Manuscript publications during M3 and M4 years

Over the M3 and M4 years, I have been fortunate enough to have published 3 first-author manuscripts from my PhD projects, all of which are on pathophysiological mechanism of heart failure using intact human myocardium. As I look back, it took many hours to submit my manuscripts and revise them based on reviewer comments. However, it never really felt like work for me to engaged in this process.  I have realized that I enjoy thinking about cardiac physiology and communicating my findings in manuscripts. I think it’s also important that I have found time to do so in an efficient manner during my clinical years on rigorous rotations and multitude of assessments.

My goal is to work as a cardiologist at an academic medical center where I can teach students/residents/fellows in the hospital and clinic and produce translational research. I know that time is precious and you have to be able to fit your academic activity into your schedule somehow which may be challenging. During M3 and M4 years, I have learned that I must set aside a concrete amount of time to dedicate to work on manuscripts instead of setting vague goals. Otherwise, I would procrastinate and create more work for myself at the end. Fortunately, I have become more efficient in manuscript writing over the years and have realized you can never achieve a “perfect” manuscript but must do your best to get your thoughts into the paper first and make adjustments after the reviewers have provided their feedback. During residency, I plan on setting aside even a number of hours every week dedicated to scholarly activity with specific goals in mind. As a fellow and attending, I believe that I will have slightly more time to work on projects compared to my time in residency. I plan on staying academically active by making specific goals to achieve for the hours that I assign for those activities.

 

 

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