Climbing the Wall of Knowledge with Dr. Salvatore Cilmi

Salvatore Cilmi, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, an Infectious Diseases Specialist, and the Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr Cilmi completed his Medical school from Harvard University Medical School and Residency in Internal Medicine from Massachusetts General Hospital where he stayed on to pursue a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases. Dr. Cilmi has published extensively and has developed curricula for residency programs. He is a recipient of numerous teaching awards including the Hospital Medicine Attending of the Year, the James Smith Memorial Award and the Richard A. Herrmann Teaching Award at Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Institute for Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As physicians, we’re all climbing a wall of knowledge. And in the beginning of our careers, we may feel the pressure to leap over it as fast as we can. Dr. Salvatore Cilmi recalls that feeling when he was first given the title ‘doctor’, but not feeling equipped to be someone’s doctor just yet. And even today as a PGY-23, with massive amounts of training and experience under his belt, he continues to learn and practice. And so he reassures us: No one is expecting you to leap over the wall at once. You’re not even expected to get halfway up in your first few years. But what you do need to do is find those points during this climb where you feel safe and secure - the mentors and colleagues in whom you feel comfortable revealing what you know and don't know. And through them, you will obtain the skillset and mindset to continue the climb. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. We’re all climbing a wall of knowledge. Although no one expects you to leap over the whole thing, it’s important to find—and hold onto—the areas of that wall you feel steady and confident. 2. As Winston Churchill said, no success is final, and no failure is fatal. It’s the courage to continue. In moments of weakness or vulnerability, that is where we’ll find our greatest opportunities. 3. Mentorship is learning from the whole experience. Learn from the good things and the things we don’t like. This combination will help us identify what we really want. 4. Be a good listener, have an open mind, have respect, and an enthusiasm for the quest for knowledge.