The Medicine Mentors Podcast

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.