The Medicine Mentors Podcast Mentors in Medicine

Konstantinos Arnaoutakis, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine In the Division of Hematology and Oncology. He also serves as the Program Director of Hematology Oncology fellowship at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His primary research interests are lung cancer and novel therapies. He is the Coordinator of the Thoracic Malignancy disease-oriented committee (DOC).
“They say it takes two to tango.” Recognizing the value of the mentoring relationship means understanding both sides have their own perspective. Join us in a discussion on the Medicine Mentors with Dr. Konstantinos Arnaoutakis and his mentee, Dr. Arya Mariam Roy, as we dive into the specifics of mentorship from both sides of the coin. Tune in as we chat about how important it is for mentees to initiate mentorship and how a mentor can help their pupils in more than one way, as Dr. Arnaoutakis says, “successful physicians never became successful on their own.”
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. A self-made man is a flawed concept based in ignorance. Just so, successful physicians never become successful without a mentor.  
2. A mentor wears many hats. They should be invested in your professional as well as your personal development. In such a long-standing relationship, they should invest time into the work you’ve put in as well as giving honest feedback. 
3. The mentee should  take the first step into the mentoring relationship and be able to follow through with expectations of working hard, being trustworthy, and caring. 
4. Trustworthiness comes from caring well for your patients, for yourself, and for the community in general. Don’t worry about your capability, as long as you’re hardworking, honest, and care, capability will come along with that.

Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD, is the Chief of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is an internationally renowned medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Janjigian runs clinical and translational studies designed to develop better prevention, early diagnosis, staging and treatment strategies for patients with esophageal and stomach cancer. She is a recipient of numerous awards and was recently inducted as a member of American Society of Clinical Investigation.
“Oftentimes, fellows will present every detail of how the patient presented, the quality of their dysphagia, what they could eat and not eat for a patient with known biopsy positive gastric cancer and skim over the fact that the patient lives three hours away and can’t participate in a clinical trial or that they are scared to death of having a port placed because they recently had a love one die of cancer who had a port. It's an understanding of barriers, fears, and social background that ultimately guides treatment. As a trainee, learn to get the patient to tell you things that are not in the chart.” Join us on an inspiring journey from Azerbaijan to New York with Dr. Yelena Janjigian, the Chief of GI Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. We should be closers: People who can who can start and finish a project, bring something to fruition and close on it before progressing to the next stage. 
2. The ability to get patients to talk about what’s not in the charts by breaking down barriers will create a sure-fire marker of greatness in a physician. 
3. In the world of medicine, leadership is not about dictating or directing, it’s more about serving and supporting the people under us and around us.

Tyler Johnson, MD, is a physician, author, educator, and humanitarian. He is a medical oncologist at Stanford University. He leads Stanford’s inpatient oncology services, and is one of the principal faculty members of the Stanford Educators-4-CARE program. Dr. Johnson is an author with a growing reputation for insightful analysis of the intersection of medicine, ethics, and spirituality; his writings have been featured by Religion News Service, the Salt Lake Tribune, BYU Studies, Dialogue, and The San Jose Mercury News. Dr. Johnson co-hosts "The Doctor's Art," the world's leading podcast dedicated to the examination of humanism in medicine.
“There is an element to [being a physician] that you just can’t find good words to describe other than things like spiritual and sacred.” While some have trouble finding the right words for it, Dr. Tyler Johnson provides us with a great one - ineffable. Tune in to an enlightening discussion with author, educator, host of ‘The Doctor’s Art’, and medical oncologist at Stanford University, Dr. Johnson, as we explore the ineffable side of medicine that drives us. Join us as we tap into the spiritual side of medicine, find out why kneeling and being eye-level to a patient can “puncture the aura of arrogance,” and why “we have to hold a space for mystery within medicine” to keep our passion from extinguishing.
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. Treat rigorously but care tenderly. In order to care we must relate, and a quick way to puncture the aura of arrogance typified with a doctor is to kneel at a patient’s bedside, or at least be eye level. Seeing someone eye to eye communicates a message that says I’m here to serve you. 
2. On the path to achieving great heights, don’t forget to remember the permanent things like relationships and the journey that sustain you. Your promotion or job will not love you back. 
3. It doesn’t have to be a church or an organization but lend yourself to a group that holds you accountable to a higher power or standard than yourself. Connect with something bigger than yourself that makes you reflect upon your actions in ways you don’t already.

Marcel van den Brink, MD,  is the Head and Alan N. Houghton Chair of the Division of Hematologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is internationally renowned for his work in the field of bone marrow transplantation, the gut microbiome, and immunotherapy. He is also the Co-Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Chairman of the Board of DKMS, an international nonprofit organization devoted to bone marrow donor registration. He is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and he has been elected to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for his contributions in the field of hematologic malignancies.
“Finding solutions is often as simple as shutting up and listening to what people formulate as the problem and what they have thought of as the answer. Without fail, I’m surprised that they’ve got something better than I could have come up with.” Join us in this episode of The Medicine Mentors where Chairman of Heme Malignancies at MSKCC, Dr. Marcel van den Brink, shares tips of effective leadership. Tune in as we learn about the five-minute ‘no talking, only listening’ rule at the start of meetings and why the best leaders find comfort in not knowing everything.
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. We will be leaders before we know it, and the simple formula of leadership is listening. When we conduct meetings, all we have to do is be quiet for the first five minutes and listen.
2. To know when we are ready to move on to the next stage, the next level, we have to know what we don’t know, that is, do we know how to prioritize what matters, and if not, are we ready to seek help for it?
3. Failure and success often follow a 9:1 ratio, and so, to increase our chances of success, we should try our hands in different endeavors to see where we can truly shine.
4. Just like listening is the pathway to leadership, respect is the pathway to teamwork, and we should be mindful of it in our day-to-day interactions.

Saby George, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Oncology and Medicine within the Department of Medicine and Director of Network Clinical Trials at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a prominent clinical investigator in the kidney cancer space. Dr George is passionate about teaching and mentoring and is a champion advocate for his fellows.
“I was lucky enough to work with some great mentors and envisioned a career I’d like.” Illustrating the power of mentorship, we sit down with Dr. Saby George in a discussion on mentorship, best practices for researchers, and why it’s important for mentors to be unselfish and encourage independence. Join us on another empowering episode of the Medicine Mentors, as we dive into the fine print of mentorship from a master researcher and lauded mentor. Tune in as Dr. George shares with us the mentors that helped guide him to the position he’s in now, how he actively champions mentees by offering independent opportunities, and how the best piece of advice he got was simply to be more patient.
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. When looking for success in medicine, you must look at the legacy you’re leaving behind. Mentorship helps us create an environment that continuously strives to push the field forward and leave behind a track-record of improving.
2. A few things to keep in mind when looking for mentors are: competing interests between a mentor and mentee should be avoided, and entering the relationship with honesty and truthfulness will prove to provide a strong relationship.
3. When identifying the traits of a great mentor, you should be able to see that your mentor is invested in seeing you succeed, is unselfish, and able to give honest feedback along with reasonable goals and expectations. 
4. While it can be comfortable to work under the supervision of a mentor, a good mentee should seek out opportunities for growth and independence. Your mentor should provide you with roles and opportunities that help you feel comfortable in your skin. 
5. A small but often overlooked detail for clinical and basic science researchers is to make sure you’re setting realistic timelines and following through. Especially for conferences or studies, be sure to follow through and stay persistent. 

Enrico Novelli MD, is a classical (benign) hematologist, the Section Chief of the Benign Hematology, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is the Medical Director of the UPMC Adult Sickle Cell Disease Program. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Milan, Italy in 1996. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where he developed expertise in cellular biology and gene therapy. Subsequently, he pursued his residency and fellowship at UPMC, where he joined as faculty after graduating. He has numerous publications about vascular dysfunction in sickle cell disease and serves as a scientific reviewer for many journals, the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
“It’s an important component of mentoring; things you may not necessarily teach formally but that you can communicate through nonverbal behavior.” Illustrating the importance of learning “beyond our horizons” through mentors who showed him lessons outside of the classroom, Dr. Enrico Novelli joins us in another episode of The Medicine Mentors. Tune in as we learn about his journey from Italy to the States and how he continues to lead by showing “optimism, excitement, and faith” in every mentoring opportunity.
Pearls of Wisdom:
 
1. It’s easy to feel stuck in a situation but with new experiences come new perspectives, be sure to broaden your horizons and seek new challenges on your journey. 
2. A good mentoring relationship requires a fine balance of two energies. A mentor should inspire passion and curiosity while remaining on the sidelines, and a mentee must be receptive to feedback and be coachable in order to grow.
3. It’s important to ask yourself sooner rather than later what your long-term career goals are. Finding a niche can require some experimentation, especially in academia. No matter the direction, success requires a plan.