top of page
Search

Dr. Baetz Q&A

  • Writer: BWI2020
    BWI2020
  • Nov 6, 2020
  • 9 min read

1. Relating to your research, what does a day in the life of a researcher look like?

Thank you for your question. I am not a full time researcher so I do not have a routine research day as my research happens in combination with clinical, teaching and administrative work.  In my case I typically have more than a dozen different research projects underway at different stages of development and depending on the stage some of the research needs different focus at different times.  I typically have regular research meetings with the other investigators and students involved with the research to review status of projects and decide on new projects.  Finding funding for research always is a concern and a lot of time goes into grant writing.  In addition there is also manuscript review and revisions once the research is completed.  In my experience research is really not one activity but multiple different meetings, strategic discussions and collaborations and writing to try to answer important questions.  I also do a lot of clinical research so evaluating patients on new cancer treatments also is an important time of both my clinical and research time.  

2. Hi Dr, Baetz! Thank you for your post, it seems that you have had lots of experience across Canada and around the world! Would you say that medicine and healthcare is different in other parts of Canada where you have done research, and how do you think the field is transformed due to COVID?

Thank you for your question. There are some things that are same with medicine everywhere you go and other things that are different.  Generally medicine in Canada is more similar than it is different.  We have a generally small medical community and we do communicate well together although there are barriers that happen occasionally with difference in access to treatment in different provinces and differences with patient drug costs (especially oral drugs) in different provinces.  We have a very large geographic area to cover and that results in strains on the system.  I think COVID has put strain on the system and has highlighted issues that we typically knew were problems that when you add COVID become very large problems.  The wonderful silver lining that we are seeing with COVID is the amazing ability of health care providers to develop new and novel approaches to problems that pre-covid we were not able to really make any significant change (eg virtual care).  The goal is that post COVID we will have a better and more integrated system.

3. Hi Dr. Baetz! Amazing post! How did you know that this career path was meant for you? 

Thank you for your question.  I think that medicine appealed to me because I liked the science of medicine and the art of medicine (communication and examination of patients).  Internal medicine appealed to me because I enjoy puzzles and internal medicine is all about putting together the questions of why does this patient have this problem and why is it happening today and what can I do to fix this and prevent this from happening again. The patient factors are as important as the science and internal medicine is a wonderful combination of the two.  In addition I wanted to be involved in an area of medicine that was interesting and meaningful and I definitely have found both in oncology. I chose academic medicine because I am very curious and impatient and want to try to improve outcomes for my patients and I feel that the only way to make real change is to do research. We have made progress but the patients I see everyday help me see what progress we still have to make.

4. Good morning Dr. Baetz, thank you for answering our questions this week! One of the aspects of medicine that I find interesting is the gender pay gap. Currently in every medical specialty and between specialties, male physicians receive higher payments, even when performing the same service as their female counter parts. It has been explained that this isn’t due to female physicians working less efficiently, but is in part based on systematic bias in medical school, hiring, promotion etc. As a women who has succeeded in her field, can you comment on ways you’ve noticed this bias and steps you’ve taken to overcome this? Thank you!

Thank you – this is an interesting question.  I have to say that for me personally I have not experienced any gender pay gap and I have always made the same amount of money as my male counterparts except when I took off almost a year for maternity leave (but that was a personal choice and I could have taken off less time and not had any financial impact).  I have also not seen any issues in gender discrepancy in promotion or hiring although oncology does have a lot of diversity and female leadership. Medical schools are usually at least 50% female acceptance typically so that is not usually an issue to get into medicine based on gender but I do agree that there are fewer leadership positions with women but that is changing (the dean of medicine is a woman, the head of systemic therapy for the province is a woman and my last department head was a woman).  I do think that these gender issues may be different in the surgical specialties but I can’t really comment on them as I have not experienced them.  There are differences if women decide to choose certain training programs or specialties because they wish to have a family and take time off to have a family.  I guess I see this as a personal lifestyle decision and I know many men that take paternity leave or decide to go into certain specialties for the work life balance so I am not sure this is a gender issue.   The fee schedule is not equal as it incentivises procedure work which again may have some differences in how women vs men decide to practice.  There are also differences in community specialists compared to academics and researchers compared to clinicians and differences within specialties can be very significant regardless of gender.  I think that developing leadership skills and supporting other women and seeking out a female mentor would be very helpful in future success. 

5. Hi Dr. Baetz! Your post is extremely interesting to me as I am looking at cancer research as a possibility to pursue my career. I found it especially fascinating how you have seen the progression of cancer treatment and care over the years in which you have worked in cancer care and research. I am striving to become involved in research early to gain experience,  I was wondering what tips or advice you have for a second-year student hoping to gain more experience and work towards a career such as yours! Thank you!Heili 

Thank you for your question.  I think the most important advice for a student early on in your career is to seek out projects and be willing to do help out on ongoing reserach and get an idea of the type and amount of work that goes into research  - much of this is not glamorous and there is a lot of chart reviews or long days at the lab.  Research is not for everyone but it is also very varied and just because you don’t like one type of research does not mean another type may be really fun. I would suggest making sure you read as much background about the research you are doing as possible and observe how the lead investigators and researchers are asking questions of the research team.  There are always opportunities around for keen and interested students.  I also think that perseverance helps and being willing to take advantage of an opportunity even though this may not be in the area you initially were looking to get involved in.  Every experience will teach you something even if it is that you do not want to do that sort of research. 

6. What advice would you give to a third- or fourth-year student applying to medical school? How do you think applicants can stand out, since so many internships and extra curricular activities have been cancelled due to the pandemic?  

Thank you for this question.  COVID has changed many things and you are right that many standard ways of getting extracurricular or other experience is no longer available.  I do think though like many things with COVID that this is a challenge but also an opportunity.  Medical schools want to create future medical leaders and I think that the pandemic gives everyone the opportunity to ask what they can do during this difficult time.  There are many people in need and we are coming into a hard/long winter.  I would challenge you to think about how you can help virtually and safely to support those that are more vulnerable.  Some thoughts that come to mind are issues with homeschooling – can you virtually support elementary or high school students virtually in science or math to help support teachers and students right now?  There are also many elderly people that are not computer savvy – setting up facebook or zoom accounts seem very easy but for many this is very challenging – can you think of ways of supporting them?  There are many possibilities and I think that like many parts of the world that you will need to pivot from the precovid standard way of applying to medical school to now during covid showing how you can adapt and possibly even create something that is novel and makes a difference to your community.  Good luck.

7. Thank you for providing your story for us, Dr. Baetz! With such an important and busy job managing so many different students, centres, patients, etc., I was wondering how you manage burnout or difficult aspects of your job; especially working with cancer diagnoses that may or may not be easily treated. What do you do to lean on your support network and get back on track? Thank you! Lexi 

Thank you for your question.  I do think that being in touch with how you personally respond to stress and when you see that you are becoming stressed to lean on your team, colleagues and friends/family.  Actively focusing on things that make you happy or decrease stress (going for walks, exercising) is important.  One of the methods of helping yourself I have heard called the Tarzan approach – basically if and activity is good for you (eg coffee with a good friend) that you don’t leave that activity before booking it in the future so that you always have something to look forward to and hold onto.  I rarely find my clinical work stressful but I think as a physician you tend to work with patient populations that you like.  I find my patients are generally a source of inspiration and typically they bring me up much more than brining me down. 

8. Hi Dr. Baetz! Thank you for sharing with us! One of the things you mentioned that have changed since COVID is your travelling ability, as you previously used to travel about every 6 weeks. Could you elaborate on how you incorporate travel with your work? Furthermore, has there been any particular place/experience that you found to be really memorable? Thanks again! :) 

Thank you for your question.  Much of my travel was for work and many conferences would be leaving Friday and coming back Tuesday so short but busy travel.  For relaxing travel I tried to take on 2-3 week vacation with my family per year.  The place we went back to time and time again was Maui in Hawaii because this was the place that we found we could relax together and really feels that we got away.  I would definitely recommend (post COVID) that everyone at some point go to Hawaii.  One of the issues with Covid is that there is no travel to look forward to which is challenging – as a family we are making a post pandemic list of places we want to see.  I am very happy I have done as much travel as I did but I suspect that post covid we will not be travelling as much for work as we are finding that much of the work can be done remotely quite well.

9. Hi Dr. Baetz, thank you so much for sharing! I really enjoyed your post. I was wondering if you and your colleagues in the hospital tend to take on undergraduate students for your research. I was wondering if you could share some advice on how to gain research experience and how to go about asking professors, doctors and other research professionals to join their research teams. Thank you so much! 

Thank you for your question.  I do think that undergraduate students are not commonly involved in clinical research but again I think being willing to be involved in any research opportunities that come your way and being persistent will be very helpful.  I would ask your instructors if they know of anyone looking for students and also develop a thick skin – you may not get opportunities initially and may hear a lot of no’s before you hear a yes but do not take this personally – there are a lot of students.  In addition do as much background work as possible if you do get an opportunity and make sure you get as much out of the experience as possible.  Good luck.

10.Hi Dr Baetz! Thank you for sharing your post! What advice would you give to students looking to get into research during their undergrad? Also, what extracurriculars did you do/recommend doing to enhance your med school application? 

I think this question is a combination of answers above!

 
 
 

5 Comments


BZabulonyWakeleyy
Jun 03

Taken together, these details ensure that the link FXD isn't ornamental, or superfluous. It's a tool, not a token. The FXD is a useful addition to a diver's gear kit, especially in diving situations link that require low visibility link navigation.

Like

BZabulonyWakeleyy
May 30

The watch was produced link in a very link limited quantity. An exact production figure isn't available, but Erik Strickland, an expert who owns two examples of the 5718 – both the silver- and grey-dialed executions – postulates that there are roughly 100. It was only sold for 15 days (the length of the Olympics) so a large quantity wouldn't link have been produced.

Like

CMandalIlhanl
Apr 20

When I saw a gaggle of Cartier London pieces pop up at a small auction in the UK, my interest was firmly piqued. Upon link closer inspection, I have some gripes or concerns link with a few. These are normal concerns with vintage Cartier watches, such as possibly replacing hands, dials, etc. That said, this Tank Allongée checks link out to my eye and could prove to be the rarest of the bunch anyway.

Like

CMandalIlhanl
Apr 19

What do you consider link the relationship between fashion and watchmaking?Wristwatches were originally seen as jewelry. I consider link watches to be fashion, to be honest, because they’re about not link just seeing what time it is, but about colors, materials, trends. Just like fashion, watchmaking doesn't look away from trends. I consider a timepiece an accessory to round out the style that you're aiming for.

Like

BGamilaoUbaido
Mar 20

The idea of a "two watch collection" seems to strike a nerve link with people. "How am link I supposed to get by with only two watches?," someone might say. We might even hear that "anyone with just two watches is NOT a true watch collector!" The takes are always link hot.

Like
Post: Blog2_Post
  • Instagram

©2020 by Breakfast In Bed. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page