Tag Archives: Hillary O’Brien

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Happy Holidays!

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Photo by Lisa Zins

This episode comes out the day after Christmas, and is recorded the week before, so we’re exploring what some describe as “the most wonderful time of the year,” and what others describe as Thursday.  Given that recording date, in a bit of time travel Hillary O’Brien, Laura Quast, Jenna Johnson, and LJ Agostinelli share what they want to will have gotten (because time travel is confusing for grammarians) for Christmas.  LJ shares her recent experience defending her thesis, Kylie Miller stops by with her cat Mowgli, the gang tries Turkish treats, and Dave forces them to take a pop quiz on Christmas according to unreliable internet sources.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

American patients turn to internet black markets to trade, barter, and sell their medicines and medical supplies because that’s how great our system of healthcare is.  And get ready for home epigenetic testing.

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We give free advice!  Call us with your question at 347-SHORTCT,  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  We’re here to help!

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Freezing Development to Help Care for the Disabled (ft. Dr. Ryan Gray)

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The amazing Dr. Ryan Gray, host of quite a few of the pre-med focused podcasts over at mededmedia.com (of which we, of course, are a member), joins Maddie Mix, Hillary O’Brien, Nick Lind, and Kyle Kinder as guest co-host!   Which is good, because we start with a rather difficult topic: should the parents of a profoundly disabled child–who will never be able to care for herself in even the most basic of ways–be allowed to ‘freeze’ her development so that she remains physically six years old if it will enable them care for her at home?

Plus, with the news from our own University of Iowa that surgeons often prepare for surgery by watching YouTube, Dave subjects Dr. Gray and his co-hosts to a YouTube-based health topics pop quiz.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

The decline of rural emergency rooms has gone so far as to create a new kind of telemedicine.  Crazymothers (no, that’s not a slur, that’s what they call themselves) want us to stop calling them anti-vaxxers.  And month-long birth control may become achievable if you can swallow a six-pointed star about 2 inches in diameter.

We Want to Hear From You

So, what’s up with you? Tell (or ask) us anything at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

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Spooky Med Student Stories!

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Happy Halloween!

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Photo by curtis40D

Today’s show features multiple screams, so don’t freak out.  Because it’s Halloweeeeeeeen!  Co-hosts Hillary O’Brien, Jenna Johnson, Elizabeth Shirazi, and newbie Erica Noyes (all M1s) tell their scary med student stories for your entertainment.  And Short Coat MD Wannabe has a serious question about her future, as her post-bacc program is proving harder than expected.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

Mortician YouTuber Caitlin Doughty, of Ask a Mortician, is doing good work to change how America fears death and draw the curtain back from its mysteries.  Some undergrad has the amazing job of making little cars for rats to drive around in.  And a haunted wheelchair is terrifying security guards in Chandigarh, India.

We Want to Hear From You

What’s the scariest thing to ever happen to you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT to tell us in your own words!

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Short Coat Podcast

A Stitch In Time Saves Swine.

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proverb photoTwo questions this week from Short Coats!  Listener Luis wrote in to ask what books co-hosts Hillary O’Brien, Kylie Miller, Emma Barr and newbie Sahaana Arumugam consulted to find their paths.  And Mia wrote to theshortcoats@gmail.com to find out more about MS/DO or MS/MD programs and what they look for in their applicants.  And can we find patient-care uses for weird proverbs?  No, we can’t.  But it was fun to try.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

This week Dave learned about “The Husband Stitch” much to his disgust.  North Dakota physicians no longer have to lie to their patients about drug-induced abortions; and long-ignored African DNA is finding its way into gene banks courtesy of a Nigerian health tech startup.

We Want to Hear From You

What’s going on in your world? We like stories, so call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or send your questions or comments to theshortcoats@gmail.com!

Continue reading A Stitch In Time Saves Swine. →

Short Coat Podcast

Get to Know the Nurse, Save Yourself from Grief

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Medicine is a team sport

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Writing your residency application personal statement is easy! Photo by jenna.kaminsky

A cliche, but true.  Because without the nurses (and other people) doing their jobs to help the doctor, the doctor can’t do nuthin’–no IVs, no regular BP checks, no comfortable patients, no monitoring while they’re home sleeping, no nothing.  Listener Amber stops by to ask what med students learn about nurses and how to work with them. M4s Hillary O’Brien and Kylie Miller and new M1 co-hosts Jessica De Haan and Greta Becker are happy to help, because nurses are the spine and a big portion of the central nervous system of medicine.  And Fifi Trixiebell returns, craving med school war stories.  Also, Hillary and Kylie discuss the residency personal statements they wrote and where they sought help.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have war stories to share? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime to tell us.  We’ll play them for Fifi (and whoever else is listening).

Continue reading Get to Know the Nurse, Save Yourself from Grief →

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Why Med Students Join Medical Societies

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Medical Societies and Associations: Are they Useful for Students?

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Listener Zachary wrote to theshortcoats@gmail.com to ask whether it’s useful for students to join medical associations and societies such as the AMA, ACOG, or AAP.  Co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Laura Quast, Hillary O’Brien, and newbie Sophie Williams-Perez offer some things they find useful about their memberships, including staying informed about political positions and the latest research in their fields, as well as for understanding what it means to be a physician.

Listener Oscar about had a heart attack when he read how much money the Carver College of Medicine thinks a first-semester student should budget for additional expenses (aside from tuition and living expenses).  So we asked Financial Aid Counselor Chris Roling to help, and it turns out that this area of the med student budget is real squishy.

Plus, Dave has some mouth spreaders to use up, so he makes his co-hosts deliver made-up diagnoses to fictitious patients with them.  Because that’s educational.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

A BMJ article got us talking about whether or not doctors should be crying at work.  And we revisit everyone’s favorite anti-anti-vaccination 18-year-old Ethan Lindenberger–who has famously annoyed his mother by getting his vaccinations just as soon as he legally could–after he testified before the US Senate.

We Want to Hear From You

Are you a member of a medical society or organization?  What do you get out of membership?  Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

Continue reading Why Med Students Join Medical Societies →

Short Coat Podcast

The Harsh Truths and Pleasant Realities of Med School

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What? No sleep mask? No weighted blanket? No blackout shades? She’s a witch! Photo by C_Scott (Pixabay)

Happy New Year!  With the holidays slowing down the pace of listener questions, Dave asks new co-host LJ Agostinelli and old hands Rob Humble and Hillary O’Brien to discuss the harsh truths and pleasant realities of studying medicine.  Plus, Yahoo! Answers gets another visit, and manages to live up to Dave’s characterization of it as the saddest place on the internet.

This Week in Medical News

Scientists make themselves chuckle while proving a point about the gold standard of research, the randomized controlled trial, by elaborately studying whether parachutes save lives.  Expensive drugs eek out a win over cheap exercise in treating high blood pressure, causing doctors and patients everywhere to cry, “Meh.”  And in the battle to curb the ever-increasing national sleep debt, Dave gets a weighted blanket for Christmas.

We Want to Hear From You

We crave your questions! Leave a message at 347-SHORTCT,  hit us up on the socials, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

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Short Coat Podcast

The Darkness Without: SAD in Med School

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Madeline called to ask: it’s finals week and you’re stricken with seasonal depression–what’s a med student to do?  We feel you, Madeline.  Luckily, Aline Sandouk, Nick Lind, Derek Bradley, and Hillary O’Brien are ready to throw open the curtains on their ideas to help.  And Jeannet-tello hit us up on our Instagram to find out what she should do about impostor syndrome.

Plus, Dave shares the recent video that UIHC Marketing and Communications unwisely allowed him to be in.

 

This Week in Medical News

Healthcare providers, if you want to take the Surgeon General’s advice and save people from dying of opioid overdoses, you might kiss your ability to get health insurance goodbye.  And a Tennessee physician starts off his new job as a US Representative by promising–for no reason at all–to dig up the dirt the CDC has been hiding about vaccines and autism.  Thank goodness, we’re all saved.

We Want to Hear From You

Are you nervous about starting med school? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Share your fears!

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Short Coat Podcast

When The Cat’s Away, The Mice Found Risky Business Ventures

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Photo by Jokejacket

Executive Producer Jason has kindly let Dave go on vacation, so Aline Sandouk takes over the hot seat, with Irisa Mahaparn, Hillary O’Brien, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Jayden Bowen. Together they unravel the mysteries of the human body and med school.  For instance, why do med students feel guilty about having to take time off to deal with their bed bug infestations?  And what would having many  normal or two overly large testicles do to fertility?  Such brilliant questions!!!

This Week in Medical News

Does Amazon’s Jeff Bezos or Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick have toxoplasmosis?  Our lawyers say definitely not, but toxo does have a link with risky behaviors, and business people can win big by taking risks.   So, naturally, a new study looks at how likely students with toxo are to be business majors.    Also, the mental health consequences of sucking up to your boss, and one woman’s warning that her child’s Hot Cheetos habit led to her losing her gallbladder.

We Want to Hear From You

So, what’s up with you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

Continue reading When The Cat’s Away, The Mice Found Risky Business Ventures →

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Relax or Prepare? Advice for Incoming Med Students

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Spoiler alert:  don’t “prepare” during the summer before you arrive at medical school.

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What incoming med students should be doing before med school starts. Photo by Janitors

Listener Amanda is like many medical students–anxious and worried. In her case, she wonders if she won’t be as prepared for med school as her classmates when she starts in the fall, because they are “ahead” of her due to their experience and former careers.  We’ve got you, Amanda:  Aline Sandouk, Hillary O’brien, Erik Kneller, and Sanjeeva Weerasinghe are here to help.

Also, which of our hosts are on team Yannie or Laurel?  It doesn’t matter, because Dave did some sophisticated analysis and discovered something about the morphing audio clip that has the internet arguing again.

This Week in Medical News

The netflix series 13 Reasons Why returns for season 2 today as we record this, and Netflix has announced it’s response to mental health professionals’ concerns with the content.  Speaking of mental illness, Blue Cross Blue Shield has released a new study that says diagnoses of major depression are on the rise.  Henrietta Lacks–who was the unconsenting donor of the amazing HeLa cell line used for just about every kind of study of every kind of disease these days and whose descendents we spoke with in 2013—now has a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have a question we can help answer?  Do you need advice?  We’re giving away answers for free (along with SCP key fobs)!  Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

Continue reading Relax or Prepare? Advice for Incoming Med Students →