This Substack is a platform for the Physician Career Solution Institute, which advocates for physicians and the compassion necessary to enhance the health and well-being of our local and global communities.
The Physician Career Solution Institute Substack is a love letter to physicians and other professionals dedicated to improving the world through their work in medicine, particularly academic medicine. I understand that many feel that achieving success in academic medicine has become increasingly difficult and that finding joy in it is a challenge.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
The Physician Career Solution Substack advocates for those in academic medicine by:
Highlighting the essential role that physicians, other professionals, and academic medical centers play in our community.
Drawing attention to positive opportunities for self-care and self-improvement relevant to caretakers in academic medicine.
Raising awareness of physicians’ challenges, such as burnout, particularly in academia.
Discussing approaches to mitigate these challenges.
Reviewing evidence-based studies and reviews that study the challenges physicians face and potential solutions.
Reviewing books on leadership and behavior.
Journeying through books that provide insight or solace may facilitate well-being.
Presenting preliminary drafts of book chapters on life in academic medicine for commentary.
Observing and commenting on the importance of compassion in our world, particularly now.
Sharing experiences earned from surviving 30 years of academic medicine.
Providing restaurant and travel experiences because life should be fun.
You should follow and/or subscribe if you are an academic physician or another professional looking to rediscover the joy of medicine and acdemics, if you are looking for insight into how to grow in your career in a manner that integrates with your personal life, and, most importantly, if you are looking for a community that appreciates the blood, toil, tears, and sweat you invest in caring for your patients and families.
Why subscribe?
You should also follow and/or subscribe if you feel that compassion has been devalued in our current world and that compassion instead should be revered and nurtured.
We plan to publish several times a week and will adjust which products we publish based on feedback and what products are well-received. We will also post notes most days with observations and comments. Occasionally, we will publish restaurant reviews when traveling just for fun—because fun matters.
I am Rob Lane, the founder, CEO, and President of the Physician Career Solution Institute. I have served different academic medical centers as a fellowship director, division chief, department chair, and chief medical officer of an extensive system. As of this writing, I am very proud to be the only person to have been elected as president of the Perinatal Research Society and the U.S. Developmental Origins of Disease Society. I currently have coaching certificates for executive coaching, leadership coaching, change management, and organizational development, among others, from the Center of Executive Coaching and Symbiosis.
I was funded by the NIH for over 20 years through multiple mechanisms and different institutes, often by the skin of my teeth. I know what it is like to scramble for funding and what it is like to be angry and/or scared within academic medicine, often simultaneously. My three-decade journey in this field has been marked by making nearly every mistake imaginable—and I’ve even invented a few that were not previously documented. Yet, I was always able to learn, adapt, and recover. Not always gracefully, but usually enthusiastically. I have enjoyed each career opportunity within academic medicine. Each role has presented its unique challenges.
Academic medicine represents a distinct career path, with experiences, emotions, and challenges unique to academic physicians. For many of us, this journey begins in high school, often under parental pressure to achieve academic accolades (no scars there). The uniqueness of this journey means that others who haven’t walked this path may struggle to empathize with our experiences, often neglecting the perspective these experiences offer us.
Our unique experiences as physicians and professionals in academic medicine enable, empower, and oblige us to improve our communities and the world. The most effective and powerful tool for improvement I’ve seen and experienced in academic medicine is compassion for our patients, families, and each other. Indeed, I consider compassion the sine qua non of medicine because compassion drives our need to care for others, explore for answers, and educate the next generation.
We need to support each other. I feel the need to give back to the community of physicians and others who have supported me so well for the last thirty years. I hope to do this through the Physician Career Solution Institute.
Stay up-to-date
Never miss an update—every new publication is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
Join the crew
Be part of a community of people who share your interests. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
