Tag Archives: Jonah Albrecht

Medical Students Judge Reddit’s Messiest Dilemmas (AITA)

From post-surgical family drama to a lidocaine injections without warning — where is the line, exactly?

Dave and his M1 co-hosts Lily Schmidt, Melia Patrick, Jonah Albrecht, and Anna Royer, take a field trip to Reddit’s AITA sub— because self-reflection is not usually how people figure out if they’re the problem. Four posts, four verdicts, and get genuinely sidetracked in the best way: there’s a chlamydia anecdote Dave shares, a philosophical debate about whether watching movies at 2.5x speed makes you a bad partner, and a surprisingly earnest conversation about what med students actually owe their families when they become the designated “medical person” in the room.

The fourth story (med school parents take note!): a doctor-mom posts about telling her struggling pre-med daughter she isn’t cut out for medicine — and then the updates keep coming. A spiral. A traumatic freshman year. A complete reversal. The crew picks it apart with the kind of clinical-meets-human instinct they’re in med school to develop: what happens when a parent mistakes performance for potential, and how does one know if something is a moral failing or a cry for help?

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Zach Grissom/Dave Etler
  • Co-hosts: Anna Royer, Jonah Albrecht, Melia Patrick, Lillian Schmidt
  • Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Roger, 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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading Medical Students Judge Reddit’s Messiest Dilemmas (AITA)
Share

Their Last Free Summer: How Four M1s Are Spending It

The summer between first and second year of med school freedom hits differently when you actually know it’s the last time you’ll truly get to do as you like. Four M1s — Lily Schmidt, Melia Patrick, Jonah Albrecht, and Anna Royer— talk through how they landed on their summer plans: research fellowships, a genetics scholars program, global health immersion in Ecuador, Colorado fourteeners, and the lingering question of whether any of it actually matters for residency. Spoiler: it matters, but probably not in the way you think.

What makes this conversation more useful than the typical med school advice content is how honest everyone is about the pressure to do research whether or not it fits. Jonah is off to Ecuador in part to avoid a lab. Lily is in a clinic implementing joint-capture software partly because she can’t do chart review without going sideways. Melia is doing genetics because she actually likes the patient population, even if memorizing chromosome deletions makes her want to give up. If it sounds like–despite the talk of freedom–they’re all deciding to do something med school adjacent, you’re right. But they are exercising the option to choose the focus of their attention in this last summer of life at the margins of medicine.

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Anna Royer
  • Co-hosts: Melia Patrick, Lillian Schmidt, Jonah Albrecht
  • Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Roger, 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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading Their Last Free Summer: How Four M1s Are Spending It
Share

Medical Student Identity: What the White Coat Means

The Hippocratic oath moment that turns anxious students into future physicians—even before they’ve treated a single patient

You’re on stage at the “White Coat Ceremony,” putting on that short coat for the first time, and honestly? It feels kind of weird. Like you’re playing dress-up in someone else’s costume. That’s where M1s Jonah Albrecht, Anna Royer, Lillian Schmidt, and Lillie Lamont pick up the conversation—because turns out, that awkward feeling might be telling you something important about what this weird garment actually means (and might not mean) in medicine.

This episode gets real about white coat symbolism beyond the ceremony photo-op. Our M1 hosts dig into medical student identity, physician hierarchy, the whole clinical attire debate, and whether that coat actually helps with patient trust in healthcare or just makes you feel like an imposter. You’ll hear honest takes on medical professionalism, imposter syndrome medicine, what medical school training teaches you about fitting in, and why healthcare team collaboration might work better without all the hierarchical costume drama. Plus: we adapt the amazing Codenames game–can Lillie’s favorite game reveal anything about med school chaos?

If you’re wondering whether you’ll ever feel like you belong in that coat—or whether that particular outer covering is a good idea—hit play.

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Jonah Albrecht, Cyrus Barati
  • Co-hosts: Anna Royer, Jonah Albrecht, Lillie Lamont, Lillian Schmidt

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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading Medical Student Identity: What the White Coat Means
Share

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

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.

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Anna Royer
  • Co-hosts: Charis Edwards, Jonah Albrecht, Fallon Jung, David Lee

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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

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

How to Survive The First Semester of Med School

These M1s say it wasn’t easy…but it was FUN?

You know medical school is hard, but what does that mean? That idea has no emotional connection to anything until you are IN IT, and these M1s definitely were.

Jonah Albrecht, Trever Maiers, Alex Johnson, and Chris Ceplecha review the M1 semester and how they survived it. You’ll hear about what habits they had to drop, and which of their experiments in learning were a waste of time. Who did they lean on? What made it possible? What did they trip over, and how did right themselves? Their stories should give hope to future students that while medical school is tough in ways that are unpredictable, by working together–whether teaching each other, admitting when they needed help, and taking advantage of the resources available to them–it’s not only possible, but “fun!”

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Jonah Albrecht
  • Co-hosts: Trever Maiers, Alex Johnson, Chris Ceplecha

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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading How to Survive The First Semester of Med School
Share

The Universal Experience that Medicine Hates Talking About Most

[Content warning: this episode contains frank discussions of death and dying that some listeners may want to skip.]

Doctors need to actually ask patients what a good death looks like to them

Medical students learn so much anatomy and pathophysiology, the social determinants of health, and the practice of medicine. Meanwhile managing death—one of two things every single patient experiences—gets squeezed into a few short lectures. It can sometimes feel like hospice and palliative care are afterthoughts.

Of course, med students train to be healers, to fix what is broken. But a conversation about the end of life, and the patients’ goals for that most solemn event, is so important that it’d be nice if physicians and physician assistants could do that without sweating through their scrubs.

That 89-year-old patient joking about being “ready to kick the bucket” needs a provider who can stop and talk when they’re asked what dying actually looks like. The family demanding “everything be done” deserves someone who stops to explain what “everything” really means. And the chef who refuses the feeding tube isn’t being stubborn—he’s making the most rational decision about quality of life you’ll hear all week.

PA2 Chloe Kepros, M2s Sarah Nichols and Nick Lembezeder, and M1 Jonah Albrecht discuss the economics driving end-of-life care costs, explore why palliative care should start at diagnosis instead of six months before death, and examine how their medical training creates providers who can make speedy life-and-death decisions for their patients, but don’t have time to process watching them die.

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Chloe Kepros
  • Co-hosts: Jonah Albrecht, Sarah Nichols, Nick Lembezeder

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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading The Universal Experience that Medicine Hates Talking About Most
Share

Med School Stereotypes Shattered: What We’re Really Like Inside

Turns out medical students are regular humans who happen to need to memorize the Krebs cycle

We’ve all got that mental image of medical students – the type-A perfectionists grinding through textbooks even on the porcelain throne, right? Well, our first-year medical students at Iowa are about to blow up every assumption you’ve ever had. Turns out the people memorizing a zillion anatomical structures aren’t exactly who you’d expect.

M1s Chase McInville, Lillian Schmidt, Jonah Albrecht, and Abbie Townsend reveal why your pre-med study plans are probably useless, how a hockey ref’s confidence translates to patient care, and why some medical students refuse to study on Saturdays. We explore the real traits that matter (spoiler: it’s not being a genius), bust the myth about cutthroat competition, and discover why medical school might actually be more collaborative than your average undergrad group project.

Plus, we settle the burning question every pre-med wants answered: can you actually prepare for medical school, or should you just go backpacking in Europe instead? These Short Coats share what non-medical experiences shaped them most, from building houses with Habitat for Humanity to working political campaigns to reffing hockey games to farming vegetables with zero agricultural background.

This isn’t your typical “day in the life” medical school content. We’re talking about the messy reality of learning to learn again, the unexpected diversity of personalities in short white coats, and why the smartest thing these students do might be admitting they don’t know everything.

The episode ends with the Short Coats working together to hash out the vibes of med student life. Hint: there should really only be five nerves.

Episode credits:

  • Producer: Jonah Albrecht
  • Co-hosts: Abbie Townsend, Chase McInville, Lillian Schmidt, Jonah Albrecht

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.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We need to know more about you! https://surveys.blubrry.com/theshortcoat (email a screenshot of the confirmation screen to theshortcoats@gmail.com with your mailing address and Dave will mail you a thank you package!)

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

Continue reading Med School Stereotypes Shattered: What We’re Really Like Inside
Share