Harvard Cardiologist Reveals What Doctors Never Learn in Training About Careers, Contracts, and Building a Life Outside Medicine with Dr. Sanjay Divakaran

May 1, 2025

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Dr. Sanjay Divakaran is a cardiologist, educator, and Associate Chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He’s also one of the most thoughtful voices when it comes to guiding the next generation of physicians. Not just in clinical medicine, but in career strategy, mentorship, and personal growth.

In this episode of How I Doctor, Dr. Graham Walker sits down with Sanjay to explore the hidden curriculum of medicine. What is the essential career advice doctors rarely receive in training? From how to choose the right mentors, to understanding how your job performance will actually be measured, to why networking matters more than you think, this episode is filled with practical insights every early-career physician should hear.

Whether you’re just entering residency or rethinking your next career move, Sanjay offers a blueprint for finding clarity, building community, and staying grounded in what really matters.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why Medicine Is Still an Apprenticeship – And how that mindset can help you grow faster as both a clinician and a leader.
How to Build Your Personal Board of Mentors – Why no single mentor can meet all your needs and how to find the right people to guide your journey.
The Career Questions Doctors Should Be Asking – Including how you’ll be measured, what your institution actually values, and how to assess job fit beyond the posting.
What Most Physicians Miss About Networking – Why your med school and residency friends may be your most valuable long-term connections.
Understanding the System You Work In – How learning the non-clinical side of healthcare can improve your job satisfaction and influence.
The Rise of Career Multipliers – Why more doctors want to be more than clinicians—and how to find fulfillment through education, leadership, and impact.

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