Tag Archives: Charis Edwards

Back in the Closet on a Rural Rotation: Queer in Medicine

Audio September 24, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:04 — 116.6MB)

Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:04 — 12.3GB)

Coming out isn’t a one-time event for LGBTQ+ medical students; it happens again with each new preceptor, patient, and small-talk question.

Thinking about medical school? Carver’s admissions team is hosting a virtual info session Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 6 p.m. Central. Register here.

Dave is joined by M3 Jacob Thompson, M2s Charis Edwards and Cyrus Barati, and Dr. Katie Imborek. Imborek is a family medicine physician, clinical professor and vice chair of clinical operations at the University of Iowa who founded Carver’s LGBTQ+ student organization and helped launch the UI LGBTQ+ Clinic in 2011. Imborek came to Iowa from a small rural college in Indiana where the only gay person she knew of was Ellen DeGeneres, who came out and promptly got fired. She arrived at Carver in 2004, when the LGBTQ student club was called “the Group” so nobody reading over your shoulder in the MERF computer lab would know what the email was about. How did she get from being told to leave it off her personal statement to a professorship built on queer health scholarship? Jacob got the same personal statement advice years later and refused it. Why, he asked himself, would he want to go to a school that didn’t want him because he’s gay?

But, as in many situations, being queer in medicine means coming out over and over again, and it can feel unsafe. What does that mean for a queer medical student? Sometimes it means a preceptor who never invites you to the family dinner he hosts for other students. Sometimes it means worry about a negative evaluation. Imborek points out that everyone at the table is cisgender and can pass as cis, and that passing comes with safety others don’t have. For a trans woman of color on a rural rotation, for example, the question isn’t just about grades.

The group also talks about how their identities mesh with their care of patients. Should doctors ask every patient about sexual orientation, gender identity, pronouns, and partners, even the ones who came in for a rash? As emotionally charged as these ideas are in the early 21st century, Dr. Imborek asserts that these are medical questions, vital to establishing care and providing differential diagnoses.

Episode credits:

Producer: Cyrus Barati
Co-hosts: Charis Edwards, Jacob Thompson, Cyrus Barati
Guest: Dr. Katie Imborek
Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Royer, Cyrus Barati, Isa Perez-Sandi, Zach Grissom, Sarah Upton, Srishti Mathur, David Lee, and Jacob Thompson

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa, the Carver College of Medicine, or the State of Iowa. All discussions are intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Nothing said on this podcast should be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. Always seek qualified professional guidance for personal decisions.

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From the Archives:

Short Coat Podcast

Feedback, Filler Words, and Fights Over Naturopathic Medicine

Audio July 30, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:21 — 107.1MB)

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Four future doctors weigh in on evaluations, filler words, and a breakup over medical science.

M2s Akshaj Joshi, Anna Royer, Charis Edwards, and Cory Karasek talk about giving and receiving feedback, what it’s like reading a stack of evaluative comments about yourself, why “keep reading” is somehow a real evaluation, and whether attendings have started letting AI write their write-ups. Also, do quiet students get read more harshly than talkative ones, does anybody actually change their filler-word habit once someone points it out, and is your personality basically locked in since the day you were born (this one gets a full psychoanalysis of Joshi’s baby years). Also, we visit reddit to help people. For instance, an AITA dilemma asks whether refusing hospital visitors after birth makes you the asshole, whether it’s awful to end a ten-year relationship over a partner’s decision to go to naturopathic school, and somebody’s uncle wants a free diagnosis at the next family gathering, and gets read for it, ethically, legally, and personally.

Episode credits:

Producer: Anna Royer
Co-hosts: Anna Royer, Cory Karasek, Charis Edwards, Akshaj Joshi
Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Royer, Cyrus Barati, Isa Perez-Sandi, Zach Grissom, Sarah Upton, Srishti Mathur, David Lee, and Jacob Thompson

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening!

Continue reading →

From the Archives:

Short Coat Podcast

Things You Can Do To Prepare for Med School (and One Thing You Shouldn’t!)

Audio March 5, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:27 — 70.4MB)

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Prioritize Fun!

What should you do with the time between getting accepted to medical school and orientation week? Fallon Jung, Anna Royer, Jonah Albrecht, and Charis Edwards tell their stories about finding out they got in (including one bathroom cry session and a Colorado NICU celebration), what they actually did to prepare, and why you absolutely shouldn’t pre-study. If you’re headed to medical school next year, this episode is basically your older sibling giving you the honest advice nobody else will—like why floor time in windowless study rooms is underrated, how to fill your cup before classes start, and the surprising truth about how much fun you can still have during M1 year. You’ll hear why these students think the admissions committee already believes you can do this, practical tips on setting up your study space without buying every resource known to humankind, and honest talk about mental health, sleep, and remembering why you wanted to be a doctor in the first place.

The crew plus show photographer David Lee also debuts a med school edition of “That Escalated Quickly,” a party game that somehow involves electrocuting your brain’s pleasure centers, peppermint ice cream debates, and the very specific hell of planning to study instead of actually studying.

Whether you’re pre-med, pre-PA, or just curious what actually happens before med school starts, hang out with your SCP friends who genuinely want you to succeed—and who aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves along the way.