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My lesson from successful scientists: success can be learnt

High achievers are united in their passion for science, perseverance, hard work and lifelong learning, says Ruth Gotian.
By
  1. Ruth Gotian

    1. Ruth Gotian is the chief learning officer and assistant professor of education in anaesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and author of The Success Factor. Twitter: @RuthGotian

At the age of 43, while working full-time and raising my family, I decided to pursue a doctorate, studying the most successful physician-scientists of our generation. I wanted to investigate whether there was anything special about their habits, mindsets or lifestyles: something that could be later replicated in researchers’ training programmes. My research focused on Nobel prizewinners, National Institutes of Health directors, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, and winners of a top award such as a Breakthrough or Lasker prize, as well as a former surgeon-general of the United States.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00354-6

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 14 November 2022: An earlier version of this story omitted to mention that the author receives royalties for her book The Success Factor.

References

  1. Gotian, R. & Andersen, O. S. BMC Med. Educ. 20, 50 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Competing Interests

Ruth Gotian receives royalties for the book described in the article.

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