In this episode, we interview Dr. Edward Barksdale. He is the newly elected American Pediatric Surgery Association president. He is also the division chief of pediatric general surgery and thoracic surgery at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.
He recently launched the Anti-Fragility Initiative, which takes a unique approach to addressing Cleveland’s teen poverty challenge and has already received over $2 million from the Governor of Ohio.
We hope you enjoy our conversation where we talk about living in the moment, committing to excellence, leading from a place of purpose, leading as an introvert and the difference between success and significance.
Questions we asked include:
- You met Dr. MLK when you were a child. Tell us about that story and how it impacted you.
- How do medical trainees work to live in the moment?
- What advice would you give to someone struggling to find their purpose?
- What does excellence look like for you?
- How do you know if you are adding value to interactions?
- How can someone overcome their introversion as a leader?
- What are some of your favorite books?
Our favorite quotes:
- “It doesn’t take wings, a halo, or anything from divinity for you to be a leader and have tremendous impact.”
- “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.”
- “History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” — James Baldwin
- “Don’t be a human doing, but strive to be a human being.”
- “Success is the pursuit of maximizing your talents to the best level you can, and then giving that away.”
- “A smooth sea never made a strong sailor.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “Hope … is the ability to work for something because it is good, not because it stands a chance that it will succeed.” — Vaclav Havel
- “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” — Seneca
- “You’ve got to get your boat in the water.”
- “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” — Ernest Hemingway
Book Suggestions:
- Altruism by Matthieu Ricard
- Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor by Sylvia Ann Hewlett
- The Second Mountain by David Brooks
- Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
If you enjoy what we’re doing at Leading the Rounds, subscribe and give us a positive rating. You can also connect with us at leadingtherounds.com and on social media.
Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast
As physicians, we are immediately thrust into a leadership position from the moment we finish medical school. Despite this, most medical students will obtain little formal leadership training. We seek to improve our leadership abilities as burgeoning physicians. We developed this podcast to challenge ourselves to explore ideas in leadership development and how they apply to medical training. We hope to educate and motivate others to further develop themselves as leaders in health care.
Columnist
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Peter is a second-year MD/PhD Candidate at Wayne State University School of Medicine. In 2016, he graduated with Honors from the University of Pittsburgh double majoring in chemistry and molecular biology. He then earned an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins in 2018. Peter currently holds a Thomas C. Rumble Fellowship and the Jerry A & Mary D Martin Memorial Scholarship from the AHEPA Educational Foundation. In his free time, he enjoys rock-climbing, cooking and hiking. After graduating from medical school, Peter would like to pursue a career in Dermatology as a physician-scientist and pursue a career as a physician-writer as well.
Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast
As physicians, we are immediately thrust into a leadership position from the moment we finish medical school. Despite this, most medical students will obtain little formal leadership training. We seek to improve our leadership abilities as burgeoning physicians. We developed this podcast to challenge ourselves to explore ideas in leadership development and how they apply to medical training. We hope to educate and motivate others to further develop themselves as leaders in healthcare.
Writer-in-Training and Columnist
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Caleb Sokolowski is a second-year medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. In 2018, he graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of science in Human Biology. Caleb is interested in medical ethics, policy, and education. In his free time, Caleb participates in number of activities including sports, CrossFit, paddle boarding and cycling.
Leading the Rounds: The Medical Leadership Podcast
As physicians, we are immediately thrust into a leadership position from the moment we finish medical school. Despite this, most medical students will obtain little formal leadership training. We seek to improve our leadership abilities as burgeoning physicians. We developed this podcast to challenge ourselves to explore ideas in leadership development and how they apply to medical training. We hope to educate and motivate others to further develop themselves as leaders in healthcare.