Sachin Jain: No matter who we are, we never get anywhere by ourselves

Sachin Jain shared a post on LinkedIn:

“My Dad used to tell the story of a promising resident who trained with him who quickly rose in the ranks of academic medicine.

Years after he left his home institution, his chair invited him back to give grand rounds. ‘How much is the honorarium?’ the former trainee asked his department chair (someone he would tell others was his ‘mentor’).

‘Our standard honorarium (in the 1990s) is $500,’ the chair replied expecting it to be adequate and believing the invitation was in some regards honor enough.

The former trainee remarked, ‘that’s too low and doesn’t pay for my time,’ and rejected the invitation.

The chairman was miffed at the transactional nature of his once-prized student.

For years, he had been a sponsor to the student—supporting his growth and career progression at every turn, appointing him to professional committees and recommending him for jobs and promotions.

Going forward—the trainee continued along in his career and the chairman would continue to get reference calls for his once prized pupil whom he now regarded as irreparably arrogant.

The normally effusive chair was neutral and understated going forward, quietly delivering a clear, but unstated message to colleagues: stay away.

The trainee’s once promising career sputtered, likely because of his underlying behaviors and people’s diminished associated faith in him.

Dad’s implicit admonitions as he told this story were three-fold:

1. Never forget where you came from;
2. Never get too big for your britches; and,
3. No matter who we are, we never get anywhere by ourselves.

Words to live by.”

More posts by Sachin Jain on oncodaily.com

Source: Sachin Jain/LinkedIn

Sachin Jain is the President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also serves as a Board Member at The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, an Academic Hospitalist (WOC) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a Board Member at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). He is also a board member of Omada Health.