Day Nine: Network Your Way To Professional Success

First let me say that this is my 100th blog post. Second, I had the best frozen custard of my life today in St Louis. And now on to networking.

When I think of networking I think of handing out business cards and going to lame networking events where one is forced to "work the room" speed dating style. Neither of these appeals to me and my introvert personality. However, in reading more about networking, I realized there is a much broader definition of the term and that I could network and still be true to myself. Networking is defined as "meeting an extended group of people to form mutually beneficial relationships that provide assistance and support over time." If you expand the term meeting to include social networking sites and interpret a group of people to mean many people but one at a time, it doesn't sound quite so intimidating. We network every single day without even realizing it. Now is your time to use those opportunities to your benefit.

Looking back, I realize that I found my last two jobs through networking. When I was finishing fellowship and still without a job, I got a page one afternoon from the pediatric residency program director. She asked me if I was still looking for a job and of course I told her yes. She mentioned that the head of the neonatology division had called her because a position opened up and he asked her if she knew of any good candidates. She immediately thought of me. Prior to this, I had only spoken to her one other time about something unrelated so was flattered that she even remembered me. She gave me his phone number, I called and told him she sent me, I interviewed, and he offered me the job on the spot. You never know when a brief interaction with someone of status will lead to an opportunity. Even if you never think you will interact with that person again, put your best foot forward. Always. When looking for my next job, I remembered that a resident I had worked with in Chicago was currently living in Madison and working as a hospitalist. I had run into her a few months before at the Pediatric Hospital Medicine conference and mentioned that I would be looking for a job soon. She raved about her position and her coworkers but I didn't really think much of it because I had my heart set on leaving the Midwest. Six months later I thought about her and decided to inquire about a position in Madison just in case I didn't find a job I wanted in a warmer climate. Much to my husband's dismay, the job turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. She put in a good word for me and here I am, one year and a snowblower later.

My take on the concept of networking is this: grab every opportunity, accept every invitation you can, sit on panels and committees, volunteer for tasks nobody else has the time for, explore possibilities even briefly, teach classes, write blogs, and sell yourself. That is the essence of networking and that is how you are ultimately going to own your success.

Begging For a Voice of Reason

Can I share something that's gotten me a little freaked out? Starting in July I will be one of two hospitalists out of a group of ten who work full time. Eighty percent of my division will work less than full time. I just can't wrap my brain around that. It's not that I see myself as some sort of gunner who is married to her job. I don't think of myself as particularly more committed to being a physician than those who choose to spend more time at home with their families. But....I don't know what to think. Am I doing something wrong by working full time? Is there something that makes full time so much less desirable than part time that I'm missing? Did I get off track somehow? Was the path to job satisfaction supposed to be medical school --> residency --> find a husband --> work part time at the field that you love? A good friend of mine is a general pediatrician and initially worked full time but then cut back to 4 days a week a couple of years ago. She is single and has no children but felt that she was getting burned out working 5 days a week in a clinic and now loves having every Friday off. She is certainly not the only physician intent on preventing burnout and promoting life-work balance and job satisfaction. Check out this article

Here's why I'm anxious. I'm afraid of the dynamic of the group when only 2 of us are working more than everyone else. I'm afraid that I'm missing something important, some strategic career move that I'm not privy to. I'm afraid to be backed into a corner if/when I finally do get the memo that I too should be working part time and then can't. (Have you ever heard of an academic division made up entirely of part time physicians? Me neither.) I'm not judging anyone who has made the decision to work part time. I've just never pictured myself doing that. And now I'm afraid I should have.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Coming up on my 6 month anniversary at my new job, I've realized that I am slowly but surely gaining confidence in my clinical judgement. Here's how I know. Last night I admitted a child with a complaint of limping and leg pain. The story was suspicious for infection, hence the reason for admission. However, when the residents examined him his pain was gone and he was well and playing. He's already admitted at this point, it's late at night, and the seed has been planted that this child may have a bone or joint infection that needs to be evaluated. So, I did what any self respecting physician would do. Nothing. I am a firm believer in these two ideas:

1. Don't just do something, stand there.

2. A child will declare themselves when the time is right.

I figured I'd give the child the benefit of observation overnight knowing that time would tell me what I needed to know...whether or not I should pursue a workup. I explained that to the daytime hospitalist this morning, feeling a little bit silly in the light of day that I admitted a child and then did nothing, but she seemed to understand and agree.

I ran into her at the end of the day and asked about the boy. Turns out, he remained well and did not have any leg pain throughout the day so she sent him home. Here's the rub. His labs suggested a high level of inflammation going on but that did not fit the way he looked. This brings me to a third idea I hold dear.

3. Treat the patient, not the lab values.

Unfortunately for her, another physician heard about the case and clearly does not believe in the three ideas I've listed above because he felt that more should have been done and that the child was sent home in error. Despite the fact that he looked like a peach from the minute he arrived on the floor. Then this other physician asked the dreaded "Who staffed this patient last night?!" Now, 6 months ago had I heard this story I would have turned red, my stomach would have dropped and I would not have been able to let that comment go without picking it apart, losing sleep and berating myself for missing something. But today, 6 months later? I just thought, "Huh. That's funny." And let it go. I will not lose sleep over this tonight. I will not let his Tuesday morning quarterbacking make me feel less than. And I will continue to practice by those 3 ideas, because that is what I feel is best for my patients. And I am their doctor.

Another Awesome Word I Didn't Create

Intrapreneurship. Know what it is? I didn't think so. It's another awesome word I didn't come up with myself. Like 'bromance', 'bootylicious', and 'staycation'. It is defined as follows:

While an entrepreneur ventures out on their own to pursue an idea, an intrapreneur does this within the organization in which they already work. It could be creating a new product, coming up with an innovative idea, or improving a service.

I'm an intrapreneur right now and I didn't even realize it! Here's what i'm up to. As part of an academic hospitalist division, I felt that we needed to do more...academic things. So, I am in the midst of trying to drum up enthusiasm for starting a divisional journal club. That's important right? We are responsible for teaching and modeling for medical students and residents so we should attempt to uphold the academic standards on which our profession was built. Here's my issue, albeit a minor one. I'm not sure that everyone is quite as passionate about reading journal articles as I am. So let's say that only half of our division wants to participate and the other half aren't that interested. Should I make it totally voluntary? I foresee that becoming pushed by the wayside when other 'mandatory' things come up. Soon enough it might be a club of 2 members. And that's sort of sad. But, if I make a schedule with everyone assigned to a month in which they are responsible for journal club, I'm afraid I will make some enemies. And they will whisper "who the hell does she think she is?!", preferably to my back and not to my face. Yes, I worry about these things.

So, the concept I am "intrapreneuring" is a division journal club. But really maybe I should be inventing a way to make learning a passionate endeavor for all.