6 // THE NEW GASTROENTEROLOGIST FALL 2016
A PERSONAL STORY
AGA-AASLD Academic Skills Workshop:
Fellow and Faculty Perspectives
By Patricia D. Jones MD, MSCR, and Swathi Eluri, MD, MSCR
Dr. Jones is an assistant professor in the department of medicine, hepatology
division, and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami; Dr. Eluri is a fellow in the department of medicine,
division of gastroenterology and hepatology, University of North Carolina School of
Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC. The authors have no conflicts of interest.
In March 2016, we had the opportu- nity to attend the Academic Skills Workshop sponsored jointly by the American Gastroenterological Asso- ciation (AGA) and American Associ- ation for the Study of Liver Diseases
(AASLD). Keith Lindor, MD, AGAF,
FAASLD, and John Inadomi, MD, AGAF,
were the chairs of this year’s workshop. This one and a half day gathering
was meticulously planned and provided us with lessons in manuscript
preparation, grant writing, delivery of
oral presentations, career pathways in
academic medicine, and early funding
opportunities, among other topics.
Fellow perspective (Swathi Eluri)
I attended the Academic Skills Workshop
as a second-year fellow and found it to
be an invaluable experience. It provided
an opportunity to meet thought leaders
in the field and peers from across the
country. Attendees with similar interests
were paired with mentors in tailored
sessions that not only provided exchange
of ideas on individual research proposals,
but also time for faculty to share their
personal experiences in academic medi-
cine. There were common themes among
their stories, such as being passionate
about your work, planning ahead, choos-
ing the right mentors, the ability to take
risks, hard work, and luck.
For fellows like me, who are still early
in their training, descriptions of the different institutional tracks and resources
that are needed to enhance success
provided a useful general foundation.
Being cognizant of individual goals,
wishes, and priorities can help identify
the correct institutional track. In addi-
tion, knowing the resources needed for
success in each track, such as access to
a large patient base for a clinician or
protected time for a researcher, is key
to finding the right job and choosing the
right institutional environment. Most
importantly, being aware of the expec-
tations in the chosen track can help
create a focused plan to meet career
milestones.
While careful planning and goal-set-
ting is one piece of the puzzle, the im-
portance of “choosing an area/niche”
and “making oneself indispensable”
was also stressed by Marcia Cruz-Cor-
rea, MD, PhD, AGAF. For many faculty
members at the meeting, their partic-
ular niche had evolved or dramatically
changed over the years but the pervad-
ing sentiment expressed was to be open
to new opportunities and to veer away
from a planned path if the time is right.
The importance of being passionate
and excited about your work cannot be
overemphasized and is the driving force
for success. Hard work and dedication
are also necessary as exemplified by
a story from Hashem B. El-Serag, MD,
MPH, about arduously composing his
first publication in English when still
learning the language. Finally, the most
tangible lesson from the workshop was
that success in academia is built upon
