Short Coat Podcast

RACE IS EVERYWHERE IN MEDICINE–MEET A STUDENT TRYING TO CHANGE THAT

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Is race, a social construct, appropriately used to make medical decisions?

  • Race is commonly spoken of in medicine as a risk factor for diseases. It has even found its way into the equations that help doctors assess biological function.
  • But is race–commonly acknowledged these days as a social construct and not a biological one–really a valid way to factor in the differences between one patient and another? M3 Vijay and other students are helping lead the charge to re-assess these ideas.
  • Also, MD/PHD students Aline, Levi, and Riley help listener Michelina decide what to do about her hair during interviews…and debate whether aspiring docs should even be worried about their physical look when applying.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

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Short Coat Podcast

Recess Rehash: The Question All Future Applicants should Ask: “What Will Help Me Grow?”

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Growth requires embracing unfamiliar and even scary situations.

TL;DR

  • Listener Riley wants some suggestions on experiences that will help him grow while he pursues his path to medicine.
  • We discuss some comments from YouTube on female urologists and male patients.
  • That leads to a discussion on why hospitals default to environments for adult patients which are downright hostile.

This week we start with a listener question. Riley’s about to apply to medical school after a winding path from high school dropout to welder to biochemist. He’s wondering if we can give him advice on activities that will help him to grow. Such a great way to put that question, and M4 Emma Barr, M3 Maddie Wahlen, M4 Abby Fyfe, and new co-host Jacob Hansen are on hand to offer some ideas.

Also, we discuss some comments we got on a previous episode’s YouTube video featuring urologist and men’s health specialist Amy Pearlman on the fear and shame some men feel when they think about seeing a female urologist. For instance: why do doctors make their patients wait for them surrounded by gross anatomy models and posters???

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Recess Rehash: The Question All Future Applicants should Ask: “What Will Help Me Grow?” →
Short Coat Podcast

Recess Rehash: Why Med Learners are Asked to “Reflect,” And What Does It Even Mean?

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How students should think about reflection when the word isn’t always well-defined.

[We’re on a break! But we’ll be back with a new episode on August 11, 2022. Enjoy this re-run!]

TL;DR

  • Whether it’s a class assignment, a personal statement, or a scholarship essay, students are often commanded to reflect on their experiences.
  • Reflection is can be a useful part of understanding what you are becoming. But what that means and how to do it are frequently not well defined.
  • Our M4 co-hosts discuss whether their fears about the residency application process were well-founded or just wheel spinning.
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Listener Empirica Soberface (not her real name) called in to ask us about reflection–something medical learners are often asked to do during their education–saying that it doesn’t come naturally to her. So Dave invited Cate Dicharry, the director of the Writing and Humanities Program here at the Carver College of Medicine, to come on and give us her thoughts on this common assignment. M4s Emma Barr and Madeline Cusimano, M3 Ananya Munjal, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan-Bush are on hand to supply some of their ideas on how best to process what it is they’ve been becoming.

Emma and Madeline also discuss the fears they had about interviewing for their future residency jobs, the anxiety that many senior medical students are feeling right now, and whether their fears were realized or proven to be wheel-spinning.

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Recess Rehash: Why Med Learners are Asked to “Reflect,” And What Does It Even Mean? →
Short Coat Podcast

Recess Rehash: Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway.

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Perhaps no school would recommend working during med school, but plenty of people do it.  

[We’re on a break! But we’ll be back with a new episode on August 11, 2022. Enjoy this re-run!]

TL;DR

  • Sometimes, you just don’t want to take that extra loan money.  One option: a part time job.
  • But that is risky–the time you devote to that job could have been spent on studying, and perhaps could decrease your chances at those competitive residency programs.
  • But there are medical students who make the choice to work, and some jobs might even help your chances.
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Eliza wrote to us at theshortcoats@gmail.com because, as an older, married medical student with a young child in an expensive city, she wondered what our thoughts were on students who work during medical school.  We invited her on the show so M3 Nathen Spitz, M4s Abby Fyfe and Nick Lind, and M1 Grant Stalker could find out more about her choice to work as a therapeutic yoga teacher, and discuss some of the equity issues surrounding work during medical school.  And Nathen offers some ideas about paying jobs that can actually be a benefit to medical students in their academic lives.

We also discuss the Biden administration’s new mental health-focused initiatives, especially those focused on healthcare workers, as outlined in the president’s state of the union address. 

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Recess Rehash: Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway. →
Short Coat Podcast

Social Media: Med Ed Miracle, or Minefield?

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We all know the answer: a lot of both.

  • MD/PhD students Michelle and Aline, PA2 Alice, and M2 Jacob discuss the pros and cons of their use of social media, including…
  • …who the heck gets to decide what is “professional,” and does anyone even know what that means?
  • Listener Alyssa joins the crew to discuss her question: how can she discuss the challenges she experienced during undergrad without sounding whiney (even if her challenges would sure have made Dave whine a bit).

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Social Media: Med Ed Miracle, or Minefield? →
Short Coat Podcast

SCOTUS Changed Med Ed As We Know It with Dr. Abby hardy-Fairbanks

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CONTENT WARNING: We’re discussing a controversial subject. The opinions expressed are not those of the University of Iowa or any other institution. Listener discretion is advised.

We try to predict the future of medical training in light of the fall of Roe V. Wade

  • Dr. Abby Hardy Fairbanks, medical director of Iowa City’s Emma Goldman Clinic joins co-hosts MSTP students Madi and Riley, and M2s Mao and Tyler to help us understand how the recent SCOTUS decision striking down abortion as a federally protected right will affect their training.
  • The changes may extend beyond OB-Gyn training to affect other specialties…as well as the trust that confidentiality brings to the doctor-patient relationship.
  • Also, Dr. Hardy-Fairbanks talks about the advocacy roles physicians can take on, from state-house lobbying to voting to just being there for their patients.  

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading SCOTUS Changed Med Ed As We Know It with Dr. Abby hardy-Fairbanks →
Short Coat Podcast

Does a Career in Medicine Make Financial Sense?

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COVID changed how much docs are paid.

  • Chirayu (M2), Maddie (M2), Tracy (M2) and new co-host Levi (MSTP) discuss the financial changes that doctors experienced after COVID, and whether a career in medicine makes as much financial sense as it once did.
  • MIT scientists use locust cyborgs to find cancer cells.  
  • We visit with two premeds–Deeraj and Daniel–who are proving that competing with classmates is a losing strategy for studying medicine.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Does a Career in Medicine Make Financial Sense? →
Short Coat Podcast

How Med Students Would Change Medicine

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There’s plenty of change needed.

  • Dave asks his co-hosts to discuss the things they would like to change about medicine and medical education, if (when) they could.
  • A study in JAMA Pediatrics finds one reason students of color may drop out of med school: mistreatment.
  • Dave fiddles around with AI text-to-image software. Can his co-hosts guess what the AI was trying to create?

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading How Med Students Would Change Medicine →
Short Coat Podcast

Stop Gatekeeping “Doctor.”

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Yes, you will (did) work hard to get your MD, but others have doctorates, too.  Lighten up.

  • Noah (M2), Ariele (PA2), Nicole (M2), and Miranda (MSTP) discuss the impulse many MDs and MDs-to-be have to gatekeep the word “doctor” when advanced practice providers use it.
  • PhDs, DNPs, AuDs and many more also have doctorates. Instead of worrying about who worked harder to get it, better perhaps to support each other and not worry about who deserves to call themselves a doctor.
  • The American Board of Radiology did something crazy–they told programs their trainees will get a bunch of leave for birthing and non-birthing parents to care for their newborns.
  • Noah and Ariele try the third hand experiment. Tik Tok science for the win? Or is it social pseudoscience?

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Stop Gatekeeping “Doctor.” →
Short Coat Podcast

Med Student Life: Evals, Boards, and Carmel Corn Bribery

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Med student’s lives are much like everyone else’s. Except for the constant critique and testing.

  • Morgan (M3), Eric (M3), Aline (MSTP), and Abby (graduate!) discuss their experiences being evaluated in medical school.
  • Abby offers her big tips for new MDs to get the best deal on internet service (apply for Medicaid and wait for them to give you candy).
  • A doc goes to jail for his COVID cure kits.
  • We practice giving sincere compliments to each other while trying to make the other person laugh.
  • Can the co-hosts reassure a freaked out Redditor who abuses Imodium?

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Med Student Life: Evals, Boards, and Carmel Corn Bribery →

An honest guide to the amazing and intense world of medical school.