Looking at Japanese sushi culture and restaurants that perform at the highest level, such as the Netflix documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” the same discipline and principles apply to the medical field yet on a much higher level, which ties back to the purpose of this blog post: Providing tips for pediatric anesthesia fellows (or any anesthesiologist who does a large number of pediatric cases) to not only continue to learn but also accelerate their careers in the near future based on everything we’ve experienced in the past.
First and foremost, even though the pediatric world is inherently specialized, you have to take a step back to think about what truly drives you to help kids and where your expertise in anesthesia can be applied. Is it helping with dental issues or solving congenital cardiac or other conditions children unfortunately were born with, and the list goes on. What makes you excited to jump out of bed each day?
Secondly, similar to all of the apprentices that look up to Jiro before even being able to touch rice then fish let alone prepare sushi, they quietly watch in the background while listening, learning and perfecting their skills. Taking the initiative to jump into a pediatric anesthesia fellowship is very similar, and it’s imperative to make the most out of it. After completing this highly specialized training, what’s the next step on your journey?
The last tip we have for pediatric anesthesia fellows is to not only find a specialized area that makes you happy, but also a successful mentor with deep expertise in the area you’re focused on (e.g. office-based pediatric dental anesthesia) that you’ll continually learn from.
As a perfect example: The Founder, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Office Anesthesia – Harry M. Miller, M.D. – has personally performed over 50,000 cases over a multi-decade career subspecializing in ambulatory/office-based anesthesia and is recognized globally as a leader in the industry.
Are you a pediatric anesthesia fellow or practitioner interested in learning more about the next steps in your career? Let’s connect and explore.
