by Molly Bowdring, M.S., University of Pittsburgh
For many graduate students, the decision to pursue a clinical or research career is a difficult one. For some though, it is a clear choice. When Dr. Danielle M. Novick was a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh (2002-2010), she was excitedly intending to pursue a tenure-track research career.
Though Danielle began her undergraduate career at Hampshire College as a film major, she soon switched to cognitive science after discovering her love of personal stories translated well to a passion for psychology. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pa, she gained research experience at the University of Pittsburgh during her summer breaks and by the time she graduated, she knew she wanted to pursue a psychology research career. She moved back to Pittsburgh to begin a post-bac with Dr. Ellen Frank and applied to graduate school for the first time that same year, albeit, unsuccessfully – “I received so many rejection letters I created a wall of them.” Having received feedback that her GRE scores were too low, she retook the test three times and applied in the next application cycle. After receiving multiple acceptances the second time around, Danielle decided to stay in Pittsburgh and continue working with Dr. Frank.
Danielle was a very productive graduate student researcher, with a publication count in the double digits by the time she graduated. “I was very ambitious…I definitely wanted this illustrious research career.” When it was time for internship applications, Danielle was focused on research-based sites and, though she was less enthused about VAs, she applied to a couple per her DCT’s recommendation. “I matched to the New Orleans VA and I cried.” Despite her initial concerns about her placement, however, it proved to be a pivotal professional experience, as she had the opportunity to work with people who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “It was the first time I was truly being asked to translate the research I did – I was trying to figure out for whom does a treatment work best. For the first time, I wasn’t seeing these astronaut patients. So, I was like, ‘I want to make my research more relevant.’”
After internship, Danielle completed a research post-doc at the University of Michigan. During her second year there, she was encouraged to stay and pursue a tenure-track research position. It wasn’t until her dream career was in close reach that she started to realize that a research career might not be what she actually wanted. “I had seven years of graduate school, one year of internship, two years of post-doc, and it was like, ‘Ok now you get to play the game, now you get to start.’ And quite frankly I was like, ‘Do I have this in me?’…I felt like I could go either way.” Danielle was passionate about research, but was less sure about the administrative aspects of it, such as having to be responsible for acquiring and managing funds. She wrestled for seven months about whether to stay. “I was terrified of walking away. We’re told that…you can always go be a clinician, but if you leave research, you can’t come back.” As she reflected, she realized that just as there are dynamic research worlds, there are dynamic clinical worlds. “I enjoyed seeing patients, enjoyed the clinical team meetings. I just like collaborative, stimulating environments and the only environment I had known that was like that was research. But with a good group of clinicians and a training program, clinical work can be like that too.” With this in mind, she left the University of Michigan in 2012 and began working as a full-time clinician at the VA Pittsburgh.
Danielle stated that for the first two years she had a fair bit of imposter syndrome. “It was clear that I was identified as ‘a researcher who was trying clinical work’ by my colleagues, so I felt like I had to prove myself clinically.” She shared that seeking a mentor helped. “In the research and academic world there is consultation built in – all these levels of people that you’re learning from…As a clinician, it was a hard transition to lose that mentorship hierarchy.” She encourages early career clinicians to identify a mid-upper career level psychologists who can help them navigate their new roles as independent practitioners.
After wrapping up her University of Michigan research projects remotely in 2015, Danielle took a break from conducting research. She dedicated herself fully to her clinical work and established a practicum program through which she trains graduate students in Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Training and supervision have become her favorite parts of her job. Danielle noted that she feels like helping good clinicians become excellent allows her to have a big impact, as she’s not only helping the clinician but also enhancing the care they will provide to many clients throughout their careers. “Coming from R1 institutes can really create this pressure that clinical work is a failure – like you weren’t successful.” She shared that it’s probably only been within the past year, as a mid-career psychologist, that she has begun to accept that she is successful. “I defined success one way and that was publications and grants and academic positions. And I don’t know why I’ve defined success like that. I’ve internalized this message that there’s only one way to be successful and that is to be a funded researcher. If that’s what you want, then do it, but just make sure that’s your message.”
Danielle realized that while she didn’t want the full-time research career, she did miss contributing to research. After a three-year hiatus, she reached out to previous collaborators to discuss getting involved again. Since that time, she has been actively publishing and serving as a clinician on a research study, demonstrating that the notion that clinicians cannot return to research is a falsehood. When asked what being a good clinical scientist means to her, she shared, “One needs to have a strong foundation and to keep growing that foundation. The motto of, ‘To know is not enough’ applies well here…Make sure you’re staying knowledgeable, developing new skills, and abandoning skills that you think are unwise.” Through her parallel clinical, research, and training efforts, Danielle embodies what it means to be a well-rounded and successful clinical scientist.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).