Episodes

Feb. 11, 2021

Positive growth from the COVID-19 pandemic

"The pandemic has been difficult, but it has managed to change my perspective for the better. I mourn for the suffering and loss we have experienced as humanity, and moving forward, I have a new sense of appreciation. I am …

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Feb. 10, 2021

#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic

"Vaccines have been around as early as 1776 when Edward Jenner first pioneered the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur produced a rabies vaccine. As a microbiologist’s child, I grew up hearing these stories from my father and thinking of these …

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Feb. 9, 2021

Nephrology and kidney care during the pandemic

"COVID-19 wreaks havoc on multiple areas of the body, and myself and my fellow frontline workers across the globe have been forced to quickly identify what tools work best in our quest to keep our patients alive. While we’re working …

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Feb. 8, 2021

Reforming the peer review process

"The peer-review process is fallible, slow, and biased, and it takes advantage of the scientific community’s altruism. We need to keep pushing the conversation forward about making publishing more equitable, timely, accessible, and fair. An obvious...

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Feb. 7, 2021

Doctors are killing themselves, and who is taking notice?

"I can do better. We can do better. Please partner with me and advocate for the ability for doctors and residents in our profession to receive medical and psychiatric care without fear of losing our licenses or having to face …

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Feb. 6, 2021

Why the preservation of the Affordable Care Act should matter to you

"Is the ACA perfect? Not by a long shot. In Kentucky, where I live, there are only 2 insurers selling individual policies on the exchange. A Silver plan for my husband and myself costs $1,800 per month in premiums, with …

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Feb. 5, 2021

Being a neonatologist and a mother

"Being a neonatologist and a mother is living with the knowledge that the question 'What would you do?' could so easily become real, not hypothetical. And so what would I do? I don’t know, heartbroken mama. Because I feel too …

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Feb. 4, 2021

Thank you pediatric medical professionals

"As the mother of a child born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, besides going through four open-heart surgeries and coding, my son has also had eight abdominal surgeries, including a Ladd’s procedure and resection of his colon. William also...

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Feb. 3, 2021

Prison medicine during the pandemic

"Rumor has it that the SARS-CoV 2 virus was brought into prison via inmates who were on a work-release program. Allegedly, they boarded a city bus with a driver who was ill. From there, it crept beyond the work-release camp …

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Feb. 2, 2021

Stuck between a virus and a cold place: A choice for homeless America…

"What form the incoming winter will take depends on the location and status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each city must find a method that will provide the most relief and assistance for their homeless population. Analyzing the results of the …

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Feb. 1, 2021

I will be a doctor because I was once a patient

"Everything I ever have and ever will accomplish is in part due to the doctors, nurses, administrators, and security officers who gave me safe, compassionate care. This was no fairytale ending; I wish I never had to make this choice, …

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Feb. 1, 2021

Nisha Mehta, MD on why physicians should consider side gigs

"At first, it may seem strange that 'physician' and 'side gig' are even used in the same sentence. After all, the average physician in the United States is already working more than a 40 hour work week and struggling with …

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Jan. 31, 2021

Death is personal for this physician

"In Wooster, Ohio, where I practiced, a small not-for-profit hospice agency relied on local physicians, clergy, and many other volunteers to supplement the skills and dedication of their employed staff. It was through this work with Hospice of Wayne...

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Jan. 30, 2021

How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill

"A practicing anesthesiologist for the past 14 years, when COVID hit, and the ORs came to an abrupt halt, I needed to occupy my mind. An opportunity to learn about the business behind running a practice came to me via …

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Jan. 29, 2021

Health care's tech renaissance during the pandemic

"Just as the pandemic has forced massive technology adoption in the delivery of care, we will see the rapid, widespread implementation of innovative solutions that medical education has desperately needed for years. Technologies like computer-based...

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Jan. 28, 2021

Zoom is foie gras of the brain

"We lack the necessary signaling of the nonverbal cues when only looking at one’s face. The presenter’s large face only a few inches from our screen may evoke our primordial threat response with its resulting cascading transmitters. The angulation...

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Jan. 27, 2021

Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome

"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone, especially those of us in health care. Our way of practicing medicine has been changed; some would say forever. We find ourselves affected not only clinically but also emotionally. As a result,...

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Jan. 26, 2021

Why medical students should not let medicine define them

"Doctors are indeed noble for what they do. Their work is undoubtedly physically intense and emotionally taxing. But the notion that they are 'superhuman' and 'different' from the rest of society is exactly the trap that we fall into the …

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Jan. 25, 2021

A medical student's story of racism and bias

"I am left wondering what would have happened if I was the patient’s daughter, niece (who she said I reminded her of), or friend. The nurse made a quick judgment based on my physical characteristics, and she was completely incorrect. …

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Jan. 24, 2021

Lessons learned from a combat doctor in Iraq

"My own dream-induced pain started at the same time this child was mowed down. Then and there is when and where my faith in God died because God, the higher power, had allowed this unspeakable nightmare to happen. My hope …

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Jan. 23, 2021

How health care organizations can tackle racism in patient care

"The new American Medical Association policy recognizing racism as a public health threat and providing an anti-racist approach to equitable care will have no effectiveness unless health care organizations get their own houses in order and actively do...

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Jan. 22, 2021

How to (almost) never have a bad shift

"To understand how to create good shifts irrespective of external factors, I turned to the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. One of its core tenets is that we must focus on what is within our control. Epictetus said: 'Happiness and freedom …

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Jan. 21, 2021

Unmasking inequality: the power of community organization during COVI…

"Touted by some as a 'great equalizer,' the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront long-standing disparities in access to health for Black, Latinx, immigrant, and low-income communities. While we are all in this fight together, some are...

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Jan. 20, 2021

General surgery, palliative care and the new meaning of the phrase, "…

"Today and for the foreseeable future, COVID-19 is a serious threat, virulent and contagious, not only leading to an impressive display of human vulnerability and arrogance, but also demonstrating how innovative and creative humans can be during a...

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