Who was a mentor that helped you in your career?

“A mentor that helped me in my career was Dr. Lisa Kennedy Sheldon. Dr. Kennedy Sheldon has been an influential part of my PhD studies and has guided me throughout my years at UMass Boston. I met Dr. Kennedy Sheldon in 2009 when I was assigned to be her research assistant. She is a great mentor because not only does she support my educational achievements, she also supports my personal achievements, enabling me to have a balanced life as she does. I admire her dedication to her career, but most importantly to her family. I am a firm believer that the greatest lessons taught in life aren’t lessons that are verbalized, but those that are taught through actions and demeanor. I have never seen Dr. Kennedy Sheldon stressed, no matter what is happening she is always smiling and always has a positive outlook. The biggest lesson that I’ve learned from Dr. Kennedy Sheldon is that everything will work itself out, don’t stress and keep smiling.”

-Dany Hilaire, RN, Oncology

“Looking back at my career so far, J. Stephen Bohan MD, MS, stands out as the ‘chief of the bureau of unsolicited advice’ who has played a key role in shaping my view of the health care system and more specifically, my interest in observation medicine. Steve is a pioneer in this area, predicting the need for dedicated observation units over twenty years ago—well in advance of current trends. When I was a resident at the Brigham, Steve introduced me to observation medicine and mentored me through my first peer-reviewed research paper. I took over Steve’s role as medical director of the observation unit he founded when I joined the Brigham faculty in 2009 and he has remained a tremendous mentor, collaborator and friend to this day.”

-Christopher Baugh, MD, MBA, Emergency Medicine

“Eugene Braunwald, who has been my mentor since 1981, when I presented cases to him in morning report or rounds. His commitment, intelligence, standards and values have shaped and transformed my life in medicine. Every decision that I have made during my life in medicine stems from the knowledge, values and wisdom he gave me. His impact on multiple generations is durable and profound.”

– Betsy Nabel, MD, BWH President

“I first met Dr. Ken Baughman when I was an intern at Johns Hopkins in 2001 and again in 2004 when I was a cardiology fellow at the Brigham. [Ken had moved to the Brigham in 2002.] Ken was an unparalleled clinician and a source of inspiration for the many residents and fellows that worked with him. I also remember Ken as a man of integrity and professionalism, a dry sense of humor, but above all as a mentor. Ken played a critical leadership role in our ability to start the Cardio-Oncology program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. With his untimely death our program really lost an important cheerleader and someone who fully grasped that such a program was not just a new clinical entity, but a platform for collaboration and research.”

-Javid Moslehi, MD, Cardiovascular

“I’ve had lots of mentors. I started learning about LEAN process improvement from a patient of mine who ran a factory in central Massachusetts.  (HIPAA prevents me from sharing his name.)  I’d help him with his chronic diseases, he would teach me process improvement.”

-Stuart Pollack, MD, Internal Medicine