1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills 2 00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260 to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 3 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340 As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. 4 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380 When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find 5 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780 that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research 6 00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200 program. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480 Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580 However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs. 9 00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800 the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,280 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,020 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast. 13 00:01:04,020 --> 00:01:08,400 My name is Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is such a pleasure to be here. 14 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:14,520 I am your host, and I am excited to be talking with you today about the very first episode 15 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:15,520 of the year. 16 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,780 Yes, it is 2024, and this is our first episode. 17 00:01:18,780 --> 00:01:22,800 This is season two of the Clinician Researcher podcast. 18 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:24,400 Like many of you, I hope. 19 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,040 I took the end of the year to rest and reflect. 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:32,480 I didn't post any episodes, and so this is the first episode of the year. 21 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,520 In leading up to this episode, I've really been thinking about what is the Clinician 22 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:44,200 Researcher podcast going to look like going into 2024, and I have some changes that are 23 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:45,200 coming. 24 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:50,480 One of those is that our episodes are really going to twice a week. 25 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,360 Last season, I broadcasted four days a week individually, and then I typically had a guest 26 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:57,360 on Fridays. 27 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,440 We're going to keep the guest on Fridays, and I'm going to go to broadcasting just once 28 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:03,200 a week on my own. 29 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,360 Two episodes a week, once on Mondays, once on Fridays. 30 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,680 That's why this episode is coming to you on Friday, January 5th, and that's the schedule 31 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,640 that I'm going to keep this year. 32 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,120 Why am I doing that? 33 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:24,800 Well, I think it was very helpful to get all those episodes out initially, and it really 34 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:30,080 helped me keep thinking about what do my people need, the people I support as they're making 35 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,040 the transition from clinician to researcher, what do they need? 36 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:38,900 I think in the whole process of producing episodes as many times as I was, it really 37 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:44,920 helped me gain clarity about who I help and how I can help them. 38 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,840 The clarity that I've gained has really come to me, I think, over the last few days of 39 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:49,840 the first of the year. 40 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:55,040 So, you know how you start the new year with this amazing, exciting energy, and everything 41 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,040 is awesome, and you have all these goals, and you're going to meet all of them? 42 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,240 I did start the year with that kind of energy. 43 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:08,520 And what became clear quickly is that it may be the beginning of the new year, but the 44 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:14,720 problems that were in last year did not just fizzle away, they are still here. 45 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:19,880 And so, I had an opportunity to talk with a faculty member today who was at the point 46 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:24,680 of quitting, at the point of quitting, feeling like, I can't do this anymore, this is too 47 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,120 hard, this doesn't make sense, why am I still here? 48 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,120 And so, I had the opportunity, and it was a beautiful opportunity, as it always is, 49 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,560 to coach her through that experience, and to really help her reframe and think about 50 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:43,760 the agency that she has, the power that she has, to transform her experience, and to get 51 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,720 out of it what she wants, not what other people say that she wants. 52 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:54,440 And so, because of that perspective, I think it helps me think clearly about how this year 53 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,760 moves forward in the Clinician Researcher podcast, and I wanted to share with you, I 54 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,360 want to share five things with you. 55 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:08,860 I think the first thing that really comes to my mind is that, for me, this year is about 56 00:04:08,860 --> 00:04:11,600 helping people be true to who they are. 57 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:17,640 And now, I don't presume to be in charge of anybody else. 58 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,800 I don't tell people what to do, I don't teach people what to do, I mean, I try. 59 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:28,200 But for the most part, I think people are self-directed, goal-oriented, and certainly 60 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,880 clinicians are self-directed, goal-oriented. 61 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,960 They know what to do, they don't need anybody telling them what to do. 62 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,800 And so, I want to honor that and respect that, especially as I continue to work with coaching 63 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:41,800 clients. 64 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,600 And by the way, if you're looking for a coach, I do have three one-on-one coaching slots 65 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,680 left for the year. 66 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,140 They'll be gone quickly, but I want to share with you in case you want to reach out and 67 00:04:52,140 --> 00:04:54,200 schedule a coaching consult call. 68 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:58,240 I will put some information in the notes about that. 69 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,600 But definitely would love to talk with you and see if this could be a fit for you if 70 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:04,280 you're looking for one-on-one coaching. 71 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:09,560 But what I recognize is that people will do what people want to do. 72 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,120 And what people are looking for is not someone to tell them what to do, but it's for someone 73 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,980 who gives them the space to become all that they're meant to be. 74 00:05:16,980 --> 00:05:21,640 And so, in moving forward in the Clinician Researcher podcast this year, I do want to 75 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:26,840 allow people to be who they are because that is so beautiful. 76 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:30,920 The challenge that we experience, I think, in academic medicine is that people are trying 77 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,280 so hard to be something that they're not, so hard to achieve goals that are not their 78 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:43,440 own goals, trying so hard to reach milestones that are not the milestones they want to reach. 79 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,240 And frankly, it's exhausting, it's overwhelming, and it's just, you know, it's, you know, 80 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,480 at the end of the day people are making their own choices. 81 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:54,520 I don't judge those choices. 82 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:59,240 But I think what's most beautiful is when people stop that, when they finally get to 83 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,480 the end of the road and they're like, I don't want to live like that anymore. 84 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:04,280 I want to be me. 85 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:05,620 And that is a beautiful space. 86 00:06:05,620 --> 00:06:11,640 And as a coach and seeing people come to that space of no more of this thing, I want me, 87 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,920 I want to be the best that I can be, I want to experience the fully actualized version 88 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:18,160 of me. 89 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,320 That's the beautiful thing. 90 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:26,800 And so this year, the season on the podcast for me is about giving people space, is about 91 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,960 giving people the things that they need rather than the things that I think that they need. 92 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:33,040 So what does that mean? 93 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,560 That means that when my coaching clients have challenges, those are the challenges I'm going 94 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:44,880 to be talking about here on the podcast, because this podcast really is for my clients. 95 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:52,680 It's for my clinicians who are trying the really taking on the really near impossible 96 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:58,760 task of making that transition from clinician to researcher without really the support or 97 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,860 the resources to do it, getting creative about making that transformation. 98 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:06,180 So that's the first thing. 99 00:07:06,180 --> 00:07:12,500 The second thing, the second direction I think that we're going on in this podcast this year 100 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:14,960 is about being authentic. 101 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:21,400 Now I don't say that to say that, hey, I've not been authentic, now I'm going to be authentic. 102 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:27,160 But I think it's just recognizing that it's important for me to share that sometimes I 103 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,400 wonder if I should be in academia. 104 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,920 Sometimes there are some challenges and today was one of such challenging days, today being 105 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:39,480 not the Friday in which you're listening to the podcast episode, but the Thursday in which 106 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,400 I'm recording it. 107 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:46,760 It was one of those days where I thought, wait a minute, why am I still here? 108 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:53,360 And I literally would have appreciated having someone coach me through my day and to help 109 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,840 me get to the point of recognizing that I'm here because I choose to be, I'm here because 110 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:05,520 I want to be, I'm here because I enjoy the fruit of the labor that I invest in this career 111 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:06,520 as an academic. 112 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,120 And I eventually was able to coach myself to that point. 113 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,360 It would have been nice to have someone help me do that. 114 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:17,760 But yeah, I want to be authentic about the struggles and the challenges that I experience 115 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:19,880 in my academic journey as well. 116 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,400 It's not all candles and roses. 117 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:28,280 And that goes without saying, you don't need me to say that academic medicine is hard, 118 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,680 but being able to say, hey, it was a hard day for me too. 119 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,700 And so I think I'm going to do more of that this year. 120 00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:39,480 And so that's where the authenticity piece comes in. 121 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:44,720 The other thing that I'm going to do is I'm going to definitely bring on more guests that 122 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:49,000 have a different perspective from the clinician, the academic clinician. 123 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:50,360 I think it's important. 124 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,280 I do certainly want to bring on a lot more clinicians. 125 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,800 And at some point in the year, I'll bring on some of my coaching clients so that they 126 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:02,440 can share some of the wins that they've had and some of the experiences they've had with 127 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:03,440 coaching. 128 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:04,440 I'm looking forward to that. 129 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:10,280 But what I'm also doing is bringing on people like the sleep expert to help us recognize 130 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:11,960 why rest is critical. 131 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,360 Why it's not just a nice thing to have. 132 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:23,960 It is an absolutely important critical part of our experience as people first, but certainly 133 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,240 as academic clinicians as well. 134 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:31,160 So I'm excited for her podcast episode, which will be airing next Friday, and certainly 135 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:37,480 many, many, many more episodes coming to you this year that will really help you and will 136 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:42,120 help you think outside the box of just being a clinician only and doing all the things 137 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:49,320 and checking all the boxes that help us recognize that, hey, we are people first and our experience 138 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:51,680 really does matter. 139 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:57,000 The fourth thing is really thinking about how can I serve you best? 140 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:58,640 How can I serve you well? 141 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:04,680 And that's really taking questions that you're sending my way or you're sharing with me on 142 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:12,960 the podcast website, clinicianresearcherpodcast.com, sharing with me voicemails or whatever other 143 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,840 ways that you are sharing information with me. 144 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,740 Really taking that and making that, really incorporating that into the episodes. 145 00:10:20,740 --> 00:10:24,320 Because what I really want this podcast to do is to serve you. 146 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:29,000 And if you as a listener have questions that you want me to answer, I really do want to 147 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,480 bring them front and center and answer them on the podcast. 148 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:38,400 And then the fifth thing that I want to share that I definitely want to do with the episodes 149 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,560 this year is to have more video. 150 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,440 And so on the podcast website, we have the opportunity to have video with the podcast 151 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:47,660 episodes. 152 00:10:47,660 --> 00:10:51,760 And so I'm definitely going to be doing a lot of these episodes, actually as many as 153 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:52,760 I can. 154 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,000 And if it works out great and if it doesn't work out, that's great too. 155 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,720 But so for those of you who are listening, it's still primarily a podcast. 156 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,160 It really still is about the listening experience. 157 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:08,520 But definitely I will pair it with video because for some people, video resonates with them. 158 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,480 People are just different in the way they want to experience information. 159 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,200 And so yes, look out for more video from me this year. 160 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,280 So that's the end of today's podcast episode, really. 161 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,960 I wanted to just share with you that hey, we are back. 162 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:24,600 Season two is live. 163 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,440 And it's coming to you differently, just twice a week this time. 164 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:29,440 And it's going to be okay. 165 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,600 It's going to be great. 166 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:36,880 And definitely if you're listening to your questions, your guests you want to see, let 167 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:37,880 me know. 168 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:39,640 I'd be happy to bring those to you. 169 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:40,640 All right. 170 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,280 It's been a pleasure talking with you today. 171 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,960 I want you to share this podcast episode with just one other person who needs to hear it. 172 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,560 And I definitely look forward to talking with you again the next time. 173 00:11:51,560 --> 00:12:01,920 Thank you for listening. 174 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,280 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic 175 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:12,520 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 176 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,080 have a mentor. 177 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:20,040 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 178 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:21,920 Someone else needs to hear it. 179 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,960 So take a minute right now and share it. 180 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:31,440 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 181 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:44,320 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.