Tag Archives: AJ Chowdhury

Piecing Together American Healthcare, ft. Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz (Part 1)

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We have GOT to get it together

What’s the best way to navigate a fragmented healthcare system? How are patients both the victims and unwitting custodians of their own medical stories? And can primary care address gaps in long-term cancer treatment? We had a fun conversation with Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz, the author of ‘Fragmented, A Doctor’s Quest to Piece Together American Healthcare.’ Jeff, Fallon, AJ, and Alex walked away not only enlightened about the gaps in the contemporary healthcare system but also the importance of primary care and specialists working together to build patient relationships and keep clinical information flowing.

The Primary Care Revelation

Dr. Yurkiewicz took an unconventional career path. Why would a trained medical oncologist with board certifications in hematology and oncology choose to open a primary care practice for cancer patients and survivors, you might wonder? The answer delves deep into the very core of our healthcare system’s inefficiencies.

Cancer treatment doesn’t end at remission. The aftermath brings a basket full of new health issues that often go overlooked. During these critical times, patients need primary care doctors who are also knowledgeable about oncology — enter the innovative primary care practice Dr. Yurkiewicz established.

Fixing Fragmentation in Healthcare

Unfortunately, the tools physicians use to track their patients’ progress aren’t great at sharing. The shortcomings of electronic medical records (EMR) are a source of frustration that healthcare providers commonly face due to their disjointed nature. Keeping the patient in the loop when it comes to their reports and critical information was highlighted as a key responsibility of healthcare providers in a fragmented system–the current state of affairs is that the patient is the one with the most incentive to keep track of their data! This only highlights the urgent need for an interconnected EMR system, that patients are often the only source of continuity in their healthcare narrative.

A Glimpse Into the Future of Healthcare

There are countries that do this better, but modifying the existing system rather than attempting to building a new one from scratch based on them may be tough. Though countries like the Netherlands boast more streamlined healthcare systems, it’s crucial to devise a model that accommodates the unique challenges and strengths of American healthcare and culture.

More about our guest:

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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Continue reading Piecing Together American Healthcare, ft. Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz (Part 1)

Bad Advice is a Leaky Umbrella (Recess Rehash)

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[Dave is on vacation this week, so enjoy this previously aired episode]

Recognizing good advice and discarding the bad is part of the admissions process

  • Aline has finished her PhD! She walks Jeff, Riley, and AJ through what defending a dissertation is like, and looks back on some of the things she’s learned about herself and about science.
  • And, bad advice is like a leaky umbrella that lets you down when you need it most. So how do you recognize good advice and distinguish it from bad advice when you’re applying to medical school?

[URL template for episode https://media.blubrry.com/theshortcoat/podcast.uiowa.edu/com/osa/CHANGETHIS.mp3]

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 Bad Advice is a Leaky Umbrella (Recess Rehash)

Our Hobbies Save Us

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The importance of getting your head outside of medical school.

  • Lots of people have hobbies, and perhaps many of those people use them to step outside their day-to-day lives for a while for a peaceful break. Is there time for a hobby or three in medical school?
  • M3s AJ and Alex, M1 Hend, and MD/PhD student Sam say there absolutely is! In fact, it’s possible the importance of finding time for your outside interests is greater in medical school than any other time!

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 Our Hobbies Save Us

Belief at the Bedside

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Faith is an important part of the human condition–let’s explore that.

  • M1 Hend invited David Kozishek, a chaplain at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to talk with M3 AJ, M1 Jeff and new co-host M1 Ervina to talk about the role of chaplains on the healthcare team.
  • David also helps the co-hosts discuss the role that religion may play in their lives as future physicians, the tensions and compatibilities between evidence and faith, and how they might respond when their own beliefs may in conflict with standard practices.
  • We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode–does religion play a big part of your life? How would you respond to the scenarios we talked about? What questions do you have about the connections between faith and healthcare?

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 Belief at the Bedside

From Problem to Publication

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The process of “doing research” is a methodical slog

  • AJ has finished up some interventional radiology research and gotten it published recently. He and Daniel, Jeff, and Mallory–who’ve all been down that road–walk Dave through the research process, step by step.
  • The crew discusses how they’ve found a problem to examine, done the background lit searches, gotten approval from the ethics watchdogs, collected data, written it up, and submitted the finished research to a journal.
  • Plus, Dave gives everyone a pop quiz on the latest fascinating research from some random website he found–research you can USE, though you might want to ask someone before you start sniffing their pits.

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 From Problem to Publication

Bad Advice is a Leaky Umbrella

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Recognizing good advice and discarding the bad is part of the admissions process

  • Aline has finished her PhD! She walks Jeff, Riley, and AJ through what defending a dissertation is like, and looks back on some of the things she’s learned about herself and about science.
  • And, bad advice is like a leaky umbrella that lets you down when you need it most. So how do you recognize good advice and distinguish it from bad advice when you’re applying to medical school?

[URL template for episode https://media.blubrry.com/theshortcoat/podcast.uiowa.edu/com/osa/CHANGETHIS.mp3]

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 Bad Advice is a Leaky Umbrella

Co-Surviving Medicine, With the Glaucomfleckens

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Dr. and Lady G have a new podcast!

  • Will and Kristin Flanary, better known as Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken, visit with The Short Coats to talk about their new podcast, Knock Knock, Hi!
  • AJ, Madi, Zay, Jacob, and Hend talk with the Flanarys about the value of satirizing medicine–a surprisingly universal source of workplace comedy–an its ability to humanize physicians.
  • Kristin discusses her experiences as co-survivor of everything Dr. Flanary has put her through, like cancer (twice), midnight cardiac arrest, and–shudder–medical school.

More about the Flanarys:

Website: https://glaucomflecken.com/

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 Co-Surviving Medicine, With the Glaucomfleckens

It’s Here: AI Powered Studying!

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UVA med students create app to find AnKing flashcards for you.

  • M3s AJ and Ananya, and M4 Mason get a visit from the medical student creators of the machine-learning app NovaCards.ai.
  • Shane Chambers and Jordan Bagnall (and their co-founder Charbel Marche) found themselves spending tons of time finding AnKing flashcards to learn pre-clinical medicine, so they did what any modern medical student with AI-building chops does: get a computer to do it for them, automagically!
  • NovaCards is especially useful during pre-clinical courses, but Shane also talks about how he’s been using it himself during clinicals–and you can join the fun for free.
  • We also discuss the state of (and barriers to) the use of artificial intelligence in medicine.

More about our guests:

Website: https://novacards.ai/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novacards.ai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NovacardsAI

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: https://theshortcoat.com/we-want-to-know-you-better/

Continue reading It’s Here: AI Powered Studying!

The Genetic Engineering Debate isn’t as Easy as You Think

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How straightforward is any discussion about genetic engineering?

  • M1 Jeff talks with M3 Ananya, MD/PhD student Riley, and M3 AJ about the nuances of genetic engineering, a scientific pursuit that not everyone agrees should happen.
  • Despite that view, it seems likely that genetic engineering has been, is, and will be an increasingly available tool in medicine’s arsenal as our understanding of genetics increases.
  • But first, we answer Listener Helina’s question: what should she be thinking about when picking medical school electives?

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 The Genetic Engineering Debate isn’t as Easy as You Think

Recess Rehash: When Life Is Getting In the Way of Med School: the Value of the Tactical Retreat.

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Save Your Resources to Fight Another Day

TL;DR

  • Medical school is all-consuming, but sometimes you need to take time to deal with the slings and arrows of life.
  • Don’t be afraid that you’ll jeopardize your career by taking a leave during medical school. Better to do it before your situation causes harm to your test scores or grades.
  • A Brown University study finds that schools are failing in their diversity goals for admitting URMs.

We’re on a holiday break, but we’ll be back next week. Until then, enjoy this rerun.

Poking around on Reddit’s r/medschool, Dave found a rather desperate message from an M3 who’s life is collapsing around him–death, marriage troubles, family illnesses, and all at the same time. so much so that Dave fears their progress might suffer. Is it time for what a military commander might call a “tactical retreat?” Note: Dave isn’t really sure of the technical definition of a tactical retreat, but let’s just say it’s about stepping back and conserving your resources until the situation becomes more favorable to your goals. It’s a metaphor, go with it.

And co-hosts Aline Sandouk (MD/PhD), Nicole Hines (M1), AJ Chowdhury (M1), and Miranda Schene (MD/PhD) discuss the disappointing news that medical schools have made negative progress in attaining diversity goals for students underrepresented in medicine, despite years of effort.

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: When Life Is Getting In the Way of Med School: the Value of the Tactical Retreat.