A Conversation with Dr. Stacey Rose

“Approach each day with the idea that you need to be able to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and know that you did your best.”

Bio

Dr. Stacey Rose is the Assistant Dean of Clinical Curriculum and Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Baylor College of Medicine. As a physician leader, educator, and mentor, Dr. Rose has received many national honors and awards from bodies such as the American College of Physicians and the ACGME. She is committed to improving medical education through curriculum development, as well as improving physician wellness.

What experiences from your childhood shaped your life?

“When reflecting on my childhood, the first folks that come to mind are my parents,” Dr. Rose reflects. “I had incredible role models and continue to have incredible role models as my parents. My father is a physician. My mom is in education, so she was a math teacher for many years and then she moved into educational leadership and administration and later on, consulting.”

Despite having a father as a physician, Dr. Rose grew up with no desire to follow his career path. Observing his long hours and limited time with family, she got a firsthand view of the pressures that come with this profession. For a short time, she pursued a career as an actress and landed a rare gig, somewhat ironically, with an advertising agency at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas. In Dr. Rose’s words, “It’s like the stars aligned. We were shooting a commercial. I was in the emergency room at Ben Taub, not as a doctor, not as a student, not as a volunteer, but as part of this advertising agency and I sort of had that vantage point and thought, ‘Wow, this Spanish speaking mom is having a lot of trouble communicating with the doctor as to what’s wrong with her kid, I speak Spanish, that was part of my training in college, and I’d really love to help this situation.’”

That experience spurred a change, and from there Dr. Rose pursued a path into medical school.

What challenges did you face as you maneuvered a mid-path career change?

“Early on, there was definitely a learning curve,” Dr. Rose recalls, “I can remember sitting in classes having to do with biochemistry and metabolism and we had a really great educator who would elaborately draw pathways in real time with chalk and we would check it out and I remember thinking, ‘This is review for most of you. I have never seen this material. I have no idea what this is!’”

Despite this challenge, Dr. Rose’s winding career journey brought come unique advantages. She had more maturity, conscientiousness, and intention around her education. “I had sort of seen other things and thought, ‘Well, no, this is what I want to do and so I’m just going to put in the time and resources in order to get that content under my belt.’”

In time, her journey became easier. “Once I felt like I was able to successfully navigate that new content, then the rest sort of fell into place, and I no longer felt disadvantaged in any way really beyond MS one year.”

What changes in the last 15 years have brought about more burnout in physicians?

One of the primary factors, Dr. Rose notes, is the tremendous amount of workload physicians face today. Although, as she goes on to point out, this is nothing new. For example, “You talk about the house officers from days of yore. That term ‘house officers’ was because they lived there, they lived at the hospital. That was literally their life in residency. So, let’s not pretend that years ago residents and physicians weren’t already burdened with workload.”

That said, new challenges continue to emerge. There is the pressure to turn patients through the medical cogwheel, resulting in less personal connection. Then there is the distancing that is happening with patients, not just because of Covid-19, but the electronic health record and other systems level issues.

From Dr. Rose’s perspective, taking care of oneself is essential for physicians. It is the key to long-term sustainability.

What does innovation in curriculum and active learning look like?

“I think a lot of curriculums across the country are moving towards more active formats of learning,” Dr. Rose responds, “That is transitioning from the traditional ‘sage on the stage’ as they call it to a ‘guide on the side.’ Rather than me at the front of a room, telling you facts about microbiology that you need to memorize, actually finding ways to engage you as the learner and as the driver of your own learning. That’s really what active learning is all about.”

Dr. Rose continues, “I think one of the most helpful ways to open these sorts of conversations is to think about when’s the last time you really learned something well. When’s the last time you acquired a new knowledge base and how did you acquire it? Was it really from a lecture? Probably not.”

Dr. Rose believes the concept of active learning is having the learner engaged and driving their own learning. “It is a balance. I’m not saying there’s not a role for some lectures, but more and more I think we’re trying to find ways to make our educational sessions as engaging and learner centric as possible.”

If you were to take out some key traits and habits of the most successful students that you work with, what would they be?

“The word ‘self-starter’ comes to mind.” Being motivated and not afraid to make mistakes are two ingredients Dr. Rose finds essential for success. “I think the student, or the resident, gets the most out of their experience when they are the driver, the same as active learning.”

For those who are not self-starters, Dr. Rose highlights the role of a mentor. The mentor is the one who should nudge and even nag their mentees into developing that self-starter mindset. As she points out, it’s easier to refine effort than hold a student’s hand through the process. After all, “They will get more out of it if they attack it themselves first.”

Dr. Rose encourages physicians to always bring everything back to their patients. Make them the focus and try your best in every endeavor.

Pearls of Wisdom

1. Celebrate successes, however large or small. This will lower the risks of burnout.
2. Find a mentor. Do not be shy to reach out! Build a network of mentors who can speak to different areas of your life.
3. Remember that everything is about the patient, regardless if it is administrative or clinical.
4. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Seek to minimize them but simply focus on doing your best every single day.