Physicians who are new to gastroenterology have unique needs when it comes to starting a career in clinical practice or research, according to Avinash Ketwaroo, MD, chair of the AGA Trainee and Early Career Committee.
“To address those needs, AGA has developed some very special programming at DDW® that will help trainees and early career GIs give their careers a boost, network with mentors and peers, and review board material,” said Dr. Ketwaroo, assistant professor of gastroenterology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
Dr. Ketwaroo is most excited to invite all students, trainees and early career physicians to the AGA Early Career Networking Hour, sponsored by the committee, on Sunday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the DDW Trainee and Early Career Lounge (Hall D, Level 2).
Career-building sessions are sprinkled throughout AGA’s four days of educational programming. The most obvious starting point — and the most intensive part of the program — is the 2018 AGA Postgraduate Course: From Abstract to Reality. Sessions for the ticketed course run all day Saturday and half-day Sunday.
While the AGA Postgraduate Course requires advance registration and has a separate fee, other trainee/early career programming is included in DDW registration.
“As new GIs, we all face what look like unique issues but are actually shared across all of our settings,” Dr. Ketwaroo said. “We don’t often talk about these issues openly and frankly.”
Burnout is one of those issues. It affects all providers, but it can affect trainees and early career physicians disproportionately.
Monday’s AGA Committee Sponsored Symposium Strategies for a Successful Career: Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Resilience will address burnout and review prevention strategies that include emphasizing work-life balance, resilience and leadership.
“The other issue that we don’t discuss openly is those difficult conversations we all have,” Dr. Ketwaroo said. “These difficult conversations are a fact of life during training, whether you are headed toward clinical practice or an academic career. And because we don’t talk about it, most of us are left addressing these issues based on anecdotal advice or with very limited experience.”
Sunday’s AGA Committee Sponsored Symposium Difficult Conversations: Navigating People, Negotiations, Promotions and Complications is a unique opportunity for trainees and early career GIs to get frank advice from four senior colleagues.
Other key sessions for trainees and early career GIs include:
Monday
Exploring Academic Career Pathways in Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Session description: Determine opportunities that will help promote a career in basic science and research; identify opportunities that will aid in obtaining grant support for basic science and clinical research; formulate a plan to create opportunities and explore clinical research for a career in academic medicine; recognize opportunities to succeed in medical education as a career in GI and hepatology.
Advancing Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology Fellow-Directed Quality-Improvement Projects
Session description: This trainee-focused session will showcase selected abstracts from GI fellows based on quality improvement with a state-of-the-art lecture. Attendees will be provided with information that defines practical approaches to quality improvement from start to finish.
Tuesday
Board Review Course
Session description: This session, designed around content from DDSEP® 8, serves as a primer for third-year fellows preparing for the board exams, as well as a review course for others wanting to test their knowledge.
Please refer to the DDW Mobile App or the Program sections of DDW Daily News for the times and locations of the and other DDW events.
