Giving Back with Dr. Joseph Hill
Joseph Hill MD is a Professor of Medicine & Molecular Biology, the James Willerson Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, the Frank Ryburn Jr Chair in Heart Research, the Director of the Harry Moss Heart Center and the Chief of Cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Hill graduated from Medical school at Duke with an MD-PhD, worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut Pasteur in Paris for 5 years before pursuing residency in Internal medicine from Brigham & Women's Hospital, where he stayed on to pursue a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Hill worked at the University of Iowa before joining UT Southwestern in 2002. His Research focuses on remodelling in cardiac hypertrophy & failure and has published over 160 articles and contributed to 14 books. He is the editor-in-chief of Circulation. His many honors include serving as the President of the Association of University Cardiologists, election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Association of American Physicians, and being named an American Heart Association’s Established Investigator. “Being a physician is an incredibly high calling,” says Dr. Joseph Hill, as he reflects on the tremendous privilege we have as physicians to help people who have entrusted their well-being into our hands. Yet, he reminds us all today to not stop there. “You owe it to this profession to give something back.” Whether it be in advancing the body of knowledge through research or mentoring the next generation as an educator or improving healthcare delivery as an administrator, he encourages us to think beyond our clinical encounters and proactively give back to the profession out of gratitude for the privilege it has bestowed upon us. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. Be mentorable. You may not hear what you want to hear from your mentors, but the best mentees keep an open mind and reflect on the advice given to them. 2. True success is holistic : family is just as if not more important than our profession and therefore we need to carve out time for our family. It will only help us in advancing our careers. 3. In the clinical encounter, make sure to acknowledge the patient’s family members who accompany them.