we
want to impact the world and improve human health, we need to act
now.”
Regardless of whether we find ourselves in the ambitious,
magnanimous or visionary phase, the impact we create is based on a
common set of traits. In this chapter we will discuss the traits of leaders
who create impact: they commit to challenging themselves on a daily
basis; they redefine failure to turn it into an opportunity for growth;
and they recognize when they are wrong and change course. When we
asked physician leaders on how to further develop these traits, their
answers pointed us back to the central role of mentorship in their own
journeys to becoming leaders.
Challenge Yourself
A commitment to self-improvement is a fundamental trait of great
leaders. Fortunately, medical training is a time when we come face-toface
with our limitations on a daily basis, facing trials that expose our
vulnerabilities and push us beyond our comfort zone. And that is why,
45

REACH OUT!
Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal credits his training years as being the most
formative in his life, “During residency, I was constantly being pushed
out of my comfort zone. The problem is after we’re done, we breathe
a sigh of relief. We’re all human, so we let our guard down.” Keeping
up that commitment to remain in challenge mode after we complete
training is the key. Dr. Dhaliwal encourages us to be proactive in
seeking challenges, “ask for that stretch assignment or see the patient
that’s not quite in your field of expertise once in a while.”
The physician leaders with whom we spoke agreed that becoming
great is not a marker you achieve; it’s a goal post that you keep moving
for yourself. “Good is where I am right now. Great means I will be
better than where I was the last time I thought about myself.” Dr. Sima
Desai believes, “To be a great internist, the single most important thing
is to ask, ‘How can I do better?’ It cannot be a stagnant process.” Dr.
Desai regularly asks herself, “What can I do today to be a little closer
to becoming like the people I find extraordinary?”
A continued commitment to challenge ourselves to move from
good to great requires persistence. Most successful people across
fields, from sports to medicine, are those who “don’t give up at the
first stumble because they’re deeply driven by an internal mission,”
notes Dr. Elie Berbari. This ‘internal mission’ is the source of that push
to go the extra mile, send the follow up email, and knock on the doors
that seem closed. It’s these individuals who challenge themselves day
after day, who will ultimately make the greatest impact.
Tip #26
Most successful people don’t give up at the first stumble because
they’re deeply driven by an internal mission.
— Dr. Elie Berbari
46

GROW AS A LEADER
Redefine Failure
Don’t be afraid to fail. As high achievers, this advice can be hard to
take. Failures are inevitable, therefore it’s vital that we learn to
approach them as obstacles rather than dead ends. When a roadblock
has closed our chosen route, we should reach out to mentors who have
the experience and emotional distance to help reframe failure into a
productive insight.
Dr. Robert Wachter recalls when he had a major federal grant
rejected early on in his career: “I had some really wonderful mentors
who said quite sagely, ‘I know this feels like a failure, but that's what
clarifies what you are good at and where you get joy and inspiration’.”
Reflecting on this life lesson, he states: “As you talk to people who've
been successful, you will always find that their failures were as powerful
as their successes. When something went wrong, they dusted
themselves off, took a hard look at themselves and shifted gears.” In
other words, “It’s not failure, it’s just feedback,” Dr. Alysia
Kwiatkowski suggests. “If you don’t succeed at something, it’s
feedback for how to do better next time.” We can learn more from our
failures than from our successes, but only if we use them as an
opportunity to figure out how to improve going forward.
Tip #27
Failures are feedback for how to do better next time.
—Dr. Alysia Kwiatkowski
Failure can also serve as a litmus test to indicate who is truly on the
cutting edge. Dr. Monika Safford tells her mentees, “If you are doing
studies, and every single one of them is succeeding, you're not pushing
yourself hard enough. Because if you are at the leading edge, it means
you should be failing about half the time.” Trailblazers test many paths
before finding the best one and aren’t discouraged when they
backtrack. They’re excited to start afresh.
47

REACH OUT!
Tip #28
Celebrate your failures as much as you celebrate your successes.
—Dr. KM Venkat Narayan
We must also resist the temptation to sweep our failures under the
rug. “Share it with people. Say, ‘I got rejected, but I'm going to try
again’,” advises Dr. KM Venkat Narayan when emphasizing the
importance of resilience as an essential quality for leaders in research.
“Research is a place where you're trying to do things that have never
been done before,” Dr. Narayan says, “so celebrate your failures as
much as you celebrate your successes.”
“When we look at the resumes of successful people, and their list
of accomplishments,” notes Dr. Yael Schenker, “what we don’t see in
there, and what’s easy to forget is that behind every resume of success
is an equally long, if not longer, resume of rejections.”
On their way to developing their lengthy resume of challenges,
seasoned physician leaders develop an awareness of how setbacks
catalyze their present-day success. “Mentors put us in all kinds of crazy
situations,” says Dr. Stephanie Call. She reflects on her own mentors
“who gave me opportunities where I might ‘fail,’ but I would grow
from every experience.” She reflects: “the mentees’ responsibility is to
say yes to all opportunities, even if they're scary. It's living life fearlessly
to take on things that you may think you can't do, but whatever
happens, it's a stepping-stone. It's always going to be a growth
opportunity.” From this perspective, whether the experience turns into
a spectacular success or an occasion for feedback, either way, it’ll go
on one of our two resumes — and to become a leader, we need both.
Tip #29
Say yes to all opportunities, even if they're scary. Every
opportunity will be a growth opportunity
—Dr. Stephanie Call
48

GROW AS A LEADER
When A Door Closes, Look to Open a New One
Dr. John Pandolfino remembers his mentor and role model, Dr. Lewis
Landsberg, as the perfect physician. “We never saw him miss a
diagnosis or not be right.” Yet, the one piece of advice Dr. Pandolfino
received from Dr. Landsberg was, “Don’t be afraid to be wrong. If
you’re wrong, change.” Learning to internalize this mindset over the
course of his career has given Dr. Pandolfino the agility to continue to
experiment. “When you look at the people who make an impact in
medicine, it's people who take a shot — and if it fails, they move on to
the next thing.”
Tip #30
Don’t be afraid to be wrong. If you’re wrong, change.
—Dr. Lewis Landsberg’s advice to Dr. John Pandolfino
A great physician leader is willing to change when they’re wrong.
There’s no time to cling to failed hypotheses or persist with inadequate
strategies. As Dr. George Abraham reflects, when we realize we’re
headed in the wrong direction, “we need to be flexible enough to
recalibrate and change course to make up for lost time. We need to
think outside the box and ask, ‘If this door closes, can another one
open?’”
A setback is never the right reason to quit. “With every challenge
comes new opportunities,” says Dr. Richard Sterling. A perceived
failure is just a chance to ask ourselves and our mentors, “Why did I
fail? What can I do better next time?” When we search proactively for
solutions or alternatives, we’re cultivating the problem-solving attitude
that will serve us over the long haul.
Whatever challenge we’re facing, Dr. Stanley Schwartz encourages
us not to brood: “Talk to your colleagues, your friends, and above all,
your mentors. Take your lemons and make lemonade. Take the hand
you've been dealt and see how you can redevelop your career.”
49

REACH OUT!
Rx
1. Leadership is about impact and those who make the biggest
impact have three traits in common (bolstered by their
mentors):
2. Commit to challenge themselves every day and improve.
3. Redefine failure as feedback for growth.
4. Are not afraid to be wrong. If they are wrong, then they
change course.
50

PART 3
HOW DO WE CONNECT WITH
MENTORS?
51

CHA PTER SIX
ADOPT THE MENTORSHIP MINDSET
“We’ve all been in this position in medical school: you're listening with
a stethoscope with a cardiologist that has been doing this for 20 years.
And he asks, ‘Did you hear it?’ And you just nod your head, ‘Yes.’
Because you don't want to be the person that didn't hear it. But you
didn't hear it. What matters is that you hear it and that you tell the
cardiologist if you don't, because the only person that will suffer is the
patient that you're privileged to care for.”
—Dr. Sanjay Desai
52

W
ADOPT THE MENTORSHIP MINDSET
e all have a natural desire to look good in front of those we
admire. However, Dr. Sanjay Desai reminds us to embrace
uncomfortable situations. Our growth depends on opening up about
our weaknesses and embracing the gift of a mentor’s critical feedback.
It’s this mindset, also called ‘the growth mindset,’ that is foundational
to all mentoring relationships.
“A person with a growth mindset believes that their true potential
is unknown, and that they can always reach higher heights,” says Dr.
Eric Warm. “These individuals maintain an internal locus of control,”
the understanding that we have the ability to affect the world around
us and change ourselves to shape our destiny. In fact, as long as we
accept that we are “a work in progress who have not yet reached their
potential,” the sky’s the limit for our growth.
Tip #31
Adopt a growth mindset: I am a work in progress.
—Dr. Eric Warm
In this chapter, we’ll discuss the key qualities of the mentorship
mindset, foremost among them a willingness to be vulnerable. Then
we’ll share insights from our mentors on asking for help, seeking
feedback and being receptive to criticism. Ultimately, it all comes back
to taking ownership of our experiences. If we own our experiences, we
can become the person, the physician and the leader we wish to be.
Be Vulnerable
The first step to acknowledging that we are a work in progress is a
willingness to be open about our limitations. This requires
vulnerability, a mindset that is understandably difficult to adopt in the
competitive training environment of medicine. “No one wants to be
viewed as not knowing,” says Dr. Richard Bucala. “It takes courage to
admit that sometimes you don't have a clue what's going on.” Part of
53

REACH OUT!
the problem with admitting our limitations is “embedded in the hidden
curriculum of medicine” says Dr. John Ratelle. “There is this feeling
that if you don’t know something, you must not be a very good doctor.
But that’s just categorically false. If there is one thing that I wish I knew
earlier, it is that we all make it to this stage in training because we’re
intelligent and thoughtful people. And if I don’t know something, the
odds are someone else is feeling the same. I wish I had been the one
to just label it and not be afraid to look foolish.”
“I’ve always had those thoughts, ‘Should I ask? Should I not ask?’
To me, the warning sign is if you’re even asking yourself that question,
you need help,” says Dr. Robert Bacallao. “It’s a little bit like the advice
given by a pulmonologist - if you’re thinking about whether you should
intubate a patient, you should intubate the patient.”
In order to foster a safe environment, Dr. Rebecca Andrews models
vulnerability with her mentees. As she goes through her rotations, she
identifies areas in which she wants to improve herself, asking her team
to collaborate with her by helping her close those gaps. Then, when
the team faces obstacles, they address them together. She warns her
trainees, “You will never be a master clinician if you can't admit to
yourself what you need to improve upon. It shows strength to be
comfortable with who you are.”
Tip #32
Admitting weakness shows strength in being
comfortable with who you are.
—Dr. Rebecca Andrews
While the mindset of vulnerability starts the process, it’s the action
of asking for help that leads to substantive growth. “The students who
are best at the physical exam are the ones who say, ‘I didn't feel that
spleen like you did. Can you please help me do that?’ Or ‘I don't
understand why that's a mitral regurgitation murmur instead of an
54

ADOPT THE MENTORSHIP MINDSET
aortic stenosis murmur. Can you explain that to me?’” says Dr. Steven
Berk.
Reflecting on her time in training, Dr. Rahma Warsame found it
incredibly helpful to “be open and vulnerable when I did not know
something. I found that when I was struggling, I was much more
successful when I simply asked for help. You have to be okay being
wrong and being open to a different approach or a different diagnosis.”
Dr. Christopher Jackson describes a turning point in medical school
when he was struggling in his Brain and Behavior module and needed
to reach out to his professors and peers in a way he never had done
before: “That was uncomfortable, admitting that I needed help,
putting myself in a position to say, ‘I don't have all the tools necessary
to get to where I'm trying to go. Let me reach out to those that can
help me acquire those tools’.” Not only did his experience of reaching
out put him back on track, but in his interactions with his mentors he
realized, “oftentimes we think we are an island, but no successful
person has been able to get everywhere on their own.” It's okay to ask
for help, as Dr. Jackson’s mentors taught him, “because everybody is
still learning something new every day.”
Seek Feedback
Sometimes we are painfully aware of our limitations. We know when
we didn’t hear the heartbeat or when a lecture went right over our head.
Yet, other times our limitations may not be as apparent to us as they
are to those around us. We can shrink these blindspots through
feedback.
Tip #33
Proactively solicit feedback instead of sitting back and waiting for
your mentor to come to you.
—Dr. Todd Simon
55

REACH OUT!
When thinking of feedback, Dr. Todd Simon reminds us that it is a
“two-way street.” While the advice you’re receiving may sound like
feedback, it “works best when you solicit that feedback instead of
sitting back and waiting for your mentor to come to you. Hey, how am
I doing? What could I do differently? What could I be doing better?”
Dr. Rahma Warsame made it a habit to seek ‘mid-rotation’
feedback. “If I was with someone for a week, it would be on
Wednesday. If I was with someone for a month, it would be two weeks
in. I asked for what my deficits were and then I fixed them.”
Tip #34
Seek feedback midway through every rotation. Ask for your
deficits and then fix them.
—Dr. Rahma Warsame
For Dr. Keith Armitage, feedback is at the foundation of real
learning, especially in terms of the way we learn medicine. “Seeing a
patient independently, formulating your own thought process,
discussing it with people who have more training, and then reflecting
on their thought process and their fund of knowledge is how people
learn.” We get the best results when we see feedback as a supplement
to and not a substitute for independent effort.
Be Receptive to Criticism
Dr. Clyde Yancy was a few years in to his first job on faculty at UT
Southwestern. “I was working at a frenetic pace. Super busy. Trying to
be a clinical giant, doing all sorts of research and getting involved in
clinical trials. It all seemed to make sense.” He remembers the day his
then chair of medicine, Dr. Dan Foster, called him in to his office and
said, “Clyde, what are you doing? You are very busy, but you’re
accomplishing nothing.” Dr. Yancy recalls, “I was beyond upset. But
56

ADOPT THE MENTORSHIP MINDSET
it was a pivot point for me because it taught me the difference between
being busy and being productive. That was a lesson that stuck with
me.”
A mentor’s job “is to offer constructive criticism,” says Dr. Robert
Harrington, whether we’re lacking in a certain skill, need more
knowledge in a particular topic, or need to improve our behavior.
Although it may not be pleasant to hear, our mentors give feedback
with our best interests at heart. Taking a humorous tack, Dr. Elizabeth
Paulk tells her trainees, “If you came out of the bathroom with toilet
paper on your shoe, I would say to you, ‘Listen, I know this is
uncomfortable to hear, but there's toilet paper on your shoe and I
would encourage you to remove it.’ I'm going to do the same thing for
you if there's something you need to change in your presentation or
physical exam.”
We make the most of feedback by taking it in the spirit it was given.
“Your mentors can be very critical of you,” says Dr. David Reuben,
but “if you take it personally, you're losing.” In other words, don’t let
your pride get in the way of your learning.
Tip #35
Be receptive to criticism. Becoming a leader is about knowing your
shortcomings and being able to improve on them.
—Dr. Sarah Sofka
Praise feels good in the moment, but it’s a reward for past efforts.
Criticism, on the other hand, helps us decide what to do next, and
where to devote our energy in the future. That’s what makes it so
valuable. Just like failure, criticism is a stepping-stone to growth. Dr.
Rebecca Gruchalla tells her mentees: “Expect criticism and embrace it.
It's not the praise that has helped me. It’s the things that were a bit
painful. It's the things they told me I need to work on.” In the long
run, it’s the greater gift. If we keep our focus on the opportunities for
57

REACH OUT!
growth, we won’t be derailed by feedback that is meant to spur us
along.
As a population of high achievers, this advice can be hard to
internalize. However, for people who hope to make a widespread
impact, the stakes could not be higher, as Dr. Sarah Sofka explains:
“You have to be open to constructive feedback to make you better and
ultimately, contribute to your success. They're not easy conversations
to have, but it is so important to be receptive because that's what
defines a successful leader: knowing your shortcomings and being able
to reflect on those and eventually improve.” For Dr. Sofka, a leader is
not someone who manages dozens of people or ranks at the top of an
institutional hierarchy. A true leader is receptive to constructive
feedback, and is willing to put that feedback to work, in service of a
greater good.
Own Your Experiences
Mentorship is a dynamic relationship but, in the end, the onus is on
us to identify, and redress, our deficits. Dr. Jennifer Christner puts the
ball in our court: “It's all on you. The bottom line is that you can
succeed anywhere, depending on what you put into it. You can make
the biggest difference for yourself.” As physicians, we can be confident
that there are structures in place to help us thrive: we will likely have
no shortage of experiences, faculty, or mentors ready to support us.
However, Dr. Sanjay Desai reminds us, “What you learn, how you
develop, and who you become is based on how much ownership you
take over the experience.”
Tip #36
Take ownership over your experiences. That will determine what
you learn, how you develop and who ultimately who you become.
—Dr. Sanjay Desai
58

ADOPT THE MENTORSHIP MINDSET
Rx
1. Adopting a growth mindset is foundational to building
meaningful relationships with mentors.
2. Being vulnerable and asking for help, while difficult, initiate
the process of self-development.
3. It’s important to seek feedback and embrace criticism from
mentors to identify and work on our blind spots.
4. The onus is on us to make the most of our experiences.
59

CHA PTER SE VEN
IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MENTORS
“Good mentorship is a product of talent and accessibility. You could
have someone who is a world authority, but if they are not accessible,
the product is zero. Conversely, if you’ve got someone who is
accessible but is not talented, the product is also zero.”
—Dr. Hugo Rosen
60

F
IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MENTORS
inding the right mentors is like matchmaking: we have to identify
a mentor whose skills, experience and temperament complement
our own. Once we embrace a holistic vision of mentorship that
prioritizes the relationship, picking a mentor is less about adding an
important name to our CV and more about the human qualities that
make it possible to connect. With no formula to dictate the perfect fit,
we have to try to gauge a mentor’s generosity and expertise. “On one
hand, there are folks out there who have done everything in life, but
whose CVs suggest it's all about themselves. On the other hand, there
are the diehard mentors who want to help you, except they don't have
the skillset,” says Dr. Javed Butler. “When you find the right match
between your passion and a secure, skilled mentor, the magic
happens.”
“Identifying the right mentor is part science and part art,” says Dr.
Sanjay Saint, a recipe we explore throughout this chapter. We will start
by exploring what motivates truly great mentors to invest their time
with mentees, then explore the science and, finally, the art behind
identifying the right mentors.
Recognize the Motivation of Great Mentors
Dr. Robert Centor describes great mentors as having “kvell,” a Yiddish
word that describes the special pride a parent feels when their offspring
does something exceptional. “The great mentor is not looking for
more recognition themselves, they're looking for the mentee to
succeed because that means that the team's doing well.”
Tip #37
Great mentors have ‘kvell’: a feeling of pride when
their mentees succeed.
—Dr. Robert Centor
61

REACH OUT!
“Mentorship is the same as parenting. We give our children
unconditional nurturing with only one expectation: that they find their
passion.” Dr. Michael Saag’s philosophy of mentorship as a form of
unconditional love is inspired by one of his early mentors in residency,
Dr. George Karam.
Tip #38
Generosity of spirit is the defining virtue of great mentors.
—Dr. Mark Siegel
“When I became a parent, I became a much better mentor,” says
Dr. Richard Sterling, recognizing a similar selflessness in both his roles.
“When you’re a parent, you learn to put your child ahead of yourself.
To be a successful mentor, you also have to put the mentee ahead of
your own needs.
When a mentor thinks more about the success of the team and the
progress of future generations, it indicates a true “generosity of spirit,”
which Dr. Mark Siegel believes is the defining virtue of great mentors.
“Find people who are in it because they derive satisfaction from giving
advice and coaching learners to help them be successful.” As we
embark upon our search for the right mentor, understanding the
selfless drive of great mentors to see the next generation succeed
becomes critically important.
Value Similarities Beyond Professional Interests
In Chapter 6, we discussed the foundational importance of
vulnerability to the mentorship mindset. Vulnerability requires a
certain level of trust and comfort. Dr. Christopher Jackson says our
foremost criteria should be to choose mentors with whom we are
comfortable being honest. An overwhelming majority of our physician
mentors shared that they were most comfortable building trusting
62

IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MENTORS
relationships with mentors who had similar life experiences and
backgrounds.
With “limited access to mentors that looked like me,” Dr. Stacy
Higgins became aware of the communication barriers that can exist
when a physician-in-training faces a situation, light-years away from
the mentor’s lived experience. “There are issues specific to women,
underrepresented minorities, and first-generation students that only a
mentor who has been in that situation may understand or think to ask
about. As a mentee, you need to feel comfortable bringing up those
things, to understand how they may be influencing your ability to
progress.” She recommends that we seek out “mentors who have
navigated those waters before you.” Those will be the right people to
talk to about potential bumps in the road.
Tip #39
Choose mentors with whom you are comfortable being honest.
—Dr. Christopher Jackson
For physicians-in-training who attend medical school outside of the
United States, a mentor who has grappled with adjusting to cultural
differences may be best positioned to troubleshoot the unique
challenges that arise upon entering the US medical system. Dr. Naftali
Kaminski reflects back on his experience coming to the United States
from Israel on a research fellowship at UCSF and going from being a
successful pulmonologist to feeling like the “dumbest person in the lab
(that too, with an accent).” After two years marked by an unimpressive
publication record, his confidence had not rebounded, and he was
contemplating a return to Israel. As he spoke with faculty about his
predicament, he was reassured that his progress was typical for this
early stage of his research career. Speaking with one faculty member in
particular helped him the most - “One of them who was also not born
in the US said, ‘It's harder when you come from the outside, but you’re
as good as anybody else’.” Dr. Kaminski decided to stay for another
63

REACH OUT!
year, which led to a major breakthrough in his career, and he has not
looked back since.
Sometimes having a shared life experience with a mentor alerts us
to career paths we otherwise would not have considered. “Cardiac
electrophysiology is a very heavily male-dominated field,” says Dr.
Anne Curtis. “About 10% of electrophysiologists are women. When I
started, it was lower than that. I have trained a lot of women in EP. I
think it's because they saw me working as an invasive
electrophysiologist - doing implants, doing ablations, and taking care
of my family. Women saw that and said, ‘She's managing, so I guess
it’s not impossible’.” We know we’ve found a mentor when we can say,
“I can see myself doing that.”
Tip #40
Before making important decisions, seek the counsel of mentors.
Especially those who have walked a similar path.
—Dr. Naftali Kaminski
Do a “Reference Check”
Part of the science in choosing a mentor is to rely on the experiences
of previous mentees. A prior mentee is an excellent source of
information about the inner workings of a relationship with a
prospective mentor, far beyond what can be gleaned from a website
bio or an introductory meeting. Dr. Sanjay Saint suggests asking,
“Have you been successful? Are you happy? What's Dr. Saint like as a
mentor?”
To get even more relevant data, Dr. James de Lemos suggests
honing in on the mentor’s track record as it relates to mentees at our
current level of experience. “A PhD researcher with seven publications
will have different needs than someone starting a first project with no
statistical or research training. Does their track record support that
64

IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MENTORS
they're likely to help me achieve my goals? And what are they like to
work with? Are they out for themselves or will they adapt to my needs?
When it's all over, will they stick by me?” The specific questions we
ask will depend on our priorities. Regardless, by engaging previous
mentees in a conversation, we’ll be able to get a better sense of who
might be the right mentor for us.
Listen to Your Gut
Part of the “art” of identifying the right mentor can’t be pinned down
through testimonials or other tangibles. It boils down to a simple
question, says Dr. Saint, “How do I feel when I’m in their presence?
We've gotten this far as humans by trusting our instincts, whether it's
through friendships or love relationships or business partnerships.
Some of those instincts are finely honed, and we should respect and
trust them.”
There’s unfortunately no algorithm to find the perfect mentor. “It’s
like finding a soulmate,” says Dr. Elie Berbari. “You’re not going to
become deep friends with every person you meet, but when you start
getting a feeling that you genuinely like that person, go there.” We may
not find the ideal mentor on day one, but what’s important is that we
continue to engage in opportunities to interact with potential mentors.
Dr. Berbari advises: “Go out and talk to mentors, because that's how
your heart and your mind is going to tell you ‘that's a mentor for me’.”
The best mentorships arise organically when we work with
someone and it just clicks. In Dr. Vineeth John’s experience “most
people sense it when they find somebody who inspires them. The
mentor feels the mentee resembles the mentor when they were young
and the mentee senses in the mentor a life they would like to lead.”
When a mentor and mentee find mutual recognition, Dr. John says,
“that is a pure mentorship moment.”
65

REACH OUT!
Tip #41
When a mentor feels the mentee resembles the mentor when they
were young and the mentee senses in the mentor a life they would
like to lead, that is a pure mentorship moment.
—Dr. Vineeth John
Rx
1. Good mentorship is the product of talent x accessibility.
2. The foundational quality of a great mentor is generosity of
spirit.
3. Find mentors with similar life experiences, who have
navigated the specific situations we will face.
4. Do a reference check with previous mentees before committing
to a mentor.
5. Trust your gut when it tells you ‘that’s a mentor for me.’
66

CHA PTER EIG HT
BE FEARLESS IN REACHING OUT
“Be proactive. Don’t hesitate to reach out to somebody you don’t
know well or is a ‘big name’. It's amazing how often those people will
enthusiastically give you the advice and the mentorship that you need.”
—Dr. John McPherson
67

W
REACH OUT!
hen I was in junior high, I wanted to go into space medicine,
recalls Dr. Simerjot Jassal. Drawn to an idea that one could be
both an astronaut and a physician, she wrote letters to professors of
space medicine across the country and, young as she was, received a
number of replies. “Ultimately, I realized that there was enough in
medicine right here on planet earth.”
As a freshman at Stanford, Dr. Jassal reached out once again. “I
knew that I wanted to go to medical school, but I didn't know how to
get there. I wrote to every single chair of every department within the
school of medicine at the University of California San Diego, telling
them that I wanted to do research during my summer vacation. I was
so fortunate that there were people who actually responded to a then-
16-year-old college student, who hadn’t even taken college biology.”
Thanks to that experience, she met one of the most important mentors
in her life, Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor. “I wholeheartedly believe
that she is one of the main reasons that I'm a physician today.”
What’s in it for the Mentor?
“Find an area that you're interested in, knock on doors and ask people,
‘What can somebody like me do?’ You'll find that most people are
incredibly giving of their time, and they'll point you in the right
direction. There's nothing more validating than a younger person
saying to them, ‘What you do is really interesting. How do I do that?’”
Dr. Peter Alperin assuages a fundamental concern many of us face in
approaching mentors. We fear reaching out because we can’t imagine
why a mentor would want to help us. Worried that we aren’t useful
enough to catch the attention of a busy, successful mentor, too many
of us cut ourselves off from the benefits of mentorship.
Successful mentors are busy — by definition. However, after hours
of conversations with the top physician mentors around the country,
we found that they actually enjoy and derive personal meaning from
68

BE FEARLESS IN REACHING OUT
the work they do with mentees. Dr. James de Lemos’ vision of
mentorship is shared by mentors across the board: “If done right, it is
a selfless task that repays the mentor in so many intangible ways.”
Tip #42
Find an area of interest, knock on doors and ask,
‘How can I do what you are doing?’
—Dr. Peter Alperin
The physician mentors we interviewed were quick to articulate
these intangibles. “First off, when a student approaches you and says
‘Can I talk with you? Contrary to what the student may be thinking, as
a mentor that is enormously flattering!” remarks Dr. Patricia Conolly.
“I'm privileged when people seek me out for mentoring advice,” says
Dr. Charles Hatem. He likes to think of himself as “the
neurotransmitter getting a synapse to happen between people, enabling
action.” As he facilitates connections, he also hears new ideas and
aspirations, which gives him “a conviction to carry on the work that I
have found to be so meaningful. I've gained more from those
relationships with students at all different stages than perhaps they've
gained from me.” Mentors often remarked on the value of connecting
with a younger generation. For Dr. Joseph Loscalzo, interacting with
mentees furthers his education: “I learn from my mentees every day.
They are at a different phase of their learning trajectory, which
catalyzes and encourages my continued learning.”
When mentor and mentee invest deeply, the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. Physician mentors underscore the invaluable
insights generated by interacting with their mentees. Some of Dr. Seth
Landefeld’s best ideas have come when standing at a chalkboard with
his mentees, “creating, learning and having fun.” What’s in it for the
mentor? “We learn as much as we teach.” Once we envision
mentorship as a mutual investment, it becomes clear that mentorship
69

REACH OUT!
does not drain the mentor’s time but creates the conditions for
impactful innovations.
Tip #43
What’s in it for the mentor? We learn as much as we teach.
—Dr. Seth Landefeld
Mentors also recognize that they would not be who they are today
without their own mentors, generating a sense of gratitude that fuels
their continued passion to mentor the next generation. “We didn’t row
this boat alone,” says Dr. Charles Hatem, “We all had either formal
mentors or teachers who saw something that needed to be cultivated.
It’s payback time.” Dr. Kathryn Jobbins recalls her life-changing
experience as a mentee when she was offered a leadership opportunity
that she feared was over her head. A conversation with her mentor
helped her defeat the bout of impostor syndrome and paved the way
for her to end up in “the best job in the world.” The meeting left a
deep imprint that informs her vision of her present-day role: “As a
mentor it's my job to bring out what we see in you that you don't see
in yourself. That's what has happened to me, and that's the reason I'm
in this field.”
Mentorship fosters connection and mutual purpose, values that
overlap with the mission-based, service-oriented philosophy that
brings us into medicine in the first place. Dr. Paul Noble thinks of his
role as mentor in terms of his efforts to inspire the best possible
researchers to move the field forward and contribute to a common
cause: “I'd hoped to play professional baseball, but I peaked at 10. My
hope, until I hang up my cleats, is to inspire a few more people to move
the field further than I've been able to and help patients who suffer
from chronic fibrotic lung diseases.”
As they work to make the broadest possible impact, mentors see
themselves as part of a team of fellow physicians, foremost among
them, their own mentors and mentees. Our successes bring them joy
70

BE FEARLESS IN REACHING OUT
because every single discovery we make, every single patient we care
for, every single colleague we help, advances that big-picture mission.
That’s why in medicine, the deck is stacked in our favor: the people
who have chosen this field are primed to engage in significant
mentoring relationships. Having benefited from the wisdom of their
team, these physician mentors find joy in interacting with the next
generation.
Tip #44
The most successful mentors have a limitless capacity for
mentoring. Put your fear aside and approach them.
—Dr. Richard Kovacs
In case we’re worried that a mentor might be too lofty to entertain
working with us, Dr. Richard Kovacs has these words of reassurance:
“Many of the most successful mentors are the most accessible and
seem to have almost limitless capacity for mentoring.” Dr. Kovacs’
best advice? “Put your fear aside and approach them. Respect their
time, but don't be afraid.”
Be Aggressive in Seeking Mentors
“Mentors don’t come to you; you have to go to them.” Dr. Peter
Alperin recommends we be aggressive in seeking out mentors. After
all, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we approach
potential mentors with ideas about our interests and objectives, “The
worst that happens is you have a half an hour conversation with
somebody you realize is not for you, but at least you've made a contact,
a potential friend, and someone to whom you can reach out at a future
time.” Reflecting on his past reticence, Dr. Seth Landefeld encourages
us to be explicit about approaching someone and saying, “I’d really like
to work with you.” He tells physicians-in-training to be direct. “If
you’ve found a person you admire, have a conversation and see where
71

REACH OUT!
it goes. If it works, you’re going to like the person and they’re going to
like you.”
Reflecting on his time during training, Dr. Kevin O’Leary shares an
anecdote: “I was mindful of the people who were great leaders and
would take mental notes about what they were doing. But one of the
things I could have done better was engage them in a conversation
about it. For example, I would watch a great goals of care discussion
and we would come out of the room and I’d say, “Wow, that went
really well.” Even better would have been asking, “How did you do
that? Why did you say that? What made you think this was a good
idea?” Dr. O’Leary leaves us with a profound message, “Anytime you
see someone do something that you think went really well, ask them
to walk you through it.”
Tip #45
Anytime you see someone do something that went really well,
ask them to walk you through it.
—Dr. Kevin O’Leary
Cast a Wide Net
Finding the right mentor is a little like dating — speed dating. In the
beginning, it’s a numbers game. We’ll talk to a lot of people before we
find the ones we want on our team. It’s often best to start looking at
our current institutions. “Start by being open to going out to coffee
with a lot of people. You may find that not all of them are necessarily
going to be the people you'd want to call your mentor. It's not that
there's anything wrong with them, they just may not connect with you
in the right way or may not have the necessary skill set,” remarks Dr.
Mark Siegel.
Our experiences in the clinic or on the wards can serve as a “tryout
period,” Dr. Carrie Thompson recommends, “so don't hesitate to
72

BE FEARLESS IN REACHING OUT
follow up if you feel like you've made a nice connection working with
somebody. That's a great opportunity to send them a note afterwards
and say, ‘Could we meet to debrief on my performance? And also, I’m
looking for some career advice that I'd love to discuss with you.’”
Tip #46
Use your experiences in the clinic or on the wards as a tryout
period. Afterwards, follow up with them and engage in deeper
discussions.
—Dr. Carrie Thompson
When she found herself at a crossroads, Dr. Gifty Kwakye sent out
twenty-five cold emails to find the one who changed her career. After
her third year of medical school at Yale University, she took a year off
to get a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University where
she realized she needed some perspective. She had already taken a
series of life-changing steps that led her from her childhood village in
Ghana to Yale, but now she was trying to figure out what she was
going to do with her life. She decided to send an email to twenty-five
faculty in the surgery department, introducing herself and asking for
an opportunity to sit down and get some guidance. Little did she know
that a reply from Dr. Martin Makary would set in motion one of the
most significant mentorships in her career. She recalls the courage it
took to put herself out there and tell the entire Hopkins surgery
department, “Hey, you don’t know me, but I need help.” Today, she
looks back and thinks, “it got me the mentor who ended up being
exactly what I needed.”
As we build our team, we aren’t limited to mentors at our
institution. We should not close ourselves off to the significant pool
of talent outside our current organization. Today, the ease of online
meetings opens the possibility for ‘distant mentors,’ Dr. Javed Butler
points out: “You can have a lot of distant mentors. You don't have to
have the mentor who you see three times a week right next to you.”
73

REACH OUT!
Oftentimes, their distance from the situation may allow them to take a
more objective stance than someone enmeshed in our work
environment. Moreover, if our institution is small or our specific area
of interest is narrow, an outside mentor can help us fill a specific need
that we wouldn’t be able to meet otherwise.
Tip #47
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and let mentors
know ‘you don’t know me, but I need help.’
—Dr. Gifty Kwakye
Use Matchmakers
We may already have a roster of names of physician mentors to
contact, but whether or not we’re full of ideas, a facilitator can be a
valuable resource. Dr. Michael Karp encourages residents to reach out
to chief residents or program faculty to help identify potential mentors.
As these individuals know both the trainee and the faculty, they are
best suited to be the ‘matchmaker.’ A simple conversation can go a
long way: “This is who I am. This is what I'm looking for. Who's out
there who I can work with? Who out there is someone who has a life
story that's close to mine?”
It might seem daunting enough to find just one mentor, let alone
figure out how to field an entire team. However, Dr. Kimryn Rathmell
assures us that each mentor we add serves as a “hub” to others. “It's a
big network of interactions. You can make a lot more connections
through your mentors than on your own.” As our mentors get to know
us, they’ll be well positioned to survey their network and figure out
exactly whom best to connect us with.
74

BE FEARLESS IN REACHING OUT
Hit the Send Button
Once we’ve identified a group of potential mentors, it’s time to send
out succinct, professional, and straightforward emails and see who
replies. Email is a great screening mechanism, Dr. Carrie Thompson
points out. If a potential mentor is not responding, “then they're
probably not going to be a responsive mentor, so you've got an answer
there.”
When we start with an email, Dr. Kathryn Jobbins suggests being
“up front and honest.” We should include our goals and objectives for
the relationship, and “give them an out, by saying, ‘If you're not able
to do this, can you please recommend someone who you think might
be a good fit for me?’ This way we don't shut the door, and it allows
for them to connect you with other people you may not even have
known existed.” When approaching someone you don’t know at all,
be specific about why you’ve chosen them. Dr. Kimberly Manning
suggests, for example, “I was at your lecture. I found it helpful and was
wondering if you might have 30 minutes for me to discuss this certain
issue as I build a supportive network in my training.” Once you’ve
composed the message, check in with your near peers to give it a quick
read, to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward.
Tip #48
When emailing a potential mentor, give them an out by saying ‘if
you’re not able to do this, can you please recommend someone
who you might think would be a good fit?’
—Dr. Kathryn Jobbins
As we’re sending out dozens of messages and holding our breath as
we await replies, we should keep Dr. Kwakye’s story in mind. It only
takes one mentor to change the course of our career.
75

REACH OUT!
Rx
1. The most successful mentors have a limitless capacity for
mentoring. Don’t hesitate to reach out to someone just
because they are a ‘big name.’
2. Mentors won’t come to you. You have to seek them out
proactively.
3. To find the right mentors, cast a wide net, at your institution
and beyond.
4. Use the help of institutional ‘matchmakers’ to help connect
with potential mentors. Once you’ve identified prospective
mentors, draft a thoughtful email and hit the send button.
5. Remember, it only takes one mentor to transform a career.
76

CHA PTER NINE
DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
“As eager as you may be to get right down to business, start with a
climate question. Something as simple as ‘How are you today?’ can go
a long way in signaling your appreciation that your mentor is a human
being first and then an advisor.”
—Dr. Kimberly Manning
77

W
REACH OUT!
e’ve got an idea. We’re excited. We rush into our mentor’s
office, hoping to catch them before their next appointment.
Before we even say, “Hello,” the words are tumbling out of our mouth.
Dr. Kimberly Manning relays a helpful ground rule coined by her
colleague, Dr. Richard Pittman: Start with a climate question to
acknowledge to the mentor that we know that they are a person, not a
vending machine for advice. Starting with a climate question is a way
to foreground the human aspect of mentorship — much like the
“relationship-task-relationship” framework that we discussed in
Chapter 4. Even a simple, “How are you today?” can go a long way in
priming the other person for a conversation. As with our opening
conversations with our patients, these questions are not mere
formalities. When we really listen to the answer rather than performing
a formality, we’re building the foundation of a relationship. The next
time we meet, we can follow up on a personal level and thus further
strengthen our relationship.
Of course, mentors are busy, and our interactions aren’t always as
long as we might like — especially when we have a lot of ground to
cover. Asking a climate question doesn’t mean spending an entire
advising session discussing sports scores. But if we spend just a few
minutes on the relationship, when we switch to the task, it’s a lot more
fun! We should end every encounter by returning to the relationship
with a genuine expression of gratitude for the mentor’s time. A simple
“thank you” goes a long way in a follow-up email.
Tip #49
Spend low-stakes time with your mentor outside your formal
meetings. That’s where the real learning happens.
—Dr. Jennifer Swails
Sandwiching our task between a climate question and an expression
of gratitude allows us to deepen our relationship with mentors.
However, unlike with the patient, there doesn’t always have to be a
78

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
task. In fact, Dr. Jennifer Swails suggests the real benefit of mentorship
comes from spending “low stakes” time with your mentors. “A lot of
times you feel like you have to go see your mentor with your abstract
written or four ideas for how you want to crystallize the next protein.”
Instead, “join them in a clinic, ask if you can be in the endoscopy suite
with them because that's when they're going to start dropping the real
knowledge bombs on you.”
There’s an art to building a relationship. In our interviews, we asked
physician mentors to think back to when they were predominantly in
the role of mentees and tell us, “How did you build meaningful
relationships with your mentors?” Here are a few pearls that they
shared with us.
The Onus is on the Mentee
“A mentoring relationship, like any other, is a two-way street: both the
mentor and the mentee have to play their roles in order for it to work,”
states Dr. Viswanath Vasudevan. The mentor gives advice, time and
expertise, but the mentee has to take ownership. “Medicine is such a
fast-paced world. It’s kind of like a freight train,” says Dr. Raquel
Belforti. “It’s the job of the mentor to lend a hand and help their
students, but it's the student’s job to jump on that freight train. They
have to take that leap.”
Tip #50
Mentorship is a two-way street. Both mentor and mentee
have to play their roles.
—Dr. Viswanath Vasudevan
Taking ownership means being prepared: scheduling meetings and
follow-ups and arriving with an agenda. “The mentoring relationship
is bi-directional,” says Dr. Ronnie Fass. “It’s not just that mentors feed
you and you just eat up. The mentors will teach you how to cook, what
79

REACH OUT!
ingredients to use, how much to stir. But the mentee has to be willing
to assimilate all the ingredients, listen to them, and follow through.” If
we want the relationship to move forward, we must take an active role
in pushing it in the right direction. Dr. Dominique Cosco emphasizes:
“You cannot, as the mentee, just show up and expect the mentor to
make you great.”
Tip #51
The mentor’s job is to lend a hand. The mentee has
to take the leap.
—Dr. Raquel Belforti
“When I’m the mentee, the onus of the relationship is on me,” says
Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones, a full professor, a leader and an assistant dean
who still regularly works with mentors — a testament to the
importance of “ongoing self-discovery” in her life. Once the meetings
are set, we have the responsibility to prepare for them. As mentees, we
need to set goals and then track them over time, says Dr. Bussey-Jones.
Coming to a meeting with an agenda not only sets the terms of the
current discussion, it also serves as a roadmap for future conversations.
As we prepare for a new meeting, we should revisit previous agendas
and make sure to follow up on loose threads, so that every encounter
organically builds on the next.
Another upside of having an agenda, especially for introverted
mentees, is that it eliminates the awkwardness that might arise as we’re
trying to get a new relationship started. Dr. Elizabeth Paulk explains
that, “If you have a formal agenda, you won't have to worry about how
to fill in the gaps. Very few mentors are shy. Once we get launched,
it’s not hard to keep the conversation going.” Agendas can be as loose
as a few general questions about how to pursue a particular research
interest, or as specific as eliciting feedback on a proposal. If we’ve
contacted a potential mentor with a specific question, developing an
agenda will come naturally. However, when we’re in an exploratory
80

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
phase, it might not be apparent how to best spend a mentor’s valuable
time. There is always a degree of preparation required to develop your
relationship with your mentors, but we do not need to have all the
questions figured out before we walk in the door.
There’s no problem if we are open and direct about what we need
— even when that’s just figuring out what we need. The trouble comes
when we hover outside their door and don’t walk in, when we stew in
our own uncertainty instead of sending that email. “You don't have to
have the perfect vision in order to talk with a mentor. The role of your
mentor is to help you sort that out. If you just have some ideas, bounce
them off a mentor who can guide you to move them forward,” shares
Dr. Stacy Higgins, encouraging us not to delay reaching out to mentors
because we lack a crystal-clear plan.
“Oftentimes a mentee might come to me and say, ‘I'm stuck. I'm
lost. I could use support. I could use wisdom.’ And if I'm saying yes,
I'm signing up. I'm in. I want to do that,” says Dr. Lisa Skinner. If we
make our current situation known to the mentor, however organized
or disorganized it may be, a mentor can usually help us move things
forward.
Tip #52
You don’t need a perfect vision in order to talk with a mentor.
Feel free to use them as a sounding board.
—Dr. Stacy Higgins
Our relationships with our various mentors will each look a little
different and change over time. As long as we do the work of thinking
through where we are at any given moment and communicate that to
the best of our ability, the mentor will likely meet us halfway. Dr. Sima
Desai emphasizes the organic nature of the mentor-mentee dynamic,
noting that while we need to do some “pre-thought” ahead of any
meetings, “each interaction that you have with a mentor allows you to
form more of yourself.” Dr. Desai acknowledges that “in your early
81

REACH OUT!
stages of seeking mentors, it's a bit more amorphous. But as a mentee
shapes themselves, they become better at asking the questions.” We
shouldn’t agonize about our ability to self-assess at the outset of the
mentoring process: honing that ability is precisely one of mentorship’s
greatest payoffs.
Above all, regardless of how prepared we feel or self-directed we
think we are, having an agenda will only take us to the threshold. The
real relationship begins after we start the conversation and get the ball
rolling. It’s really important to prioritize listening, says Dr. Joseph Hill,
calling this a quality of being mentorable: An ability to listen with our
full attention and an open mind — even when given answers that we
don’t want to hear. “You don't have to agree with me,” Dr. Hill says,
“but if you're asking for advice, at least think about it, rather than
arching your back. Otherwise, it’s a missed opportunity.”
Tip #53
Be ‘mentorable.’ If you ask for advice, listen with an open mind.
—Dr. Joseph Hill
Say ‘Yes’
As mentors get to know us, they’ll often offer us opportunities, big and
small. “You’ve probably heard this: the most important word for
young physicians to learn to say is ‘No.’ I will say that is absolutely
wrong because most people I know that have been successful in the
early part of their career learned to say ‘yes.’ They said ‘yes’ a lot.” To
Dr. Robert Wachter saying yes is about opening doors to new ideas:
“In the beginning, you are really trying to maximize shots on goal. It's
a little bit like dating. You have to try a lot of these things before you
will say, ‘Oh my God, that's what I really love.’”
Reflecting on how she fell in love with primary care medicine
(something she was not too excited about during residency), Dr. Lisa
82

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
Willett shares the importance of “saying yes to anything that sounds
even remotely interesting to you early on. We worry about saying yes
too much and being spread too thin and being overwhelmed. But
trying things that are new and outside your comfort zone will be very
rewarding and you may find you like them.”
Tip #54
Most people that have been successful in the early part of their
career learned to say ‘yes.’ They said ‘yes’ a lot.
— Dr. Robert Wachter
Moments of uncertainty are the times when it’s best to just “take
that jump,” says Dr. Dominique Cosco, reflecting on her experience at
the end of residency, feeling unsure of what path to take. Today, she’s
able to tell her mentees that although the right choice “may not always
be spelled out for you, part of the fun in life is taking a chance.” Don’t
agonize too much. Whatever the outcome, “No decision is permanent.
In medicine you can change paths, and the path that you're on doesn't
have to be the path forever. You can start to explore different things
and then build new paths in your career.” This understanding is
embraced wholeheartedly by Dr. Michael Hochman fueling his own
multi-dimensional career, “What really helped me is realizing that
decisions you make don’t need to be lifelong. Life is all about the
tangents. And a lot of times, the tangents are what make things
interesting and help you grow as a person.”
The infinite possibilities in medicine should reassure us, Dr. Starr
Steinhilber says. As we are presented with opportunities, we do not
have to think of every single one as career-defining. “There are 1,000
different jobs. If I had realized that sooner, it would’ve calmed down
some of my anxiety in choosing a field and a job. Nothing is ever setin
stone, so realizing that you do not have to have the perfect setup at
the very beginning, can be really freeing. Just go with it, try out a few
things.” This philosophy is perfectly encapsulated by advice she
83

REACH OUT!
received from her mentor, Dr. Tavo Heudebert, who told her, “Be like
the donkey in Shrek.” (If you haven’t seen the film, the donkey is
Shrek’s eager sidekick who jumps up and down yelling, ‘Pick me! Pick
me!’ at every opportunity.) “As a junior faculty or a resident, that
should be your outlook,” he once told her. “You should say, ‘Pick me.
Let me try to do that.’ Put yourself out there.”
Tip #55
Be like the donkey in Shrek. You should say ‘Pick me! Let me try to
do that.’ Put yourself out there.
—Dr. Tavo Heudebert to Dr. Starr Steinhilber
Be a Closer
Saying ‘yes,’ is just the beginning. Then it’s time to get to work. “When
you say yes, give it your 110%,” says Dr. Yul Ejnes. “That’s what
catches people’s attention and creates a chain of sponsors that can lead
to more opportunities.” The best way to demonstrate respect for a
relationship is to honor your commitments. Mentors are busy people,
and when they make the effort to connect us with an opportunity or
spend time with us, we need to make sure we fulfill our end of the
agreement. Dr. Mark Siegel notes, “If you've got an appointment, keep
it. If you're going to work on something, follow through. If you’ve got
a deadline to get a paper written, meet it.”
Dr. Mark Metersky often starts with a mini-assignment to assess if
the mentee is likely to deliver: "After an initial conversation about a
project, the first thing I do is have them go back and review the
literature. I'd say half of them don't come back. We've saved time for
both of us, if they're not really serious about the project. But the ones
who come back and have done a good job, now you know starting off
that this is going to be something that will cross the finish line."
84

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
In the early stages, it’s of utmost importance that we seize the
opportunities we are given and capitalize on them in a timely fashion.
Reflecting on her early career, Dr. Anne Curtis recalls, “I wanted
people to think that they had made a good decision including me,
because if they felt that way, they were going to give me the next
opportunity.” That conscientious attitude is what she notices in the
mentees whom she has continued to trust with bigger responsibilities.
Contrasting how two different mentees responded to her invitation to
work on a paper, Dr. Curtis makes a case in point. When she offered
a paper to one mentee who had published very little and he responded,
“I’m sort of busy, I can’t really do it,” he closed the door for further
collaborations. When she offered another mentee a paper and he
delivered excellent work on a really tight timeline, he paved the way
for future projects and endorsements: “I’d give him anything else in a
heartbeat, and whatever academic position he applies for, I’ll stand
four-square behind him.”
Tip #56
Say ‘yes’ and deliver. You will open doors for yourself.
—Dr. Anne Curtis
Turning down an opportunity can close a highly rewarding avenue
but saying ‘yes’ and not following through can burn bridges. Dropping
the ball, handing in work late, or even waiting until the 11th hour, can
be fatal to a strong mentorship. Physicians like Dr. Curtis want to
invest in mentees “who are as motivated as I am to get things done
and do them well.”
Failure to follow through is not just about missing a deadline, it’s
about character. In a field where everyone has already proven their
intellect many times over, questions of integrity end up deciding who
will be chosen for opportunities that have the most potential to make
an impact. Reflecting on his experience being mentored by some great
minds in medicine like Dr. Dean Shepherd and Dr. Augustine Choi,
85

REACH OUT!
Dr. Naftali Kaminski shares how the ability to finish is an indicator of
a mentee’s integrity: “When people finish things, it shows their
integrity and persistence. If it's impossible to finish, they'll tell you.
They won’t keep you hanging.” Dr. Stephen Knohl adds, “It’s okay
not to know. That is what makes us human. It’s not okay not to know
the second time. That reflects character.”
Tip #57
Not knowing the first time is human. Not knowing
the second time reflects poor character.
—Dr. Stephen Knohl
If we were to define a core trait of an ideal mentee “brand” that
emerged over the course of hundreds of interviews, accountability is
at the top of the list. A lot of people have brilliant ideas, but if they
can’t execute, it ends up being a waste of time. As a division chief, Dr.
John Pandolfino uses this value as his North Star when deciding whom
to work with: “You don't have to be the most brilliant person. But if
you have a good idea, figure out how to finish it, and finish it. When
I’m deciding who I want on my team, I look for people who are going
to be closers.”
Pay it Back, Pay it Forward
There is power in helping others. “It’s not thinking about what I’m
going to get, it’s about what I’m going to give,” says Dr. Susan Lane,
“And when you give, you ultimately get.” Encouraging us to find and
enhance our own unique gifts, she suggests, “Find faculty members
who are passionate about the things you want to do. Help them
advance their passion.” When we commit to furthering our mentor’s
vision, we learn and pay them back while doing it.
In our interviews, physician mentors spoke of how they seek to
make that contribution to their own mentors. When they plan their
86

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
meeting agenda, they don’t jam-pack it with only the things that matter
to them as mentees. Instead, Dr. Kimryn Rathmell suggests we “leave
space to exhibit curiosity about their agenda and ask what I can
potentially bring to it.” Demonstrating an open, generous mindset can
help the mentor see you as a teammate, catalyzing further
opportunities, whether it be co-authoring a paper, co-teaching a
course, or spearheading a new initiative on their behalf: “That’s how
the network builds,” says Dr. Rathmell — and how we become a wellconnected
node within it.
Tip #58
When you plan a meeting agenda, leave room to
include the things that matter to your mentor.
—Dr. Kimryn Rathmell
The “pay it back” mentality creates a win-win scenario, as Dr. Javed
Butler explains, beyond the tangible opportunities it will yield.
Reflecting on a current mentor of his who is in his nineties, Dr. Butler
points out, “if you look at his passion, it is no different than mine in
my fifties, which is no different than somebody I'm mentoring when
they're in their thirties. In other words, mentors are trying to achieve a
lot, even when they are 92 years old. If you say, ‘I'm going to learn the
tricks of the trade by helping you do what you want to do,’ then they
are teaching you, while you are forwarding their mission.” This is
when, as Dr. Butler notes, “the magic happens.”
Not only is mentorship a dynamic, two-sided relationship between
a single mentor and mentee. Importantly, this relationship is embedded
in a broader network where each succeeding generation tills the ground
to prepare it for the next.
Known as a “mentor of mentors,” Dr. James de Lemos has made
paying it forward his touchstone by building a cascading pyramid of
mentorship in which his mentees are now mentors for the next
generation. In so doing he is furthering the legacy of his mentors,
87

REACH OUT!
including Dr. Eugene Braunwald and Dr. Helen Hobbs. Dr. de Lemos,
like many of our physician mentors, sees himself as part of a “collective
process in which careers get launched and the tradition of mentorship
continues.”
Tip #59
The best way to pay it back is to pay it forward.
—Dr. Joseph Loscalzo
As we consider ways to deepen our relationships, we need to see
ourselves as custodians of a tradition from which we benefit and to
which we contribute. Sharing our knowledge with those who come
after us is the highest form of gratitude we can offer to our mentors,
ensuring the continuation of their legacy. As Dr. Joseph Loscalzo
explains: “Our primary goal as physician teachers and as research
mentors is to propagate the species. That's what we'll be remembered
for: The success of our trainees.” Thus, one of the greatest ways to
“pay it back” to our mentors is by paying it forward, looking to pass
along all the lessons we’re learning to the next generation, as soon as
we possibly can.
Tip #60
Start mentoring others today. It’s never too early
to start mentoring.
—Dr. Abby Spencer
If the thought of leaving a legacy seems too distant from our
current status, Dr. Abby Spencer reminds us that we don’t have to wait
until we have a mile-long resume to pay it forward: “It’s never too early
to start mentoring others. You're never too young. You’re never too
‘just’ this or ‘just’ that. I would take the word ‘just’ out of your
vocabulary. You can always teach others, mentor others, and support
others.” In fact, if it is our goal to one day mentor others — as it should
be —then our early career is the best time to learn how, practicing
88

DEVELOP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
techniques as we observe them in others and developing our personal
approach.
Rx
1. Use the ‘Relationship-Task-Relationship’ Framework in
building relationships with mentors.
2. Mentorship is a two-way street. The mentor gives advice, time
and expertise, but the mentee has to take ownership.
3. Most people who have been successful early in their career
have learned to say ‘yes’ and maximized their experiences to
find their passion.
4. Integrity is best judged by delivering on your commitments.
Once you say yes, deliver on time.
5. Mentorship is about contributing to a community: pay it back
by helping your mentors advance their mission; pay it forward
by starting to mentor those younger to you.
89

CHA PTER TE N
TROUBLESHOOT
“I often joke that the one thing I don't want is for my mentee to dive
into the stairway when they see me coming down the corridor, because
they know they didn't do what they said they were going to do.”
—Dr. Katrina Armstrong
90

T
TROUBLESHOOT
hroughout our interviews, we spent hundreds of hours discussing
the overwhelming positives of mentorship, as we’ve laid out in
the preceding chapters. At the same time, the physician mentors were
candid about the fact that even strong mentorships have their
struggles. “Not every relationship is going to be perfect — nor should
it be,” says Dr. Sima Desai.
In this chapter we’ll discuss our physician mentors’ advice about
how to troubleshoot common problems we might face as we work to
strengthen our relationships with mentors. Many problems dissolve
when our expectations are realistic, and our communication is honest
— when we say what we mean instead of what we think the mentor
wants to hear. A perceived problem with a mentor may be a question
of fit: not every mentor can address every issue. That’s why we have a
team of mentors. It’s up to us to extract clear questions from moments
of doubt and frustration so we can seek guidance from the right
mentor possessing the right expertise. In some cases, a connection
with a mentor will strengthen over time, but if we continue to engage
to no avail, sometimes we just have to cut the cord and take the lessons
we can from the experience.
Mentors are People Too
As early career physicians, it is natural to venerate our mentors. After
all, they are leaders in the field. However, at the end of the day,
“mentors are people too,” Dr. Katrina Armstrong reminds us. This is
important to remember when we get a delayed (or no) response when
we reach out to them. Dr. Armstrong recounts her experience as a
mentee, fearing that her mentor’s lack of response was a personal
reflection on her. “It was hard for me not to think that was either
because they didn't like me, or I'd done something wrong. But mentors
have the same lives as everyone else. They have dogs that get sick, their
plumbing doesn't work, their kids don't do what they are supposed to.
91

REACH OUT!
When you're a mentee, try to put yourself in their shoes. Don’t assume
that you are at fault because they didn't do something.”
One tangible way to ease the burden on your busy mentor is to
handle the bureaucratic aspects of the relationship, such as scheduling.
“Even if they are really invested in your career, your mentor may have
a lot of other things that they're doing because they are, by definition,
often successful and quite busy,” says Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones.
“Sometimes the mentee may feel like, ‘Oh, they've forgotten about
me,’ or, ‘They don't want to mentor me.’” Schedule regular meetings
or work with their assistant to get on their calendar and be proactive
about the mentoring relationship.
Tip #61
Take charge of scheduling. Ask a mentor for an acceptable
frequency of meetings and then work with their assistant to get on
their calendar.
—Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones
Be Honest with Your Mentor
“The most difficult decisions that I've had to make during my career
have included disappointing some of my mentors.” Dr. Simerjot Jassal
recalls reaching out to one of the most formative mentors in her life,
Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, after finishing her residency. “She
encouraged me to pursue a career as a full-time physician scientist, the
career path that she had taken.” However, Dr. Jassal realized her true
passion was in medical education, not research. “Often the biggest
compliment mentors can give us is when they want us to pursue the
path that they've pursued. But we have to be true to ourselves.”
Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal always knew he wanted to be in academics,
yet he wanted to focus his career on education not research, a path that
many of his mentors questioned at the time. “Be very clear about what
92

TROUBLESHOOT
you'd like to do,” says Dr. Dhaliwal, “Don’t change it to what you think
the mentor may want to hear.”
Mentors can’t read our minds, so if we play our cards too close to
our chest, our relationship may suffer. Understandably, it may take
time before we achieve the level of comfort needed to be honest about
sensitive topics or career-altering decisions. However, reflecting back
on his “brutally honest” discussions with a mentor that inspired him
to make a dramatic change, Dr. Calvin Thigpen notes that “full honesty
at the front saves you a lot of grief, pain, and lost time and energy down
the road. Withholding our true objectives and desires will lead to
burnout, broken careers and general unhappiness.”
Tip #62
Full honesty with mentors on the front-end will save you from
grief, pain and lost time on the back end.
—Dr. Calvin Thigpen
The most important time to be honest is also the hardest: when we
need to tell our mentor we disagree with something that they did.
When she felt that her chair of medicine undermined her authority in
front of her residents, Dr. Alysia Kwiatkowski recounts mustering the
courage to talk to him about it. “It didn’t feel right. This is somebody
that I admired and looked up to more than any other mentor that I'd
ever had.” When she approached him, he was quick to acknowledge
his mistake, “You are completely right. I know it took a lot of courage
for you to say this to me. Thank you for doing so.” Dr. Kwiatkowski’s
honesty got the relationship back on the right track. At the same time,
her mentor’s willingness to accept a mistake is something she tries to
model with her mentees today. Being honest with your mentor can
transform what might seem like a negative or difficult interaction into
a profound experience that deepens the relationship. Ultimately, if we
find ourselves persistently struggling to be honest with a given mentor,
that’s a serious sign of a bad fit. Dr. Javed Butler recommends, “if your
93

REACH OUT!
ability to be honest is impacting your relationship with the mentor,
then that person is not the right mentor.”
Tip #63
Honesty is the best policy. If you can’t be honest with someone,
they aren’t the right mentor for you.
—Dr. Javed Butler
One Size Does Not Fit All
We started this book by defining mentorship as a team sport, and it’s
one of the pillars of advice we hope all of us take to heart. Simply put,
if we rely exclusively on one mentor, we will likely not experience the
full benefits of mentorship. Worse, we are probably setting ourselves
up for failure. Dr. John Pandolfino cautions us, “Don't expect
everything from one mentor. Pick the things that you think that you
can get from them, and that's what you should exploit when you're the
mentee.” What we might perceive as a failing in a specific mentor is
more likely to be a hole in the team roster. If you feel a current mentor
isn’t assisting you with a certain facet of your career or life, see if you
can add another mentor who will.
While mentors give advice with the mentee’s best interest at heart,
not all of their advice will be worth taking. Dr. Kevin O’Leary reflects
on the unique predicament: “My general rule of thumb was that I
would accept 80-90% of the recommendations from my mentors. But
the challenge was, what was the 10-20% that I was not going to
accept?” In that scenario, Dr. O’Leary provides two useful tips. First,
if we get the same recommendation twice from a mentor, we should
give it very serious thought. “Whenever I followed the advice a mentor
took care to repeat,” Dr. O’Leary says, “it always wound up to be
brilliant, really helpful advice that I just didn’t recognize at first.”
Second: Ask the same question to other members of your mentor
team. “If you pay close attention to the advice you get from others,
94

TROUBLESHOOT
you’ll have a better gauge as to whether or not to follow it. Are other
mentors giving contradictory advice? Are they not even raising the
subject? If so, it is probably not as important to follow.”
Even when both mentor and mentee have the best of intentions,
not every pairing will be a match made in heaven. Assigned
mentorships in particular, Dr. Carrie Thompson notes, have a
tendency to flounder because they are “not matched in any real way.”
If we find ourselves in a mentorship (assigned or otherwise) that
doesn’t quite feel right, the first thing we can try is to give it time. Dr.
Harvir Singh Gambhir points out that it takes time to determine
whether a mentor is a good, long-term fit: “You cannot declare a
relationship a failure after a single session.” Instead, he advises dubious
mentees to, “Step back. Remember it's a relationship, and relationships
develop over a period of time.”
In some cases, however, time doesn’t substantively improve the
relationship. This is why it’s essential to have a team of mentors: the
loss of one member won’t leave a total void. “There is rarely a single
right answer to any problem,” says Dr. Elizabeth Paulk, “so if the first
person doesn’t work out, go find somebody else.” If you’ve tried
troubleshooting, adjusted your expectations and practiced honesty,
“Sometimes you do have to cut your cord,” says Dr. Hugo Rosen.
“Sometimes you realize it's just not going to work out.” As with all
setbacks in life, a failed mentorship provides an opportunity to learn:
“I've probably learned as much from failed mentors, as I did from great
mentors.”
Tip #64
There is rarely a single right answer to a problem. If the first
mentor does not work out, go and find someone else.
—Dr. Elizabeth Paulk
It’s also important to learn what not to do, what Dr. Thomas Fekete
calls “reverse mentorship: If your spider sense says someone is a bad
95

REACH OUT!
role model, study it, understand it, see where it went wrong, and why
you don’t want to follow that path.” While we are in pursuit of great
mentors to help us unleash our potential, Dr. Fekete reminds us to pay
attention to those we might not want to emulate as well. Take notes,
study it, and self-reflect on why we don’t want to follow that particular
path. When we find ourselves in the position of being mentors and
educators, we can be sure to give our mentees our best, having
experienced mentorship from all angles.
Tip #65
Reverse mentorship is important. Study, understand, reflect upon
the paths that you don’t want to follow.
—Dr. Thomas Fekete
Rx
1. Mentors are people too. Don’t take it personally if they are
late to respond.
2. Find a mentor with whom you’re comfortable being honest.
Honesty is essential for the relationship to work.
3. Don’t expect everything from one mentor. Your expectations
should match the mentor’s skill set. And that is why a team
of mentors is needed.
4. Reverse mentorship (learning what you don’t want to do when
you observe a mentor) is just as important.
96

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
We would like to give our sincerest thanks to the physician mentors
who shared their wisdom on our podcast and whose generous, open and
collegial insights made this project possible.
1. George Abraham, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, is the Chair of the
Department of Medicine at Saint Vincent Hospital, MA and a Professor of
Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is the
President-elect of the American College of Physicians and Emeritus President
of the Medical Staff at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA.
2. Peter Alperin, MD, is a practicing internist at the San Francisco VA Medical
Center and is Vice President of Product at Doximity. He has held leadership
roles in healthcare technology at Archimedes (Kaiser Permanente company)
and earlier at ePocrates, where he designed a formulary tool still used by over
100,000 physicians.
3. Rebecca Andrews, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, the Director of
Ambulatory Education, the Associate Director for the Internal Medicine
Training Program, and the Co-Chair of the Opioid-Task Force at University of
Connecticut. She is 2021 Chair-elect for the Board of Governors of the ACP
and has been the Physician Lead for Patient-Centered Medical Home at
UConn Health.
4. Keith Armitage, MD, is the Vice-Chair of Education, Program Director of
the Internal Medicine Residency and Professor of Medicine at Case Western
Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland. He is internationally
recognized for his work to advance the field of resident education and was
recently awarded Mastership by the ACP.
5. Katrina Armstrong, MD, MSCE, is the Chair of Medicine and Physician-in-
Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Jackson Professor of
Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is an internationally
recognized investigator in medical decision-making and quality of care in
cancer prevention and outcomes.
6. Robert Bacallao, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine and an Adjunct
Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology at the Indiana University
School of Medicine. He is widely regarded for his research on polycystic
kidney disease and is founder of Apoptocys, a company which aims to bring
novel therapy interventions to patients with ADPKD.
97

REACH OUT!
7. Chethan Bachireddy, MD, MSc, is the Chief Medical Officer for Virginia's
Medicaid Program. He is a physician, economist, and social entrepreneur
dedicated to improving health for vulnerable populations.
8. Richard Baron, MD, MACP, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of
the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation. He was
the architect of the Best Clinical and Administrative Practices program which
is touching the lives of more than half of the Medicaid managed care
population in the U.S.
9. Raquel Belforti, DO, MS, M. Ed., is the Director for the Advanced
Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program and an Associate Director for Internal
Medicine Training Program at University of Massachusetts Medical School-
Baystate. She is the Director of the PURCH Curriculum and has been leading
innovative educational curriculum development for medical students, residents
and faculty.
10. Elie Berbari, MD, FIDSA, is the Chief of the Division of Infectious
Diseases and a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
His primary area of research interest is osteoarticular infectious and has been
awarded the Cierny Memorial Award from the Musculoskeletal Infection
Society.
11. Steven Lee Berk, MD, is the Dean of the School of Medicine, Executive Vice
President for Clinical Affairs, and the Grover E. Murray Professor of Medicine
at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock. He has over 150
peer-reviewed publications and four textbooks. He has an endowed UMC
Health System Chair named after him.
12. Rob Bradsher, MD, is the Program Director for the Internal Medicine
Residency at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. A passionate
clinician educator, he is the recipient of the James B. Lewis Teacher of the
Year and the Golden Apple Awards at the University of Tennessee.
13. Richard Bucala, MD, PhD, is the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of
Medicine and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and
Immunology at Yale School of Medicine. His research lab studies the
mechanisms by which protective immune responses lead to immunopathology
and is leading multidisciplinary efforts to develop immunotherapies.
14. Jada Bussey-Jones, MD, FACP, is the Chief of the Division of General
Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Professor of Medicine and Vice-Chair of
Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine at Emory
University. She has a strong interest in minority health and healthcare
disparities and has served as the chair of the National Disparities Education
Task Force of the Society of General Internal Medicine.
98

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
15. Javed Butler, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine and Professor
of Medicine at the University of Mississippi. Renowned in the field of
cardiovascular research, he is the recipient of the Simon Dack Award by the
American College of Cardiology and the Time, Feeling and Focus Award by
the American Heart Association.
16. Stephanie Call, MD, MSPH, is the Associate Chair for Education and a
Professor of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Medicine. She is the Founding Director of the Internal Medicine Training
Program at Mountain Area Health Education Center in North Carolina. Dr.
Call is widely recognized for her work in graduate medical education and
curriculum development and assessment.
17. Robert Centor, MD, MACP, is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham and Chair-Emeritus of the ACP Board
of Regents. He is widely recognized for developing the “Centor Score” used to
identify the likelihood of a bacterial infection in an adult with sore throat.
18. Jennifer Christner, MD, FAAP, is the Dean of the School of Medicine at the
Baylor College of Medicine. Over the last 20 years, she has been devoted to
leadership and mentorship of physicians across a number of prestigious
universities, seeking to improve quality in medical education.
19. Patricia Conolly, MD served as Executive Vice President of Information
Technology on the National Kaiser Permanente leadership team. She is a
physician educator at UCSF and Alameda Health Systems and a Trustee of the
American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation.
20. Dominique Cosco, MD, FACP, is the Program Director of the Internal
Medicine Residency and Director of Teacher Development for the Academy
of Educators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She is
recognized for her role as a Director of the TEACH (Teaching Educators
Across the Continuum of Healthcare) Program in the Society of General
Internal Medicine.
21. Anne Curtis, MD, FACC, FHRS, MACP, FAHA, is the Chair of the
Department of Medicine and the Charles and Mary Bauer Professor of
Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo. She
has led the development of national guidelines for treating atrial fibrillation
and ventricular arrhythmias. She is a past president of the Association of
University Cardiologists.
22. Laura Davisson, MD, MPH, FACP, is an Associate Professor of Medicine
and Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program at West
Virginia University. She is the Governor of the West Virginia chapter of the
American College of Physicians. She specializes in obesity medicine and
founded the WVU Medicine's Medical Weight Management program.
99

REACH OUT!
23. Thomas De Fer, MD, FACP, is the current Chief of the Division of General
Medicine, the Associate Dean of Medical Student Education and a Professor
of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. De
Fer is passionate about medical education and is a past president of the
Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine.
24. Amber Deptola, MD, is the Director of the Explore Program for medical
students, an Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program and
Assistant Director of the Teaching Physician Pathway at Washington
University in St. Louis. She is a general internist with research interests in
resident wellness, interprofessional education and the science of education and
learning.
25. Sanjay Desai, MD, is a Myron L. Weisfeldt Professor of Medicine
(Pulmonary & Critical Care), Vice-Chair of Education, and Program Director
of the Osler Internal Medicine Residency at Johns Hopkins University. He also
holds appointments at the Carey School of Business. He chaired the executive
committee of the iCOMPARE study group and is a principal investigator of
the AMA Reimagining Residency grant.
26. Sima Desai, MD, FACP, is the Vice-Chair of Education, Program Director
of the Internal Medicine Residency, and a Professor of Medicine (Hospital
Medicine) at the Oregon Health and Science University. Her interests include
medical education, adult learning theory, diagnostic reasoning, and mentorship
and is a recipient of the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award.
27. Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco and Site Director of the Internal Medicine clerkship
at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He has been lauded by The New
York Times as “one of the most skillful clinical diagnosticians in practice
today” and was inducted into the UCSF Department of Medicine’s Council of
Master Clinicians.
28. Aashish Didwania, MD, is the Vice-Chair of Education and Program
Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine. He practices general internal medicine and his
research focuses designing curriculum to improve health equity and advocacy.
29. Yul Ejnes, MD, MACP, is the Chair-elect of the Board of Directors of the
American Board of Internal Medicine and Chair Emeritus of the ACP Board
of Regents. He has been awarded Mastership by the American College of
Physicians and the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award from Brown Medical
School.
100

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
30. Ronnie Fass MD, FACG, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine at Case Western
Reserve University. He is also the Director of the Division of
Gastroenterology and Hepatology and heads the Esophageal and Swallowing
Center at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. He is among the world's
leading experts in researching GERD treatment, and has authored over 550
research articles.
31. Thomas Fekete, MD, MACP, FIDSA, FCPP, is the Thomas Durant Chair
of the Department of Medicine and Professor of Medicine, Microbiology &
Immunology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. He
is a Master of the American College of Physicians and Fellow of the Infectious
Diseases Society of America.
32. Robert Finberg, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine and the
Richard M. Haidack Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts
Medical School. An infectious diseases expert, his research focuses on hostmicrobial
interactions.
33. Harvir Singh Gambhir, MD, is an Associate Director of the Internal
Medicine Training Program, Associate Vice Chair for Quality Improvement &
Patient Safety, and Quality Officer for the Division of Hospital Medicine at
the SUNY Upstate Medical University. He was recently awarded the Gold
Standard Award at Upstate University.
34. Rebecca Gruchalla, MD, PhD, is the Chief of the Division of Allergy and
Immunology and holds the William A. Sellers MD and Joyce M. Sellers
Distinguished Chair in Allergy and Immunology at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center. She is an active clinician-investigator and has
been leading inner-city pediatric asthma studies for over 20 years.
35. Stephanie Halvorson, MD, FACP, is the Chief of the Division of Hospital
Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. She previously served as the
Medical Director for Clinical Integration at OHSU and is the recipient of the
David Bristow Award for representing ideals of a true physician.
36. Robert Harrington, MD, FAHA, is the Chair of the Department of
Medicine and the Arthur L. Bloomfield Professor of Medicine at Stanford
University. Thomson Reuters lists him as one of the most cited investigators in
clinical medicine from 2002-2014. He hosts a regular podcast called The Bob
Harrington Show.
37. Charles Hatem, MD, is the Harold Amos Distinguished Academy Professor
and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as the Chair
Emeritus of the Department of Medical Education at Mt. Auburn Hospital.
He was the Founding Director of the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education
devoted to training faculty to become clinician-teachers.
101

REACH OUT!
38. Stacy Higgins, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine and Program
Director of the Primary Care Track at Emory University. She has founded the
Women’s Clinic and the International Medical Clinics within Grady Memorial
Hospital which focus on providing care to underserved populations.
39. Joseph Hill, MD, PhD, is the James Willerson Distinguished Chair in
Cardiovascular Diseases, the Frank Ryburn Jr. Chair in Heart Research, the
Director of the Harry Moss Heart Center, and the Chief of Cardiology at UT
Southwestern Medical Center. He is the editor-in-chief of Circulation and a
past-president of the Association of University Cardiologists.
40. Michael Hochman, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Gehr Family Center
for Implementation Science at Keck School of Medicine at University of
Southern California. A practicing internist, he hosts the Healthy Skeptic
podcast and recently authored the book 50 Studies Every Doctor Should
Know.
41. Marijane Hynes, MD is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at George
Washington University and leads the The Weight Loss Clinic, a multidisciplinary
center focused on obesity prevention and treatment. She speaks at
conferences around the country on obesity and diabetes prevention.
42. Christopher Jackson, MD, is an Associate Program Director for Curriculum
and Education in the Internal Medicine Training Program and the Assistant
Clerkship Director in Internal Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health
Sciences Center. His research interests include evidence-based practice, clinical
reasoning, and the use of podcasts in graduate medical education.
43. Simerjot K. Jassal, MD, MAS, FACP, is a Clinical Professor of Medicine
and the Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program at the University
of California San Diego. She practices as a primary care physician at the VA
San Diego and is a co-investigator on the Rancho Bernardo Study.
44. Kathryn Jobbins, DO, MS, FACP, is an Associate Director of Internal
Medicine Training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Baystate
Health. She is a recipient of the Early Career Leadership Award by the
American College of Physicians and the Kevin T. Hinchey Resident Teaching
Award at the Baystate Medical Center.
45. Vineeth John, MD, MBA, is a Professor and Vice-Chair of Education in the
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the McGovern Medical
School at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Over the
past decade, he has been studying the effect of disruptive styles of leadership
in organizations and presenting his research at national and international
conferences.
102

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
46. Naftali Kaminski, MD, is the Boehringer-Ingelheim Endowed Professor of
Internal Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and
Sleep Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. With over 275 publications, he is
responsible for many breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of
interstitial lung diseases.
47. Gregory Kane, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine and the Jane
& Leonard Korman Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital. His research focuses on asthma, sarcoidosis, and
bronchiectasis and is a recipient of the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to
Teach Award.
48. Michael Karp, MD, is the Chief of the Division of Geriatrics, Hospital,
Palliative and General Internal Medicine, and Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs for
the Department of Medicine at University of Southern California Medical
Center. He enjoys mentoring young physicians and is passionate about
improving quality, safety, access and satisfaction for patients.
49. Stephen Knohl, MD, is the Vice-Chair of Education, a Professor of
Medicine, and the Program Director of Internal Medicine Residency at Upstate
Medical University. He has developed a program called “Learning to T.A.L.K.
(Treat All Like Kin)” to help medical residents become more effective
communicators.
50. Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC, is the current President of the American
College of Cardiology and the Q.E. and Sally Russell Professor of Cardiology
at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is a clinical cardiology leader for
Indiana University Health Physicians, where he is responsible for the
coordination of patient care activities across all the hospitals served by the IU
faculty cardiologists.
51. Gifty Kwakye, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor for Surgery in the
Division of Colorectal Surgery at University of Michigan. Originally from
Ghana, she trained at Brigham & Women’s Hospital where she received the
Robert T. Osteen and the Partners Health System Medical Education awards
for excellence in teaching. She is passionate about improving access to surgical
care.
52. Alysia V. Kwiatkowski, DO, MS, is the Senior Associate Director and
Director of Curriculum Development for the Internal Medicine Training
Program at the University at Buffalo, as well as an education development
specialist for UB’s Medical Education and Educational Research Institute. She
is a practicing rheumatologist with a research interest in medical education,
specifically team-based learning.
103

REACH OUT!
53. Seth Landefeld, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine and the
Spencer Chair in Medical Science Leadership at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham. He is a past-president of the Society of General Internal
Medicine and has developed the Acute Care for Elders Unit, a model adopted
by medical centers nationwide.
54. Susan Lane, MD, FACP, is the Vice-Chair of Education and Director of the
Internal Medicine Training Program at Stony Brook University School of
Medicine. She is the president-elect of the Association of Program Directors in
Internal Medicine. She is active in healthcare policy and has served as the Chair
of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine Health Policy Committee.
55. Odaliz Abreu-Lanfranco, MD, is the Director of the Internal Medicine
Training Program at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI. He is a
transplant infectious diseases expert and is passionate about mentorship and
resident education.
56. James de Lemos, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and holds the
Sweetheart Ball-Kern Wildenthal, MD, Ph.D. Distinguished Chair in
Cardiology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is the
Executive Editor for Circulation and is the recipient of the 2020
Distinguished Mentor Award from the American College of Cardiology.
57. Jane Liebschutz, MD, MPH, FACP, is the UPMC Endowed Chair of
Translational Medicine and Research, the Chief of the Division of General
Internal Medicine, a Professor of Medicine, and the Director of the Center for
Research on Health Care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her
clinical practice and research focus on patients who have experienced the triad
of trauma, pain, and substance misuse.
58. Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, MA, is Chair of Medicine and Physician-in-
Chief at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the Hersey Professor of the Theory &
Practice of Medicine and the Soma Weiss, MD, Distinguished Chair in
Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the editor-at-large at the New
England Journal of Medicine and a senior editor of Harrison’s
Principles of Internal Medicine.
59. Kimberly Manning, MD, FACP, FAAP, is a Professor of Medicine and the
Associate Vice-Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department
of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Her blog called
“Reflections of a Grady Doctor” was named as one of the 4 medical blogs you
should read by Oprah Magazine in 2010.
104

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
60. John McPherson, MD, FACC, FSCAI, is the Drs. Sol and Marvin
Rosenblum Chair in Medicine, Vice-Chair of Education, Program Director of
the Internal Medicine Residency and a Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center. A clinical cardiologist, his academic interests have
focused on critical care cardiology and emerging interventional therapies.
61. Mark Metersky, MD, FCCP, FACP, is the Chief of the Division of
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Director of Center for Bronchiectasis
Care, and the Associate Chief of Service in the Department of Medicine at
University of Connecticut. His research focuses on pulmonary infections,
including pneumonia and bronchiectasis.
62. Robert Morrison, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the University of
Tennessee Health Science Center. An infectious diseases specialist, his career
spans from serving in the US Army for 20 years and as the chief of medicine
and program director for an army training hospital to his current role as a
clinician educator in the Department of Medicine at UTHSC.
63. K.M. Venkat Narayan, MD, MSc, MBA, FRCP, is the Ruth and OC Huber
Chair of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public
Health, the Director of Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, and a
Professor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. He is the
former chief of the diabetes, epidemiology, and statistics branch at the US
Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
64. Sriram Narsipur, MD, FASN, FACP, MRCP, is the Chair of the
Department of Medicine, the Edward C. Reifenstein Professor of Medicine,
and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Upstate Medical University. He is
also the Chief and Medical Director of the Division of Nephrology at Upstate.
65. Paul Noble, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine and Director
of the Women's Guild Lung Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles, California. He is a physician-scientist who has made significant
research contributions to understanding the mechanisms and treatment of
pulmonary fibrosis.
66. Kevin O'Leary, MD, MS, is the Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine,
Associate Chair for Quality in the Department of Medicine, and the John
Clarke Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of
Medicine. He is also the founding Director of the Northwestern Medicine
Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement.
105

REACH OUT!
67. John Pandolfino, MD, MSCI, FACG, is the Chief of the Division of
Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Hans Popper Professor of Medicine
at Northwestern University. He is the President of the American
Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and a recipient of the Research
Mentor of the Year Award from the American Gastroenterological
Association.
68. Elizabeth Paulk, MD, is the Fellowship Director for the Palliative Care
Program and holds a Distinguished Professorship in Palliative Care at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She began Parkland
Memorial Hospital’s first palliative care service, and then an outpatient
palliative care clinic, one of the first of its kind.
69. John R. Perfect, MD, is James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Chief of
the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health at the Duke
University Medical Center. He is also the director of the Duke University
Mycology Interdisciplinary Research Unit and has authored over 600
publications related to fungal pathogens and anti-fungal treatments.
70. Richard Pittman, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of General
Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and Clerkship Director in Internal Medicine
at the Emory School of Medicine. Dr. Pittman frequently delivers talks about
the use of mobile technology in healthcare and is the Epic Physician
Champion at Grady Memorial Hospital.
71. John Ratelle, MD, is a Consultant in Hospital Medicine and an Associate
Director for the Internal Medicine Training Program for systems-based
practice at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He is the recipient of the 2019
Teacher of the Year Award and the Laureate Award at Mayo.
72. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, is the Physician-in-Chief and Chair of
Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Cornelius
Abernathy Craig Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt
University. A genitourinary oncologist, her clinical practice and research lab
focuses on renal cell carcinoma.
73. David Reuben, MD, is the Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Director
of the Multicampus Program in Geriatrics Medicine and Gerontology at
UCLA. He is the Archstone Foundation Chair and Professor at the David
Geffen School of Medicine and Director of the UCLA Alzheimer's and
Dementia Care Program. He served as a past President of the American
Geriatrics Society.
106

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
74. Hugo Rosen, MD, is the Norris Chair of the Department of Medicine and
Professor of Medicine, Immunology, and Molecular Microbiology at Keck
School of Medicine at University of Southern California. He has written more
than 180 original peer-reviewed manuscripts investigating the cellular and
molecular underpinnings of a wide spectrum of innate/adaptive immune
responses and serves as the deputy editor of Hepatology.
75. Michael Saag, MD, is the Associate Dean for Global Health, Director of the
UAB Center for AIDS Research and a Professor of Medicine (Infectious
Diseases) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been listed as
one of the top ten cited HIV researchers by Science and was recently
inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.
76. Monika Safford, MD, is the John J. Kuiper Professor of Medicine at Weill
Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and the Chief of the Division of
General Internal Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She is an active
principal investigator with ongoing support from the NIH and an expert in
patient-centered research on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and healthcare
disparities.
77. Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH, is the George Dock Professor of Internal Medicine
at the University of Michigan and Chief of Medicine at the VA Ann Arbor
Healthcare System. He has authored over 350 peer-reviewed papers on patient
safety, implementation science, and medical decision-making. His TEDxUofM
talk entitled “Improving Healthcare: Straight from the Heart” received over 1
million views.
78. Deeb Salem, MD, FACP, FACC, FAHA, is the Chair of the Department of
Medicine and the Sheldon M. Wolff Professor of Medicine at Tufts University
School of Medicine. Dr. Salem was the Founding President of the New
England Affiliate of the American Heart Association. He is a recognized
national expert in coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and
congestive heart failure.
79. Yael Schenker, MD, MAS, is the Director of the Palliative Care Research
Center and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
She has published widely on topics including surrogate decision making,
informed consent, healthcare advertising and language barriers.
80. Stanley Schwartz, MD, PhD, is the Chief of the Division of Allergy,
Immunology & Rheumatology and the UB Distinguished Professor of Medicine
and Pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at the
University at Buffalo. He directs a major translational research program focusing
on the application of nanotechnology to the treatment of human disease.
107

REACH OUT!
81. Fariha Shafi, MD, is the Chair of the School of Medicine’s Diversity Council
and the Co-Director for Women in Medical Sciences Programming at
University of Missouri Kansas City. She is also the Chair of the ACP's
Wellness Committee of the Missouri chapter. She has received the Betty M.
Drees Excellence in Mentoring Award.
82. Vijay Shah, MD, FAASLD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine,
Professor of Medicine and Physiology, and the Carol M. Gatton Professor of
Digestive Diseases Research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He
has maintained an NIH-funded program at Mayo Clinic for more than 22
years, which focuses on alcohol-related liver disease.
83. Mark Siegel, MD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical
Care & Sleep Medicine), Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency,
and Course Director of the Internal Medicine Subinternship at Yale School of
Medicine. He serves on the editorial boards of Critical Care Medicine,
Chest and American Journal of Medicine.
84. Todd Simon, MD, M.S.Ed., F.A.C.P. is the Chief Academic Officer, Vice-
Chief of Medicine and the Program Director of the Internal Medicine
Residency at the New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. He is
the Governor-Elect of NY-ACP’s Brooklyn/Queens/Staten Island region.
85. Lisa Skinner, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Program
Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at the David Geffen School of
Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles. A graduate of the
Stanford Faculty Development Center, she is passionate about faculty
development around medical teaching, especially focused on the topics of
coaching, learning climate, and feedback.
86. Robert C. Smith, MD, MS, MACP, is University Distinguished Professor,
and a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Michigan State University. His
research and teaching focuses on patient-centered communication and primary
care mental health. He has authored two textbooks and has featured on The
Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
87. Sarah Sofka, MD, FACP, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, and the
Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at West Virginia
University. She chairs the GME Wellness Committee, which focuses on
preventing resident burnout and promoting wellness.
88. Carla Spagnoletti, MD, MS, is the Fellowship Director of the Academic
Clinician-Educators Scholars in General Internal Medicine, Director of the
Masters & Certificate Programs in Medical Education at the Institute for
Clinical Research Education, and a Professor of Medicine at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her research focuses on patient-doctor
communication, the patient experience, and professional development.
108

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
89. Abby Spencer, MD, MS, FACP, is the Vice-Chair of Education, Director of
the Academy of Educators and Professor of Medicine at the Washington
University in St. Louis. She was founding faculty for the SGIM Teach Program
and initiated APDIM’s national 1:1 mentoring program. She is a recipient of
the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award.
90. Starr Steinhilber, MD, MPH, is the Medical Director of the Compliant
Documentation Management Program and the Co-Director of Patient Safety
and Quality Improvement for the Internal Medicine Training Program at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. She practices general internal medicine
and has been a leader in increasing the focus on patient safety and quality
improvement.
91. Richard Sterling, MD, MSc, FACP, FACG, AGAF, FAASLD, is the
Section Chief of Hepatology, Medical Director of Viral Hepatitis and HIV
Liver Disease, Fellowship Director of Transplant Hepatology and a Professor
of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has published over 220
manuscripts and served as the American Gastroenterological Association’s
past governor of Virginia.
92. Jennifer Swails, MD, FACP, is the Program Director of the Internal
Medicine Residency and Co-Director of Interprofessional Education in the
Department of Medicine at McGovern Medical School at the University of
Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She is recipient of numerous awards
for teaching and patient care including the Leonard Tow Humanism in
Medicine Award.
93. Calvin Thigpen, MD, FACP, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the
Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program at the University of
Mississippi. He is the Governor of the Mississippi chapter of the ACP and a
recipient of the Nelson Order of Teaching Excellence.
94. Carrie Thompson, MD, MS, is a Consultant in the Division of Hematology
and the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her clinical practice focuses on hematologic
cancers, specifically lymphomas, and her research focuses on studying quality
of life in lymphoma survivors.
95. Andrew Thurston, MD, FAAHPM, is the Medical Director of the
Supportive and Palliative Care Service at UPMC Mercy Hospital and a Clinical
Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a Co-
Director of the Area of Concentration for the Humanities and Medical Ethics
at the University of Pittsburgh, and Co-Director of the Narrative and
Experience of Illness elective for third and fourth-year medical students.
109

REACH OUT!
96. Viswanath Vasudevan, MD, is the Vice-Chair of Education and Program
Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at The Brooklyn Hospital Center.
A practicing pulmonary and critical care physician, he is also the Medical
Director of the Sleep Center and the Director of Palliative Care.
97. Robert Wachter, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at
University of California San Francisco. He is the Holly Smith Distinguished
Professor in Science and Medicine, as well as the Benioff Endowed Chair in
Hospital Medicine. Dr. Wachter is considered to be the father of the
hospitalist field, which is one of the fastest growing specialties in modern
medicine.
98. Eric Warm, MD, FACP, holds the endowed Richard Vilter Chair of
Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. He is the Vice-Chair of Graduate
Medical Education, the Medical Director of the Resident Ambulatory Practice,
and the Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program. He was the
principal architect of the University of Cincinnati’s comprehensive redesign of
resident education in internal medicine.
99. Rahma Warsame, MD, is a Consultant in the Division of Hematology and an
Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program at the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, MN. She is working on incorporating patient perspectives
systematically into clinical practice with the goal of developing a system that
can provide cancer patients with truly individualized care.
100. Charles Wiener, MD, is the President of Johns Hopkins Medicine
International and Professor of Medicine and Physiology at the Johns Hopkins
University. He is Director Emeritus of the Osler Internal Medicine Training
Program and chaired the committee that created the school of medicine’s
“Genes to Society” Curriculum.
101. Lisa Willett, MD, is the Vice-Chair of Education, Program Director of the
Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency, and Professor of Medicine at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is nationally recognized for her
work in resident development and is a past president of the Association of
Program Directors in Internal Medicine.
102. Clyde Yancy, MD, is the Vice-Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief of
Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at Northwestern University. A
renowned cardiovascular researcher, he is the deputy editor of JAMA
Cardiology and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
110

Listen to inspiring journeys
of physician mentors on
The Medicine Mentors Podcast
and make the leap from good to great.
www.themedicinementors.com
111