Stepping Up to Bat with Dr. Jatin Vyas

Jatin Vyas, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Program Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Internal Medicine Residency Program at Harvard Medical School, where he supervises over 200 interns and residents. Dr. Vyas received his PhD in immunology, working in the lab of Dr. Robert Rich at Baylor College of Medicine. After completing his MD at Baylor, he joined as a resident in internal medicine at Mass General, where he stayed on to pursue a fellowship in infectious diseases. An NIH funded investigator with an interest in basic sciences, Dr. Vyas is internationally recognized for his work in fungal immunology, investigating the body's immune responses to fungal pathogens. He is passionate about mentoring physician scientists and has advocated for the interests of physician scientists and training at the national level. Dr. Vyas has been selected as Fellow in the Infectious Disease Society of America and has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. It’s not about winning or losing: It’s about stepping up to bat. Today, Dr. Jatin Vyas shares fascinating—and moving—stories about his career in medicine. He explains why as physicians, going up to bat means putting ourselves out there to mentors. In order to learn from mentors, to hear their stories, and to understand the challenges they faced throughout their career—we must ask them. And when we make these connections and build relationships, we’re almost certain to discover two things: That the path to success is never linear, and that prospective mentors we admire are much more similar to us as trainees than we think. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Our mentors have faced similar challenges as us, but we won’t know unless we ask. When we ask mentors about their personal stories, their challenges, and their own goals, we’ll learn how non-linear the path to success really is. 2. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about going up to bat. Even if we don’t hit every ball, it’s the fact we’re up at bat in the first place that counts. 3. Turn to others—a chorus of voices—to help guide you along your path. Having a multitude of different people and perspectives is the most efficient way to get an answer, solve a problem, or make a decision. 4. Medicine is an infinite game. Burnout and disengagement happen when we view our role as a finite game.