PEOPLE WHO GO INTO CLINICAL RESEARCH IN PEDIATRICS
ARE A VERY SPECIAL BREED OF PEOPLE.
THEY TEND TO BE CURIOUS, THEY TEND TO BE VERY GOOD EDUCATORS,
AND THEIR MAJOR GOAL REALLY IS TO BE ABLE TO ADVANCE
THE SCIENCE AND THE MEDICINE SO THAT
THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHILDREN
IS ABLE TO DO BETTER THAN THIS GENERATION OF CHILDREN.
I WAS GOING TO BE A CLINICAL PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGIST.
I GOT THERE AND I WAS PRESENTED WITH
SOME PATIENTS THAT HAD UNUSUAL PROBLEMS
AND I GOT VERY INTERESTED IN TRYING TO LEARN
HOW TO TREAT THEM.
AND THE FUNDAMENTAL EPIPHANY FOR ME,
IF ANYTHING, WAS THIS IDEA
THAT I COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I THINK IT'S A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOR
TO NOT ONLY TAKE CARE OF BABIES
BUT TO, IN DOING RESEARCH AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH,
YOU CAN AFFECT THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS,
THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN.
IF YOU ARE A PEDIATRICIAN AND YOU WANT TO DELIVER
THE BEST CARE, CARE THAT'S INFORMED BY DISCOVERY,
BY A TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE,
IS PROBABLY THE MOST EXCITING WAY
TO DELIVER THAT CARE.
I LOVE TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS BUT I ALSO LOVE DOING
CLINICAL RESEARCH AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH,
AND THIS IS A WAY FOR ME NOT ONLY
TO TAKE CARE OF THE INDIVIDUAL PATIENT
BUT HOPEFULLY ALSO LEARN MORE TO ADVANCE PATIENT CARE
ON A MORE GLOBAL LEVEL.
I THINK RESEARCH IS FASCINATING.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT TO DO.
IT'S INCREDIBLY REWARDING AND THERE'S NOTHING LIKE
COMING UP WITH A HYPOTHESIS AND DOING YOUR STUDY
AND EITHER PROVING YOUR HYPOTHESIS OR FINDING SOMETHING
TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAT LEADS YOU ON TO OTHER THINGS.
WE'RE CONSTANTLY WANTING TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO MAKE THINGS BETTER, HOW TO IMPROVE SURVIVAL,
BUT ALONG WITH IMPROVING THAT SURVIVAL,
HOW DO WE REALLY IMPROVE OUTCOME?
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT'S DRIVING US.
I HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE'S NOTHING MORE EXCITING THAN
PARTICIPATING IN CLINICAL RESEARCH.
Marcus: WHEN YOU GET A CLINICAL PROBLEM,
YOU SEE A PATIENT IN CLINIC,
YOU SAY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR THIS PATIENT,
I DON'T KNOW THE BEST TREATMENT.
YOU CAN THEN GO AND RESEARCH IT AND FIND OUT
AND COME BACK WITH NEW INFORMATION.
SO, MY PATIENTS LEAD ME TO THE PROBLEMS,
MY PATIENTS SHOW ME THE WAY TO THE ANSWERS,
AND ULTIMATELY I HOPE TO COME BACK WITH
BETTER TREATMENT FOR THEM.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S THE REASON TO GET UP EVERY DAY.
IT'S JUST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, AND WHAT I THINK IS THAT WE FIND
THE ABILITY TO HAVE DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS
WITH FAMILIES AND WITH PATIENTS AND WITH COLLEAGUES
THAT YOU'D NEVER HAVE IN A CLINICAL ENVIRONMENT.
ON A TEAM LEVEL, I HAVE MY RESEARCH TEAM,
AND WE ALL HAVE OUR INDIVIDUAL ROLES IN THE STUDY,
AND WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL,
AND I THINK THAT IS EXCITING, TO HAVE THE TEAM FUNCTIONING.
AND THEN, ALSO, I ALWAYS LOOK AT THE FAMILIES AND THE PARENTS
AS PART OF OUR TEAM, TOO, AND SO IT'S GRATIFYING
TO INTERACT WITH THEM AND HOPEFULLY DO A LITTLE
ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION AND IMPROVE THEIR OUTCOMES.
HOW FORTUNATE ARE WE AS A GROUP OF
INVESTIGATORS AND SCIENTISTS AND PHYSICIANS THAT EVERY DAY
WE GO TO WORK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SAVE LIVES
AND IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN NEONATOLOGY
OF OUR SMALLEST AND MOST VULNERABLE PATIENTS.
WE GO THROUGH THE REAL JOY OF SEEING THEM COME BACK
AND RUNNING DOWN OUR HALLS AND WHEN THEY SAY, "HI, DR. DAVIS."
AND THE NIGHTS THAT I STAYED UP LATE WITH THEM AND ALL NIGHT
TRYING TO MANAGE THEM BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE
WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN
AND THE TREMENDOUS REWARDS TO SEE THAT FAMILY HAPPY AND INTACT
AND THAT CHILD DOING WELL.
EFFECTIVE CLINICAL RESEARCH INVOLVES
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR PATIENTS,
OUR PARTICIPANTS, OUR FAMILIES.
BUT IT ALSO INVOLVES PEOPLE WHO ARE ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
BEING PART OF NETWORKS OF PEOPLE
WHERE YOU ARE INSPIRED BY YOUR COLLEAGUES
AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND BY THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH--
THAT'S WHAT REALLY IS EXCITING TO ME.
WE CLEARLY DO SEE OUTSTANDING YOUNG PEOPLE
THAT WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE TO GO INTO RESEARCH.
DOING RESEARCH IS REALLY EXPANDING YOUR ABILITY
TO TAKE CARE OF PATIENTS.
IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO CHANGE THE WAY
YOU TREAT PATIENTS AND REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
WE ARE AT A PROPITIOUS MOMENT IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE.
WE HAVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE THAT POTENTIALLY HAS
THE POSSIBILITY OF GREAT BENEFIT TO OUR PATIENTS.
THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE MAJOR REASONS
FOR PEOPLE TO FOLLOW A CAREER IN INVESTIGATION,
AND CLINICAL INVESTIGATION IN PARTICULAR.
ONE IS THAT YOU END UP HAVING AN IMPACT THAT GOES WAY BEYOND
THE PATIENTS THAT YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF.
IT'S VERY EXCITING, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING, IT'S OFTEN HARD,
BUT YOU'RE ALSO DEALING ALL THE TIME WITH TEAMS OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE THERE TO SUPPORT YOU AND ARE THERE TO HELP YOU
AND IT GIVES YOU OVER THE LONG HAUL
A VERY, VERY INTERESTING CAREER OPTION.
THINGS CHANGE ALL THE TIME.
YOU'RE NEVER OUT THERE JUST BY YOURSELF,
YOU'RE ALWAYS DEALING WITH OTHERS,
AND THIS BECOMES A VERY EXCITING KIND OF CAREER PATHWAY.
ONE OF THE QUALITIES THAT I LOOK FOR AND I TELL MY FELLOW MENTEES
ALL THE TIME IS YOU HAVE TO BE PERSISTENT.
NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF PERSISTENCE.
YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THERE'S GOING TO BE
LOTS OF HILLS AND VALLEYS THAT YOU WORK IN
BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE GOAL AND ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE
GOING TO HAVE SOME DELAYED GRATIFICATION.
AND IF SOMEBODY GETS FRUSTRATED RELATIVELY EASILY,
THEY PROBABLY AREN'T GOING TO BE A REALLY GOOD RESEARCHER.
IT'S THE CURIOSITY THAT YOU HAVE, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY
FED BY THE KIND OF PEOPLE YOU MEET
AND WHETHER YOU CAN STRIKE A RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE
WHO WANT TO DO THE SAME KIND OF WORK YOU DO.
THIS IS A TEAM SPORT, LIKE THE 3-DAY CRICKET MATCH.
THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN IN AN HOUR, FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING.
IT IS A LONG SLOG, THERE CAN BE LOTS OF HICCUPS ALONG THE WAY,
SO YOU NEED SOMEONE WHO'S TENACIOUS,
WHO'S GOING TO STAY THE COURSE, AND SEE IT THROUGH.
Jenkins: THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF CONDITIONS
THAT ARE GOING TO BE
MORE PREVALENT IN MINORITY POPULATIONS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT
IN WHICH PEOPLE LIVE IN ORDER TO REALLY HAVE INTERVENTIONS
THAT ARE CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE.
TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED
IN THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS, IN TERMS OF SOCIAL CONTEXT
AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS, I THINK IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT
IN TERMS OF THE HEALTH DISPARITIES WORK.
A FEW YEARS AGO, I WAS BEING INTERVIEWED BY
ONE OF THE BOSTON NEWSPAPERS, AND THEY SAID TO ME--
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU RETIRE,
HOW WILL YOU DEFINE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER?
I SAID IF ONE YOUNG INVESTIGATOR WHO'S COME UP,
ONE STUDENT, RESIDENT, FELLOW
THAT I'VE HELPED MENTOR AND TRAIN,
AND THEY GO INTO ACADEMIC PEDIATRICS
AND THEY MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION
TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF CHILDREN,
I WILL CONSIDER MY WHOLE CAREER A COMPLETE SUCCESS.