Tag Archives: Madi Wahlen

Does the Medical Profession Glorify Misery? (Recess Rehash)

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[With Dave taking a vacation, here is your opportunity to enjoy this rerun. We’ll be back with a new episode next week!]

Do everything you can to avoid the misery trap

On this episode we welcome guest Dr. Joshua Trebach, an emergency medicine physician here at Iowa. This past spring he posted on X that medicine must “lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being ‘finally worth it’ in the end.”

We couldn’t agree more–live now, not later! Which is why PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Fallon Jung, and MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen are each finding ways to reject that mentality. Indeed, medical education is changing, perhaps slowly, to reinforce the idea that just because medicine can be a difficult life doesn’t mean that you should obsessively look forward to the day it gets better. That day is a long way away, so do what you can (what you must) to be who you want to be even as you’re drinking from the firehose.

Also, we answer one of listener Mohamed’s questions on how he can jump right into his first year this fall with his eyes on patient advocacy.

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.

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Continue reading Does the Medical Profession Glorify Misery? (Recess Rehash)

How Med Students Do Long Distance Relationships

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It’s all about the plan!

Listener Neurotic Premed dropped us a message at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus to ask what medical students in long-distance relationships, both platonic and romantic, do to keep them alive and healthy. MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen, M2 Fallon Jung, M3 Jeff Goddard, an PA2 Julie Vuong have a lot of experience in that area. From long-distance parenting to making sure friends still feel connected, it takes planning and intentionality along with a slight tweak to what it means to be “together.” They share how they do it successfully!

Plus, Chinese researchers appear to have cured a man of his diabetes, Ozempic is powerful enough to affect the food and beverage industry’s bottom lines, and Florida allows c-sections outside of hospitals in a bid to improve access.

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.

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Continue reading How Med Students Do Long Distance Relationships

Does the Medical Profession Glorify Misery?

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[This episode is sponsored by Beginly Health. The Beginly platform matches physicians and APPs with employers with complete anonymity until you’re ready for the next step. Dave and Beginly founder Kristi Olsen chat about what residents should be asking employers about when planning for their post-residency gigs and beyond.]

Do everything you can to avoid the misery trap

On this episode we welcome guest Dr. Joshua Trebach, an emergency medicine physician here at Iowa. This past spring he posted on X that medicine must “lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being ‘finally worth it’ in the end.”

We couldn’t agree more–live now, not later! Which is why PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Fallon Jung, and MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen are each finding ways to reject that mentality. Indeed, medical education is changing, perhaps slowly, to reinforce the idea that just because medicine can be a difficult life doesn’t mean that you should obsessively look forward to the day it gets better. That day is a long way away, so do what you can (what you must) to be who you want to be even as you’re drinking from the firehose.

Also, we answer one of listener Mohamed’s questions on how he can jump right into his first year this fall with his eyes on patient advocacy.

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 want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Does the Medical Profession Glorify Misery?

Shocking betrayals, sure fire blindness, niche community drama

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It’s a freestyle episode, come have some fun!

  • Sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and have a rambling conversation. That’s this episode, with MD/PhD students Madi Wahlen and Sahaana Arumugam and M3s Jacob Hansen and Jacob Lam.
  • We discuss the non-weighty topics of why people don’t know they shouldn’t stare at a ball of fusion in the sky, niche online community drama, a Texas transplant surgeon accused of manipulating transplant lists, everyday things that might not be things someday, why Dave doesn’t yet want an electric vehicle, the co-hosts plans for their futures beyond seeing patients, and so much more that is barely relevant to medical school.
  • If you don’t like this kind of episode, do we have a solution for you!

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 want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Shocking betrayals, sure fire blindness, niche community drama

Why Having a Pet in Med School is a Good Idea (Recess Rehash)

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[It’s winter break for us here at the University of Iowa, so we’re taking a break. Our next new episode will be out January 18, 2024. In the meantime, enjoy this rerun!]

They may not help us pass our exams…but they definitely have upsides

  • A common question new medical students have is whether they should get a pet. Will they feel neglected when I have to be at the hospital or the library? Will they be too expensive for a poor med student? Will they be too much work?
  • The answer to those questions can be answered by realizing that PLENTY of us do own pets, and we all do just fine.
  • Also, Dave cornered some frightened-looking M1s during orientation for some people-on-the-street interviews. Riley, Mao, Madi and Matt discuss their answers.

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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Dr. Paul Offit Continues The Fight Against Vaccine Misinformation

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Meet one doctor working to counter once-fringe anti-vax conspiracy theorists.

  • M2 Jeff Goddard invited internationally-renowned virology and immunology expert Dr. Paul Offit on the show to talk about his lifelong struggle to fight vaccine misinformation.
  • MD/PhD Students Riley Behan-Bush, and Madi Wahlen join Jeff to talk with Dr. Offit about his work educating politicians and policy-makers (as well as battling anti-vaxxers like 2024 presidential candidate RFK, Jr.) and with the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
  • One thing is for certain: though fear and doubt about vaccines have existed since the first smallpox vaccine, in the age of social media educating the public about vaccines and science hasn’t gotten any easier.

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”). We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey We do more things on…

Continue reading Dr. Paul Offit Continues The Fight Against Vaccine Misinformation

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

“Soft” Skills: The Importance of Learning to Communicate

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Communication skills are just as important as medical knowledge and clinical skills

  • M3 Ananya, M3 Eric, MD/PhD student Madi, and our admissions guru Rachel talk about communication skills and their importance for patient outcomes, professional development and advancement, and career satisfaction.
  • Whether it’s patients reviewing their notes in the electronic health record, residents passing on knowledge to students, providers empathetically communicating findings and plans to patients with no scientific background, or scientists collaborating professionally with their colleagues, everything depends on this thing that humans do all the time–with varying degrees of success.
  • Meanwhile, some students may see these as “soft” skills, giving less importance to them than grades on exams or their scores on boards.

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 “Soft” Skills: The Importance of Learning to Communicate

Why Having a Pet in Med School is a Good Idea

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They may not help us pass our exams…but they definitely have upsides

  • A common question new medical students have is whether they should get a pet. Will they feel neglected when I have to be at the hospital or the library? Will they be too expensive for a poor med student? Will they be too much work?
  • The answer to those questions can be answered by realizing that PLENTY of us do own pets, and we all do just fine.
  • Also, Dave cornered some frightened-looking M1s during orientation for some people-on-the-street interviews. Riley, Mao, Madi and Matt discuss their answers.

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 Why Having a Pet in Med School is a Good Idea

Tall Testosterone Tales for the Toxic testicle Troops

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A silly documentary about the decline of men.

TL;DR

  • A man in Germany takes 90 for the team to sell vax cards
  • Tucker Carlson’s new documentary seems to sell a bizarre vision of the decline of male supremacy.
  • Dave has an alternative idea for composing residency personal statements.
Background: screen capture from The End of Men, Fox News.

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 Tall Testosterone Tales for the Toxic testicle Troops