Been There, Done That: Experts Share Career Tips

Your APA Resident, Fellow, Medical Student/Early Career Psychiatrist Scientific Program Subcommittee selected the topic of “What to Do With The Rest of My Life? Career Tips for Launching Psychiatrists” after a robust discussion about what we need most at this stage of our lives and careers. We decided that having the opportunity to learn from inspiring leaders in psychiatry whose contributions are in a wide range of areas, in addition to achieving fulfilling and meaningful lives, would be invaluable.

Our lineup of speakers includes the following:

• Margo Funk, M.D., M.A., is the current program director of Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency and will become the program director of the Brigham and Women’s psychiatry residency in July. She serves on APA’s Council on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and chairs the APA Workgroup on QTc Prolongation and Psychotropic Medications. Dr. Funk is interested in the intersection of psychiatry and cardiology, trauma-based disorders, medical education, and the promotion of women in health care leadership.

• Jay Shore, M.D., M.P.H., is the director of telemedicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He is an expert in working with Native Americans and in rural and military settings and excels in advocating for improving access to quality psychiatric care. He is frequently consulted by various national agencies for his expertise, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health, Indian Health Service, and the Department of Defense.

• Eric Williams, M.D., is the assistant dean of student affairs at the University of South Carolina Medical Center. Additionally, he directs the “Introduction to Clinical Medicine I” course for medical students and has a clinical practice at the Center for Health and Well-Being on the main medical campus. He also serves on the editorial board of the USMLE and previously served as a board examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

• Maryland Pao, M.D., serves in multiple leadership positions at the National Institutes of Health. She is the acting clinical director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the clinical director of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, where she is also the deputy scientific director. She is the secretary of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and has extensive experience in consultation-liaison and emergency psychiatry at Children’s National Medical Center with training in both pediatrics and psychiatry.

The panelists have been asked to imagine they are wearing our shoes—just starting out—and give us advice about early career decisions. They will share the important lessons they have learned and mentoring tips such as where and how to look for a job, when to consider a transition between positions, and how to best navigate the challenging balance between work and personal life demands. This session will also be in APA Annual Meeting On Demand 2021, and we hope it will be viewed time and again for its take-home pearls as we face pivotal moments in our early career. ■