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- Apr 16, 2018
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I have been working with the same PI/mentor for a year now. Things had been going really well, and I always planned on asking him to write me a LoR for my intended specialty. Recently I asked one of the residents if I could write up a case report of theirs, and they agreed. They sent me a powerpoint presentation of the case, which they had presented at a conference. The title slide listed a few different co-authors, including my mentor and another attending that I've written papers with in the past. So, I wrote up the case and sent the manuscript to everyone who was listed on the powerpoint.
Unfortunately, I hadn't paid attention to the authorship order on the powerpoint, so I put the other attending who I've worked with (not my mentor) as the senior/corresponding author, because I figured the topic was more relevant to their specialty. Soon after I e-mailed them, the doctor that I listed as the corresponding author contacted me and said that, while she would be happy to be the senior author, it's actually my mentor's patient and I need to get his permission first. Oops. So, I e-mailed him, apologizing for my mistake and asking how he wants the authors listed. It's been several days, and he still hasn't replied yet (however, that's totally normal for him). But I worry that I may have put him in an awkward situation, where even if he did care about being the senior author, he would feel bad about saying so at this point, because he and the other doc are close colleagues.
Is this actually a big deal, or am I just being neurotic? I would hate to have damaged my relationship with my mentor over such a silly little faux pas.
Unfortunately, I hadn't paid attention to the authorship order on the powerpoint, so I put the other attending who I've worked with (not my mentor) as the senior/corresponding author, because I figured the topic was more relevant to their specialty. Soon after I e-mailed them, the doctor that I listed as the corresponding author contacted me and said that, while she would be happy to be the senior author, it's actually my mentor's patient and I need to get his permission first. Oops. So, I e-mailed him, apologizing for my mistake and asking how he wants the authors listed. It's been several days, and he still hasn't replied yet (however, that's totally normal for him). But I worry that I may have put him in an awkward situation, where even if he did care about being the senior author, he would feel bad about saying so at this point, because he and the other doc are close colleagues.
Is this actually a big deal, or am I just being neurotic? I would hate to have damaged my relationship with my mentor over such a silly little faux pas.
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