Be a ’Persister’ with Dr. Elie Berbari

Elie Berbari, MD is a Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Berbari graduated from St. Joseph Medical School and completed his residency in Internal medicine from the State University of New York Health Science Center before joining Mayo for a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases. His primary area of research interest is osteoarticular infections specifically prosthetic joint infections. A passionate clinician educator, Dr. Berbari has consistently been awarded by the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic for Excellence in Clinical Teaching and was named Top Educator by the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the Mayo Clinic in 2014.

The values that our parents embody and pass on to us when we're growing up have the ability to shape our lives. Lucky for Dr. Elie Berbari, his parents instilled in him the values of education, hard work, and persistence. Today, Dr. Berbari shares stories from his life: growing up during the civil war in Lebanon, getting shot when he was 12, losing both his parents in med school, moving to the United States to complete his residency -- all formidable challenges. It would have been easy for Dr. Berbari to give up at any of those points, but he persisted.

Pearls of Wisdom:

1. Success comes from hard work plus persistence. Being a persister is key: don't stop in the face of challenges or failure. 2. A majority of residents around the country feel burned out. An antidote to burnout is to practice gratitude -- be grateful for what you have and express it -- and forgiveness -- don't hold a grudge against inequities. 3. Finding the right mentor is key to an effective mentoring relationship. Try finding someone who's different than you, and make sure it's someone you're comfortable speaking your mind with.