Academic Medicine Podcast

Ultimately, whether it is through language, a shared interest, or another shared commonality, finding ways to connect with our patients is an invaluable skill that can transform medicine from a science into an art. Avani M. Kolla, a fourth-year medical student at New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York, New York, reflects on how language can act as a stepping stone to forming relationships between patients and providers. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the February 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

I realized I never processed what I witnessed, experienced, and lived through. I put it all in a box so I could keep going to work. I sealed the box so that nothing could escape and distract me from the mission at hand: caring for critically ill patients. Amanda S. Xi, a critical care anesthesiologist in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, discusses how institutions can help trainees who experienced trauma while caring for patients during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the January 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

I choose to view this not as a story of bias against me, but instead of my attending’s patience and perseverance. His uncompromising kindness made the patient blind to his own preconceived notions. I try to be a role model for my own residents the way that he was for me. Deepa Danan, assistant professor and medical student clerkship director in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, reflects on remaining compassionate when caring for patients, even when they make misjudgments about their providers. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

The formative experience I had long sought emerged outside the context of feedback itself. I had spent my rotation in search of people who would change me, but I had not expected to find them dressed in johnnies rather than long white coats. Grace Ferri, a fourth-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, reflects on the patient who helped her remember where she came from, and—most importantly—where she belonged, during a stressful day on the wards. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

With the mask muffling my voice and the omnipresent sound of monitor alarms, words too, were strained. I grew irate at the situation. The inability to talk. The inability to connect. The inability to touch. Graduate nursing student Hunter Marshall reflects on isolation and connection during the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. This essay placed first in the 2021 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Even in the age of medical miracles, there is still no intervention more powerful than a genuine human connection. There is no lab, no scan, no test, no drug, no surgery, that can replace it. For the soul heals not by human medicine, but human kindness. Medical student Ross Perry reflects on the most important lesson he learned while caring for a very special patient during his third year of medical school. This essay placed first in the 2021 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Dementia does not rob the ears of joy. Recent nursing school graduate Anna Swartzlander remembers a patient with dementia who shared with her his love of music. This essay placed second in the 2021 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org. 

Why do I find it so much easier to deal with death after the fact than I do watching its slow, looming approach, like the shadow of a cloud creeping over my face? I think of cupping water between my hands, the spaces between fingers that I cannot hold tight. Medical student Davy Ran reflects on how their perspective on death has changed since they began medical school. This essay placed second in the 2021 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

“My time, energy, and focus are finite; one clear, properly motivated action will come at the cost of another. It is easy to think this means I will miss out on important moments, or that I may disappoint some for the benefit of others. But the antidote is to recognize that each experience is special.” Fourth-year medical student Fletcher Bell reflects on doctors’ overlapping duties to their patients and family. This essay placed third in the 2021 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the October 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guest Deena Hamza, PhD, joins hosts Toni Gallo and Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee member and assistant editor Dan Schumacher, MD, PhD, MEd, to discuss a new framework for evaluating innovations, including why and how this model was developed and the ways it can be used in medical education. This is the third episode in a 3-part series of discussions with RIME authors about their medical education research and its implications for the field. Find the complete 2021 RIME supplement, which is free to read and download, at academicmedicine.org. Read the article discussed in this episode: Eco-Normalization: Evaluating the Longevity of an Innovation in Context. A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org.

It is often minute details such as the lack of internet, transportation, or a signature that can prevent people from completing an application for food stamps or the medication they need. By acknowledging patient experiences and reflecting on what we have heard, we can more effectively tailor the support we give to find patient-centered solutions. Katherine M. Kutzer, a recent graduate of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, reflects on her experience calling patients of a community health center at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and how she came to understand the significance of listening to—and truly hearing—patients when they speak. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Just like technical expertise, expert caring can be taught and deliberately practiced. As educators, we must study it, measure it, and build consensus on an ideal framework. And above all, we must value it, not only in medical students and doctors, but in everyone. Bonnie M. Miller, professor of medical education and administration at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee and senior director of scholarly communications at the Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reflects on the significance of caring, and how it is just as important to doctoring as procedural knowledge and skills. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the August 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guest Richard Baron, MD, joins hosts Toni Gallo and deputy editor Colin West, MD, PhD, to discuss the importance of trust in patient-physician relationships and ways physicians can build trust and overcome mistrust with patients and communities, including in conversations about COVID-19.   Read the article discussed in this episode: A Trust Initiative in Health Care: Why and Why Now? A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org.

“The importance of fostering trust with families cannot be overstated, and effective communication techniques make up just one part of the complex puzzle. Body language is often considered to be the most important part of communication, but in extraordinary times, we had to rely on other tools such as tone of voice and content of speech.” Edwin Wei Sheng Thong, a senior resident in the Department of Haematology-Oncology at the National University Health System in Singapore, discusses the importance of effective communication and the intricacies required while treating a patient in the intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

“Using my body to tell these cultural stories not only allowed for emotional mutability, but it also cultivated a sense of pride, identity, and autonomy. In dance, I was reminded that the body was not a victim of medical circumstance but an instrument rewriting the story in her own language through dance and music.” Shilpa Darivemula, a fourth-year obstetrics and gynecology resident at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, reflects on the importance of cultural arts as a medium for self-expression and the processing of bodily trauma for women of color while treating a patient who undergoes an unexpected cesarean delivery. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Joining hosts Toni Gallo and Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee member Javeed Sukhera, MD, PhD, to discuss their research on the experiences of trainees and physicians from minoritized communities in the United States and Canada are Taryn Taylor, MD, MEd, Nicole Rockich-Winston, MS, PharmD, EdD, Tim Mickleborough, PhD, and Tina Martimianakis, PhD. They address creating safe and brave spaces to discuss bias and discrimination, how professional norms may be harmful to those from minoritized communities, and fostering inclusive learning and practice environments. This is the second episode in a 3-part series of discussions with RIME authors about their medical education research and its implications for the field. Find the complete 2021 RIME supplement, which is free to read and download, at academicmedicine.org. Read the articles discussed in this episode:   “When No One Sees You as Black”: The Effect of Racial Violence on Black Trainees and Physicians (Re)producing “Whiteness” in Health Care: A Sp

“I have learned that no matter how much I study and practice, there will come a time when I cannot help—or, even worse, when my help is not wanted. While such moments do create the potential for moral distress, they also offer space for renewed motivation.” Pallavi Juneja is a first-year neurology resident at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. She reflects on how her time at home as a fourth-year medical student during the pandemic made her more aware of her limitations and gave her a new appreciation for helping patients. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the September 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guest Jesse Burk-Rafel, MD, MRes, joins hosts Toni Gallo and Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee member Mahan Kulasegaram, PhD, to discuss the development of a decision support tool that incorporates machine learning and the use of that tool in residency applicant screening. They also talk about the residency application process and potential ways that artificial or augmented intelligence (AI) might mitigate current challenges. This is the first episode in a 3-part series of discussions with RIME authors about their medical education research and its implications for the field. Find the complete 2021 RIME supplement, which is free to read and download, at academicmedicine.org.  Read the article discussed in this episode: Development and Validation of a Machine-Learning-Based Decision Support Tool for Residency Applicant Screening and Review.  A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org.

"Holding his hand, we had been alone in a room fighting a virus with no cure. Though he lay prone and I stood standing, we were equals in our fear in facing overwhelming unknowns. Neither of us knew what would happen over the next few hours or days." Eric Kutscher, a resident physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York, learned how to maintain dignity in vulnerability from a special patient while working in the intensive care unit at the height of the pandemic. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the September 2021 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

This episode was originally released in August 2018. Guest Carl Stevens, MD, MPH, joins hosts Toni Gallo and former editor-in-chief David Sklar, MD, to discuss the peer review process. Carl is a 10-time winner of the journal’s Excellence in Reviewing Award. He shares his reasons for serving as a peer reviewer and his process for evaluating submissions, including practical advice about the logistics of completing a review and what he looks for in a submission. This episode is meant to be a resource for new and seasoned reviewers who want to improve their reviewing skills. Other resources for reviewers are available on AM Rounds and academicmedicine.org. A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org.