What to Consider If Fulfillment Is Missing Despite Your Success in Academic Medicine with Brian Downer, PhD

In this week's enlightening episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast, we explore finding satisfaction in our careers. We discuss how we measure and perceive this satisfaction, as well as examine its connection to success—or the lack thereof. Joining us for this introspective discussion is our first-time guest, Brian Downer, PhD.

With the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Dr. Downer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health and Health Disparities in the School of Public and Population Health. He is also the Director of the Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Program and a Program Director for Population Health Sciences Program. Dr. Downer is a Gerontologist by training.

If you would like to read the article referenced by Dr. Downer in this podcast, you can find the 2023 article from the Harvard Business Review titled "Why Success Doesn’t Lead to Satisfaction" here: https://hbr.org/2023/01/why-success-doesnt-lead-to-satisfaction.

Where does satisfaction start? Perhaps with a shift in your mindset, as we learn from Dr. Downer and the article he references above throughout today’s conversation.

As outlined in this podcast, that mindset shift is about finding satisfaction “because,” not “when.” Essentially, if you wait until you achieve something to believe that you will derive satisfaction from it, that fulfillment may never come, or it may be very short-lived, leaving you wanting so much more.

Finding joy in the journey, rather than in the destination, can be the key to achieving the satisfaction that you might otherwise find missing as your career milestones, laurels, achievements, and “successes” accumulate. How to go about capturing that joy is at the heart of this discussion.

Visit the Faculty Factory website for more resources: https://facultyfactory.org/.