briefly on some early career advice and how to get started. Disclosure is nothing related to this talk. So just to comment, I thought, as I was putting this together, some background on my career so far would be helpful. So my clinical practice, I do knee and shoulder, pretty standard sports practice. And then research is a large part of what I try to do and who I see myself as, using advanced imaging to better evaluate musculoskeletal injuries in our treatments, looking at post-traumatic arthritis, predictors of outcome after shoulder arthroplasty. I've been fortunate to have funding support from AOSSM, as well as Anna and Arthritis Foundation, some multi-center involvement with Arthritis Foundation and Moon Instability, and then serve on the research committee for this organization as well as Anna. And then in thinking about, I will not pretend to have all the answers of what to do early in the career, but I do think probably the two most important questions are really why and what to start with. And I think there's that concept of starting with why, and it really, I think, resonates in this area. But first and foremost, do you want to do research? I've seen a number of friends and colleagues who have looked towards academic positions, and then they transitioned shortly after, and it really is not part of what drives them. And I think taking a personal inventory of, is this what you are really interested in driven in, driven by, is really important. This will require nights and weekends. Sometimes I'll even look at it as like a hobby, like I enjoy the research process, and it's easy to spend that time when you really like what you're doing. There will be multiple demands on your time. It's hard to prioritize and create time if you're not interested in it. But I do think it can be probably the most rewarding thing we do if it's something that you enjoy. And then I think the what, it's also extremely important. So research can take so many different forms. This can be the most basic lab-based research ranging to just more clinical outcomes. All of that research can be important, but really figuring out where your skills are. If you have not done lab research, it's probably not going to start when you're a faculty or an attending surgeon. And then I think trying to think big, like not thinking about, well, I'm going to write a paper, but I'm going to try to put together a long-term research program. Like this is the direction that I want to head. And I think this is where, I think we just heard about failure, but your direction may not pan out. But if you can identify an area, a condition, a problem that you can work, not just a year, but hopefully a career towards improving. And then I think starting out, identifying and accessing resources is really important. So if you're looking at different positions, first, probably your partner is the culture and environment. Depending on what you want to do, you can be successful at some locations and then probably not in other places. And that'll change depending on what those goals are. What your available resources are, like do you need lab space? Do you need access to imaging scientists for the type of research that I like to do? Do you need a robust patient outcome collection system? Whatever that may be, but make sure you have that. And then before you start is probably your strongest point to negotiate those needs. So if there's potential for a startup package, I think approaching it why you need that and what you're gonna deliver on it is probably the best way to hopefully negotiate that into when you're starting. And then there are also a number of institutional grants, especially at the larger academic centers and finding how your research can align with those goals. I think, as it was mentioned just a couple of minutes ago, these funding from AOSSM, OREF or other specialty society opportunities, this really can lay the groundwork for success in your early career. We were just judging the playmaker grants, for instance, and those smaller amounts can really build towards larger programs. I think the outcomes from these, so one is feedback. Even if you don't get funded, you at least have some feedback, like is my idea worth pursuing? Are there flaws that need to be remedied? As well as preliminary data, so the next time you submit, you have something stronger. Experience and recognition, and then hopefully funding comes along as well. And I think all of this is building towards that larger scale funding in a more sustainable research program. And then I think for younger surgeons, something that most of us struggle with and really try to figure out is balancing that clinical growth and research productivity. And I think it really is a chicken and egg kind of question, which comes first? And is there a right way to approach it? I think it really varies on your practice setting. So for some practices, your clinical volume may be lighter initially, and you should use that time to establish your research program. If you have quicker clinical growth, you may need to pull back a bit and block time for research. I think it's probably easier said than done, but hopefully have simultaneous progress in both. I think the one key is aligning your research efforts with a focus of your clinical practice, so you're not shifting your thinking through the day, like you're always focused on that ACL question. You're seeing the patients, you're operating on them, and then your research time is spent there as well. I think your research, especially if you're looking to build a program, it will not just happen. This is active effort just as you're trying to develop a practice, but it takes the time, the energy. And I think for most research, it is a team-based effort. And prioritizing those meetings with collaborators is key. I know our schedules as surgeons is often busy, but making sure you say, well, we are gonna meet and I will be there. And I think the quickest way to lose your collaborators is not showing up. And then if your research is clinically focused, I think collecting outcomes right away. If this is a paper-based survey, hopefully it's not that, but RedCap, using a commercial collection system, but start from the minute you start practice. Because if you wanna have two-year outcomes, you can't wait until two years later and now you have your idea and now you're another two years in. You have to start collecting and then hopefully you have something that materializes along the way. And then the last point just to finish on, I think it's worth having a strategic plan essentially. So when you're thinking about that research program, try to establish short-term, medium-term, long-term goals, and then make time to check in periodically just with yourself. Am I on track? Why not? What do I need to change? And is this direction still the one that I want to be on? And I think hopefully those points will help keep you successful in the start. And hopefully you don't feel like our son, Charlie, at this point, but thank you all for being here and listening. Thank you.

early career advice

getting started in research

personal interest

long-term research programs

institutional grants