--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In preparation for a career in academic…" description: "\"In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 and then join..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg" --- # In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked… ![“In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 and then joined Ira Pastan's laboratory at the National Institutes of Health as a Clinical Associate.” quote by Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg) > “In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 and then joined Ira Pastan's laboratory at the National Institutes of Health as a Clinical Associate.” [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes early professional steps that built expertise for a future in academic medicine **In simple terms:** Early work experience laid groundwork for academic career Key Takeaway Leverage early roles to build expertise Themes career development medicine research Mood reflective determined Type career development inspirational When to use this quote - Applying for residency - seeking research fellowships - publishing early work Key Concepts Clinical training institutional networking research mentorship Questions to Reflect On - How did those early roles shape your research focus? - What skills were most transferable? A Different Perspective Early experience may not guarantee later success without continued learning ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-medicine-4533945/) [Associate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associate/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Clinical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinical/) [Clinical Associate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinical-associate-4533943/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Hospital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospital/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Ira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ira/) [Joined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joined/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medical House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-house-4533946/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national/) [Officer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/officer/) [Pastan Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastan-laboratory-4533947/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Worked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worked/) [Worked Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worked-medical-4533944/) ## Related quotes > [I see my job as being to facilitate the life of clinical researchers so that they can be more productive, and trying to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-wood/i-see-my-job-as-being-to-facilitate-the-life-of-clinical-researchers/) [Alastair Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-wood/) > [I'm sometimes embarrassed by how clinical I can become when I'm out reporting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/i-m-sometimes-embarrassed-by-how-clinical-i-can-become-when-i-m-out/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is an institute of the National Institutes of Health that is responsible predominantly for basic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-fauci/the-national-institute-of-allergy-and-infectious-diseases-is-an/) [Anthony Fauci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-fauci/) > [I might have been just as happy to have been a practicing primary-care doctor. But as a medical student, I had interacted with patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rothman/i-might-have-been-just-as-happy-to-have-been-a-practicing-primary/) [James Rothman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rothman/) > [I think the biggest problem in clinical trials is that they are underpowered. And that fundamentally, the studies are just too small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wojcicki/i-think-the-biggest-problem-in-clinical-trials-is-that-they-are/) [Anne Wojcicki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wojcicki/) > [I do have anger management issues. Not clinical. Probably no more than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-do-have-anger-management-issues-not-clinical-probably-no-more-than/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [For too long nurses have been undervalued, restricted in what they could do, with too few career opportunities in clinical practice. For far too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hutton/for-too-long-nurses-have-been-undervalued-restricted-in-what-they/) [John Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hutton/) > [The art of phlebotomy originated with bloodletting in 1400 B.C., and the modern clinical lab emerged in the 1960s - and it has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-holmes/the-art-of-phlebotomy-originated-with-bloodletting-in-1400-b-c-and/) [Elizabeth Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-holmes/) > [At the WTO, it's never a general surgery. It's always a very specific, clinical, precise surgery - and you can't miss the target. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-azevedo/at-the-wto-it-s-never-a-general-surgery-it-s-always-a-very-specific/) [Roberto Azevedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-azevedo/) > [Even then, Vanderbilt was the premiere place for clinical pharmacology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-wood/even-then-vanderbilt-was-the-premiere-place-for-clinical-pharmacology/) [Alastair Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-wood/) > [When I released my first record, I was really in the middle of having made the decision to follow the clinical psychology path, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autre-ne-veut/when-i-released-my-first-record-i-was-really-in-the-middle-of-having/) [Autre Ne Veut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autre-ne-veut/) > [I have battled clinical depression and have come out of the other side. I've been free of it for many years now. Finding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-have-battled-clinical-depression-and-have-come-out-of-the-other/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > ['Normal' is not clinical, it's not autobiographical, and I don't claim to be objective. It's strictly my perceptions and thoughts about the people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/normal-is-not-clinical-it-s-not-autobiographical-and-i-don-t-claim-to/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Colors are important. People are in clinical depression whether they are on medication or not. Neutrals are another form of medication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-stoddard/colors-are-important-people-are-in-clinical-depression-whether-they/) [Alexandra Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-stoddard/) > [The dirty little secret of both clinical psychology and biological psychiatry is that they have completely given up on the notion of cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/the-dirty-little-secret-of-both-clinical-psychology-and-biological/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) ## More by Harold E. Varmus > [As an undergraduate at Amherst College, I was devoted to Dickensian novels and antiestablishment journalism while marginally fulfilling premedical requirements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/as-an-undergraduate-at-amherst-college-i-was-devoted-to-dickensian/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [A cancer is not simply a lung cancer. It doesn't simply have a certain kind of appearance under the microscope or a certain behavior,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/a-cancer-is-not-simply-a-lung-cancer-it-doesn-t-simply-have-a-certain/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Every cancer looks different. Every cancer has similarities to other cancers. And we're trying to milk those differences and similarities to do a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/every-cancer-looks-different-every-cancer-has-similarities-to-other/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Tobacco, UV rays, viruses, heredity, and age are the main causes of cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/tobacco-uv-rays-viruses-heredity-and-age-are-the-main-causes-of-cancer/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Following graduation from Amherst, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship enabled me to test the depth of my interest in literary scholarship by beginning graduate studies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/following-graduation-from-amherst-a-woodrow-wilson-fellowship-enabled/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [From some dilatory reading in the early 1960s, I knew enough about viruses and their association with tumors in animals to understand that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/from-some-dilatory-reading-in-the-early-1960s-i-knew-enough-about/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [I keep encouraging the pharmaceutical companies to put more money into R&D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-keep-encouraging-the-pharmaceutical-companies-to-put-more-money/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Science can improve lives in ways that are elegant in design and moving in practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/science-can-improve-lives-in-ways-that-are-elegant-in-design-and/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [I begin with the premise that behavior is an incredibly important element in medicine. Peoples habits, their willingness to quit smoking, their willingness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-begin-with-the-premise-that-behavior-is-an-incredibly-important/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Just after graduation in 1966, like many of my contemporaries, I applied for research training at the National Institutes of Health. Perhaps because his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/just-after-graduation-in-1966-like-many-of-my-contemporaries-i/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [The public schools I attended were dominated by athletics and rarely inspiring intellectually, but I enjoyed a small circle of interesting friends despite my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/the-public-schools-i-attended-were-dominated-by-athletics-and-rarely/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [My ideal summer day was reading on the porch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/my-ideal-summer-day-was-reading-on-the-porch/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Our biggest single theme is trying to make the NIH work better with the same amount of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/our-biggest-single-theme-is-trying-to-make-the-nih-work-better-with/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [I saw my friends in medical school seeming to be more engaged with the real world. That provoked a sort of jealousy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-saw-my-friends-in-medical-school-seeming-to-be-more-engaged-with/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) [Explore all 32 Harold E. Varmus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 and then joined Ira Pastan's laboratory at the National Institutes of Health as a Clinical Associate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold E. Varmus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic-medicine-i-worked-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic-medicine-i-worked-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/harold-e-varmus-19562_academic_in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic_1341448.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at…” — Harold E. Varmus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harold E. Varmus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In preparation for a career in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic-medicine-i-worked-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic-medicine-i-worked-as-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```