Tag Archives: Lillian Schmidt

Medical Students Judge Reddit’s Messiest Dilemmas (AITA)

Audio May 11, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:06 — 31.2MB)

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.

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

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Their Last Free Summer: How Four M1s Are Spending It

Audio May 7, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:24 — 31.3MB)

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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

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!

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Short Coat Podcast

Medical Student Identity: What the White Coat Means

Audio April 2, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:17 — 114.7MB)

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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

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 →

Short Coat Podcast

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

Audio October 30, 2025 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:57 — 87.8MB)

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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.