an academic medicine weblog
What is the most consistent measure of academic viability? Scientific accomplishment? Enlightenment of fellow man? Bettering mankind? Not really. In my experience the most consistent measure of the viability of ones academic career is funding/money. When big-name scientists lose their funding, they get the boot. When the dude who has never really accomplished much somehow [...]
Here is a comment that was recently left on this blog:
You’re a total pussy and judging by the comments above, that’s the norm in academia.
There is no justice in the world and there are no other lives where people get their karmic reward. You need to have the courage to tell people where to get off here [...]
A reader left the following comment on a recent post on intellectual property rights as a grad student:
Hey Mudphudder,
I was wondering if you have any opinions on intellectual property, specifically from the vantage point of a graduate student…
When I started with my department, one of the orientation meetings emphasized the university’s controlling stake in EVERYTHING [...]
You know me. I can see you eyeing me as the P.I. gives me a tour of the lab. The P.I.? Yeah–that’s the individual slobbering at the thought of my joining the lab. That’s right…you know who I am. I’m a producer. I don’t talk much–I let my work ethic do the talking–but when I do [...]
Or can you?
So every clinical department at academic medical centers around the country wants to hire physician-scientists. Physician-scientist? You do research? Hired. And that’s great–could be much worse–as the job market is quite good for any physician who also wants to do research. But, there are still a lot of obstacles in the way of becoming [...]
A reader and fellow mudphudder left this comment on my recent post on when I was dis’ed by a PI back when I was looking for a PhD lab:
So I read your latest post about getting snubbed by a PI (my worst nightmare.) I’m in the process of shopping for a rotation this summer. I’m [...]
I will officially wrap up my holiday season today with the last installment in my “season of giving” posts. And what better gift to give an authority figure and clinical role model than your innocence. Yes! Give it up! Now, while what I refer to may be derisively called by some (such as ME), “getting my idea ripped [...]
It’s amazing how there are such dramatic differences in the mindset/attitude/tone of clinical departments from one medical center. You can walk into one department and find generally welcoming, laid back faculty (as laid back as possible in academia, I guess) and then into another department and find generally tense, sardonic faculty. I’m so used to [...]
A survey of 837 clinical department chairs conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2005 reported that approximately two-thirds of department had junior faculty openings with more than half of those unable to fill their job openings. So good news–the job market for md/phds and physician-scientists is excellent as there is a surplus of [...]
In the last 30 years, more and more published scientific articles are a result of collaborations between investigators at different universities, which may suggest a dissemination of research beyond the walls of a few elite universities and/or geographic regions. A study published in the Nov. 21st issue of the journal Science finds that increased multi-university [...]
So I made a post last night about previous graduate students’ records being a factor to consider when choosing a lab for your PhD research / graduate school. A similar argument can be made for medical students who will be taking a year or two off to do research. Anyway, in choosing a lab there [...]
I was talking to a buddy of mine who is interviewing at various universities for a faculty job right now and he mentioned to me that some of his interviewers remembered him from his residency interviews. This reminded us of an important point–
Good grades and professional accomplishments will get you only so far. [...]
I read a very interesting article (click here to go to the article) in today’s issue of Science magazine that highlights the changing nature of research training and mentorship in academia producing a place for academic unions.
Here is an excerpt from Taken for Granted: Joe the Plumber and the Postdocs by Beryl Lieff Benderly:
“Supervisors have largely abandoned any [...]
Are you a medical student looking for a short term research project that will get you a publication?
How do you communicate this to the professors / investigators you want to work with?
This is a dilemma facing many medical students, who are looking for research experience that will lead to publication(s), which–let’s face it–are becoming more and [...]
