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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills

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to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

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As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients.

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When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find

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that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research

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program.

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Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit.

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However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.

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For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians

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the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor.

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Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene.

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Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast.

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I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is an absolute pleasure to be talking with you

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today.

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Thank you so much for being here, for listening, because every day you listen is a day that

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I can continue to share about ideas and insights about expanding your scholarship as you grow

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as a clinician researcher.

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Today I'm talking about vision and the importance of vision, of sharing the vision for your

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research program.

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You know, when I started in research, I had no idea what my vision was.

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I just knew I wanted to do research, and I was like, just give me any project you're

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doing, any project, I don't care.

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I mean, okay, maybe I'm not being exactly fair to myself.

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I had a sense of what I wanted to do, but there seemed to be many roadblocks to doing

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it.

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And so I was just like, you know what, it's not even really about the project.

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It's just I want the research experience, just give me whatever you got, right?

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And so I'm going around from person to person saying, give me whatever you got, give me

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whatever you got.

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And what I end up with is a hodgepodge of activities and a hodgepodge of research projects

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to work on.

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Some succeed, some don't succeed.

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Some I hate, some I can tolerate.

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Some I really like, very few I really like.

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And most of the ones I really like are the ones to which I can put a personal flair when

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there's a personal touch to it or there's a specific patient population that's near

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and dear to me.

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But over time, I was able to start to think about what do I really like of all of these

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projects?

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Which ones do I really like?

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And to start to give more energy to some of the projects I like and to let go of some

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of the projects I don't like.

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So over time, you know, even when you start with a hodgepodge of projects, you begin to

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recognize more what resonates with you, what gives you joy, what makes you happy to do.

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You can really start to curate around that.

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But if you are not like me and you had it all together from the very beginning, perhaps

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you already knew from the very beginning that, hey, this is the population I'm addressing,

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patients with sickle cell who are in their 80s or, you know, who are older.

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I'm going to focus on this group of patients.

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And that's great.

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You already have a very well articulated research focus that you can cast a vision upon.

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And so that's what I'm here to talk about, is to talk about the vision for your research

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program.

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If you do not yet have a vision, I hope that by the end of this podcast episode, you will

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have the opportunity to cast and create a vision for your program.

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And do you want to share that we are taking new clients in our coaching programs, especially

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our group coaching programs.

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We meet on Mondays at 6 p.m.

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We actually are open to fellows as well.

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So if you or someone else you know is looking to have a research coach or a coach who can

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really help them move forward as they build their research program, please reach out to

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me.

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You can find more information on our website, clinicianresearcherpodcast.com, also on our

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coaching website, coagcoach.com.

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All right.

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I'll leave that information in the show notes for you.

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But now let's talk about creating a vision or crafting a vision for your research project.

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I mean, for your research program.

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All right.

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So the first thing, the first thing is that you do want to have a vision.

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And sometimes it's hard.

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It's hard because there's so many people telling you what you should do, what's fundable, what's

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not fundable, what makes sense, what doesn't make sense, what they think is ridiculous

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and what's not ridiculous.

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And sometimes you lose yourself in trying to please people like, oh, I can't please

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this mentor, but then this mentor is saying something different from that other mentor

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and you're stuck.

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You're feeling stuck and you just want to do what they tell you because you know you're

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going to succeed if you just do what they tell you.

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Nevermind you don't want to do any of those things.

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And so that's so important in really thinking about, hey, hey, hey, hey, what is it you

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want to do?

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And I have to tell you for clinicians, it's really hard.

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It's really hard because much of our training is to seek external validation for our forward

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motion and it's so much easier to be successful with that when you are in residency or when

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you're in fellowship because you know what?

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Your win that's graduating this program is our win.

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And so there's alignment between what you want and what the external validation gives

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you.

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And so as long as you do the things that give you the external validation, you're able to

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graduate successfully.

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Good for you.

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When you become a faculty member and there are so many different voices because there's

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not just one goal, you can get some mixed messages.

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And so if you're someone who depends on external validation, and to be honest, if you're a

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clinician who's gone through any training program, it's been your experience, it's really

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hard.

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It's really hard to sit and figure out, well, what do I want to do?

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Not what everybody's advising that I do, not what the mentor says is absolutely critical

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for me to do, but what do I want to do?

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Because it may be an absolutely Nobel Prize worthy project, but it's not what you want

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to do.

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And so you don't want to end up on the podium receiving the Nobel Prize and thinking, why

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am I here?

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I hate this work.

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And just to tell you that most people don't win prizes for work they hate, just so you

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know.

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Even if it's Nobel Prize worthy work, you hate your work, you're probably not going

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to get the Nobel Prize.

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Anyway, but just saying that what you love matters because you put in a different kind

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of passion, a different kind of energy.

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It doesn't even feel like working.

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You enjoy it so much.

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And so yes, the first thing you do need to do is have the vision, but not somebody else's

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vision.

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And this is so critical and why I encourage clinicians, scientists to work with coaches

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so that you can clarify your own vision, remove all the baggage of the vision that's other

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people's visions and create yours because your vision is the most, most beautiful.

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It is the most beautiful vision.

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In fact, I'm going to ask you right now with me to close your eyes.

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Okay, if you're driving, do not close your eyes, but for everybody else, if you're sitting

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and you have a moment, and if you don't have a moment right now, do this later, but close

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your eyes and imagine the research you've done or any scholarly work you've done over

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the last few years of your career.

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Think about the ones that gave you pleasure when you wrote the manuscript.

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Think about the ones that made you feel extra happy when you presented the abstract.

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You presented a lot, but this was one that made you feel extra accomplished.

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You really felt like good work was done.

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Okay.

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Now you may have several, just choose one.

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Okay.

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Now look to the future.

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This is a project that you've been working on now for maybe 40 years.

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You're 40 years from now.

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Look back.

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Wow.

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Look at all the impact you've made.

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What does it look like?

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What lives are transformed?

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What lives are changed?

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What are they saying about you in the news?

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What awards are you getting for this work?

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Imagine it.

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There are going to be thoughts that will come to your mind that are not related.

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Just let them go.

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Now think about it.

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What are all the awards, all the kudos you're getting about this program of study that you

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love, love, love so much?

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What are the transformations that are happening in the lives of patients as a result of your

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work?

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What is the satisfaction you have from seeing mentees in your program?

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Can you see it?

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Can you see it?

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I want you to take time to do this often, to really think about the future of your work.

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Sometimes when you're just doing something on a day-to-day basis, you forget the bigger

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significance.

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You forget how important it really is.

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But I do want to invite you to take time periodically to think about what your work is going to

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do, whose lives will be transformed.

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You want to think about it periodically.

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Maybe set a time to do it routinely, set a time to do it on a scheduled basis so that

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you're able to remember what vision you want, what you want to create in your program, because

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it allows you to continue to head for the North Star, to continue to head for the direction

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you set for yourself, the destination you set for yourself, the destination that brings

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you joy, that makes you feel happy, the destination that brings transformation to the lives of

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people who connect with your work one way or the other.

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So in order to build vision, you start with what you want, what you want to bring, the

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impact you really want to bring.

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That's where you start.

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And number two, the next step is to create a presentation.

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Yes, yes, I'm talking about a PowerPoint or Prezi, whatever presentation you want to do.

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Create a presentation to share it with somebody.

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Now for me, I just recently did that with my research group.

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I said, it's 2024.

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What is our research direction for the year?

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What is the overarching vision?

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Where are we going?

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What's going to be the end of this program?

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And I put together a PowerPoint presentation, not because I don't know where I want to go,

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not because I haven't written down for myself or articulated it for myself, but in the very

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process of having to explain it to somebody else, you're really solidifying the vision

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for yourself.

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And also, as someone who's leading a research program, and if you are doing research by

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yourself, I need to let you know that your research program needs other people in it.

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So go out and recruit people.

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And maybe you start with a med student who's really motivated, or maybe you start with

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a resident who really, really wants a publication.

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It doesn't matter.

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Don't be a lone researcher.

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Find a team.

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And if you only have two people in your team, you and the other person, yes, still create

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this PowerPoint presentation for them so that you can share with them your vision.

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The reason it's important is because you're not going to be the one to carry out this

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vision.

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You have it.

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It's so strong.

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It's kind of like getting married, for those of you who have the experience.

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You can plan your wedding.

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And wow, you really planned a great wedding.

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And then you're going to hand it over to somebody else on the day of because you can't both

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be planning the wedding while you're in it.

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Oh gosh, that's so frustrating.

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And so what you really do is before you get to the wedding day, you share your vision

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with whoever your planner is so that they can execute your vision while you're on the

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dance floor dancing.

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That's the same way with your research program.

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As much as your vision is great and beautiful, it is not up to you to move it forward.

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You can be surrounded by people who are going to move it forward for you.

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And in order for them to move it forward in the way you want, you got to cast the vision

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so that they can catch it.

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You know, it's kind of like fishing.

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You cast the bait into the water and then the fish bite and then they decide to either

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come with your hook or not.

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It's kind of the same thing.

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So I want to invite you to create a presentation for them.

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But it's not really for them.

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It's for you.

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Because in the process of creating this presentation, in the process of articulating the vision,

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what you're doing is making it very clear to yourself where you're going.

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You're making it very clear to yourself what you're doing.

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And that is so powerful.

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It's so, so amazing.

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So create the presentation and then give the presentation.

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Because I have to tell you, I did this recently.

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When I gave the presentation, I inspired myself.

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You know, you put slides together and you're like, oh, my goodness, I'm putting slides

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together and it's almost time.

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Don't spend too, too much time on this.

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It doesn't have to be a perfect presentation, but definitely give it.

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What you'll find is not just a science presentation.

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It's you.

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It's what you want to do.

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It's what you want to see accomplished.

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It's where you're going in the future.

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You're going to give the presentation and you're going to inspire yourself.

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And at the end of it, you're going to say, wow, this is great work.

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And it's so important to be able to do that amidst so many rejections that keep coming

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out the woodworks from manuscripts you've submitted or from funding applications you've

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submitted.

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But to remind yourself of why you're doing this work, it gives you energy to get up and

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go again.

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It gives you energy.

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It allows you to remember why and it helps you move forward.

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It gets you through.

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So you want to create the presentation and then you want to give the presentation.

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You want to make sure that you enjoy giving the presentation because the vision that you

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share with others will also inspire you.

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And the other thing you do, number four, is to lay out the publication and the funding

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plan.

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Yes.

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So here's your vision.

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Here's where you want to go.

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And let's focus now on the year 2024, on the couple of months ahead.

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What do we want to see published in this area?

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Now, you may not yet have done any of the work that allows you to say, oh, yeah, the

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results are in.

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It'll be published next week.

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You may not have done it.

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Just say, what needs to be published in this area in which I've chosen?

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What is still outstanding?

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What do we still not know?

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And lay it out.

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What can we contribute as a research group over the next six months, over the next 12

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months?

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Lay it out for yourself.

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And then don't just lay out your publication plan.

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Lay out your funding plan as well.

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Now sometimes if you're like me, you just wait till someone sends a funding opportunity

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your way.

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Oh my gosh, that looks like a great idea.

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I'll apply for it.

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Oops, the deadline is six weeks from now.

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Better go strong.

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Don't do that.

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Start at the very beginning of the year and say, what are potential funders for our programs?

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And by laying out your vision, it gives you more clarity about who is more aligned with

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your vision.

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Because I have to tell you, one of the things you'll find out is that the people who you

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hope would be aligned cannot always align.

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But clarifying the vision allows you to find people who also have the same vision.

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And for many of us clinician researchers, it's foundations, it's groups, it's societies

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that start out funding your work and it's okay.

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Sometimes in academia, we like to talk about the hierarchy of funding and it's like all

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things.

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If it brings in more money, it feels like it's bigger or it's more prominent on the

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hierarchy.

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But for you, your goal is not hierarchy.

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Don't get carried away by hierarchy.

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You want to make sure that your program is funded.

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And if there is a hierarchical funder who somehow does not align with your project,

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find the person who does.

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Find the person who does.

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So part of laying out your plan for submissions for the year is to say, who are the people

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who are aligned?

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And when are their major deadlines coming out?

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And then you're going to map it out.

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You're going to give yourself time between one grant and the next grant and the next

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grant.

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You're not going to try to do it all at once and you're going to decide, okay, I'm going

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to apply to this funder and they seem to emphasize X.

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Why don't I emphasize this piece of my project for them?

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And then for that funder, I'm going to lay out, I'm going to submit to this funder, they

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seem to emphasize this.

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I'm going to emphasize this for them.

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And so what you're doing is you're building one big grant, an overarching grant that has

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several components to it.

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You're going to allow this one grant to pay itself or to pay for itself over and over

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again, not because you're submitting the same grant to the same program or the same grant

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and you're just recycling it and sending it elsewhere, but because you're taking one big

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grant and you're shaping it a little bit and it's different enough to go somewhere and

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then shaping it a little bit more.

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It's different enough to go somewhere else.

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So that when you're funded, you want to be optimistic here.

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You send out good work.

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Ultimately, eventually, you're going to get funded.

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You don't want to have to say, oh, well, I turned down this money because it was the

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exact same grant.

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And that's a strategy that people do.

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And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the strategy of submitting the same grant

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to different organizations.

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It's probably the most efficient way, but also think about how do you take one grant,

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reshape it significantly, change the aims, keep the background the same and allow that

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grant to move forward in support of you.

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So anyway, lay out the funding plan so that you're not surprised, you're not trying to

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scramble and lay out the publication plan as well so that you can get your team going

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and understanding what you want to produce at the end of this year.

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And what happens is the moment you lay it out, the moment you lay out the plan, wow,

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you start working towards it because it's so clear, so clear where you're going.

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And that clarity is really powerful.

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So I encourage you to gain that clarity for yourself.

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All right.

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The fifth thing I want to share is that you want to eliminate vision killers.

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You know, there are just some people and they're so awesome.

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I mean, there's so many people in academia who are so brilliant and they don't always

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know how to, you know, preserve the vision.

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And sometimes you'll share something and they'll say, that is the most ridiculous thing I've

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ever heard.

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Those people exist and some of them are your mentors and some of them you'd like very much,

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but you know, the moment you present this, they're going to shoot it down.

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So what you want to do, what you want to do is you want to minimize vision killers.

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How do you minimize them?

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Well, it doesn't mean you don't present to them, but it means you're selective in your

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presentation.

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You're selective.

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You're not giving them the whole big picture.

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They don't need the whole big picture.

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You can just say, hey, here's a list of publications I have planned for this year.

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Here are the list of grants.

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And you can just lay it out.

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This is not the passion, the vision that you have before you.

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It's just, hey, this is what I'm going to do.

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And that usually satisfies them.

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But whatever you have to do, you're someone who's very creative.

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You can think about how best to manage people who may not support you when you share big

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visions with them.

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And you want to mark who they are and you want to be selective about what you share

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so that they don't bring down your vision.

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Because here's the thing about the vision.

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It's not just about articulating the goals of your research program.

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It's about building the faith in you to keep going when it gets really hard.

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That's what this is about.

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It's about building the faith in your team so that even when it gets hard, they know

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exactly where they're going.

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They know where they need to be putting their efforts.

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Casting vision is about building faith.

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Faith is the only thing that gets us to where we want to go.

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Because when you believe you can't, no matter how hard it is, you make it happen.

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And when you believe you can't, no matter how easy it is, you will always find obstacles

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in your way because they're obstacles you bring with you because you don't believe it's

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possible.

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And so I want to encourage you this week, if you've never done this for your research

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program, to just set a date and say, I'm going to give a presentation on this date about

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the overarching goals of my research program.

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Don't invite anybody who is in the hierarchy.

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Don't invite a mentor.

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Don't invite senior people or even your peers.

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Or you can invite your peers if you feel safe.

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But show it to the people who are going to do the work.

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So I'm talking about the people who are going to help you move this work forward.

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And maybe it's the med student who just joined your lab last semester.

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I don't know.

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But there are people who are going to help you move this work forward.

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Those are the people to whom I want you to share your vision with this week.

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And then I want you to come tell me.

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Tell me what they say.

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Tell me about it.

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All right.

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And then actually tell me how you feel, not what they say, but how you feel having done

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that and how much more clarity you have concerning your research program.

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All right.

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It's been a pleasure to talk with you.

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Thank you so much for listening.

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I look forward to talking with you again the next time.

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Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic

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clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they

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have a mentor.

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If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself.

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Someone else needs to hear it.

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So take a minute right now and share it.

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As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation

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of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.

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Thank you.

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I hope you found the武器艺术语