Why Mentorship is Career Defining with Dr. Ronald Witteles

Ronald Witteles, MD, is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Co-Director of Stanford Amyloid Center and Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at Stanford University Medical Center where he directs the training of more than 140 physicians each year. Dr. Witteles completed his medical school from University of Chicago, his residency in internal medicine from Stanford, where he pursued a fellowship in cardiology. Dr. Witteles specializes in the treatment of patients with heart failure with a focus in treating amyloidosis, sarcoidosis and cardiac complications of cancer therapy. He has published extensively on these topics and his articles have been cited as one of the most important heart failure articles of the year multiple times. Dr. Witteles is the recipient of a number of honors and awards including David Rytand Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, and was recently recognized as the 2020 Program Director of the Year at Stanford University for his exceptional leadership of the program during COVID-19 response. It’s not just the decisions we make that change the course of our lives. It’s the people in our lives that influence those decisions. Today, Dr. Ronald Witteles shares with us the impact mentors have had on his own life and career decisions.  He reminds us that our training is time-bound: We can’t wait around hoping serendipity will get us to where we want to go. We need to be proactive in seeking out mentors that will help us explore our interests and guide us as we explore new avenues in our journey. He shares with us the key characteristic of a great physician: the refusal to accept mediocrity and be willing to put in the time and effort to go beyond. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Don't be afraid to spend time pursuing different activities - diversifying our time can add flavors of fulfillment to our life and create a safety net for us. 2. Mentorship is career defining. We need to be proactive in seeking mentors to really define the next stage of our career and get inspired. 3. 'Go beyond' - defining characteristic of a great doctor. It's a refusal to accept mediocrity.