- What are your roles and responsibilities with Academic Medicine?
My two primary roles are to assist with editorial input and decision making for Innovation Reports and Teaching and Learning Moments.I have also completed editorial reviews on various research papers; coauthored a commentary; and cohosted a podcast episode on well-being in medical education, my area of academic interest.
- What do you enjoy most about your work with Academic Medicine?
The people! I have really loved—and been surprised by—how much teamwork there is in the editorial process. The entire editorial team brings a highly collegial and collaborative approach to the daunting task of managing a high-quality journal like Academic Medicine. I have benefited greatly through the bidirectional mentorship and support that flows across all levels of the editorial process and that is bound by the high-level commitment to another amazing group of people: the authors who entrust their work to the journal’s team. Recognizing this has caused me to ultimately conceptualize my assistant editor position as an act of service to our community and it has been incredibly rewarding to partner with authors to enhance the quality of their work. At the same time, I have benefitted greatly by learning from their work and receiving mentorship from the more seasoned members of the journal’s editorial team.
- Describe your work outside of Academic Medicine.
I have a truly amazing—and very challenging—job as a family medicine physician, residency program director, medical educator, and researcher. One of the things that has surprised me most over the early part of my career has been the extent to which I have come to identify as a teacher and (budding) scholar, sometimes more so than as a physician. My academic work focuses on how medical trainees experience the self-conscious emotion of shame, and I have experienced profound meaning and satisfaction as our team has delved deeply into this complex topic.
- What was your first publication?
I have Academic Medicine and the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC’s) Organization of Resident Representatives (ORR)to thank for my first publication, an essay about how advancing technology in health care threatens to undermine the human connection required for better health (https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2014/02000/Why_Physicians_Need_to_Be_More_Than_Automated.11.aspx). The essay began as a speech at the AAMC’s annual Learn Serve Lead meeting during an ORR-sponsored session about technological advancement in medicine. A thoughtful audience member approached me afterwards and encouraged me to try and publish it. What turned out to be the first piece of editorial advice I ever received catalyzed my love of writing and the process of scholarly publication.
- What’s making you happy right now?
That’s an easy one: my family. I have an amazing partner, my wife Carson, and two young boys (Mason and Brady, aged 2 and 3) who bring an immeasurable amount of happiness to my everyday life. I also derive an incredible amount of joy from working with the residents, medical students, and other team members in our department and am fortunate to be able to conduct meaningful research and participate in roles such as this one as a part of my job. The time and energy demands of my family and work lives are significant, but the meaning and purpose I derive from them are incredibly fulfilling and sustaining.