This week, we're airing a Faculty Factory conversation featuring our friend Stuart Ray, MD, as he discusses triaging and competing demands. This episode originally aired in July 2023. Happy holidays to all of you! We wish you a very happy and healthy 2026. Learn more about this podcast episode with Dr. Ray: https://facultyfactory.org/stuart-ray/ 

As a leader, the more you show your human side and reach out to others for help, the stronger the chance that the people around you will start to do the same. There are plenty of leadership lessons for early-career faculty and beyond in this week’s Faculty Factory Podcast interview, just in time for the holidays, with our new friend Nicole Jarrett, MD, FACS. We hear about her journey and the transition from faculty member to a formal leadership role as Division Chief. Dr. Jarrett serves as Division Chief of Hand Surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is also an Assistant Professor and the Hand Surgery Fellowship Director at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The confidence to ask questions is an important sign of a confident leader. We all have days when we need help, and displaying the confidence to ask questions is essential. "It's okay to ask for help. We're all going to find ourselves in situations where we feel overwhelmed or where things aren't going right, and we need support,” she said. Midway through the discussion, Dr. Jarrett talks about the art of purposeful socializing. It’s crucial to allocate time for social functions in our lines of work, especially in leadership roles, and taking a very strategic and efficient approach to how we engage in these functions pays dividends. It can also save time. “It’s not all fun at these parties; you have a job to do. I’m very glad someone gave me that lesson, and I’m happy to pass it along to my faculty,” Dr. Jarrett discussed.

Elevating professionalism is key to much of the day-to-day work of Ellen M. Friedman, MD, FACS, FAAP, and we knew we had to have her join the Faculty Factory Podcast to learn more. Dr. Friedman serves as Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and is the Senior Associate Dean of Professionalism and the Director of the Center for Professionalism at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The end result of the Center for Professionalism, which we discuss at length in today’s episode, is a warm and positive professional climate at Baylor College of Medicine. We also dive into the concept of professionalism in general. More about the Center: https://www.bcm.edu/education/academic-faculty-affairs/center-for-professionalism  While promoting professionalism is the core service of the Center, it also has systems in place to report instances where professionalism is lacking. The problem with traditional wellness programs is that they often place the burden on the individual while systematic issues at the institution remain unresolved, as Dr. Friedman points out. The Center at Baylor aims to address those systematic issues so they don’t stand in the way of wellness and progress. More than anything else, however, the Center exists to acknowledge and recognize acts of positive professionalism. “It’s a very small number of individuals who are perceived to have lapses in professionalism, but unfortunately, that small group of people tends to receive the most attention,” she says. For that reason, the Center is dedicated to honoring professionals who demonstrate exemplary professionalism. More resources: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Many leaders in the healthcare system and academic medicine, by default, manage their day through transactional leadership. However, as we learn in this week’s episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast, there may be a better way. We are thrilled to welcome Martin Zeier, MD, visiting us from Germany this week on the podcast to discuss transformational leadership. Dr. Zeier leads the Division of Nephrology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He recently traveled to the United States and attended the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, which took place in Houston. You can learn more about the University of Heidelberg here: https://www.nierenzentrum-heidelberg.com Transformational leadership helps us build trust between one another, which is one of its core principles and plays a key role in mentoring the next generation of leaders. This leadership style can strengthen our teams to advance our institutions and the missions we serve. It also challenges us to lead through intellectual stimulation, because academic professionals are not at their best without the opportunity for growth. “I have always been curious about how I could build and enhance teams and how I could improve as a medical professional and leader,” Dr. Zeier stated at the interview's outset. His own intellectual curiosity over the years served as an impetus for him to study organizational psychology in his advanced studies, as he also shared with us. Learn more about the Faculty Factory: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Whether you refer to it as “imposter syndrome” or the “imposter phenomenon,” one thing is abundantly clear: you are not alone when it comes to dealing with it as a professional in academic medicine. This week on the Faculty Factory Podcast, we are blending together two incredible interviews from our archives that dissect this phenomenon with the precision and evidence-based arguments we cherish here on our podcast for a very special “best of” episode. First up, we hear from Cynthia Rand, PhD, who discusses imposter syndrome and how it can impact leadership roles in academia, including the tendency for individuals to make dispositional attributions to others and situational attributions to ourselves—which can exacerbate feelings of being an imposter. Next up, it's Donna L. Vogel, MD, PhD, who joined the Faculty Factory to share timeless advice on dealing with imposter syndrome, centered around her succinct takeaways for overcoming it over the long term as a faculty member. Both interviews we've clipped for this “best of” broadcast can help faculty members (especially those who are transitioning into a new role) and this advice is applicable to overcoming imposter syndrome in any environment. Interested in hearing the full conversations from these episodes? Click on the links below to explore each episode in its entirety: Episode 197 – Imposter Syndrome and Leadership Roles in Academia with Cynthia Rand, PhD Episode 84 – Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Donna L. Vogel, MD, PhD

Susan Matulevicius, MD, MSCS, a national expert on resilience and work-life integration, joins the Faculty Factory Podcast this week for a discussion to help us better deal with life’s inevitable stumbling blocks. Dr. Matulevicius serves as Associate Dean of Faculty Wellness and is a Professor of Internal Medicine, Cardiology, at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. To help us think about how to create professional well-being in academic medicine, she discusses the 5 Ps: Person Purpose Path Prioritization Permission “When you get down to it, our values generally align with our purpose, and it helps us refocus when we encounter those little stumbling blocks that life puts in our way,” she said. She also touches on the value of understanding your purpose in relation to Self-Determination Theory, which is an important paradigm related to this conversation. With reassurance, Dr. Matulevicius warmly reminds us midway through the conversation of something we all need to hear occasionally: “Sometimes it’s okay to not be okay." “Life and work are not always predictable, and sometimes your emotions aren’t predictable in the moment. It’s okay to recognize that you need more support to help you through that moment,” she said.  Learn More: https://facultyfactory.org/Susan-Matulevicius

This week on the Faculty Factory podcast we welcome Vicki Freeman, PhD, MASCP, MLS(ASCP)cm SCcm, FACB, for an exploration for staying professionally active alongside some common challenges to at least be aware of in retirement from full time faculty life. Dr. Freeman is a professor emeritus and former tenured chair in the Utmb Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences. She's also the former associate dean for faculty development for the School of Health Professions. She was also a Distinguished Professor and a former Minnie Stephens Piper Professor. She was the director of the renowned UTMB Academy of Master Teachers among her many other contributions and positions held through her illustrious career in academic medicine. Her decision to retire was influenced by family and the challenges posed by COVID-19. She doesn’t see retirement as an endpoint but as an opportunity to pivot toward rest and other meaningful activities. It also serves as a nice way to avoid some of the workplace politics she no longer is obligated to navigate. “I’m just not interested in putting up with the politics anymore and when the politics start getting involved, I know it is time to check out,” she told us. Learn more: http://facultyfactory.org/vicki-freeman 

The importance of the four R’s to keep top of mind as you navigate your leadership journey is presented by Joseph E. Losee, MD, MBA, FACS, FAAP, a beloved return guest, on the Faculty Factory Podcast this week. Dr. Losee is Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Dr. Ross H. Musgrave Endowed Chair in Pediatric Plastic Surgery, a Professor and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery, and a Professor of Business Administration at Katz Graduate School of Business. You can revisit his other episodes with us here: Embracing Resilience in Academic Medicine: https://facultyfactory.org/joseph-losee/ Examining the Need for Scientist Wellbeing Initiatives: https://facultyfactory.org/scientist-burnout/ You can also see slides from his “Four R’s of Leadership” presentation here. [pdf] As discussed, leaders are often hired for their IQ but get fired for a lack of emotional intelligence (EQ). The good news? EQ can be learned, exercised, and grown. The four R’s or leadership are as follows: Responsibility Regulation Resilience Relationships Recommended readings from this episode include Executive Presence 2.0 by Sylvia Ann Hewlett. How you act, speak, and appear—all matter as a leader, according to this literature, which Dr. Losee mentioned in the opening moments of the podcast. He also referenced the TEDx Talk "Let's Face It: Charisma Matters" by John Antonakis, which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEDvD1IICfE “Charisma matters and it can be taught and learned,” as Dr. Losee told us. Other books and resources mentioned include: Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy by Amy C. Edmondson The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy C. Edmondson TED Talk: Lucy Hone — The Three Secrets of Resilient People Building a Resilience Bank Account article by Michael A. Maddaus, MD: https://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(19)31352-9/fulltext Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance Among U.S. Physicians Relative to the General U.S. Population: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1351351

Conflict, stressors, broaching difficult conversations, and learning to say no—these are some of the “spookiest” challenges we've identified and addressed over the years on the Faculty Factory Podcast. Since our 2019 inception, we've explored how to handle these issues with confidence and grace, featuring a series of incredible interview guests. We’re excited to share highlights from five of these conversations with four different guests in this week’s episode. Since today is October 31st, we're delighted to present this “Best Of” episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast, showcasing some of the  most “spooky” challenges in academic medicine. These may be the things keeping you up at night, but rest assured, they are common and manageable. This “Best of” show includes highlights from the following episodes: Episode 299 – Best Supporting Practices and Strategies for Stressed-Out Learners and Faculty with Jessica Seaman, EdD Episode 79 – Managing Difficult Issues with Charles G. Irvin, Ph.D., DE, ATSF, FERS Episode 75 – How to Handle Conflict with Dave Yousem, MD, MBA Episode 72 – The Art of Navigating a Difficult Conversation with Dave Yousem, MD, MBA Episode 46 – Prioritizing and the Art of Saying No with Jennifer Haythornthwaite, PhD Interested in hearing the full conversations from any of these episodes? Click on the links above to explore each episode in-depth. About Today’s Speakers Jessica Seaman, EdD, serves as Assistant Professor of Medical Humanities, Co-Director of the Gold Track Curriculum, and Assistant Dean of Faculty Development at Creighton University School of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. Jennifer Haythornthwaite, PhD, has joined the Faculty Factory for memorable episodes over the years with important feedback for our audience when it comes to time management and much more. Dr. Haythornthwaite is a professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md Charles G. Irvin, PhD, DE, ATSF, FERS, is a Professor of Medicine, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Vice Chairman for Research Department of Medicine and Director of the Vermont Lung Center at the University of Vermont. He was named Associate Dean for Faculty for the College of Medicine in 2012. Dave Yousem, MD, MBA, is a frequent contributor to the Faculty Factory Podcast. He serves as Associate Dean for Professional Development at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is also the Vice Chairman of Program Development at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution.

Equipped with a conviction that all of us are leaders in academic medicine, Judy Tung, MD, joins the Faculty Factory Podcast this week to discuss leadership development and so much more. Dr. Tung serves as an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She is also the Associate Dean of Faculty Development at the School of Medicine. You can see the two articles referenced in this interview here: Putting Traits Associated with Effective Medical Leadership into Action: Support for a Faculty Development Strategy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39143441/ Enhancing a Faculty Development Program: Identifying and Addressing Leadership Skill Gaps Using an Established Leadership Framework: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40503092/ Learn more: https://facultyfactory.org/judy-tung 

Lekshmi Santhosh, MD, MAEd, an innovative leader in medicine, joins our Faculty Factory Podcast this week to discuss building an array of mentors, each playing a different role in your life and career journey in academic medicine. She also encourages us to challenge conventional definitions of mentoring throughout this conversation. The concept of matrix mentorship invites us to explore the metaphor of a “bouquet of mentors,” which is a central theme of the interview. At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Santhosh is an Associate Professor of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine and Hospital Medicine. She serves as the Department of Medicine’s Associate Chair for Mentorship and People Development and is the Associate Program Director for the internal medicine residency program at UCSF. She also holds the title of Gold-headed Cane Endowed Education Chair in Internal Medicine. Her passion for mentoring trainees, early-career faculty, and peers shines throughout this discussion. “Just knowing that one mentor is not going to be able to meet all your needs is really important,” Dr. Santhosh emphasizes. Thank you to a dear friend of the Faculty Factory, Joshua Hartzell, MD, MS-HPEd, FACP, FIDSA, for recommending Dr. Santhosh as a guest on our show. It was a very memorable and special debut on the Faculty Factory Podcast for her. You can revisit our leadership conversation with Dr. Hartzell: https://facultyfactory.org/joshua-hartzell/ And of course, if you have a guest you’d like us to invite for a conversation on our podcast, please send us a message: https://facultyfactory.org/contact-us/

With mergers and acquisitions (M&As) potentially reshaping the landscape of academic medicine, we are honored to welcome Elza Mylona, PhD, MBA, to this week’s episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast to explore this emerging trend. Dr. Mylona is the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development and also serves as a Professor of Foundational Sciences at Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In this timely discussion about a topic that impacts everyone the institution undergoing a merger or acquisition touches, we examine the economic and demographic pressures driving many of the M&As in academic medicine and beyond. Learn More: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Carla L. Spagnoletti, MD, MS, has some promotion portfolio gems of wisdom for our listeners in her return to the Faculty Factory Podcast this week. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Spagnoletti serves as Professor of Medicine and holds the George H. Taber Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine. In addition, she is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, the Associate Division Chief for Education in GIM, and the Associate Director of the Masters and Certificate Programs in Medical Education within the Institute for Clinical Research Education. As discussed in this interview, there are many reasons why clinical faculty should seek promotion. However, clinical faculty often climb the ranks more slowly than their research counterparts. While Dr. Spagnoletti concedes that this is probably due to multiple factors—such as rigorous and competing clinical duties, a lack of understanding of the process, and not always seeing tangible incentives for pursuing promotion—it became clear that something needed to be done. Therefore, Dr. Spagnoletti set out to help faculty overcome the final hurdle in promotion: building a promotion dossier or portfolio. She helped form a supportive group to assist faculty in submitting and building this portfolio so they can initiate the promotion process. At her institution, this group is called the Promotion Portfolio Club (PPC). As a true clinician-educator, she designed it as a curriculum based on a few core theories commonly used in medical education. “One of the participants in a recent club told us, ‘I'm eternally grateful, as I can only imagine this task would have been incredibly daunting had I gone it alone,’ and that really captures the main reason why we started this project,” she said. Learn more: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

We are honored to have Farzana Hoque, MD, MRCP, FACP, FRCP, return to the Faculty Factory Podcast this week. This is her third appearance on the podcast, and this time she joins us to discuss her recently published article in the Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine entitled “WISE Framework: Teaching Guide for Early Career Hospitalists.” The article is based on the WISE Framework, which she formulated and discusses in depth during today’s chat. As she notes at the start of the interview, it is applicable to all specialties, not just hospitalists. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She also co-directs the Medicine Sub-Internship at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Additionally, she is the Medical Director of Bordley Tower at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. Dr. Hoque’s previous two interviews with the Faculty Factory can be found here: Emotional Intelligence (EQ) for Unlocking Leadership Potential: https://facultyfactory.org/eq-leadership/ Embracing Culture Over Strategy: Lessons Learned in Academic Medicine: https://facultyfactory.org/farzana-hoque/ “After several days of thinking, I came up with this WISE framework. W stands for Watchful Observation; I for Insightful Awareness; S for Specific Feedback; and E for Empathic Communication,” she told us. Read Dr. Hoque’s recent article in the Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine entitled “WISE Framework: Teaching Guide for Early Career Hospitalists”: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40191700/. You can follow along with her guidance and clinical tips for residents and fellows, and much more by subscribing to her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.FarzanaHoque.

For W. Neil Duggar, PhD, DABR, everything on his path to leadership in academic medicine started with fully understanding his own “why.” That process of understanding your purpose, who you are, and how that dictates what success will look like, and whether you are making progress, is a central theme within today’s broader leadership discussion.  Dr. Duggar currently serves as an Associate Professor and Director of Medical Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.  Learning to lead without formal authority is important in our field because, as Dr. Duggar puts it, “most of us don’t have authority or a title most of our careers, if we ever do get one, so learning to lead without authority becomes a very powerful combination of skills.”  Embracing feedback and constructive criticism about yourself is vital to this discussion because, without this journey to self-awareness, it’s very easy for leaders to fall into the trap of “your own legend.”  “You can start believing your opinion and feedback are most important, but the reality is that there will always be voices you need to listen to outside of your own,” he said.  We thank Dr. Duggar for reaching out to us via the Faculty Factory inbox and requesting to be a guest on this show! If you have something to share within your corner of the academic medicine world as a guest, please send us a message: https://facultyfactory.org/contact-us/    After you listen to Dr. Duggar’s interview, for more fantastic podcast episodes, please check out our show’s archives: https://facultyfactory.org/podcast-topics/

Oscar W. “Skip” Brown, MD, is our guest this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast. He lays out the keys to building a fulfilling retirement and acknowledges the severe consequences of simply “doing nothing” with the windfall of time on your hands. As a clinical professor of pediatrics with UTMB in Galveston, Texas, Dr. Brown has accumulated numerous accolades over his illustrious career. He is the immediate past vice chair for clinical affairs and former chief medical officer at UTMB. As a past president of the Texas Pediatric Society (TPS), he is a recipient of the TPS Charles W. Daeschner, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award, for his contributions to the health and welfare of the children of Texas. He joined us to map out some serious considerations we should all keep in mind as we approach the twilight stages of our full-time careers. "You've got to have a plan for what you're going to do with yourself with all the time you're about to create. And it is very bad for you—very bad for you, emphasized with giant capital letters—to just have time," Dr. Brown stressed. Questions? You can contact him via email here to learn more: owbrown@utmb.edu, and you can visit the Faculty Factory website for more resources: https://facultyfactory.org/.  

Donna Vogel, MD, PhD, joins us this week to share her journey of recognizing that it was time for retirement and how she optimized her plan using her trademark discipline and scientific vigor to achieve the healthiest possible retirement from a physical, mental, and financial standpoint. This is Dr. Vogel’s ninth appearance on the Faculty Factory Podcast, and we are immensely grateful for her selfless and relentless contributions to this community over the years since our 2019 inception. Among her career highlights, she served as Director of the Professional Development Office at Johns Hopkins Medicine and was the Program Director of the Reproductive Medicine grant portfolio at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is also a former Jeopardy! champion, having won four consecutive days and reaching the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions. The four pillars of retirement, according to Dr. Vogel, and discussed toward the end of this podcast, are as follows: Financial planning Health and general fitness Things you do for yourself Things you do for others “Above all, keep learning in retirement, as that overlaps with all four pillars and ties them all together. Never stop learning,” Dr. Vogel told us in the closing moments of today's show. Important Resources from Today’s Chat Helping Medical Education Faculty Navigate a Post-Academic Landing Pad (Recent Academic Medicine editorial) New York Times article on retirement and mental health referenced by Dr. Vogel The Academy at Johns Hopkins for retired faculty Learning Ally Catch up on Dr. Vogel's Faculty Factory Appearances Networking in a Virtual Environment Applying for Funding, Top Ten Things to Know Be a Memorable Mentor Get That Paper off the Ground How to Turbocharge your Presentation Skills Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Professional Societies, Beyond Getting the Journal Time Management for Faculty Please make sure to listen to today’s episode via the podcast player above; and listen to more podcast episodes here.

David A. Rogers, MD, MHPE, whom we affectionately refer to as a Faculty Factory Podcast 'frequent flier,' returns to the show this week for the third time, delivering a gem of a conversation centered around leadership. Dr. Rogers is the Chief Wellness Officer with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, a position he has held since 2018. He is also a professor in the Department of Surgery, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Medical Education and Pediatrics and holds an adjunct appointment in the Collat School of Business. Dr. Rogers served as a senior associate dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development at UAB Medicine from 2012 to 2021 and currently serves as the co-director of the UAB Health Care Leadership Academy. He is also the author of the new book, The Frontline Healthcare Leader's Guide: Leadership that Advances Healthcare Work and the People Who Do It. He joins us to discuss the book and share his insights on leadership, based on all he has absorbed about it during his incredibly accomplished career in academic medicine. You can catch up on his past Faculty Factory Podcast appearances here: Episode 8 – A Faculty Factory Interview with David A. Rogers, MD, MHPE Episode 159 – Taking Ownership of our Wellness with David A. Rogers, MD, MHPE "With leadership, I think fundamentally you need to have a vision and the ability to get people excited to follow or go with you on the journey," he told us. Looking for further great reads on leadership? As Dr. Rogers pointed out in this interview, for those looking to get started with some strong leadership education, he also highly recommends starting with The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner.

This week’s Faculty Factory Podcast is about building the skillset needed to keep pace with the many ways Artificial Intelligence (AI) can augment your productivity as an academic medicine professional. Leading this discussion for us are Stacey Pylman, PhD, and John Lowry, PhD.  Drs. Pylman and Lowry have been featured in an ongoing series through the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) on AI education. You can learn more about it here: https://www.aamc.org/about-us/mission-areas/medical-education/artificial-intelligence-and-academic-medicine   

Relationships, as the heart of building success in service of your institution’s mission and the many people who benefit from it, are the central focus of this week’s thought-provoking interview with Katie Branch, PhD, MSN, RN, FNAP, CHSE, on the Faculty Factory Podcast. With her professional background proudly rooted in nursing, Dr. Branch currently serves as the Vice President for Interprofessional Education and the Health Education Center at the University Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. Building on a recent theme of episodes we’ve had exploring the importance of reclaiming joy in your professional life, this episode with Dr. Branch will surely inspire you and help build upon the positive mindset we all need to combat burnout in such a demanding career. To learn more about the Health Education Center (HEC) at UTMB, please visit: https://www.utmb.edu/hec