After his medical residency, Miguel decides to go into academic research. Although medical school was exciting, and he e
Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 2:16 pm
After his medical residency, Miguel decides to go into academic
research. Although medical school was exciting, and he enjoyed the
challenge of applying what he had learned in clinical practice to
his specialty area of pain disorders, what he really likes is the
idea of working in science. He is especially attracted to the
notion of interacting with other researchers in his field, sharing
ideas, and benefiting from the intellectual interplay of the
research world...brown bag seminars, conferences, internet
exchanges, and a helpful mentor. Miguel decides that he had better
pursue his research interests while he is still young, single, full
of new ideas, and brave enough to see if he can become a successful
medical researcher. He rationalizes that he can always return to
the more secure world of clinical medicine if research doesn’t work
out, but that he probably cannot go the other direction–from many
years as a clinician to becoming a researcher. His main interest,
pain management, is a field that is really taking off, and he has a
lot of ideas that he wants to pursue as a researcher. Miguel
receives some startup funds from Dr. Jones, his advisor and
clinical liaison, and begins to delve deeply into the literature to
formulate his own ideas around some novel uses of a drug that is
currently on the market. He writes a complex investigator protocol
which he thinks is very good. He asks Dr. Jones and another
colleague, Dr. Harpin, to read and critique his full proposal. A
month later, Dr. Harpin, calls Miguel. “Hate to tell you, but Dr.
Jones just submitted a research proposal identical to yours as part
of a large federal grant that the institution is tendering,” he
says. “I know it is yours because I edited it.” Miguel can’t
believe his ears. His colleague says, “Unfortunately, I’m afraid
the administration will pull your protocol and say it’s in the best
interests of the organization to have someone of his stature submit
the protocol, not you.” Miguel is flabbergasted. He’d done all the
hard work of devising the protocol, not Dr. Jones. When he tells
his friend and junior researcher, Erika, she responds, “Oh, you
stupid idiot. Why did you send the entire protocol to anyone?”
Miguel explains that he thought that academic medicine provided a
place where he could and should share his ideas. Now he is angry
with himself for losing control of his protocol. At this point,
Miguel feels so discouraged, powerless, and defeated that he wishes
he were back in clinical practice. He wishes he were anywhere
except where he is. What should Miguel do?
Discussion Questions If Miguel could prove that the work is his,
do you think he could recover control of his protocol? • Who would
you discuss the problem with? • How should Dr. Harpin respond in
this matter? • How might Miguel assess whom in the administration
to trust with a complaint about a senior researcher? • Why might
the university prefer to have a senior investigator submit an
innovative research proposal instead of a junior investigator? •
What are some subtle take-away lessons gleaned from this case?
research. Although medical school was exciting, and he enjoyed the
challenge of applying what he had learned in clinical practice to
his specialty area of pain disorders, what he really likes is the
idea of working in science. He is especially attracted to the
notion of interacting with other researchers in his field, sharing
ideas, and benefiting from the intellectual interplay of the
research world...brown bag seminars, conferences, internet
exchanges, and a helpful mentor. Miguel decides that he had better
pursue his research interests while he is still young, single, full
of new ideas, and brave enough to see if he can become a successful
medical researcher. He rationalizes that he can always return to
the more secure world of clinical medicine if research doesn’t work
out, but that he probably cannot go the other direction–from many
years as a clinician to becoming a researcher. His main interest,
pain management, is a field that is really taking off, and he has a
lot of ideas that he wants to pursue as a researcher. Miguel
receives some startup funds from Dr. Jones, his advisor and
clinical liaison, and begins to delve deeply into the literature to
formulate his own ideas around some novel uses of a drug that is
currently on the market. He writes a complex investigator protocol
which he thinks is very good. He asks Dr. Jones and another
colleague, Dr. Harpin, to read and critique his full proposal. A
month later, Dr. Harpin, calls Miguel. “Hate to tell you, but Dr.
Jones just submitted a research proposal identical to yours as part
of a large federal grant that the institution is tendering,” he
says. “I know it is yours because I edited it.” Miguel can’t
believe his ears. His colleague says, “Unfortunately, I’m afraid
the administration will pull your protocol and say it’s in the best
interests of the organization to have someone of his stature submit
the protocol, not you.” Miguel is flabbergasted. He’d done all the
hard work of devising the protocol, not Dr. Jones. When he tells
his friend and junior researcher, Erika, she responds, “Oh, you
stupid idiot. Why did you send the entire protocol to anyone?”
Miguel explains that he thought that academic medicine provided a
place where he could and should share his ideas. Now he is angry
with himself for losing control of his protocol. At this point,
Miguel feels so discouraged, powerless, and defeated that he wishes
he were back in clinical practice. He wishes he were anywhere
except where he is. What should Miguel do?
Discussion Questions If Miguel could prove that the work is his,
do you think he could recover control of his protocol? • Who would
you discuss the problem with? • How should Dr. Harpin respond in
this matter? • How might Miguel assess whom in the administration
to trust with a complaint about a senior researcher? • Why might
the university prefer to have a senior investigator submit an
innovative research proposal instead of a junior investigator? •
What are some subtle take-away lessons gleaned from this case?