Academic Medicine Podcast

When we form enriched relationships, we allow ourselves to feel grief for the patients we lose, and likewise, joy for the patients who leave healthier than when they arrived. Zarin I. Rahman reflects on forming connections with patients over commonalities such as faith, language, or favorite sandwiches, and appreciating knowing them for even a short time. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the February 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guests Courtney Newman and Jaclyn Albin, MD, join host Toni Gallo to discuss culinary medicine and its role in teaching nutrition, nutrition counseling, and hands-on cooking skills to medical students. The conversation also covers how culinary medicine programs build connections and community and improve the well-being of students, faculty, and patients. A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org.  Read the article discussed in this episode: Newman C, Yan J, Messiah S, Albin J. Culinary medicine as innovative nutrition education for medical students: A scoping review. Acad Med. 2023;98:274-286.

Every now and then, a patient will bring me new insights and knowledge, such as lessons on rare diseases that I would not have learned if I had not seen them in person. These rare patients … instilled in me the ability to be hyper-observant and detail oriented. Nadia Falah reflects on a patient with a rare genetic condition and how learning to become a physician entails far more than simply passing an exam. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the February 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Medical students … need to build out reality-based curricula that equip future physicians to provide trauma-informed, harm-reductionist care. Patients need to be addressed in their context. Perhaps to do so, we need to take off our white coats and get our boots a little muddy. Rebecca Bromley-Dulfano reflects on street medicine and learning to care for patients who may be without basic resources outside the clinic setting. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the January 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

On this remarkable day, however, it was clear. This woman knew who I was, months later and from only the sound of my voice, proving to me for the first time how our small actions can have a large impact. Umer Farooq, a resident physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at Loyola Medicine/MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Illinois, reflects on the unexpected, yet gratifying relationships formed between physicians and patients’ family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the January 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

As faculty, we are called to instruct and mentor students. And yet ... B, my colleagues, and friends of color have taught me lessons of far greater importance. Sara B. Police, assistant professor and director of nutritional sciences education in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky, reflects on her meaningful journey from awareness to education to involvement in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the January 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

My experience that night in the ICU was the wake-up call I needed. It was a reminder to shift my priorities back to the patient. It was a reminder that my job was more than check boxes and administrative tasks. Nicholas R. Lenze, a resident in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, reflects on the delicate balance between being an efficient resident and a doctor. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

She is a strong woman. The strongest woman I’ve probably ever met. Her strength is in her joyful spirit and the kindness she exudes to everyone she meets…. She is my mother, and she has been quite the model of unconditional love, service, kindness, and sacrifice. Nurse practitioner Danielle Blackwell reflects on the person who inspired her to become a nurse. This essay placed third in the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the October 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

When I think back on my career thus far, I do not remember the shifts that I left early or the days when everything went perfectly. But when Willie Nelson comes on over the radio, I can close my eyes and picture the vibrant colors of a woman’s last sunset. Graduate nursing student Jessica Pierce reflects on what brings meaning to her job—discovering the person inside each patient and letting them see her compassion in return. This essay placed first in the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

The editors of Academic Medicine share their advice for authors submitting their scholarship for publication and describe what they look for when they’re reviewing submissions. Also included are resources to help authors write successfully and publish their work. This episode is meant for new authors and authors new to medical education and, while the advice comes from the editors of Academic Medicine, much of it also applies to other types of medical education scholarship, to scholarly publishing in other disciplines, and to submissions to other journals and publications. A transcript of this episode and links to the resources mentioned are available at academicmedicineblog.org.

What I do know is in the desert of the Middle East I learned that the right decision isn’t always the easiest or most appealing. Our patients don’t need our judgment; they need our help. Medical student Mason Blacker reflects on treating patients while stationed in Iraq and what is truly right and important in life. This essay placed first in the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

There is growth in speaking up for myself and others in my position, but I do not want to have to sacrifice inner serenity as the price of advocacy. Rewan Abdelwahab, a third-year medical student at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, reflects on the difficulties faced by trainees and staff from underrepresented in medicine groups when resources promoting inclusivity, like religious coverings in the OR, are not provided. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

This one, brief moment opened me up to the greatest sense of appreciation; regardless of the treatment arm, role, or results, it is the journey we embark on together, side by side with our participants, teams, and peers, that will contribute to our greater collective knowledge, advances in care, and a better future. Vanita R. Aroda, director of diabetes clinical research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, reflects on how acting as a clinical trial investigator has changed her approach to life. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guest Heeyoung Han, PhD, joins hosts Toni Gallo and Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee members Javeed Sukhera, MD, PhD, and Andres Fernandez, MD, MEd, to discuss new research into the different methodologies used in health professions education research and how rigorous, or not, the descriptions of these methodologies are in published studies. Also covered is advice for researchers who want to more creatively and rigorously conduct and write up their work.   A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org. Read the article discussed in this episode: Han H, Youm J, Tucker C, et al. Research methodologies in health professions education publications: Breadth and rigor. Acad Med. 2022;97:S54-S62. Read the complete collection of articles included in the 2022 RIME supplement.

Medical practitioners of all specialties may lack Cassandra’s divinely inspired prophetic powers, but our training, research, and deep consideration for our patients’ wellbeing inform our prognostication. We hope that in this way, we are able to serve as guideposts along their ultimate paths. Judy Ch’ang, medical director of the Neurointensive Care Unit and assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Unit at the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Nara Michaelson, a fourth-year neurology resident at Weill Cornell Medicine, reflect on how difficult it is for physicians to explain the intricacies of prognostication to patients’ family members. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Maybe this letter is more a letter to myself, a reminder … that mentorship is the key to training good, competent, humane surgeons. That this extra effort is what will create change, sustainability, and at the end of the pathway, is what will be remembered. That this is the type of person and surgeon I want to be. Adam Goldstein, director of the Trauma Surgery Unit at The Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, writes a letter to Dr. William Schwab thanking him for his outstanding example of mentorship. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

The medical record from the day before includes a note from the chaplain who wrote that you smiled. I resolve to end more notes this way. The patient smiled. Medical student Molly Fessler reflects on the profound experience of caring for a patient during their final days. This essay placed second in the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guests Luca Petrey and Laura Weingartner, PhD, MS, join hosts Toni Gallo and Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee members Arianne Teherani, PhD, and Daniele Olveczky, MD, to discuss a new scoping review of the literature on the inclusion of standardized patient characters and actors with diverse gender identities in simulation cases. A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org. Read the articles discussed in this episode:  Petrey LN, Noonan EJ, Weingartner LA. Gender diverse representation in patient simulation: A scoping review [published online ahead of print August 09, 2022]. Acad Med. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004926. Weingartner L, Noonan EJ, Bohnert C, Potter J, Shaw MA, Holthouser A. Gender-affirming care with transgender and genderqueer patients: A standardized patient case. MedEdPORTAL. 2022;18:11249.  Read the complete collection of articles included in the 2022 RIME supplement at academicmedicine.org. 

It is more likely emotional overload rather than apathy or insensitivity that prompts these contradictory expressions of emotion. An involuntary attempt to achieve a type of emotional homeostasis. Sadaf Qureshi, a hematologist/oncologist at Summit Health in Florham Park, New Jersey, reflects on “appropriate” responses to misfortune. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

So often, we get caught up in studying and updating the medical chart. When we get to know our patients as human beings, however, we realize that providing care goes beyond triple-checking medication dosages. A human being is the product of every person, every success, and every misfortune he or she has encountered. Theodora Lananh Swenson, a fourth-year resident physician in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, reflects on the importance of understanding the social context in which each patient lives. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.