Lidia Schapira, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute and Director of Stanford's Cancer Survivorship program. A nationally renowned expert in breast cancer, Dr. Schapira has pioneered workshops and helped develop innovative educational programs to improve the communication skills of cancer clinicians by building experienced and compassionate teams. She has been a champion of promoting patient activation and self-management at all phases of the cancer journey. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of cancer.net, and consultant editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology. She also hosts JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology podcast which features stories, dialogue, and personal reflections that explore the experience of living with cancer or caring for people with cancer. 

“We need to redefine what we mean by failure and success. Failure is not that the patient dies. Failure is that the patient dies abandoned, alone, or in pain. One can still die of an incurable illness, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we as the treating physicians have failed. If we can figure out how to treat an illness and support a person in a family, this is the best combination.” In this episode of The Medicine Mentors, Dr. Lidia Schapira offers an innovative perspective on success, teaches us how to find strength in the bleakest moments, and mentors us on how to outgrow conventional definitions of failure.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. The most important thing to look for within is what it is that tickles us, inspires us. Then trying to preserve at least some of our time to work on that to keep us engaged.  2. The Art of Oncology is finding the human side of the patients we care for.   3. I do this meditative hand-washing before I enter a room so I can be fully present and let them know I’m interested in them, not just the disease.  4. Have an open mind and be very curious, pursue answers in places that aren’t obvious. 5. I’ve learned over the years to sit with emotion and not be eager to fix or stop it. Support people by letting them express their emotions.

Daniel Laheru , MD, is the Professor of Oncology and Co-Director of Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He holds the Ian MacMillian Professorship in Clinical Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Laheru has developed a vaccine along with Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, that supercharges the immune system and causes immune cells, which tend to be tolerant of cancer, to seek out and kill pancreatic cancer cells throughout the body. He is a Member of the Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, Member of Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Associated Director of the Institute for Convergence Science. 

“There's no job that's insignificant here. Whatever you're doing, you need to do it to the best of your abilities.” A monumental lesson from Dr. Daniel Laheru’s parents taught him to notice the janitor who moves by silently in the corner, the nurse who works overtime without appreciation, and the security guard who passes a silent glance at every passerby. In this episode of The Medicine Mentors, Dr. Daniel Laheru explains recognizing the interconnected nature of every person’s role in the infrastructure of medicine, instilling gratitude in our practice, and paying it back by paying it forward.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Enjoy the time that you’re a student because you’ll wonder what you did with all your time after. The future is entirely open to you, the ceiling is what you make it. 2. I’m happy doing what I’m doing right now, and if I can do this five years from now, I’ll be ecstatic.  3. The fellows, residents, and medical students are the lifeblood of the institution and the next generation so don’t be shy about asking somebody if they have time to meet with you.  4. A good mentor is like a parent in the sense that they put your goals ahead of their own. My mentor really saw my future before I was able to understand it for myself. 5. The little things in the course of a day actually make a big difference. Thanking and appreciating someone goes a long way.

Timothy Gilligan, MD, is the Vice-Chair for Education and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. He also serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Graduate Medical Education at Cleveland Clinic. He is a nationally recognized expert in Genitourinary Cancers and a thought leader in healthcare communication. He is President of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare and is the co-editor of the book Communication the Cleveland Clinic Way.

“Find people who have a track record of mentorship. There are plenty of smart people who are very successful but aren't great mentors.” According to Dr. Timothy Gilligan, being drawn to accolade holders is not the answer to our mentorship troubles. When he was still a young trainee, he recounts how his mentors sometimes enlightened him with direct answers and other times set him on the course to find them on his own, drawing a map and only acting as guides in his journey. In this episode of The Medicine Mentors, Dr. Timothy Gilligan teaches us to identify the significant predictors of mentors who will help us navigate medicine’s pathways. Tune in for more.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Humanizing medicine should be our priority, and we can do that by approaching medicine with humility, and by having a mindset of showing up and being present with the patient. 2. As mentees, we should focus on people with a proven track record of mentorship, someone who will draw a map for you and let you navigate the landscape of medicine. Once we find those people, all that remains is to reach out to them.  3. If we're not actively participating in the solution, then we are part of the problem, and the first step to finding that solution is to acknowledge the problem’s existence.  4. The essence of the art of communication is talking less and listening more, and the three questions that will help us achieve that are, “What does the patient need to know?”, “What does the patient already know?”, and, “What does the patient want to know?”

Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, is the Vice Chair of Oncology Operations, Regional Cancer Network at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In the past, she has served as the President of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Medical Staff. Dr. Reidy-Lagunes’ primary focus is treating gastrointestinal cancers and developing methods to integrate molecular-based therapies into the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, as well as designing and conducting clinical trials to better treatment strategies for patients with this uncommon cancer type. At a national level, she is a member of the National Cancer Institute neuroendocrine tumor task force and the Neuroendocrine Tumor Biospecimen Consortium. She is also the Creator and Host of Cancer Straight Talk Podcast which brings together national experts and patients with cancer to have straightforward, evidence-based conversations.

"I was caring for an amazing woman who understood her sickness, but her husband was upset. She often asked him to leave the room when she spoke with the medical team. She ultimately opted for hospice and passed away after three months. Her husband called and said that I killed his wife. I didn't hear anything for a few months, and then, one Saturday morning, a floor head nurse calls and says, ‘Dr. Reidy, there's a protest outside and they have your picture on the poster.' I wanted to die...I couldn't get over that this was happening. I immediately called my mentor Dr. Lenny Saltz....” Join us for this special episode with oncologist and host of the Cancer Straight Talk Podcast Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes as she shares the impact mentors can have, not only professionally, but in dealing with major life crises.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Let passion lead your innovation. Anybody can have a smart idea, but actually executing on the plan and following up takes passion. Passion takes commitment so it’s important to ask yourself if you’re happy with where you’re at in life and where you’ll be in 5-10 years. 2. Innovation is not just coming up with a new plan for something, it takes building and testing. If you’re told that your idea won’t work but you believe in it, try it out and see if the final product doesn’t change minds.  3. Sometimes we can think of teamwork as the opposite of leadership, but true teamwork and true leadership both have the same thing in common; groups of people working together toward a singular goal. Good leadership and good teamwork come from setting good examples for each other.  4. In your career as a physician, you’ll make mistakes or be blamed for things out of your control. It’s important in these moments to have people you can call for clarity, but also to know that mistakes are portals to discovery and action.

Rachna Shroff, MD, is the Chief of the division of Hematology/Oncology and Associate Director for Clinical Research at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She is a clinical and translational investigator focused on developing novel targeted therapies and immunotherapies for pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers and has led multiple clinical trials including the first randomized phase 3 trial in biliary cancers in the US. An internationally recognized expert, she is one of three women to achieve the prestigious 2022 Women in Oncology Award.

“You have to understand your why and then let that drive you… be open-minded and try all kinds of different activities and opportunities. It’s a little bit of throwing darts at a dartboard and seeing what sticks, and then going with your gut. Ask yourself, ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’ Once you understand your legacy, you can create metrics for [your] success." In this episode of The Medicine Mentors, we discuss discovering our why and creating a long-lasting legacy with Dr. Rachna Shroff.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1.  ‘What do you want your legacy to be?’ is a different question than ‘What is your why?’ Once we understand what we want our legacy to be, we can start creating the metrics for success. 2. It’s essential to have the right people on board and maintain that network of mentors. One of the secrets to maintaining this network is to stay connected with them and keep them updated with what's going on in our lives. 3. If we can first learn how to take good care of patients, we’ll identify the needs because the paramount questions come from the clinic. It will take a while, but our persistence, diligence, hard work, and patience will pay off.

Elizabeth Jaffee, MD, is an internationally recognized expert in cancer immunology and pancreatic cancer. She is the Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Co-director of the Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer and Associate Director of the Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Her research focuses on developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Jaffee is a past president of AACR. She has served on a number of committees at the National Cancer Institute including the Co-chair of the Biden Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel which identified high research priorities for the NCI.

“You can be an amazing scientist, but what's most important is that whatever you do in science has implications for the patient.” From being inspired by Dr. Marie Curie’s biography as a child to now becoming one of the leading names in pancreatic cancer research internationally, Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee helps us re-focus on the patient and our role as ‘physician’ scientists. Tune in to this episode of The Medicine Mentors as we journey with Dr. Jaffee to connect the science with the patient.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Regardless of the direction we take in our professional journey, we have to keep the implications of our actions and research focused on our patients and how we can help them. 2. While leadership is a forefront activity and mentorship an educational activity, both can be thought of as similar in that you’re helping someone become the best version of themselves. That means taking into account each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and tailoring that to the intended outcome. 3. Don’t have just one mentor. It’s futile hoping that one person can teach you everything you’ll need to know. Find a network of individuals that can help you, which starts by putting yourself out there as someone who wants to do more and wants help.

 

Robert Mayer, MD, is the Faculty Vice President for Academic Affairs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Stephen B. Kay Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he serves as the Faculty Associate Dean for Admissions. He directed the Dana Farber’s Medical Oncology Fellowship Program for over thirty years, overseeing the training of several hundred oncologists and established the Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Mayer is a past president of American Society of Clinical Oncology and has been a recipient of numerous awards including ASCO’s Distinguished Achievement Award and the prestigious Giants of Cancer Care award.

“Medicine is complicated now, [but] it's still the basic principle of people caring for people, trying to do good and making their lives better. I always tell people, ‘Put your feet in the water and see what there might be.’ Try different things; don't think you know the answer before you really have a chance to see what all the opportunities are. When people give you a chance, take an interest in you, advise you, or guide you, say yes, listen, and go for it. Those are opportunities that are very special.” Having been provided rare opportunities by his mentors, Dr. Robert Mayer now does the same for his mentees. Tune into this episode of The Medicine Mentors to learn more.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Availability is the key value of implementing a patient-first attitude because we have less time to get to know the patient and yet still have a responsibility to build the same level of comfort for their care. 2. Instead of looking for success in accolades and accomplishments, true success for physicians is knowing your patients and treating them over time. Caring for someone and keeping them priority means being a successful physician. 3. If somebody takes a chance on us, the least we can do is put our foot in the water and say yes, because those are opportunities that are very special.

Charles W. Sorenson, MD, is the President and CEO Emeritus of Intermountain Healthcare and the Founding Director of the Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute. Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit system of 33 hospitals (including virtual hospitals), a Medical Group with more than 3,800 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at about 385 clinics. Prior to that, he served for eleven years as Intermountain’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Currently he serves as an Executive Coach at MEDI, the largest executive coaching firm in the nation dedicated exclusively to the healthcare industry. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah. He has been noted amongst 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare.

“Be capable, be affable, and be available. You've got to first become a very capable physician, and just going to medical school or even doing residency doesn't do it. So, do your best to become a doctor's doctor.” Dr. Charles Sorenson, the Founding Director of Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute, has been at the forefront of medicine’s leadership for decades now. Join us in this episode of The Medicine Mentors as Dr. Charles Sorenson shares his transformation from being a surgeon to becoming an influential healthcare leader, the elements needed for tomorrow’s physician leader, and how to be a force of trust in healthcare.

Pearls of Wisdom:   1. Try to employ a ‘success without side effects’ mentality, where putting the interests of your patients before your own becomes the point of success and not whatever outcome you expected.  2. A professional is one who is cognisant of how they affect a team or a patient. The patient’s best interest is also a professional’s best interest.  3. A leader doesn’t always need a professional title or role. Learn to lead in the role you have now. In other words, learn to harness the referent power you have everyday to influence and change things for the better. Improve upon your character and competence follows.  4. Leadership means being affable, available, and capable. Being affable means having the humility to recognize your own limitations and knowing when to seek out advice or help. Being available means saying yes to opportunities and being open to risk. Being capable means to not only be a competent physician but learning to be a ‘doctor’s doctor.’

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.