Publishing Textbooks as a VIR Trainee 

This seminar featured Dr. Nicole Keefe (Assistant Professor and Vascular and Interventional Radiology Program Director at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine) and Dr. Aesha Patel (PGY-5 VIR resident at Rush University Medical Center).

Dr. Keefe discussed how she was inspired to create her textbook once she realized there was a lack of comprehensive VIR textbooks for trainees during her sub-internships - “If I was going to get quizzed [during] a case, or if [attendings] were going to ask me questions, what would I go to?” This led to the development of the “IR Playbook: A Comprehensive Introduction to Interventional Radiology,” a resource which provides information a trainee needs to thrive during both VIR sub-internships and an integrated Vascular and Interventional residency. She also briefly spoke on some of the unique challenges of updating the “IR Playbook” to its recently released 2nd edition. These included staying up-to-date on the current literature and deciding to expound on clinical management principles, such as critical care and pharmacology.

Dr. Patel then reviewed her journey co-editing her textbook, “Limb Preservation for the Vascular Specialist.” Her long-time mentor, and current attending, Dr. Kumar Madassery approached her when she was a 2nd-year integrated Vascular and Interventional resident with the opportunity to create this comprehensive multidisciplinary resource. Their goal was to create a novel resource to guide VIR trainees in understanding the approach to limb preservation involving other specialties such as vascular surgery, plastic surgery, and podiatry. As to why she was asked to lead the project, Dr. Patel remarked, “I did reach out to [Dr. Kumar]…early on for research opportunities, and I did deliver quickly on those, so he saw that [I] put in work and…effort into what I do, which is probably the reason why he reached out to me.” 

Both speakers commented on the tremendous commitment of editing a textbook while in the midst of a demanding residency. Dr. Keefe and Dr. Patel both felt that they initially underestimated the time and effort that this process would entail, even despite already expecting it to be highly rigorous. Dr. Keefe even recalled submitting the final revision for the first edition of her textbook to the publisher the night before taking the ABR Core Exam. 

However, despite the time commitment, both felt that editing their respective textbooks was highly rewarding and tremendously beneficial to their careers. Dr. Keefe and Dr. Patel both described how learning the material prepared them well for their own VIR training and their career and also highlighted the invaluable experience of collaborating with renowned content experts throughout the publishing process. Dr. Keefe reflected, “the network I built from [editing the IR Playbook] and the connections that I made…as a trainee, [with] so many prestigious IRs across the country was worth its weight in gold.” 

Near the end of the seminar, Dr. Patel also reminisced on how Dr. Madassery advocated on her behalf for her to be recognized as a primary author. Despite not having previously discussed authorship with Dr. Madassery, she found out that he had privately communicated back-and-forth with the publisher regarding her name being printed on the cover. “Springer said my name wasn’t allowed to be on the cover…I saw how much he fought for me…Not only [did] I learn so much from the book, but I [discovered] this invaluable mentor that I can really rely on and trust.”

Finally, Dr. Keefe and Dr. Patel provided some tips for trainees interested in writing and editing a textbook:

• Find a mentor who will support your vision and who will help to recruit co-authors who are content experts in the relevant disease states.

• Challenges involved with editing textbooks of this magnitude are maintaining a cohesive voice, managing co-author submissions, and meeting publisher requirements. Finding co-authors who are not only content experts, but also good communicators, will help to ensure that goals are met to reach publication.

• The process of creating a textbook is extremely time-consuming and requires tremendous dedication, which can be especially strenuous when balancing this with the responsibilities of rigorous medical training. However, the professional network and knowledge base one can acquire through this process is invaluable.

If you are interested, a recording of the webinar is available here!

Timestamps:

01:42 - What inspired you to write and edit a textbook?

07:13 - What advice would you give to yourself before starting?

17:52 - What were the unintended benefits of editing a textbook as a trainee?

21:00 - Tips for collaborating with co-authors, editors, and mentors

27:08 - General advice for trainees interested in authoring a textbook and tips for residency

35:39 - What was your training pathway to becoming a VIR?

43:00 - Specific advice for writing a textbook chapter

48:02 - Final thoughts

Resources discussed:

Madassery S, Patel A. Limb preservation for the vascular specialist. 1st ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG; 2023. - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-36480-8

Keefe NA, Haskal ZJJ, Park AW, Angle JF. IR playbook : A comprehensive introduction to interventional radiology. 2nd ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2024 - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-52546-9

Zotero (for organizing references) - https://www.zotero.org/