Lucky Number 13

I just got the good news this week.

My 13th manuscript was accepted by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, probably something most endocrinologists consider to be the authoritative journal. This will be my first (and last) publication in this journal; my others have been in lower-impact factor journals.

This probably marks the last of my research pursuits from my alma mater, and I'm not sure when, if ever, I'd pick this up again. Yes, I do have a thyroid nodule project in the pipeline but that's been in the pipeline for the last 2 years and I've totally lost all momentum on that (any medical students out there wanting to pick this up?). And I've realized that it takes a lot to do research.

• Research support- a good library database, a good mentor, statistitians, and funding.
• Time- something we had more of in fellowship since research was built into the program. Something some academic centers offer. But alas, to find time to do research in a private-practice setting is probably not feasible. Not when you're seeing up to 20 consults a day.
• Challenge- probably the kiasu guy in me speaking, but I think it's true. Many of us who are in larger academic programs are constantly challenged by peer-pressure. People around you are doing research, are presenting at meetings and publishing in journals. That drives you to perform. I know the peer-pressure was sickeningly stressful initially, but later I've realized that it's driven me to perform more than I ever thought possible. Not that I'm competing with anyone in particular, but it does challenge you to do more. And now that I'm no longer in an academic institution, where now no one publishes and no one cares, I'm ashamed to say I don't feel pushed to publish (well, good or bad thing, I guess).

So, unless I surprise myself, or unless my stale projects get a new lease in life, this will probably be the last paper I'll write. Incidentally, this was a retrospective study looking at whether primary hyperparathyroidism increases the risk of acute pancreatitis. In this study (contrary to most other published data) we found no association.