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Friday's Digest - The Newsletter for Doctors & Scientists
Friday's Digest - The Newsletter for Doctors & Scientists
For two decades, I've been developing tools that have improved my practice in medicine, dentistry, and scientific research.
Join me every Friday to discover a new tool you can integrate into your workflow as a doctor, a scientist, or both.
I believe in sharing knowledge, embracing automation, boosting productivity, and finding joy in the process.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Story Time!
Tools and Tips
Readers’ Favorite
Stuff
Story Time!
Story Time!
I'm in high school.
10th grade.
A few days ago, we took our final physics test.
I love physics.
Before this test, I even helped my classmates study for it.
We used to stay after school, around 5 classmates every time, and I would teach them physics.
I wasn't paid for it or anything like that.
I simply helped them.
In class, I was among the best in physics.
So I was certain I would score high on the test.
Probably 95. Maybe 98? I hope it won't be below 90.
Wow, getting 88 will be a real bummer.
And then our physics teacher handed us our graded test.
"30"
"30"
I got thirty!
I was shocked.
That was the first time EVER that I had failed a test.
To this day, I have absolutely no idea why I failed it.
But there's one thing I do know today very well:
To become good at something, and I mean REALLY good at something, you have to fail.
"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly."
— John F. Kennedy
That's a nice quote by JFK, but I'm not sure 10th-grade-Shay can learn anything from it.
10th-grade-Shay didn't DARE to fail his physics test.
It simply happened.
At the time, I had no idea why it happened.
And no one around me knew what to do with this failure.
In fact, throughout my life, the only one who taught me how to deal with failure was me.
But today, I know.
But today, I know.
I know that failure is the greatest thing that can happen to you.
And I know that if you use failure correctly, you can achieve greatness.
Today, I would like to discuss what it takes to become an expert.
And here's a spoiler alert — being successful is not enough.
In fact, being successful doesn't make you an expert.
Failure does.
Number 151!
Tools and Tips
Tools and Tips
For doctors and scientists, becoming an expert is part of the deal.
As a doctor, you're called an expert when you complete your residency.
As a scientist, it's more of a grey area. But returning after a post-doc usually signifies you've become an expert.
But we all know some experts are better than others.
That brings us to the question:
What makes you a TRUE expert?
Throughout my journeys, I've seen many experts.
I've seen the best of the best, and I've seen mediocre ones.
And after all these years, I can fit every expert to a scale.
A scale of 4 stages.
Only the great experts reach stage 3.
🔵 Stage 0: The Successful Expert
🔵 Stage 0: The Successful Expert
Early on in my residency, my chief told me something I will never forget:
"Those who don't act, never fail."
I will take it from a different angle:
If you're an expert who never fails, you are either of the two:
You don't challenge yourself.
You fail, but you don't notice it. Or you hide it.
Not challenging yourself is fine, but then you're not truly an expert.
And if you hide your failures, or do not notice them at all, you're an expert only in your own mind.
This is why I call it stage 0.
🔵 Stage 1: The Failing Expert
🔵 Stage 1: The Failing Expert
We all fail.
Experts are no exception to that.
But your first step in becoming an expert is not to fear failure.
You have to embrace them.
Sure, every failure will feel bad.
Some of them can make you wonder why you have chosen this career path.
But there's one thing you need to remember — you failed either because you challenged yourself, or because you didn't prepare yourself enough.
And you now have a choice — run away from it (and stay in stage 1) or build upon it (and reach stage 2).
🔵 Stage 2: Never Make The Same Mistake Twice
🔵 Stage 2: Never Make The Same Mistake Twice
This is where good experts and bad experts diverge.
A good expert will never make the same mistake again.
A good expert will study the failure, replay it again and again, and realize what went wrong.
A good expert will get back on the horse and be successful next time. EVERY time.
When experts become VERY good, they can correct their mistakes immediately.
In surgery, for example, you HAVE TO have this ability.
Many experts reach stage 2.
Some reach it early on in their career, while others take more time to achieve it.
But only a few reach stage 3.
🔵 Stage 3: Experts Who Speak About Their Failures Publicly
🔵 Stage 3: Experts Who Speak About Their Failures Publicly
Only a few experts reach this stage.
Very few.
It requires a combination of the ability to never stop learning, never stop challenging yourself, the ability to teach, and a very high confidence level.
But the funny thing is how easy it is to jump from stage 2 to stage 3.
All you have to do is tell others you failed, WHY you failed, and WHAT you have learned from it.
Still, there aren't many stage-3-experts out there.
By the way, I retook my physics test in the 10th grade.
And I got a 100.
But what made this score so special wasn't the perfect 100.
What made it so great is the fact that it was preceded by a 30.
There's nothing sweeter than being successful after you failed.
Readers’ Favorite
Readers’ Favorite
Discussing failures is nice, but some people walk away from those who have failed.
I wrote about this phenomenon here.
Stuff
Stuff
💡Gear I use - Roost Laptop Stand
It's an adjustable (and portable) laptop stand.
But it's also a VERY expensive laptop stand.
But it's worth every cent.
I've been using it EVERY day for 2 years.
It's extremely light and very well made.
Epilogue
Epilogue
That’s it for this issue.
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See you next week!
Shay
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