1. Find a niche for yourself. You really have to think long and hard about it. What do you really want to do? What do you want to do beyond fellowship? I really think it’s important during fellowship to be choosy in what you do outside of the clinical world. You’re asked to do a project, what’ll it be? From my perspective, the acronym FINER, in which the first two letters, F and I, feasible and interesting, are the most important. It has to be interesting to you. It has to make you wake up in the morning and be excited. And it’s the mentor’s job to make sure it’s feasible. It’s the mentor’s job to help figure out how to make that path during fellowship the right path.
2. Meet people in person. I like to sit in a room with a whiteboard and the fellows and just discuss what they’re doing. I love it. And I think it really adds a richness to the work world. I think it’s important to see that meeting people in person is important early on in your career, and you’re going to do it forever, because you’ll see the reward.
3. Challenge dogma. Nicely, of course, particularly when you’re challenging faculty in the ED. It’s one of those things that’ll keep you going through the years. You’re going to have to look at your own practice, be honest with yourself, challenge yourself, challenge the dogma in yourself and look and figure out how to do things better. It’s kept me going. It’s about understanding that things aren’t set in stone and always looking to improve.
Dr. Peter Dayan, MD, is a board-certified pediatric emergency medicine physician and a Professor of Pediatrics (in Emergency Medicine) at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Dayan’s primary academic interest is in conducting and mentorship of research relevant to care of acutely ill or injured children. His main contributions have come through 20 years of participation and leadership in multicenter research, including as principal or senior investigator of studies conducted in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). He can be reached at psd6@cumc.columbia.edu.
