Optimism, Mentorship and the Next Generation of Surgeons
“I always say that I will die of optimism, but I truly believe that mentorship in orthopedics is improving. From the perspective of our national societies both the AOA and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) are very interested in fostering mentorship and have added related programs. At HSS we have increasingly tried to intertwine mentorship opportunities into our traditional training. For example, we have developed a leadership curriculum and support for those early career surgeons who want to participate in a travelling fellowship.”
Fundamentally, says Dr. Albert, mentorship means caring more about those you lead than yourself. “Dick Rothman’s words are always with me, namely, ‘Institutions have no loyalty. People have loyalty.’”
“When I am sitting in a meeting wondering how to incentivize physicians, I draw upon that wisdom.”
What does mentoring look like from Todd Albert’s perspective? “First of all, it needs to be individualized to the person’s specific goals. When someone steps up to be a mentor, he or she must first get to know the person so they can determine what motivates them. If I can do that then I can help them motivate themselves.”
“People are byproducts of how they were raised, so it is important to know how they were raised. If I can see that someone is motivated by superficial things that are not going to be helpful to them, then I can steer them in the right direction. We typically think that once people are past kindergarten their personalities aren’t so malleable. But I have seen people change over time, which gives me hope for the medical profession.”
“I have had mentees who started with the sole goal of doing as many cases as they can, thinking along the lines of, ‘I can crank out a lot of surgeries an make a ton of money.’ But then they got turned on to the potential for leadership and are now leaders in various departments and societies throughout our profession.”
“I derive a great deal of satisfaction from guiding younger members at our institution in terms of spine, orthopedics and where HSS should be going. Also intellectually stimulating is my fairly recent involvement with private equity. These investors have turned their sights on orthopedics and want to partner with individuals, practices and services and be on board as our field grows.”
Todd Albert Looks Ahead…For All of Us
And growing it is, with the global orthopedic device market estimated at $50 billion in 2018 and some projections saying it will reach $65 billion by 2026.1
“The burden of orthopedic disease is exploding thanks to the worldwide aging population and other factors. I am concerned about the potential homogenization of orthopedics. Because of all of the consolidation that is occurring due to outside pressures, I fear that we will no longer recognize and cultivate excellence.”
“Dick Rothman used to say that large institutions tend to not value individual talent and often regard orthopedic surgeons as fungible commodities. This might be more true than ever.”
“I think that we must value talent differently. If an institution is determined to achieve a bigger footprint, but then it stops honoring the individuals who are superstars then that is troublesome.”
“Another observation is about my children’s generation. While we older people are bemoaning what we see as a problematic work ethic, they actually have a great attitude about life. They will say, ‘I’m not doing that 90 hours a week thing! I have a life.’ Given all of our talk about burnout these days, we should recognize that we sound like hypocrites when we criticize them. But the fact remains that the field is very demanding…and that is not going to change.”
When not solving orthopedic issues, Todd Albert relaxes with his friends from his history book club and the New York Historical Society. He enjoys routine exercise on his Peleton and in the gym. He can also be found spending time with his wife Barbara and his three children. They enjoy travel, movies, Broadway shows and regular Sunday family dinners with two of their three children who live in Manhattan.
Dr. Todd Albert…celebrating the individual in order to support the institution.
1 Orthopedic Devices Market to Achieve US$65,000 Million by 2026, Says TMR; https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orthopedic-devices-market-to-achieve-us65-000-million-by-2026–says-tmr-300813077.html
