Today there was a research retreat of our cancer center. Main audience were fellows (trainees to be MD) and junior faculties.
I checked out the talks on zoom/remote. The contents were educational, something like an orientation for the audience to start up their research careers.
Manty of the speakers were presenting their own career development, so that we can see them as relatable life stories, or learning materials for success and for life at the clinical setting.
Knowing the rules of the game early is terribly important.
An important thing to play the game is that we need a go-getter's mindset.
For example, in our research lab, for high schoolers and undergraduates, we spoon-feed things.
A major transition we anticipate to occur in the graduate school students is to practice active learning.
Instead of waiting patiently for teachers, mentors and colleagues to feed them, graduate school students should acquire the methods to actively construct their learning on the subject of their interest.
Certainly, active learning is a methodical approach to find, study, and make progress in the subject of interest. Active learning can speed up your progress so much.
PhDs need it. To some extent, MDs (or research-minded success-conscious MDs), too. But unfortunately in practice, MD candidates can be too busy acquiring all the medical knowledge, and they may not always get active learning skills.
Active learning methods include how to select resources and materials. This knowledge can make you somewhat resistant to manipulations by others (politician, strangers in internet, biased media, etc. Opinions are cheap. Baseless lies can even be harmful. You got to be selective about the sources).
That is why I thought the old buzz phrase "I did my research" was so laughable. Really depends on who is saying and what the "research" actually is.
Another important notion is critical thinking. But for today, I'd emphasize the importance of active learning here.
You can apply the active learning approach to anything, like your hobby.
I am still using the approach to my ballet, too (hehe).
