Short Coat Podcast

PIMPing and Jamming, Sexist Science, and Salon Samaritans

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“Oh, sweetie, aren’t you precious! We were looking for a real doctor!” Photo by gbaku

Dave once again forces the group to play a game of questionable relevance to medicine in which his co-hosts ask each other anatomy questions while wearing speech jammer headphones.  Corbin Weaver, Matt Wilson, and Issac Schwantes are good sports, however, which is easy for them seeing as how Dave is the absolute worst at talking while wearing the mind-scrambling headset.  We also discuss a couple recent examples of bias in medicine, including flight attendants’ response to a young, black doctor’s offer to help a distressed passenger in flight, and Delta’s follow up admission that its policies weren’t helpful. Another example: a recent study that seemed to conclude women were better doctors than men, without addressing other, perhaps systemic reasons for the results. And what can hairdressers do about domestic violence?  Illinois lawmakers think they can help quite a bit.

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Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

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Short Coat Podcast

Re-doin’ the Drops, a Clash of Wits, and Snapchat Surgery

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Uh, oh. Sauron’s been doin’ the drops again. Photo by Dustin Ginetz

We tried Roto Z eye drops in the past, and were unimpressed.  But thanks to Doug Russo, who secured the real deal–Roto Z Pro eye drops–Kaci McCleary and newbies Matt Wilson, Jenna Schade and Elizabeth Shirazi felt the burn.  Now that they’re suitably refreshed, Dave must do his part to help med students keep their wits about them by playing a game of MegaClash!  Listener and ortho resident Emily calls in to say hello and express concern that med students are forced to choose specialties based on shallow exposures.  We address a worrying sentiment Dave noticed popping up a lot this week: that “if you can see yourself doing anything else besides being a doctor, do that instead.”  But it’s cool, because the National Academy of Medicine has formed a coalition of organizations to address burnout and suicide in medicine and medical education.  And a UK surgeon offers his students a way to observe surgery without all the boring bits, leveraging Snapchat Spectacles.  Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

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Short Coat Podcast

Semester Wrap-up, Gramma’s baked, and Short Thoughts

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Mmm-hm, well, I can help but notice you’ve stopped petting me, so prepare for a good clawing. Photo by rainerstropek@yahoo.com

Dave and the crew–Mark Moubarek, Levi Endelman, Julie Gudenkauf, and Erin Pazaski–look back on things they experienced as the semester draws to a close.  As first years, Levi and Erin share their thoughts on entering medical school.  Mark is getting ready for his clerkships to begin.  And Julie has finished up her primary-care clerkships and is moving into exploring some of the more specialized areas of medicine.  We also discuss the not surprising fact that baby-boomers are more into cannabis than their children and grandchildren are.  A scientist has decided that he can find people who are overly susceptible to the placebo effect and screen them out so drug companies can save millions on clinical trials and drugs can get to patients faster.  Meanwhile, some other podcasters who couldn’t join us this week send in their Short Thoughts on American consumerism, a woman that was truly a pioneer in medicine, and cats.  Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

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Short Coat Podcast

The Value of Coaching in Medicine.

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achievment photoCoaching is an integral part of sports, it’s often used by corporate executives, and even helps people manage ADHD.  But until recently coaching wasn’t something physicians used to achieve their goals.  For this show, Mark Moubarek, Aline Sandouk, and Amy Young talk with Georgetown University faculty member Maggi Cary and Georgetown student Jack Penner.  Dr. Cary is a certified coach specializing in leadership coaching for healthcare professionals. But a serendipitous acquaintance with Jack lead to him becoming a client.  Recognizing its value for him as a student–in dealing with the so-called hidden curriculum and impostor syndrome, among other things–they have put together a  pro-bono arrangement for twelve Georgetown student with area coaches.  These relationships have allowed students to address areas of concern for them without the fears they may have in reaching out to faculty or peers, such as raising red flags or competitive issues.  It has also allowed them to get some of the individual attention they may be missing in education systems that are focused more on mass production of doctors.  And as medicine itself moves away from the idea that the doctor is the captain of the ship and towards a more integrative model of cooperation between medical professionals, more doctors are excited about learning leadership, management, and even surgical skills that encourage and value the input of their teammates.  Dr. Cary and Jack also help us consider an idea sent in by listener JW–that burnout among physicians might be addressed by adopting a less martyred approach to their work in favor of understanding that “it’s just a job.”

Listeners, share your thoughts with us on this episode and ideas for future episodes.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every week.

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rerun, Short Coat Podcast

Recess Rehash: The Ultimate Taboo: Medicine and Suicide

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[With Thanksgiving late week, we didn’t record a new episode.  Enjoy this rerun, instead!]

Just hours before a new crop of medical students are to be welcomed into the world of medicine, Kaci McCleary, John Pienta, Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek, and Lisa Wehr confront one of the most uncomfortable topics in medical education: resident and student suicide.  Among doctors, suicide rates are much higher than among the general population.  The long hours, high pressure (from both one’s internal monologue and from outside sources) to succeed, fear of public humiliation regarding one’s shortcomings, isolation, inadequate supervision, the stigma against mental illness, the career penalties faced by those who admit to unwellness, and more, all contribute to the problem.  Institutions also have a difficult time addressing incidents of physician suicide effectively, as they try to walk a tightrope strung between respect for the privacy of the deceased, the needs of colleague survivors to talk about it, the desire to avoid adverse publicity.  Meanwhile, the work does not stop. The only breaks are a moment of silence, a visit with a grief counselor, or an “open forum” to discuss one’s feelings.

Fortunately, the culture may be changing to allow for more discussion, prevention, transparency. Institutions like the University of Iowa and Harvard University are adding counseling capacity, student groups to support struggling peers, and a greater openness to acknowledging without shaming the fact of mental illness among physicians.

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The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.
Short Coat Podcast

RIP, Radioactive Boy Scout

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I made it myself! Photo by jurvetson

Happy Thanksgiving!  The crew–John Pienta, Marc Toral, Dylan Todd and new guy Jay Blomme–were lucky enough to hear from a couple listeners about our recent post-presidential election episode.  For instance, Kayla called 347-SHORTCT to say thanks; we presume she had more to say, but she got cut off.  We continue our discussions on logic and logical errors, considering the efforts that Facebook and Google are making to reduce the effects of ‘fake news.’ John has some suggestions on how to have a productive conversation with people whose opinions you don’t share.  Dylan is the master of strange analogies that ultimately are right on target. We discuss one idea in DIY medicine we might be able to get behind, a device that allows women to take some control of their breast reconstruction journey.  And we mark the passing of ‘The Radioactive Boy Scout,’ David Hahn, who attempted to build a working nuclear reactor in his back yard as a teenager.  And some podcasters who couldn’t join us this week send in their thoughts on what they’d do with an extra day no one else could mess with. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

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Short Coat Podcast

Considering The Other Sides

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Photo by madstreetz

With the close of the election of 2016, many people, including us, found themselves dismayed and surprised by a great many things.  But why were we so shocked?  Now that our hindsight has been LASIK’d, some are noticing the truth that was hiding in plain sight: people were feeling ignored.  And those people were the ones that the electoral college protects: rural Americans. In this episode, we (that is, Dave, Mark Moubarek, John Pienta, Rob Humble, and Amy Hanson) try to step out of our bubble. We cast our eyes on our own ignorance and speculate a little on what our fellow Americans want.  We try to avoid politics in this episode in favor of thoughtful, empathetic consideration.  Let us know whether or not we were successful.

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Short Coat Podcast

Do Better Because You Will Die Some Day.

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I made them myself! Photo by loveiswritten

John Pienta, Levi Endelman, Kylie Miller, and Adam Erwood get to answer some probing questions: what’s the first thing a student wants to know upon starting a new clerkship?   What’s the most important skill they’ve ever learned? And what medical specialty should Vladimir Putin pursue?  Also–helpful tip for medical students–if you want to perform the best you can, science says you just need to be reminded that one day you will be worm food.  And men seem to be having trouble with the idea of having minor procedures and experiencing side effects in exchange for the privilege of having sex without certain undesirable consequences like babies.  And we discuss the apparent YouTube trend of DIY braces made by 13-year-olds from wires, superglue, and rubber bands. If you can ignore the risks of your face falling off, it’s a real money saver!

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Short Coat Podcast

Compassion Isn’t Easy

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Photo by Half Chinese

Compassion fatigue is a problem for many practitioners. In medicine, some of the needs are so great, and the resources are often so finite. Aline Sandouk, John Pienta, Rob Humble, and Kaci McCleary discuss what happens when caring itself becomes a limited resource, the reasons empathy can dwindle, ways to cultivate it, and the role that compassion can play in caring for oneself.  We also learn what monks and nuns are teaching us about how compassion manifests positivity and even neural plasticity.
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Short Coat Podcast

Superstition is the Human Condition

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Photo by bionicteaching

Halloweeeeeeennnn! It’s upon us, and while we’re women and men of science around here, we’re not completely able to shed our lizard-brain’s need to take shortcuts.  Which is why we are not at all surprised to know that ER docs still think the moon’s revolutions around the big blue marble are in any way important.  Fortunately, the post-cave-dwellers at the Marburg Center for Undiagnosed and Rare Disease are putting IBM’s Watson to good use by diagnosing–in seconds– rare diseases that defy the efforts of meatier doctors.  And a Rutgers study finds that med school faculty severely underestimate students’ stress and mental health issues.

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