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 --> 00:01:01,100 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:03,200 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast. 13 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,060 I'm your host, Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is an absolute pleasure to be talking with you 14 00:01:07,060 --> 00:01:08,060 today. 15 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:15,560 I am recording this episode in the middle of a break from writing, and this is the writing 16 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:20,380 that prompts this episode is that I am responding to reviewer criticisms for an article that 17 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:26,800 I wrote, and I have to say that there's a range of reviewer criticisms that kind of 18 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,280 gets to you in a different way. 19 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:33,480 This is one of those set of reviewer criticisms that just is very, very touching. 20 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,720 It just touches me in different ways. 21 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,760 Or I want to throw away the paper and say, you know what, how about I just don't resubmit. 22 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,920 But here I am, I am working through the revisions, and as I'm working through revisions, I can 23 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,840 see the benefit of the reviewer criticisms. 24 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:49,080 I can now see them. 25 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:54,880 My eyes were glazed over with anger, but now the anger has resolved and I now see the light. 26 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:56,880 And so here I am to share it with you. 27 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,080 So this particular article that I'm working on is one that I was invited to write. 28 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,100 Okay, it felt really good to be invited to write the article. 29 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:09,360 And even though I didn't actually want to write the article because I was like, oh, 30 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,240 this is not work I'm doing right now. 31 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,760 It's distracting me from the work I really want to move forward, but it makes sense because 32 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:23,800 this is work I've done before and it is a sign of honor and it's something good that 33 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:25,840 people are asking me to write something. 34 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,600 So even though I didn't really care to write this article, I wrote it. 35 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:30,600 I wrote it. 36 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,520 And I have to say it was hard to write. 37 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,200 It was hard to write because I was pulling from something I hadn't thought about for 38 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:37,200 years. 39 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:42,200 And it was hard because they were asking me to write about a topic that would be considered 40 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,380 controversial. 41 00:02:45,380 --> 00:02:50,720 So I knew that it was going to be criticized, but I didn't know how much it was going to 42 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:51,720 be criticized. 43 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:57,560 So when the criticisms came, I have to tell you, they felt overwhelming. 44 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,600 One reviewer had 56 points. 45 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:03,200 56 points. 46 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,480 And I'm not talking about 56 minor points. 47 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,440 Actually, to be honest, I feel like a lot of them are minor. 48 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,880 A lot of them are phrasing, but 56, holy cow. 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,480 Didn't you have left some for the copy editor? 50 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:16,480 Okay, I'm coming back home. 51 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:17,480 I'm coming back home. 52 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,520 I need to be nice and objective. 53 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,720 But anyway, the point I'm making is that there were a lot of criticisms. 54 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,080 And to be honest, just even working through each point, so that was one reviewer, right? 55 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,000 56 criticisms from one reviewer. 56 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 The other reviewer, a little bit more reasonable in my perspective, about 15 to 17. 57 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,600 I can handle that. 58 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,060 And then a third reviewer actually wouldn't review the manuscript because the topic was 59 00:03:41,060 --> 00:03:47,840 too controversial and they felt that perhaps the way it was addressed was not appropriate. 60 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:48,840 That's interesting, right? 61 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,160 Anyway, I want to talk about that too. 62 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:52,160 And I will shortly. 63 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:57,840 But this is the context in which I am bringing you this reason to rejoice, to celebrate when 64 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:03,520 you get reviewers criticize your manuscript or really want you to rejoice and celebrate. 65 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:04,520 Okay. 66 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,760 So the first thing I want to share is that criticism is the sign that something notable 67 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:10,760 has happened. 68 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,360 That something significant happened. 69 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,440 That is why criticism comes. 70 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,400 Now if I said, no, thank you. 71 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:19,520 I will not write this manuscript. 72 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:20,520 Guess what? 73 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:21,520 No criticism. 74 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:22,520 Yes. 75 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,280 Life feels great when there's no criticism. 76 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:29,780 But criticism is the sign that I took up the challenge and I said, hey, this is a controversial 77 00:04:29,780 --> 00:04:32,040 topic and I'm going to write about it. 78 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,040 Right? 79 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:34,720 So something notable happened. 80 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,680 And it's not just notable because criticism came, but criticism is the evidence. 81 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:39,680 Right? 82 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,480 Well, sitting there on this paper didn't exist. 83 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,920 No one's written about this before in this way. 84 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,680 And then someone says, hey, people are interested in this. 85 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,120 Will you write about it? 86 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,640 So I created something out of nothing and nothing became something. 87 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,400 And then people started criticizing what was what I created. 88 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,880 But until I created, nothing could be criticized. 89 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:06,420 And so criticism, first of all, is the sign that I did something noteworthy. 90 00:05:06,420 --> 00:05:13,000 I stood up and I opened my mouth or I stood up and wrote on a document that was now passed 91 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:14,600 on to reviewers. 92 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,680 And so I want you to stop. 93 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,920 If you were in the middle of revisions or you've been criticized before by reviewers, 94 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,560 especially the kind of reviewers that make you so mad, I want you to celebrate and say, 95 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,200 hey, I've been criticized because I stood up and I made something happen. 96 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:30,640 Good for me. 97 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,460 Absolutely worth celebrating. 98 00:05:33,460 --> 00:05:38,880 Because the opposite is that there is no criticism because you're making nothing, saying nothing, 99 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:40,640 doing nothing. 100 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:46,280 And I want to celebrate you for every time you are courageous enough to submit a manuscript 101 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:51,040 because you are courageous enough to invite the criticism that improves the manuscript. 102 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,960 So that is number one. 103 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,720 Criticism is a sign that something notable has happened. 104 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,400 Number two is that criticism is the evidence that people actually care about what you're 105 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:05,400 saying. 106 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:11,320 Now, the pathway for all manuscripts is not exactly criticism from the reviewers, right? 107 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:13,640 The pathway may be outright rejection. 108 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,000 Like, oh, we read it. 109 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:21,360 We don't even have anything to say, reject. 110 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:27,000 It's the sign that nobody cares. 111 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,720 And so when people say, we're not going to just throw this manuscript in the trash, we're 112 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:33,320 actually going to read it. 113 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,680 I'm going to tell you about it. 114 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,360 That is the sign that you are writing about something that other people care about. 115 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,040 Now, don't get me wrong. 116 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:47,120 There are different reasons why manuscripts are rejected by journals. 117 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:48,480 Sometimes it's political. 118 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:51,880 Someone just submitted something and they have a bigger name than you. 119 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,280 Oh, it's just priorities. 120 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:59,000 Like right now we are very focused on this hot new area related, say, to COVID, right? 121 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,320 A few years ago, if you weren't submitting anything related to COVID, you were likely 122 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:03,560 to get triaged. 123 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,040 And so it's not always about the importance of what you're writing. 124 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,480 Therefore, please don't take a desk rejection as a reason to stop moving your work forward. 125 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,960 Take it as a sign that you need to go find the people who care, right? 126 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:20,480 But if you are submitting a manuscript that has been returned to you with criticisms, 127 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,360 this journal, this group is saying, we care about this work. 128 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,760 We want to see this work done. 129 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:32,840 And so you can celebrate because criticism is the evidence that people actually care 130 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,600 about what you're writing about. 131 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:35,640 They don't care. 132 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:37,200 They won't say anything. 133 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,480 They'll send it away for somebody else to criticize. 134 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,680 But if they care, then they criticize. 135 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:48,680 And so you can test how important the topic is based on the level of criticism sometimes 136 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:50,360 that comes back from it. 137 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,040 Because the alternative is that they just reject it. 138 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:54,800 OK. 139 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,080 Criticism also helps you discover what people care about. 140 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,340 OK, you're writing about this topic. 141 00:08:00,340 --> 00:08:04,200 And the reviewer comes back and says, well, I can't believe you didn't mention XYZ. 142 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:09,800 Well, you know, XYZ was not in your list of priorities when you wrote the paper. 143 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:10,800 But here you go. 144 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:15,140 This reviewer is now telling you that this is a priority for them. 145 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:19,000 And if you hear it from a second or a third reviewer, then you really know that you should 146 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,160 take the time to address it. 147 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:26,960 But what people criticize is not so much what you wrote, but what you wrote in the way that 148 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:28,600 it resonates with them. 149 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,880 So sometimes people don't care about certain parts of your paper. 150 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:33,940 They won't even mention it at all. 151 00:08:33,940 --> 00:08:37,200 But there are parts that they really care about and they will mention. 152 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,760 And that helps you understand what people want to hear about more or what people really 153 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,040 want like improved upon. 154 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:45,040 Right. 155 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,960 So it tells you what people care about because people don't criticize what they don't 156 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:50,960 care about. 157 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,800 And so in a whole manuscript, there are very certain sections, there are certain sections 158 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:55,800 that people criticize. 159 00:08:55,800 --> 00:09:00,200 And that is a sign to you that these are the sections they care about. 160 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:05,560 And so it helps you focus as you prepare your response to the reviewers comments. 161 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:07,400 OK. 162 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:08,840 Criticism also helps you. 163 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,560 This is number four. 164 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:17,280 Criticism also helps you recognize what people are going to complain about or likely to complain 165 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:18,280 about. 166 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,320 Now, you'll create a piece of work, you're putting it out there. 167 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,800 And of course, every piece of work that's worth its salt is going to have people who 168 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,080 are like, oh, my gosh, I love this. 169 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:28,600 It's so awesome. 170 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,120 And other people who are going to say, this is absolute crap, who allowed this thing to 171 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:33,320 see the light of day? 172 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:34,320 Right. 173 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:35,600 There will always be people in different camps. 174 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,880 And yes, it's not just the two extremes. 175 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,320 Clearly, it's all along the spectrum. 176 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,560 There will always be people who think differently about your work, people who love it, people 177 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:46,920 who hate it, and all the people in between. 178 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:51,360 Now, criticism helps you get a taste of those who hate your work. 179 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:52,360 Right. 180 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,440 And like, this is what those who hate your work are going to say. 181 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:55,440 So get ready. 182 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,880 And it's very helpful because it doesn't keep them from hating your work when they finally 183 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:00,880 read the final product. 184 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:05,040 But what it does is it allows you to say, hey, all you haters of this work, here's what 185 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:06,040 you're going to say. 186 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:07,240 And here's what I say to it. 187 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:12,080 Hey, you just kind of cut short the complaints that are going to come to you after the manuscript 188 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:17,040 is published, the 300 letters to the editor that say, I cannot believe this author did 189 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:18,680 not cover XYZ. 190 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:23,120 You're going to cut that short because when the reviewers tell you what they hate about 191 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,520 your manuscript, you can say, oh, great. 192 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:26,800 Here's what you hate about my manuscript. 193 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,920 And you can decide, well, OK, OK, I'll change this. 194 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,120 Or you can decide, no, no, no, no, no, no, not changing that. 195 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,400 But I'm going to explain why I'm not changing that. 196 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:42,200 For example, we had a manuscript recently that we wrote a systematic review and we submitted 197 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,280 it as a systematic review. 198 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,600 And the reviewer comes back and says, this is not a systematic review. 199 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:49,200 This is a scoping review. 200 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,720 Now I need to tell you that a scoping review is different from a systematic review. 201 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,360 You don't start a systematic review and end up with a scoping review or vice versa. 202 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,560 They're two different things. 203 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:03,480 And clearly, there is a gap in the knowledge of this particular reviewer as far as the 204 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:07,880 difference between scoping review methodology and systematic review methodology. 205 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,600 Now the wonderful people that I was writing the paper with, with me as senior author, 206 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,240 said, well, the reviewer says it's a scoping review. 207 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,860 Let's change all the terminology in the paper to a scoping review. 208 00:11:17,860 --> 00:11:21,520 And I have to stop and ask them, hey, did you do a scoping review? 209 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,320 And if the answer is no, you cannot now just because you're knee jerk responding to the 210 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:30,620 reviewer change everything to scoping review because it's actually not true. 211 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:33,960 So you're not going to agree with everything the reviewer is saying and you shouldn't agree 212 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,040 with everything the reviewer say. 213 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,440 But when they say something, you're going to comment. 214 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,660 And so for example, in that paper, we said while a scoping review may have been the better 215 00:11:43,660 --> 00:11:45,760 methodologic strategy. 216 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:46,760 So do you hear that? 217 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:52,560 We use the term that other people might be thinking this paper is a scoping review, right? 218 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:57,560 We said it may be the better methodology, but we were limited or we did the systematic 219 00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:58,560 review. 220 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:04,080 So it is so helpful because you take the complaints and you put it in your paper and then you 221 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:08,840 can maybe decrease the number of complaints that come after the manuscript is published. 222 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:14,040 So criticism is helpful because it helps you discover what people are likely to complain 223 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,320 about and to address it from the beginning. 224 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:18,680 Okay. 225 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:26,080 Number five, criticism gives you the words that create the masterpiece that is the final 226 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:27,080 paper. 227 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,720 I'm really excited about this one. 228 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,640 Okay, I'm going to say it again. 229 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:36,280 Criticism gives you the words that help you create the final version that is a masterpiece. 230 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:40,000 Yeah, I said it differently, but you know what I'm saying. 231 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,640 But here's what I mean about that. 232 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:48,920 Reviewers will say, well, for example, in this paper, they said, well, there is no, 233 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:50,720 you can't make a recommendation. 234 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,500 What you can say is that the clinical practice would suggest that this is a strategy that 235 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:55,640 can be used. 236 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:56,640 I love it. 237 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,920 Maybe you just gave me the words or she, right? 238 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:03,040 This reviewer just gave me the words that I'm going to just take and put in my paper. 239 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,000 How beautifully said. 240 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:06,160 Okay. 241 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:11,080 This strategy helps me recognize that there are clinical, there's clinical practice that 242 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:12,080 supports the strategy, right? 243 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,240 I kind of mixed it up, but you get what I'm saying. 244 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:20,280 The reviewer said something and I literally just lift the words and put it on my paper. 245 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:21,280 And you know what? 246 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:22,280 It's really exciting. 247 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:26,600 I think when the reviewer sees that you have used their words in the paper, because it's 248 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:27,600 also flattering. 249 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:28,600 It's like, oh, okay. 250 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:29,600 You used my words. 251 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:30,600 Thank you so much. 252 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,600 Now, are you obligated to use the reviewers' words? 253 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,280 No, but it is helpful because they're bringing up important things. 254 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:40,000 I recognize what they're saying. 255 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,320 They're like, well, you're in a controversial area. 256 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,480 There is not data to back you up in any recommendations. 257 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:46,480 Great. 258 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:51,360 Here, though, you can say there is clinical, there's evidence of clinical practice. 259 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:52,360 I love it. 260 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,000 So where I'm thinking, I should be making a recommendation. 261 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:56,800 They're saying, don't make a recommendation. 262 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,000 Say there's evidence of clinical practice. 263 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,080 And they've given me the words and I just lift it and put it in my paper. 264 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,760 Now, you know, I'm finessing the words because it's still my paper and it's still got to 265 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,400 speak in my language. 266 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,680 So I'm not going to necessarily take their words verbatim throughout the paper and then 267 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:14,240 make it look like a paper somebody else wrote. 268 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,900 But I'm going to use their words and I'm going to incorporate it into the manuscript. 269 00:14:18,900 --> 00:14:24,280 And I can do that and create a masterpiece because they gave me the words to say. 270 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,920 They made it easy for me in revising the Spanish script. 271 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:34,200 So number five is that criticism gives you the words that help you create the final masterpiece. 272 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,320 OK, number six. 273 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,000 And I alluded to this upfront. 274 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,640 Criticism is the sign that your work has value. 275 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,920 Now, if you're thinking to yourself, I don't even know if my work is worthy. 276 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,320 I have no idea if this really matters. 277 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:49,320 Yes. 278 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:51,280 Now, you know, you have the evidence. 279 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:52,280 Somebody criticized your work. 280 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,720 They said, this is this is awful. 281 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,440 This is what you should say instead. 282 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,960 And it's not awful. 283 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:00,160 You know, people are just people. 284 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,120 They're going to say those words are going to say this is the worst paper ever written. 285 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,600 And to be honest, the worst paper ever written is the worst paper is the paper that was never 286 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:08,600 written. 287 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:09,600 Your paper has been written. 288 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:10,960 It's no longer the worst. 289 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,120 It's it's important because it's it's actually spoken for for a while. 290 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:20,160 You were silent and then you finally spoke and therefore your work has value. 291 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,400 I mean, if something didn't have value, people wouldn't even give it the time or the light 292 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:24,400 of day. 293 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,680 They wouldn't even take time to read it because it's like they'll pick it up. 294 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,720 They'll look at it and say, this is total nonsense. 295 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,580 I am not even going to read it. 296 00:15:30,580 --> 00:15:35,600 And to the reviewer who wouldn't review my manuscript because they thought the topic 297 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:40,360 was so controversial, my work didn't have value to the other reviewers who actually 298 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,360 took time to give me feedback. 299 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,840 And thank you so much to reviewer number one with 56 comments. 300 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,800 That means, wow, this is so valuable that this person took time. 301 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,800 I have to tell you that if you are going to review a manuscript, 2500 words, this is not 302 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:56,800 a book. 303 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:03,800 If you're going to review a 2500 word manuscript and give 56 points of feedback, holy cow, 304 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:05,960 that is a lot of homework for any one person. 305 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:13,160 And if you took that much time to do the work that allows my paper to be improved. 306 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:19,760 Okay, clearly there is something to this paper because the alternative is to say, yeah, nonsense, 307 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:21,840 make three comments and be done. 308 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:26,440 But to make 56 comments, okay, I now know that this work has value. 309 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,560 And that is the sign to me that this is going to be a highly cited paper because if people 310 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,200 have written about it, it wouldn't really be a topic that was of interest. 311 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,880 And definitely there probably wouldn't be 56 comments because it's been written about, 312 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,400 you know, you're not saying anything new. 313 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,400 But I know that this paper is going to be really important and it really elevates the 314 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:46,400 value of my work. 315 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,800 Now, I think my work, all of my work is valuable. 316 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,240 I only do work that's valuable. 317 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,360 And sometimes I do work that's valuable and other people say not valuable, doesn't make 318 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:56,760 it any less valuable. 319 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:03,640 However, it is helpful when other people take time and invest time to critique my work because 320 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:09,520 I recognize that, okay, okay, this has value to other people too, not just me. 321 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:10,560 Good to know. 322 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,520 And I wouldn't know except that the reviewers invested all this time in telling me that, 323 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:17,720 hey, your work has value. 324 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,400 And that's why I'm taking all this time to critique it. 325 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,600 Okay, all right. 326 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:30,640 Number seven is that criticism is the sign that you've got to keep showing up. 327 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,920 Sometimes when we get critiques for our manuscripts, our grants, whatever it is that we submit 328 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:40,280 our talks, we wither, we shrink away and we're like, I'm not going to do this again. 329 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:41,880 The criticism is too strong. 330 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:43,360 But here's the thing. 331 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:48,800 The fact that you got criticized is the evidence that you need to show up again and again and 332 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:52,920 again and again, because you're not here really to impress the reviewers. 333 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,800 You're here for your work to be amplified. 334 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,640 And if people are saying that they're going to give you words to amplify your work, but 335 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,800 that they think your work is worthy to be amplified because it's criticized so much, 336 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:08,040 then you should show up and say your work or present your work again. 337 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:12,640 You don't shrink back and say, I'm never going to do this again, because honestly, the critiques 338 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,080 that you get from reviewers is not about you personally. 339 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:16,880 They don't even know you. 340 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:18,520 They don't know anything about you. 341 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,200 They've never seen you before. 342 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,320 They don't even know your name. 343 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:26,520 Okay, so by the time you've written 300 papers, by now the reviewers know who you are. 344 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,600 But for many of us, especially as we're starting out, people don't even know who they are. 345 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:30,600 We are. 346 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,040 They don't know what we like to eat for breakfast. 347 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:33,680 They don't know how many hours we slept last night. 348 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,280 They don't know what's going on in our families. 349 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:36,820 They don't know us. 350 00:18:36,820 --> 00:18:40,360 So if they are criticizing, it's not personal. 351 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:46,480 And I invite you not to take it personally, because nobody who doesn't know you can give 352 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,480 a critique that's personal. 353 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,760 It's not personal if they don't know you personally. 354 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:52,560 End of story. 355 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:57,520 But it's a sign that the work is valuable and it's valuable because you put it out there 356 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,800 and then they gave critiques that show you it's valuable. 357 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,200 And so, hey, you've got to show up again. 358 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,840 And yeah, you're going to show up again and get another set of criticisms, and then you 359 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:07,200 got to show up again. 360 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,160 You keep showing up, not so that you keep getting less criticisms, but because your 361 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:12,920 work matters. 362 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:18,660 You as the creator of the work are an important person to our community. 363 00:19:18,660 --> 00:19:20,860 And if you don't speak, we can't hear you. 364 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:23,960 If you don't write, we can't read what you write. 365 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,140 This paper didn't exist. 366 00:19:26,140 --> 00:19:28,800 And I took up the challenge and I wrote it. 367 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:31,040 And then people criticized me. 368 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,760 It's a sign that I got to take up more challenges and I had to write more. 369 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,200 Not the sign for me to shrink back. 370 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,280 So I want to invite you today. 371 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,240 Maybe there was a manuscript that's sitting under your desk that you said, I'm not going 372 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,480 to resubmit this because the criticisms were too harsh. 373 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,320 I want you to look at that manuscript again. 374 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:54,960 I want you to recognize the criticism and the value of the critiques for what they are. 375 00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:00,160 Evidence that your work matters, that people care enough to give you feedback, whether 376 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:01,160 good or bad. 377 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:07,080 They care enough to vilify this manuscript because it needs to have value and it has 378 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,080 potential. 379 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:13,960 So I invite you to dust off your old manuscript that is waiting for the revise and resubmit. 380 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,480 I want to invite you to revise and resubmit it. 381 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,120 And for those of you who have said writing is not for me because the criticism is too 382 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:26,880 much, I want to invite you to put the criticism aside from your personhood. 383 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:32,120 And I want you to take up the manuscript and write again. 384 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:36,080 We need you writing because a silent voice has no power. 385 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:43,280 The more we hear your voice, whether audibly like you're hearing mine or in writing, the 386 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,520 more power you are demonstrating. 387 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,080 So please take up your power. 388 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,440 Don't let the reviewers get to you and submit your manuscript. 389 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,920 All right, I'm going to summarize those seven reasons why or how you use review or criticisms 390 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,280 to your advantage. 391 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,560 Number one, take it as a sign that you've done something amazing. 392 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,600 Number two, take it as evidence that people care about what you're saying. 393 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:15,800 Number three, discover through this criticism what people actually care about. 394 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,680 Number four, discover through the criticisms what people are likely to complain about and 395 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,200 do something about it in advance. 396 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,480 Number five, you receive the words to create a masterpiece. 397 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:31,560 Number six, it's the sign that your work has value. 398 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:35,840 And number seven, it's the sign that you've got to keep showing up. 399 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:36,840 You got to keep showing up. 400 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,520 All right, it's been a pleasure talking with you today. 401 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,440 Thank you so much for letting me share with you what I am learning. 402 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:49,640 I'm going to go back to revising that manuscript now, which is taking a long time. 403 00:21:49,640 --> 00:22:04,920 Have a great day, and I look forward to seeing you again next time on the Clinician Researcher 404 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:05,920 Podcast. 405 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:06,920 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic 406 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:11,920 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 407 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:12,920 have a mentor. 408 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:19,560 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 409 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,640 Someone else needs to hear it. 410 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,700 So take a minute right now and share it. 411 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:31,160 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 412 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:50,080 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.