Faculty Factory

Today's episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast is about the need for strong leadership in the face of uncertainty. It features a recording from a recent lecture led by Faculty Factory Podcast host Kimberly Skarupski, PhD, MPH. If you'd like to see any visuals from the lecture, please visit our Faculty Factory YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/VxcRU1ZzGow  Dr. Skarupski is Associate Vice Provost, Leadership Development, in the Office of Faculty Affairs with UTMB Health in Galveston, Texas. She is a tenured Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics in the John Sealy School of Medicine and in the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public and Population Health. The talk explores strategies for staying grounded, communicating with clarity, and supporting your postdocs through uncertain times. This lecture has been edited and repurposed to provide a friendly podcast listening experience. Learn more about the Faculty Factory: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

According to our guest on the Faculty Factory Podcast this week, Binata Mukherjee, MD, MBA, “one must know thyself” before one can lead change. We are excited to have Dr. Mukherjee join our show this week as a first-time guest, and we anticipate that she will become a repeat Faculty Factory Podcast guest as her wisdom shines throughout today’s discussion. At the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Dr. Mukherjee serves as Assistant Dean for Faculty and Professional Development in the Whiddon College of Medicine and is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine with USA Health. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Professor in Management and Director of Healthcare Leadership Initiatives in the Mitchell College of Business. Learn more: https://facultyfactory.org/Binata-Mukherjee 

Our return guest this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast is Adam D. Wolfe, MD, PhD. Dr. Wolfe shares with us some key communication strategies for better conflict resolution and team building, some of which can also assist with sharing life-altering information with patients in the clinic. The techniques outlined in this episode are designed to help prevent conflict and preserve interprofessional relationships when inevitable tensions arise. Dr. Wolfe is the Interim Division Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at CHRISTUS Children’s, affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine in San Antonio, and is also the Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program. Additionally, he serves as the Assistant Dean of Medical Education and holds the Jann L. Harrison Endowed Chair in Pediatric Graduate Medical Education. “If you start with goals, you can often end a lot of conflict by simply restating what it is you're all trying to accomplish,” Dr. Wolfe said. Not only do many of the strategies outlined in the interview work well with professional colleagues at work, but these same principles often apply to when you're talking to families in a clinical situation, as we learn in the latter stages of this interview. “Do whatever you can to preserve your interpersonal relationships. If you are in conflict, think about how you can preserve that relationship so that person can remain available to you and you can remain available to them… it’s what makes this work rewarding,” Dr. Wolfe added. More Resources and Next Steps Visit FacultyFactory.org: https://facultyfactory.org/  Learn more about the GRPI Model of Team Effectiveness: https://www.aihr.com/blog/grpi-model/ Learn more about SPIKES for delivering bad news: https://healthcare.utah.edu/integrative-health/resiliency-center Listen to Dr. Wolfe’s first appearance on the Faculty Factory here: https://facultyfactory.org/adam-wolfe/ Contact Dr Wolfe with questions here via email: Wolfe@bcm.edu You can also listen to the Dr. Ludy Shih episode that was mentioned in this interview titled “How to Make Meetings in Academic Medicine Work for You”: https://facultyfactory.org/meetings/

The topic of belonging and why it is so crucial to a healthy and high-functioning work environment within academic medicine is explored this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast with our esteemed return guest, Rakhee K. Bhayani, MD. Dr. Bhayani first joined our program in April 2022 for an episode covering career changes/pivots, identifying your purpose, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. You can revisit that discussion here: https://facultyfactory.org/rakhee-bhayani. She serves as Professor of Medicine and is the Vice Chair for Advancing Women’s Careers in the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "If we come to work and we have to specifically hide a part of who we are, that's mental energy and a tax that we're taking away from the work that we're doing,” she said. We welcome her back with open arms this week for an important and timely conversation on belonging’s role in academic medicine and workplace culture. "Our goal is to help others feel comfortable and have that sense of safety, allowing them to bring their whole selves to work. This way, they can focus their energy on their work rather than expending mental energy on censoring parts of themselves to feel valued,” she added. Keep The Conversation Going Are you new to our show? Here are some similar Faculty Factory Podcasts to explore: Building a Sense of Belonging: A Faculty Factory Reunion with Heather Brod Identity Integration and Bringing Our Best Selves to Work with Jennifer Best, MD You can also find the full back catalog of the Faculty Factory Podcast here.  For feedback, questions, comments, and more information on how you can join the Faculty Factory as a guest, please visit our contact us homepage.

Claudia Hilton, PhD, MBA, OTR, FAOTA, makes her debut on the Faculty Factory Podcast this week, sharing her journey into systematic reviews and emphasizing the value they provide in promoting critical thinking and research skills among students, learners, and early-career faculty. Dr. Hilton serves as Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) School of Health Professions in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Despite facing skepticism from peers about the practicality of systematic reviews with students, her persistence has led to the successful and innovative implementation of this approach over the years at UTMB. "I have had naysayers tell me that you can't do systematic reviews with students. However, we have already published about 20 of them. So I say, yes, we can, but there are certain things you need to consider to make it successful," Dr. Hilton said. Through Dr. Hilton's enthusiasm we celebrate the use of systematic reviews amongst learners in academia! We encourage listeners to consider integrating similar collaborative approaches in their own institutions. You can email Dr. Hilton to learn more: clhilton@UTMB.EDU. Visit Faculty Factory's homepage: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Too often, poor leadership in academic medicine drives people apart rather than connecting them. With that in mind, we invite Nausheen Jamal, MD, MBA, to our Faculty Factory Podcast this week to share pearls of wisdom from her own experience in building a leadership strategy aimed at bringing people together. Dr. Jamal currently serves as Professor & Harry Carothers Wiess Chair in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. By specializing in the treatment of voice, swallowing, and airway disorders, Dr. Jamal addresses issues that hinder full communication. This makes it feel as though things are truly coming full circle as she shares insights on building community and connections in this chat.   We hope you learn from her story to gain insights that help you see beyond what is in front of you and achieve great satisfaction in your own future career journey. Other important dynamics we explore in this interview include: The art of engaging in a "flow" state of work as a faculty member. Change management and adjusting your communication style to a new audience. Delegating versus simply “dumping” a workload on colleagues. Engaging faculty in the development of important administrative items, like a leave policy. “What I learned is that I have to adjust my approach to change according to the culture that is going to have to endure or undergo that change," Dr. Jamal said candidly in this interview. Learn more: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, joins us this week to examine recent research on individuals in academic medicine who felt unprepared for leadership responsibilities, and she helps us explore ways to better prepare faculty for success in those positions. With Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, Dr. Feldman is the James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor and Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology. She also serves as Professor of Neurosurgery and is the Director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies and the ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine. “I would say that my main takeaway is this: if you are a mid-level professional aspiring to a leadership position, seek a mentor and sponsor immediately, and ensure you are trained to be ready for that role,” Dr. Feldman told us. The article she co-authored, titled “Leadership Experiences and Perceptions of Mid-Career to Senior Clinician-Scientists: A Qualitative Exploration,” highlighted key leadership challenges and opportunities that we explore in-depth with Dr. Feldman in this interview. You can learn more about the report here: https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/abstract/9900/leadership_experiences_and_perceptions_of.877.aspx?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=amexpress&utm_content=newsletter You can also visit FacultyFactory.org here: https://facultyfactory.org/

The path toward finding a deeper meaning in providing patient care within academic medicine and the intangibles that make us human, such as vulnerability, passion, and post-traumatic growth, is explored in this week’s edition of the Faculty Factory episode with our guest, Nicole Piemonte, PhD. Dr. Piemonte serves as the Associate Dean for Faculty Leadership and is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Humanities at Creighton University School of Medicine-Phoenix in Arizona. She is also an author and a Certified Healthcare Leadership Coach. Through her own experiences with end-of-life care, coupled with her background in medical humanities, Dr. Piemonte shares her perspective on the ongoing challenges of how clinicians can engage authentically with vulnerability. Learn More: https://facultyfactory.org/nicole-piemonte 

The Faculty Factory Podcast invites first-time guest, Adam Wolfe, MD, PhD, to our show this week. He is the co-author of the article, “Put Yourself out There! A Strategy for Effective Self-Promotion in Academic Medicine,” which we examine in detail during this interview. “When it comes to non-clinical teaching, I really gravitate toward things like communication skills, breaking bad news, conflict resolution and self-promotion because those are things that I think are absent in a lot of formative curricula.” he said. Dr. Wolfe is the Interim Division Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at CHRISTUS Children’s, affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine in San Antonio, and is also the Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program. Additionally, he serves as the Assistant Dean of Medical Education and holds the Jann L. Harrison Endowed Chair in Pediatric Graduate Medical Education. More about his article: “Put Yourself out There! A Strategy for Effective Self-Promotion in Academic Medicine”:  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11219085/  For feedback, questions, or comments, you can also visit the Faculty Factory website: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

According to our guest on this week’s episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast, John Heymann, MD, every academic medicine professional can bet big on two things: compassion and understanding. Dr. Heymann is a neuroradiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, where he serves as an Associate Professor in Radiology, as well as the Director of Residency Programs and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations. “Being angry all the time is not conducive to longevity, and I think a lot of that comes from misunderstanding other people and their mind states. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful and practice compassion,” Dr. Heymann said. It truly might be time to double down on compassion. Understanding is at the core of compassion, as we learn in this discussion, and both elements are necessary for compassion to manifest. The bottom line is that how we interact with one another and recognize each other's challenges is an essential part of our mental health and well-being. Visit the Faculty Factory website for more resources:  https://facultyfactory.org/