Tag Archives: politics

Short Coat Podcast

Sheriff of Sodium: AI Will Replace Doctors (Reality Check!)

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Docs are in denial, but the economic incentives make it inevitable

You’re working hard to be (or become) a doctor — now a bot might take your place? The Sheriff of Sodium, Dr. Brian Carmody, is back on the Short Coat to say what nobody wants to hear but might need to: yes, AI in medicine is real, and the value proposition makes docs’ replacement inevitable. From primary care AI to image-heavy fields like pathology, we’re talking actual use cases.

We break down physician automation, the AMA’s waning influence, and why corporations – and even patients – might be the real force behind AI-driven doctor job loss. If you thought medical school guaranteed career security, this might shake your certainty. But there are specialties and human-only qualities that you can lean into for a bright future amidst the bots.

Then the Sheriff, M3 Jeff Goddard, MD/PhD Miranda Schene, M2s Sarah Lowenberg and Taryn O’Brien pivot to a deeply personal listener question: should a pre-med student push through to med school while struggling with mental health, like her parents want her to? Or take time off to regroup?

Episode credits:

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.

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

Continue reading Sheriff of Sodium: AI Will Replace Doctors (Reality Check!) →
Short Coat Podcast

Listener asks: What does Patient Advocacy Look Like? (Recess Rehash)

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[Because of Match Week and Spring Break, we didn’t record a new ep last week. Enjoy this rerun instead, and we’ll be back next week! –Dave]

Speaking up for your patients will have profound impacts

  • Short Coat Savannah’s previous work in mental health settings exposed her to situations where she had to report abuse. She left us a message at 347-SHORTCT asking us to talk about patient advocacy.
  • MD/PhD student Riley, PA1 Faith, M1 Jeff, and M3 Happy–along with some of our faculty–look at what doctors actually do to advocate for their patients in that situation, as well as other more common situations.
  • Plus, Jeff licks an elephant to right an old wrong.

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…

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Short Coat Podcast

The Practicalities of Policy; Alex Trebot Returns

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Democracy is messy

  • Dave declared this recording day to be “Effort Free Friday,” as it was officially Thanksgiving Break! That didn’t stop M2 Jeff Goddard from telling the story of a recent meeting of the AMA Students Section that offered an object lesson on how policy is (or in this case, isn’t) made.
  • Among many other topics, some students wanted the AMA to declare a position on the current Israel-Hamas war. In the end, the AMA declined to do so, perhaps deciding that it didn’t have the political capital on a divisive issue that could threaten its ability to participate in other conversations it has a more direct role in. Co-hosts M2 Happy Kumar, MD/PhD student Faith Goddard, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush talk about their personal efforts to understand this compilated issue.
  • In the spirit of the tenets of Effort Free Friday, Dave dragged Alex Trebot out from the AI closet to host a trivia contest.

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…

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Short Coat Podcast

What Patient Advocacy Looks Like

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:15 — 50.6MB)

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Speaking up for your patients will have profound impacts

  • Short Coat Savannah’s previous work in mental health settings exposed her to situations where she had to report abuse. She left us a message at 347-SHORTCT asking us to talk about patient advocacy.
  • MD/PhD student Riley, PA1 Faith, M1 Jeff, and M3 Happy–along with some of our faculty–look at what doctors actually do to advocate for their patients in that situation, as well as other more common situations.
  • Plus, Jeff licks an elephant to right an old wrong.

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 What Patient Advocacy Looks Like →
Short Coat Podcast

Vote For Your Patients

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Election day is nearly here! Here are the issues you might consider

Disclaimer: We’re don’t intend to suggest you vote in any particular way, though we may discuss our own views. We’re wish to illustrate the connection between medicine and politics, and emphasize: no matter what you believe, vote for yourself and your patients!

Editorial note: one statement made in a previous version of this episode, that the origins of policing started as slave patrols in the south, is not completely accurate. You can read more about that common misconception here. We’ve removed that statement from the episode.

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

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Uncategorized

Choosing Your Clinical Education: Community Hospital or Academic Medical Center?

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Photo by quinn.anya

On this episode, M2s Nathen Spitz and Sahaana Arumugam, M3 Emma Barr, and MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk reminisce about simpler Halloween times, when the only thing to worry about was whether your costume was going to be on the sexy branch or the non-sexy branch of the decision tree. Emma gives us her thoughts on why it was a good idea to do her ‘core’ clinical clerkships (like Internal Medicine, Psych, and Peds) at community hospitals in Des Moines instead of at our academic medical center closer to home.

It’s time to vote in the US, and we reflect on why students absolutely must not ignore politics, and just how easy it is to get involved.

And, anticipating his friends’ need to one day be decision makers in medicine (and perhaps politicians?) Dave forces them to fight to the figurative death.

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!

Short Coat Podcast

How the Sausage is Made: Why Doctors–and Students–Must Engage In Politics

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Policy is not sexy. I mean, it’s not saving lives, or curing disease, or making groundbreaking discoveries. But it isn’t a stretch to say that policy is as important as any of these, because politicians are making decisions about health and healthcare that affect millions of patients and their physicians. The laws they come up with determine what you can do for your patients, how you practice medicine, how you get paid, what kinds of care are legal or illegal, and much, much more. Seems like something doctors should pay attention to, perhaps even get directly involved with.

M4 and future surgeon Sarah Eikenberry got a glimpse of the process as the first student to take the Carver College of Medicine’s new advocacy clerkship. Think you know how a bill gets passed? You might be surprised to know that Schoolhouse Rock didn’t tell us the whole story. Her self-assigned project for the clerkship was to get a bill passed in the Iowa state legislature to include the Stop The Bleed campaign in public education in Iowa. That turns out to be a pretty big project! Was she successful? What did she learn? Where do things go often off the rails?

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You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have an interest in public policy? Tell us about it at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  We’d love to know more!

Continue reading How the Sausage is Made: Why Doctors–and Students–Must Engage In Politics →
Short Coat Podcast

The Laws that are Shrinking the Telomeres of OB/Gyn Residents

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Admissions counselor Megan Kosovski joins Aline Sandouk, Emma Barr, Nick Lind, and Hannah Van Ert for this show, because we had a listener question from a Canadian listener not-named “Molson.” What’s it like, Molson wanted to know, for a Canadian to apply to medical school in the US, which he’s considering doing since Canadian schools are so few and the odds are so low.  Molson, pull the tab on that brewski and we’ll get you sorted.

As Executive Producer Jason Lewis is leaving us for greener pastures, Dave is preparing to take part in interviewing his replacement.  Which means that he’s gotta rev up his BS detector so he can help select the right person.  With that in mind, can his co-hosts detect the BS or truth found within the often ridiculous claims found Snopes.com?

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

A tragic incident of a trans man losing his baby after a series of errors and confusion related to his gender is detailed in a case study.  Yet another reason for the US graduate medical education system to change how it treats residents might be found in their shrinking telomeres.  And the risks to OB/Gyn training that recent abortion bills in Alabama and elsewhere are posing (WARNING: politics and conspiracy theories ahead!).

We Want to Hear From You

How do you feel about the recent anti-abortion bills? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

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Short Coat Podcast

In 2019, Medicine Is Political.

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Photo by torbakhopper

[Once again, our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.  Thank you, CommonBond!!!]

Former listener Cash commented on Facebook that he doesn’t listen any more because of our political comments.  So on today’s show, Aline Sandouk, Rob Humble, Irisa Mahaparn, and Admissions Counselor Kate McKenzie help Dave process Cash’s feedback.  Should medical students, physicians, and scientists express themselves on political issues or should they remain publicly neutral? Moreover, with medicine and science having become among the hottest topics in politics, is there an actual obligation to take a stand?

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

A recent study of volunteers who had their genes sequenced, proteins mapped, biome surveyed, and blood analyzed intensively found that the dream of “personalized” medicine may just be within reach…but at what cost?  Coca Cola is accused of including undisclosed kill clauses in its nutrition research agreements in case don’t like the results.  And another study confirms that which women of color have three times the risk of dying during pregnancy and after compared to white women!

We Want to Hear From You

How can we help you on your med school journey? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

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Uncategorized

Interview Prep, Opening Up, and Death.

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And no, that’s not the three stages of your med school application.

questions photo

’tis the season to be applying to medical school. Which is why we got so many listener questions to address on this episode (thank you!)  Listener Magnus wanted suggestions for how to prepare for MMI and regular admissions interviews, so we invited our resident experts, Amy A’Hearn (from CCOM med student admissions) and Tom O’Shea (from CCOM physician assistant admissions, for his experience with MMI interviews) to help out.  They, along with Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Marc Moubarek and new co-host Shakoora Sabree, also answered questions from listeners Cameron and Sarah about whether opening up about personal/political views and sexual orientation is okay on applications and in interviews.  And listener Jake wanted to know how med students learn to cope with death.

In reference to Sarah’s question on being open about sexual orientation in your application, we weren’t able to find out how many med students identified as LGBTQ+ in the US, but we did note that many prospective students are reluctant to disclose their identification for fear of discrimination.

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have something to add to the discussion, or a question we can answer? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com!

Continue reading Interview Prep, Opening Up, and Death. →