The Doctor's Art - TopPodcast.com

Life and Death in 12 Hours (with Christin Thankachan, BSN, RN-BC) Nov 29, 2022

For all the crucial work physicians do in the hospital, no one spends more time with hospitalized patients than nurses. This is especially true in the intensive care unit, where nurses serve as patients’ conduits with their medical team and perhaps even with the outside world. Joining us in this episode is Christin Thankachan, an ICU nurse at Stanford Health Care who cares for the most seriously ill cancer patients in the hospital. Over the course of our stirring conversation, we ask her to reflect on how she guides patients and their families, with a comforting and compassionate hand, through life’s darkest moments. In addition, Christin shares the unique challenges she has faced as a frontline worker during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how she has maintained hope and meaning through these trying times.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Hurricane Sandy pushed Christin towards a career in nursing - 2:06
The differences between a nurse’s responsibilities in an intensive care unit and a medical/surgical unit - 5:13
What a typical day is like for an ICU nurse - 7:26
How Christin finds the physical, emotional, and psychological stamina to care for some of the sickest patients in the hospital - 10:22
The kinds of relationships Christin forms with her patients and how she strives to elevate the human connection - 13:49
The importance Christin places on recognizing the fullness of the humanity within each patient - 21:16
The power of hope for patients facing serious illnesses - 31:50
What it was like to serve as a frontline worker in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic - 36:38
Advice on how to stay connected to the most meaningful aspects of a healthcare profession, even in the darkest times - 40:47

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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On Vision and the Arts (with Dr. Michael Marmor) Nov 22, 2022

Few would dispute that vision is just about our most important sense. At least from a neurophysiological perspective, more than half of the human brain is dedicated to processing vision. But it also enables us to meaningfully interact with the world and the people around us, and allows us to engage in many of the activities that bring us joy in life. Joining us in this episode is Dr. Michael Marmor, Professor Emeritus and former chair of ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition to his significant contributions to our understanding of diseases of the retina, Dr. Marmor is a patron of the arts who has published several books on vision and visual art. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the fascinating inner workings of eyesight, how art appreciation can help create better doctors, and how Dr. Marmor accompanies patients facing vision loss.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How a desire to “wear multiple hats” — researcher, surgeon, educator — led Dr. Marmor to ophthalmology - 2:04
A brief exploration of the sense of sight - 4:01
Dr. Marmor’s research on the retina and why he believes a thorough understanding of how diseases work is critical for physicians caring for patients - 8:07
Why helping a patient understand their condition provides comfort, even with serious illnesses - 11:53
Dr. Marmor’s passion for the fine arts and how his expertise in vision complemented this passion - 18:23
What art appreciation can do for physicians and how it gives us new ways of thinking and seeing - 23:52
How medical curricula can be improved to integrate the arts and humanities, and the importance of an emphasis on breadth in addition to technical depth - 33:06
Why an appreciation for all kinds of art keeps us in touch with culture - 46:29

Dr. Marmor is the author of several books on art, including The Eye of the Artist (1996), Degas Through His Own Eyes: Visual Disability and the Late Style of Degas (2006), and The Artist’s Eyes (2009).

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Confronting Inhumanity Through Medicine (with Dr. Christos Christou) Nov 15, 2022

When it comes to medical humanitarianism, there is no bigger name than Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known in English as Doctors Without Borders. MSF is renowned for its work in regions affected by armed conflict, endemic diseases, and natural disasters. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Christos Christou, a Greek surgeon who has served as the international president of MSF since 2019. As a field doctor, he has worked in South Sudan, Iraq, Cameroon, and various other conflict zones. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Christou takes us into the trenches of his medical work in caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the world, shares how he finds meaning and hope amid the depths of human suffering, and discusses the challenges to global health today.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How the values of his self-described “rustic” childhood led Dr. Christou into medicine - 2:28
How Dr. Christou’s time in university shaped his life philosophy - 3:27
The history and mission of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders - 5:59
What it is like to practice medicine in regions affected by armed conflict and natural disasters - 8:13
Dr. Christou’s journey in MSF, from when he first heard of it to how he became its leader - 10:42
Lessons learned on finding meaning in medicine in some of the most resource-limited settings - 13:41
Dr. Christou’s stories of inspiring hope in patients even during incredibly challenging times - 16:19
A discussion of the dangers faced by clinicians who work with MSF - 19:54
The significance of bearing witness to suffering in giving a voice to vulnerable patients - 23:11
A discussion of the major threats to global health today: climate change, epidemics, and war - 26:25
Advice for new clinicians who wish to tackle issues in global health - 30:00

Follow Dr. Christos on Twitter @DrChristou.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Investing in the Future of Medicine (with Dr. Justin Norden) Nov 08, 2022

While digital technologies now permeate nearly every aspect of our lives, their application to improve medicine remains limited. Still, recent advances in artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and other technologies hold enormous potential to transform how healthcare is delivered. At the forefront of exploring this potential is Dr. Justin Norden, a physician and investor at the venture capital firm GSR Ventures, where he focuses on investments in digital health companies. With a background in computer science, Dr. Norden previously worked on the healthcare team at Apple and helped launch the Center for Digital Health at Stanford University. He joins us in conversation to discuss how he discovered investing and entrepreneurship as a way to tackle problems in medicine, clarify misconceptions about digital health and venture capital, and explore how technologies are shaping the future of medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

A brief introduction to venture capital - 1:48
How Dr. Norden’s experiences during medical training led him explore entrepreneurship and healthcare investing - 3:22
How Dr. Norden’s passion for computer science influenced his medical education - 7:30
What it was like to leave a clinical career - 10:18
The past and current state of technological advancement in medicine - 20:28
Co-host Dr. Johnson’s concerns over the ways technology has, at times, impeded the delivery of health care - 28:38
Dr. Norden’s vision for the ideal balance between humanism and technology in medicine - 34:31
How Dr. Norden considers the reconciliation between the profit motive of companies and the preservation of what makes medicine meaningful - 38:28
How Dr. Norden decides which digital health companies to invest in - 44:57
Advice to young clinicians who are curious about healthcare innovation - 50:09

Follow Dr. Norden on Twitter @JustinNordenMD.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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On Moral Injury and Emotions in Medicine (with Dr. Danielle Ofri) Nov 01, 2022

As one of the most prolific and acclaimed physician writers today, Dr. Danielle Ofri is the author of seven books on the intricacies of modern medical practice and the doctor-patient relationship. Her other writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, in addition to various leading medical journals. She is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, a literary journal that publishes works focusing on the human body, illness, and health. In her writings, Dr. Ofri uses vivid narratives to shed light on the highs and lows of being a doctor. In this episode, she joins us to share her path to medicine, how doctors can mitigate the moral injury they experience in their work, and how storytelling can comfort us in times of suffering.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Ofri was initially drawn to internal medicine through the patient stories she encountered - 1:54
A discussion of the tension between the business and art of medicine - 6:07
Dr. Ofri’s advice on how clinicians can combat the moral corrosion that broken medical systems can induce - 11:29
How Dr. Ofri’s medical residency during the AIDS epidemic led to her passion for writing - 16:33
Dr. Ofri’s writing process - 23:30
A discussion of the moral philosophy of medicine and why doctors do what they do - 27:09
Dr. Ofri reflections on how her writing has impacted her clinical practice - 31:47
The wisdom that physicians who encounter suffering every day can share with a world experiencing collective grief from the COVID-19 pandemic - 34:38
A discussion of the emotional toll on clinicians of delivering bad news and confronting grief, and an exploration of guilt and shame - 42:25
Dr. Ofri’s advice to clinicians on how to stay connected to meaning in medicine - 48:44

Dr. Danielle Ofri is the author of the following books on being a doctor:
Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue

What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine

When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error

What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear

Medicine in Translation

Intensive Care: A Doctor’s Journey

Incidental Findings

Follow Dr. Ofri on Twitter @DanielleOfri.

This episode included an excerpt from Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim’s performance of the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 by Johannes Brahms, recorded live in West Berlin in 1968.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Finding Meaning After Loss (with David Kessler) Oct 25, 2022

In 1969, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross identified the five stages of dying in her book On Death and Dying. Her work has radically transformed the way we think and talk about grief and loss, giving us a shared vocabulary and understanding of a previously murky, yet universal, human experience. Towards the end of her life, Kübler-Ross worked closely with David Kessler, with whom she co-authored several books and formally adapted the stages of dying into the stages of grief. Today, David is the world’s foremost expert on grief and has taught health care workers, counselors, and first responders on facing death and loss. His writings and his website Grief.com have reached millions of people. In this episode, David joins us to share his personal experiences with loss and what his decades of helping those on the edge of death have taught him about finding meaning amid suffering, and happiness after tragedy.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Thanatology — the study of death and dying — and what drew David to this field - 2:10
Kessler’s friendship with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the psychiatrist best known for developing the five stages of dying - 6:06
How physicians are often ill-equipped to face death and how hey might better engage with dying patients - 11:22
David’s advice to physicians on finding meaning amid loss and tragedy - 19:05
A review of the five stages of dying/grief - 28:58
On Meaning, the sixth stage of grief that David developed - 33:38
How the pandemic saw a renewed interest in grief management, and how his interview with the Harvard Business Review entitled “The Discomfort You Are Feeling is Grief” went viral - 38:04
How David manages the overwhelming sadness he sometimes experiences in his line of work - 43:54
David’s advice to physicians on comforting grieving patients - 48:31

David Kessler is the author of several books, including The Needs of the Dyingand Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, as well as Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who is herself the noted author of On Death and Dying.

Follow David Kessler on Twitter @IamDavidKessler.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you know anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Reimagining Aging and Later Life (with Dr. Louise Aronson) Oct 18, 2022

Advances in modern medicine mean a greater proportion of people today than ever before will live well into old age. Despite the seemingly encouraging trend, geriatrician Dr. Louise Aronson argues that we have made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied. Dr. Aronson has made it her life's work to help us reimagine the rich possibilities of human longevity and of later life. Her bestselling book, Elderhood, was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. In this episode, Dr. Aronson explains what makes geriatrics a meaningful career for her, discusses the faults in our society’s conception of elderhood, and shares her humane and hopeful vision for the future of aging.

In this episode, you will hear about:

An overview of what geriatrics entails - 1:47
The need to recognize elderhood as distinct a life stage - 4:42
Dr. Aronson’s reflections on what drew her into caring for older patients - 6:15
The ways goals of care change in elderhood - 8:24
Dr. Aronson’s approach to caring for her patients holistically - 13:27
How physicians can change the “losers and winners” paradigm in healthcare - 17:34
A discussion of structural and cultural ageism and the insidious ways it harms our society - 23:03
How American culture and medicine elevates patient autonomy and how this can sometimes be harmful to older patients - 30:59
A discussion of Dr. Aronson’s writing and what motivated her to become an author - 38:49
How Dr. Aronson experienced and overcame burnout - 42:57
Advice to new clinicians on how to connect with patients and create a more meaningful career path - 46:08

Dr. Aronson is the author of the nonfiction book Elderhood and the short story collection A History of the Present Illness, as well as several essays and articles on ageism and aging and a blog.

Follow Dr. Louise Arondson on Twitter @LouiseAronson, Instagram @LouiseAronsonSF, and LinkedIn.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Caregiving at the End (with Andy Clinnin) Oct 11, 2022

On June 28, 2022, we released an episode featuring Ellen Dunphy, a 35-year old patient with a terminal diagnosis of gastric cancer who had been under the care of co-host Dr. Tyler Johnson. Ellen passed away a week later. Accompanying every step on her cancer journey was her husband, Andy Clinnin. In this episode, Andy joins us to share his experiences as Ellen’s caregiver and primary source of emotional support. Over the course of our conversation, we explore Andy and Ellen’s relationship from its beginnings all the way to her final days and after. Andy’s reflections on these challenging moments, perhaps paradoxically, has much to teach us about what it looks like to courageously make the most of life, however much of it remains.

In this episode, you will hear about:

A synopsis of how Ellen came to be in Dr. Johnson’s care - 1:03
How Andy and Ellen met, and their relationship leading up to her diagnosis - 6:44
Andy’s perspective on Ellen’s diagnosis - 10:15
What it was like for Andy to learn about Ellen’s diagnosis and how he adjusted to being her caregiver - 16:26
Andy’s reflections on the experience of having Dr. Johnson as Ellen’s oncologist - 21:39
How Andy helped Ellen think through her priorities at the end-of-life - 27:15
How being with his partner until the end has changed the way Andy sees life - 35:46
How California’s End of Life Treatment Act allowed Ellen to control how her life story ended - 43:14
Andy’s advice for other caregivers on how to best take care of themselves so they may best provide care to their loved ones - 51:33

Ellen Dunphy’s one-woman play “Imaginary Endings” about facing her cancer diagnosis can be viewed on YouTube.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Expanding Healthcare at the Margins (with Dr. Toyin Ajayi) Oct 04, 2022

What should we do about the fact that a person's health is affected in large part by social factors beyond the confines of the hospital? For a long time, traditional health care institutions have been inadequate in answering this question. Joining us in this episode is Dr. Toyin Ajayi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cityblock Health, a tech-driven health care provider for communities with complex health and social needs. With a focus on Medicaid and lower income Medicare beneficiaries, Cityblock Health has been widely recognized as an exemplar of a sustainable model of care delivery for marginalized populations. We are pleased to be joined by Dr. Ajayi to discuss Cityblock Health as well as her clinical work, which centers on patients with chronic complex and end-of-life needs.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Ajayi’s personal journey from growing up in Kenya to leading Cityblock Health - 1:57
Why Dr. Ajayi chose to focus her career on patients with complex and chronic health needs - 4:11
The social determinants of health and its impact on a patient’s ability to seek appropriate medical care - 5:21
Dr. Ajayi’s story of a chronically-ill patient who appeared ‘difficult’ but in truth was suffering from social inequities that limited his access to health care - 10:35
A discussion of Cityblock Health, the value-based healthcare provider that Dr. Ajayi co-founded to provide care to the Medicaid patient population - 18:07
The stigmas around Medicaid patients and why Dr. Ajayi sees opportunities instead of barriers - 22:02
An in-depth exploration of the services Cityblock Health provides - 27:00
The challenges of the fee-for-service model of American healthcare, and how Cityblock seeks to address them - 32:36
Dr. Ajayi’s advice to medical practitioners on how to build trust and rapport with their patients - 37:50
The future of Cityblock Health and the health equity movement - 40:05

Follow Dr. Toyin Ajayi on Twitter @ToyinAjayiDoc and Cityblock Health @CityblockHealth

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Man of Science, Man of Faith (with Dr. Francis Collins) Sep 27, 2022

The Human Genome Project was a 13 year long international effort to map and sequence all of the genes in the human genome. Leading this ambitious endeavor was Dr. Francis Collins, who was also Director of the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021. His work has had a far-reaching impact on our understanding of diseases and the development of new therapies. In addition to being one of the foremost physician scientists of our time, Dr. Collins is also well known for his bold defense of his Christian faith and for his steadfast promotion of dialogue between science and religion. His book, The Language of God, was an international bestseller. In this episode, Dr. Collins joins us to share his remarkable path in medicine, the origins and evolution of his faith, and his perspectives on the moral mission of medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

A close personal look at Dr. Collins’ career, leading to his directorship of the Human Genome Project - 1:56
The mission and implications of the Human Genome Project - 10:02
The cultural upheaval that has occurred during Dr. Collins’ lifetime and the way popular culture tends to pit science and faith against each other - 15:25
The origin of BioLogos and its mission to foster a community that strives to harmonize science and Christian faith - 24:47
A brief discussion of Intelligent Design, a movement that aims to prove the existence of God through science, and how it differs from BioLogos - 28:26
Dr. Collins’ reflections on the reconciliation between his faith in God and the human suffering he has witnessed throughout his career - 32:42
Advice on finding meaning and fulfillment in both life and work, and how community can help combat burnout - 40:38

Dr. Francis Collins is the author of The Language of God and the founder Biologos.org.

Dr. Collins references The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewisas being particularly enlightening to his personal worldview

Dr. Collins was recently interviewed by Science.org about his time leading the National Institutes of Health

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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On Leading Medicare (with Dr. Meena Seshamani) Sep 20, 2022

With around 63 million beneficiaries, Medicare is the single largest provider of health insurance in the United States, serving Americans aged 65 or older, as well as some younger patients who have certain disabilities. Directing this massive program is Dr. Meena Seshamani, an otolaryngologist and former Vice President of Clinical Care Transformation at MedStar Health, a large health care organization primarily operating in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. There, she led initiatives in palliative care, geriatrics, and community health. She has also served as Director of the Office of Health Reform at the US Department of Health and Human Services. In this episode, Dr. Seshamani discusses her path from surgeon to health policy leader, what draws her to caring for older adults, and her vision for a better, more sustainable health care of the future.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Seshamani’s enthusiasm for medicine at a young age and the diverse career trajectory that followed - 2:08
A discussion of Dr. Seshamani’s past leadership roles, including those at the Office of Health Reform under the Obama administration and at MedStar Health - 6:27
Balancing the need for clinicians to work collaboratively and the inclination of physicians to value autonomy - 10:20
An explanation of Medicare’s role in the US healthcare ecosystem - 14:51
What draws Dr. Seshamani to focus on the care of older adults - 17:39
The crisis of burnout in the medical profession and Dr. Seshamani’s vision for how this can be addressed - 21:00
The fee-for-service mechanism of healthcare reimbursement, accountable care relationships, and the value of preventative care - 25:33
The pay disparity between specialists and primary care physicians, and the role Medicare can play - 30:40
How the growing population of aging Americans impacts the future sustainability of the Medicare program - 38:41
How Medicare is reforming its allocation of resources to promote health equity - 42:02
Dr. Seshamani’s advice to students and clinicians on engaging in meaningful work as they advance in their careers - 48:24

In this episode, we discuss the speech “Cowboys and Pit Crews” by Atul Gawande, published in the New Yorker.

You can follow Dr. Seshamani on Twitter @DrMeenaSesh

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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The Brain and All That Makes Us Human (with Dr. Jay Wellons) Sep 13, 2022

Pediatric neurosurgeons manage some of the most complex diseases in children, operating on the delicate and precious organ that makes us essentially human. Dr. Jay Wellons is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the author of All That Moves Us, a memoir that offers an intimate and gripping account of the triumphs, terrors, joys, and pathos he encounters on a daily basis. In this episode, Dr. Wellons joins us to discuss his path to neurosurgery by way of English literature and family medicine, his faith as an anchor amidst his challenging work, and reflections on what the human dramas involving the most vulnerable children he has cared for has taught him about resilience, courage, and grace under pressure.

In this episode, you will hear about:

A discussion of the range of procedures pediatric neurosurgeons perform - 1:58
How a fascination with neuroanatomy drew Dr. Wellons into neurosurgery, and how his literary studies have impacted his patient care - 3:58
The origin of Dr. Wellons’ book All That Moves Us and his experiences with a personal health crisis - 8:59
What it is like to operate on one of the most intricate and delicate parts of the human body - 18:00
How Dr. Wellons deals with the weight of unsuccessful procedures, and how he carries on - 27:51
Forming relationships with the families of very young and often very ill patients - 31:12
A discussion of spiritual faith and its place in the life of a surgeon who sees so much tragedy - 35:27
Dr. Wellons’ advice to students, trainees, and clinicians on how to stay connected and hopeful in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges - 40:52

Dr. Wellons is the author of a book All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience, as well as the article “How the Summer Camp Doctor Earned His Stripes ” for Garden & Gun magazine.

You can follow Dr. Jay Wellons on Twitter @JayWellons5

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Facing the Rarest of Cancers (with Katie Coleman) Sep 06, 2022

On New Year's Eve of 2020, at the age of 29, Katie Coleman was diagnosed with metastatic renal oncocytoma, a type of kidney cancer so rare that she is the only known case in the United States and one of only a handful around the world. The sheer uniqueness of her situation resulted in a prolonged course of prognostic and therapeutic uncertainty. Thanks to the work of oncologists at the National Cancer Institute and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Katie is now in remission. Today, she is a patient advocate who passionately supports other patients through their cancer journeys. In this episode, Katie joins us to share her incredible story, her experiences with grief, uncertainty, and hope, and her lessons learned on finding joy and meaning in life.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Katie’s backstory and the events leading up to her diagnosis - 1:50
The experience of being diagnosed with one of the rarest cancers in the world - 3:58
How Katie’s oncologists discussed this unusual diagnosis with her - 10:42
The experience of receiving treatment with the goal of prolonging life, rather than curing the disease - 13:06
How co-host Dr. Tyler Johnson communicates issues of serious illness with his patients - 15:38
How the uncertainty around a terminal cancer prognosis impacts the way patients approach living their lives - 22:21
How Katie’s changing prognoses have altered her life plans - 28:53
The wisdom on living well one gains from facing a life-limiting illness - 34:32
Lessons on hope in the face of uncertainty - 39:55
The various ways clinicians can open up and connect with their patients on a human level - 44:14

Katie’s story has been profiled by the National Cancer Institute, NBC News, and the Today Show.

You can follow Katie on Twitter @KayDAustin

Katie is also an active content creator and patient advocate on Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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A Physician-Engineer and His Patient Stories (with Dr. Bryant Lin) Aug 30, 2022

Technological advancements have enabled us to accomplish medical miracles through novel medical devices, algorithms, and digital tools. At the same time, the exponential entanglement of tech with healthcare has led many clinicians to feel disconnected from the human element of medicine. Here to discuss this conundrum is Dr. Bryant Lin, the director of Medicine and the Muse, the medical humanities program at Stanford Medical School, and a mechanical engineer by training who focuses on medical device development. Dr. Lin also conducts research in Asian population health and is the cofounder of Stanford’s Consultative Medicine Clinic, which evaluates patients with medical mysteries. In today’s episode, Dr. Lin shares his unique perspective at the crossroads of technology and the humanities, and discusses how storytelling can be a powerful instrument to keep physicians grounded in what truly matters for their patients.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How an early interest in engineering led Dr. Lin to medicine - 1:42
A poignant letter Dr. Lin received from one of his long-term aging patients that reaffirms why his medical career is meaningful - 4:10
A discussion of how medical bureaucratization has stolen away much of the human connection that underpins fulfilling medical work - 7:39
How Medicine and the Muse, the medical humanities program at Stanford, helps clinicians connect with the meaning in medicine - 12:40
What Dr. Lin hopes to achieve through teaching medical humanities to future clinicians - 25:45
How storytelling helps healthcare providers better connect with their patients - 27:28
How Dr. Lin integrates storytelling into medical device design, and why it is imperative to not allow technology to distance physicians from their patients - 31:24

Dr. Lin manages the forthcoming digital medical humanities newsletter Panacea Health.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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A Doctor's Journey from the Edge of Death (with Dr. Rana Awdish) Aug 23, 2022

Dr. Rana Awdish was on the last day of her critical care medicine training when her life changed forever. Seven months pregnant at the time, Dr. Awdish abruptly found herself in a life threatening crisis when a previously undiagnosed liver tumor suddenly ruptured. She was rushed to the ICU of her own hospital, where she came unimaginably close to death multiple times. Despite this tragic event, she survived thanks to the incredible work of her medical team. Today, Dr. Awdish is the author of the acclaimed memoir In Shock, which recounts her time as an ICU patient. She is also the Medical Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and Medical Director of Care Experience for the Henry Ford Health System. In this episode, she shares what she has learned from her experiences about compassion, hope, and improving empathetic communication in health care.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How a family ailment inspired Dr. Awdish to pursue a medical career - 2:10
An riveting personal account of the catastrophic medical event that befell Dr. Awdish - 4:17
A discussion of the learning curve in medicine and the need to create safe spaces for physicians to admit ignorance - 12:13
The fascinating and unsettling experience of being a highly-trained physician and a critically-ill patient at the same time, and how this experience showed her the way our current medical culture disempowers patients - 15:17
Dr. Awdish’s reflections on the antagonistic environment of her prolonged hospital stay - 20:19
A discussion of hope, concept often misunderstood by physicians as running counter to realistic expectations - 27:37
The intense and unexpected role of spirituality in Dr. Awdish’s critical care experience - 32:14
Navigating the medical profession while confronting suffering and not burning out - 34:37
A discussion of Dr. Awdish’s profound essay The Shape of the Shore about the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Detroit - 37:36
Dr. Awdish’s advice to new physicians and students to help them stay connected to their work and to see the humanity in their patients - 44:33

Dr. Rana Awdish is the author of:

In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope, a memoir about the harrowing events discussed in this episode and the revelations she attained by going through them.

The Shape of the Shore, an essay about working in the ICU during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Johnson mentions the essay The Learning Curve by Dr. Atul Gawande.

Follow Dr. Awdish on Twitter @RanaAwdish.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Purpose and Justice on the Pandemic Frontlines (with Dr. Thomas Fisher) Aug 16, 2022

Imagine showing up for work every day for a year, knowing full well that each day you risk contracting a potentially devastating disease with unknown long-term consequences. That's exactly what Dr. Thomas Fisher went through, as he documents vividly in his recent book, The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago E.R., which delves into what it was like fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines in 2020. Dr. Fisher, an emergency physician at the University of Chicago Medical Center, former healthcare executive, and former White House Fellow, has dedicated his life to caring for his community, the black population of Chicago's South Side. In this episode, he recounts harrowing stories from the emergency room, gives an impassioned critique of a health care system with too little space for doctors to provide the care their patients need, and shares a renewed vision of healthcare as a foundation of social justice.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What motivated Dr. Fisher to write his book, The Emergency, a riveting first-hand account of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - 2:09
The uncertainty and terror physicians faced at very beginning of the pandemic - 5:29
An intimate picture of how emergency physicians approached the first COVID-19 patients - 9:45
How an upbringing in Chicago’s South Side propelled Dr. Fisher into a career in healthcare, and how the reality of inequitable systems has shaped his medical practice - 13:10
A discussion of the concept of “heroism” in the context of frontline healthcare workers - 20:35
How Dr. Fisher used letters addressed to patients as a narrative device in his book to explore social injustices that affect individual health - 30:50
Dr. Fisher’s reflections on maintaining a connection to the meaning of his work despite the seemingly insurmountable systemic challenges that he recognizes - 35:57
Practical advice for clinicians on making space for patient care within a rushed healthcare environment - 42:28

Dr. Fisher is the author of The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago E.R.

Follow Dr. Fisher on Twitter @TFisherMD.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Stewarding the Vulnerable Moments (with Dr. Audrey Shafer) Aug 09, 2022

What is it like to comfort patients in the moments before they surrender consciousness to undergo surgery? What can the humanities teach us about being present for a patient when they are at their most vulnerable? As an anesthesiologist and founding director of Medicine and the Muse, Stanford Medicine’s health humanities program, Dr. Audrey Shafer has spent her career pondering and addressing these questions. In this episode, Dr. Shafer discusses how her exploits in the humanities have shaped her career in medicine, gives us an intimate and vivid picture of the vital work anesthesiologists do, and shares what her recent personal experiences with cancer have taught her about what it means to truly care for patients.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How growing up in an artistic household initially pushed Dr. Shafer away from the arts and toward a medical career - 1:51
Why Dr. Shafer chose to become an anesthesiologist - 5:51
Dr. Shafer’s discovery of the medical humanities and how she would later create the first program of its type at Stanford Medicine - 8:57
A discussion of what the medical humanities are and a defense of its value - 12:00
Reflections on the profound privilege of being an anesthesiologist and a medical educator - 17:45
A behind-the-scenes look at an anesthesiologist’s work - 25:02
Dr. Shafer’s recent cancer diagnosis and her treatment journey - 34:29
Advice for clinicians and medical students about seeing patients’ illnesses within the greater context of their lives - 41:15

Follow Dr. Shafer on Twitter @AudreyShafer.

You can peruse the Literature Arts & Medicine magazine here.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Lessons from a Lifelong Patient Turned Oncologist (with Dr. Eric Winer) Aug 02, 2022

Born with hemophilia in a time before effective therapies existed and having experienced treatment complications including hepatitis C and HIV, Dr. Eric Winer spent much of his childhood and young adulthood in and out of the hospital. Today, he is the Director of Yale Cancer Center and President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the largest organization of clinicians caring for cancer patients. An internationally renowned expert in breast cancer, his research has immensely impacted how breast cancer is now treated. In this episode, Dr. Winer shares his path to oncology and his insights from being a lifelong patient on stigma, compassion, and empathy.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How growing up with hemophilia led Dr. Winer to the field of medicine - 1:50
The patient that cemented Dr. Winer’s dedication to oncology as his life’s work - 7:55
Dr. Winer’s reflections on how his experiences as a patient shape his work as a doctor - 12:52
Facing the reality of caring for patients with terminal illness - 18:21
How Dr. Winer grounds the care he provides in the humanism of each patient - 23:49
Dr. Winer’s mission and vision as president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology - 25:49
How leading by example is critical to cultivating a strong, respectful, and collaborative institutional culture - 31:02
Dr. Winer’s advice to medical students and new clinicians on maintaining a connection to meaningful work - 33:12

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Pain, Pleasure, and Finding the Balance (with Dr. Anna Lembke) Jul 26, 2022

Our modern world grants us unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli—not just drugs, but also food, news, shopping, sex, gaming, social media, gambling, and more. But psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke argues that this society-wide overindulgence in pleasure threatens to lead us to deeper pain. Dr. Lembke is the director of the Addiction Medicine Service at Stanford Medicine and is the author of two bestselling books, Dopamine Nation and Drug Dealer, MD. As one of the first doctors to sound the alarm on the opioid epidemic in America, she's an expert on the issue and has advised policymakers at the highest levels of government. In this episode, Dr. Lembke describes her work treating all kinds of addiction, discusses her deep concern with the overconsumption of pleasure in our culture, and shares what we can all do to renew meaning and connectedness in our lives through balancing pain and pleasure.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What first drew Dr. Lembke to a medical career and how she initially discovered psychiatry - 2:13
Why Dr. Lembke dedicates herself to addiction medicine, and how her philosophy can help others find meaningful work - 9:16
The historical shift, with the advent of the opioid epidemic, to understanding addiction as a medical condition instead of a moral or personal failing - 12:53
Reframing addiction as a medical diagnosis and approaching patients facing addictive disorders with compassion - 17:58
How flaws in contemporary medical practice and misaligned incentives for doctors contributed to the opioid crisis - 24:15
A discussion of Dr. Lemke’s book Dopamine Nation, including how easy access to pleasure causes addictagenic responses in nearly every aspect of our lives - 29:32
How humans can reconnect with meaning despite living in a culture that often substitutes meaning with cheap pleasure - 34:15
Dr. Lembke’s advice to all clinicians for how to better connect with patients - 45:20

Tyler refers to the essay “I Used to be a Human Being” by Andrew Sullivan.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Ethical Dilemmas in the Hospital (with Dr. David Magnus) Jul 19, 2022

What happens when miscommunication between a doctor and patient leads to intractable conflict? What happens when a patient requests an intervention a doctor does not feel ethically comfortable with? In the toughest of situations, doctors turn to the clinical ethicist for help. Dr. David Magnus, an internationally regarded leader in clinical ethics, is the director of the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Bioethics, and former president of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors. In this episode, Dr. Magnus shares lessons learned from the most ethically ambiguous scenarios he has managed, the importance of ethical thinking skills for all clinicians, and the difficulties inherent in clinician-patient communication.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What it’s like to be a clinical ethicist, handling the tough ethical questions doctors call on them to resolve - 5:05
How an ethicist determines what is “right” in a given circumstance - 9:10
How Dr. Magnus’ deals with patients who refuse to accept his recommendations for care - 11:33
Dr. Magnus’s journey from professor of philosophy to leading thinker on medical ethics - 14:00
How the intense specialization of modern medicine may be contributing to clinician burnout - 23:31
How misinterpretation of language can be a major barrier to good health care - 32:25
Why clinicians use “hedge language” and “shield attributions” and how they can dramatically alter a patient’s understanding of their situation - 40:46
Dr. Magnus’s advice to new clinicians on cultivating skills in ethical thinking and responsible patient communication - 50:45

Learn more about the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities here.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Transforming the Culture of Medicine (with Dr. Robert Pearl) Jul 12, 2022

As former CEO of the Permanente Medical Group, Dr. Robert Pearl was responsible for the work of 50,000 healthcare workers and the medical care of 5 million Americans through Kaiser Permanente hospitals across the country. A leading expert on healthcare management and strategy, Dr. Pearl is the author of two bestselling books, “Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Healthcare–And Why We’re Usually Wrong” and “Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients,” a regular contributor to Forbes, and the host of several popular medical podcasts. He is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, clinical professor at Stanford Medicine, and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In this episode, Dr. Pearl shares his thoughts on why American healthcare is failing not only patients but also physicians, and what we can do to address inherent problems in the culture of medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Pearl’s journey to a career in plastic surgery - 2:13
Grappling with complications that arise during surgery - 9:40
Dr. Pearl’s transition from surgeon to CEO of the Permanente Medical Group - 12:49
The mission that Dr. Pearl brought to his role as CEO and how he implemented that mission - 17:21
How Dr. Pearl paved a path for increasing both the quality of care and physician satisfaction, while keeping costs low, and why so often these goals seem at odds with each other - 20:32
The toxic culture of denial in medicine and why it is killing doctors and patients - 27:45
How status and compensation disparity contributes to physician burnout, and what to do about it - 35:47
Dr. Pearl’s administrative strategy that led Kaiser Permanente to much success during his tenure as CEO - 43:08
Dr. Pearl’s advice to physicians on how to stay connected and empowered in their careers - 46:38

Dr. Robert Pearl is:

Author of two books: Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Healthcare - And Why We’re Usually Wrong; and Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors & Patients, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders
A frequent contributor to Forbes Magazine
The host of two podcasts: Fixing Healthcare and Coronavirus: The Truth

Find more information at RobertPearlMD.com or follow Dr. Pearl on Twitter @RobertPearlMD

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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The Doctor as Detective (with Dr. Lisa Sanders) Jul 05, 2022

As the real-life inspiration for and medical consultant to the popular TV show "House, M.D.," journalist-turned-physician Dr. Lisa Sanders has played quite the role in elevating the prestige and drama of medical diagnosis. For the past 20 years, Dr. Sanders has written a column in the New York Times titled "Diagnosis," in which she discusses bizarre and fascinating medical cases. In 2019, this column was turned into a Netflix documentary series of the same name. She has garnered much acclaim for presenting the process of diagnosis as a detective story, rather than the rote recall of a set of facts and figures. Dr. Sanders joins us in this episode to speak about her remarkable career path, her work, and how storytelling contributes to patient healing.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Sanders’ career prior to medicine as a TV journalist and how it influenced her path as a physician - 1:59
Dr. Sanders’ revelation about diagnosis as detective work and how she developed her passion for it - 4:59
Being part of the handful of “weirdos” that Yale Medical School admits every year, and combating imposter syndrome - 7:14
Dr. Sanders’ reflections on the how money-making impacts physician burnout and how the burden of choice in medical career paths may lead to a sense of disconnect - 12:39
Medical diagnosis itself as a kind of healing, allowing patients to contextualize their circumstances within their personal narratives - 18:05
Dr. Sanders’ best-practices on communicating with patients - 29:03
The methodology of solving and describing medical mysteries - 32:10
Challenges and opportunities in eliciting and listening to patient stories - 42:16
Dr. Sanders’ hope that the human dimension of medicine does not get displaced by the technical dimension, and why storytelling is integral to patient healing - 46:41

Dr. Lisa Sanders is the author of several books, including

Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis (2009), and

Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries (2019)

She writes a column for the New York Times called Diagnosis, which can be found archived here

Follow Dr. Sanders on Twitter @LisaSandersmd

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Art, Drama, and a Terminal Illness (with Ellen Dunphy) Jun 28, 2022

When actress and playwright Ellen Dunphy — then a robustly-healthy 33-year old — first met co-host Dr. Tyler Johnson in early 2020, they were filming an educational video teaching doctors how to discuss terminal illnesses with patients. Six months later, in a twist of fate, upon receiving a terminal diagnosis of gastric cancer, Ellen learned that Dr. Johnson would be her oncologist — for real this time. In this poignant episode, Ellen candidly shares her experiences from the moment she received her diagnosis to how she has subsequently grappled with grief, and discusses how this has fueled the creation of a play about her cancer journey. This is a rare occasion of conversation and reflection between a dying patient and her doctor on what matters most in medicine.

We note with sadness that Ellen passed away peacefully on July 4, 2022, surrounded by people who loved her.

In this episode, you will hear about:

The circumstances that first brought Ellen and Dr. Johnson together - 1:38
Ellen and Tyler’s second meeting, under drastically different yet parallel circumstances - 5:03
What it was like for both Ellen and Dr. Johnson at the moment her diagnosis was delivered - 7:24
What was surprising to Ellen about going through cancer treatment - 13:24
Ellen’s advice to medical professionals in light of her own treatment journey - 16:40
Ellen’s reflections on the process of writing her play about receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis - 21:12
The meaning of medicine, as seen by Ellen - 27:45
Ellen’s advice to all patients on the importance of advocating for oneself - 29:00

Ellen’s one-woman play “Imaginary Endings” about facing her cancer diagnosis can be viewed on YouTube.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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The (True) Costs of Illness and Health (with Emily Maloney) Jun 21, 2022

Essayist Emily Maloney offers a wholly unique vantage point when it comes to American healthcare. At 19 years old, a suicide attempt landed Emily in the hospital for an extended stay, which then saddled her with a massive 5-figure load of unexpected medical bills. In an attempt to pay off her debt, Emily became an emergency room technician and began working in the very same system that was crippling her financial life. In today’s episode, Emily discusses her experiences as both patient and caregiver, and shares her insights on the true cost – financial and personal – that the flawed US medical system exerts on everyone involved, from patients to physicians.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Emily’s motivation for writing her recently published book of essays, “Cost of Living” - 2:33
How finding herself in suffocating medical debt changed Emily’s life - 10:24
Why the true costs of medical interventions are impossible to know under the current system - 18:20
What drew Emily into the medical profession despite her negative experiences as a patient - 24:43
Emily’s ideas on how healthcare in the US should be reformed - 37:28

Emily is the author of the essay collection “Cost of Living”

Follow Emily on Twitter @emilyfmaloney

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Grief, Loss, and a Brighter Path Forward (with Dr. Stephanie Harman) Jun 14, 2022

As the founding medical director of Palliative Care Services at Stanford Hospital, Dr. Stephanie Harman is no stranger to death and grief. In this episode, she shares the story of how she discovered palliative care through the death of someone close and what it looks like to transform what are often the moments of greatest patient suffering into moments of profound meaning and humanism. In addition to her palliative care work, Dr. Harman is a clinical associate professor of medicine, a co-chair of the Stanford Health Care Ethics Committee, and Associate Chair for the Women in Medicine initiative in Stanford’s Department of Medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How PBS, zebrafish, and comparative literature influenced Dr. Harman’s decision to enter medicine - 3:08
How the death of someone close propelled Dr. Harman into palliative care and informs her philosophical focus on honoring a patient’s values and wishes - 8:09
Why Dr. Harman felt drawn to a medical specialty that so often deals with the most painful part of medicine: witnessing patients dying - 15:53
How Dr. Harman had to advocate for the legitimacy and dignity of palliative medicine, despite being told it was “a waste of her career” - 19:18
How Dr. Harman processes the emotional weight of her chosen field with preventive and supportive measures - 22:20
A discussion of how the COVID-19 pandemic has forced public and personal conversations about grief to the forefront - 27:24
Dr. Harman’s vision for the future of medicine, and specifically the broader adoption of palliative care services - 33:33
Dr. Harman’s advice to new medical professionals and students - 38:49

You can follow Dr. Harman on Twitter @Steph_HarmanMD

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Medicine, Fast and Slow (with Dr. Victoria Sweet) Jun 07, 2022

Dr. Victoria Sweet is a prize-winning author, medical historian, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She is the author of two bestselling books: “God's Hotel,” which details her time as a doctor in the last almshouse in the United States, and “Slow Medicine,” a memoir that outlines her approach to medicine as both a craft and art. In this episode, Dr. Sweet discusses why she reframes the doctor-patient relationship from one of a mechanic repairing a machine, to one of a gardener tending to her plants. Through vivid stories of her remarkable experiences, she illustrates how combining insights of premodern medicine with advances of modern health care can lead to better healing.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How the writings of Carl Jung drew Dr. Sweet to medicine - 2:18
The story of how a resourceful nurse and a stubborn patient taught Dr. Sweet what it meant to be “a real doctor” - 9:36
The origin of the Slow Medicine movement and how it shapes Dr. Sweet’s approach to patient care - 16:19
The Philosophy of the Minimum and why examining side effects and placebo groups is critical to delivering the best patient care - 22:03
Dr. Sweet’s time at Laguna Honda Hospital, the “last almshouse in the United States”, and what she learned about healing from the slower pace of that hospital - 27:07
How studying medieval figures like Hildegard of Bingen influenced Dr. Sweet’s appreciation for premodern medicine and how she pairs it with modern medicine - 33:58
Dr. Sweet’s advice for clinicians facing the mounting challenges of the modern corporate medical landscape - 40:02

Dr. Sweet is the author of God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine and Slow Medicine: The Way to Healing.

Dr. Sweet discusses the influence of Carl Jung’s memoir Memories, Dreams, and Reflections

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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Fighting for Empowerment and Equity (with Dr. Pamela Kunz) May 31, 2022

Dr. Pamela Kunz is the Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Yale Medicine. For 19 years, she was at Stanford University, most recently serving as Director of the Stanford Neuroendocrine Tumor Program. But in 2020, Dr. Kunz announced her departure, citing years of gender discrimination, microaggressions, and harassment. In this episode, Dr. Kunz opens up about the challenges she faced, how she overcame them, and how she now taps into a clear-eyed awareness of her values to lead health care settings that empower underrepresented individuals and to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Kunz’s science-filled childhood led her to a career in medicine, and why she took on the daunting task of treating cancer patients - 2:21
What it is like to build relationships with patients who have life-limiting cancer diagnoses - 7:25
Dr. Kunz’s past struggles working in a toxic environment due to constant disrespect and denigration based on her gender - 12:18
How leadership coach Rebecca Merrill (our guest on Episode 7) helped Dr. Kunz realize why she was so unhappy in her work and what she could do about it - 16:15
The development of Dr. Kunz as an advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic medicine - 18:48
Dr. Kunz’s advice for women and other underrepresented individuals going into medicine on preparing against potential hostility in their chosen careers, and how to create a “tapestry” of mentors - 22:01
How Dr. Kunz addresses her own burnout, and how seeing oneself as an advocate can be a tool to self-empowerment - 32:25
The advice Dr. Kunz would give to her past self if she could go back in time - 41:02

Dr. Kunz mentions the book “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown as being especially transformational in her journey to overcome challenges in the workplace.

Follow Dr. Kunz on Twitter @PamelaKunzMD

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

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On Courage and Curiosity (with Dr. Phil Pizzo) May 24, 2022

A former dean of Stanford Medical School and past leader at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Phil Pizzo is as renowned for his groundbreaking research on childhood cancers and immunodeficiency as he is for his promotion of medical education. He is also a tireless scholar who continues pursuing knowledge and purpose deep into what many would consider the retirement years. In this episode, Dr. Pizzo shares what caring for children with some of the most harrowing diseases has taught him about courage, and how his creation of Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute epitomizes his vision for longevity and philosophy of lifelong learning.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Pizzo’s love of learning and objection to the Vietnam War led him to a career in medicine - 2:00
Teddy, a “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for and who profoundly shaped Dr. Pizzo’s career and life philosophy - 5:54
Leaning into the work of treating severe diseases, despite the realities of the deep suffering involved - 14:46
The guiding principles behind Dr. Pizzo’s time in leadership at the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford Medical School - 20:01
How Dr. Pizzo manages to maintain tranquility of mind and buoyancy of spirit over his long career, and why he created the Distinguished Careers Institute - 22:51
The surprising next step in Dr. Pizzo’s scholarly journey - 30:42
Dr. Pizzo’s advice to young people about the value of a habit of lifelong learning - 34:40

Read more about Teddy DeVita, the “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for, in this Washington Post article.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

On Reading the Body (with Dr. Abraham Verghese) May 17, 2022

Dr. Abraham Verghese is a prolific writer and revered physician who has deeply contemplated the philosophical underpinnings of the practice of medicine. He is renowned as an advocate for the importance of bedside examination and physical diagnosis, and his best-selling books probe the intricacies of human connection in the context of healthcare. In this episode, Dr. Verghese discusses how maintaining a literary life has impacted his approach to doctoring, why the human touch still matters for healing in our increasingly digital age, and his vision of the future of medicine.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Verghese’s love of literature influenced his decision to enter medicine - 2:39
Reflections on the challenges of contemporary medicine - 7:51
How physical exams can be seen as a ritual for “reading the body like a book” - 10:07
Dr. Verghese’s perspective on the future of doctor-patient relationships given the rise of telemedicine and other technologies - 20:36
Balancing the need to connect with each patient for their treatment, while being responsible for so many at once - 26:23
How the craft of writing relates to medicine for Dr. Verghese - 31:50
The counterintuitive diagnostic efficiency of taking the time and care to meet patients where they are at - 35:45

Dr. Verghese is the author of three books:

My Own Country (1994) - traces the story of young Dr. Verghese in the mid-1980s in Johnson City, Tennessee, who began to treat patients with a then unknown disease, HIV.

The Tennis Partner (1999) - Dr. Verghese writes of his experience moving to El Paso in the midst of an unraveling marriage. There, he meets and becomes a mentor to David Smith, a medical resident at the hospital and a brilliant tennis player recovering from drug addiction.

Cutting for Stone (2009) - a novel about twin brothers, orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and forsaken by their father.

The book that Dr. Verghese credits as having inspired him to pursue medicine is Of Human Bondage (1915), by William Somerset Maugham - Available for free

Follow Dr. Verghese on Twitter @cuttingforstone and visit his website AbrahamVerghese.org.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

In Service of a Greater Cause (with Dr. Dean Winslow) May 10, 2022

Dr. Dean Winslow has led an extraordinarily multifaceted career as an infectious disease specialist and former US Air Force colonel. In his pioneering work at the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, he headed one of the first HIV clinics in the country and created HIV treatments and diagnostics still used today. During his multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq as a flight surgeon, he commanded field hospitals that treated military personnel and local civilians alike. As a long-time professor of medicine at Stanford, he has been a popular mentor to hundreds of medical professionals. In this episode, with his trademark cheerful and humble demeanor, Dr. Winslow shares the colorful, poignant, and amusing stories he has collected over his decades of service.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Winslow’s personal path that led him to medicine and his initial work during the early days of the AIDS epidemic - 2:51
How Dr. Winslow manages the emotional burden that comes with treating seriously ill patients with HIV - 20:24
Dr. Winslow’s experiences in military medicine and how they have shaped his medical career - 25:31
A humorous story on solving a tough infectious disease case through medical detective work - 32:09
Dr. Winslow’s advice to medical trainees who may be struggling with burnout, and what improvements should be made to the healthcare system to take pressure off medical professionals - 36:51

A narrative essay by Dr. Winslow about his military medical career: Treating the Enemy.

Follow Dr. Winslow’s work at StanfordHealthcare.org

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Lessons on Mortality and Dying Well (with Dr. Ira Byock) May 03, 2022

Dr. Ira Byock is a leading figure in hospice and palliative medicine, having developed many practices and tools that now define the specialty. For him, this profession is a continual pursuit of balancing the scientific and human aspects of medical care, to address patient well-being in a way that transcends conventional concepts of disease and illness. In this episode, Dr. Byock joins us to discuss how palliative medicine developed into what it is today, how viewing death as a normal part of human living can allow patients to create meaning at the end of life, and what all clinicians can learn from palliative care about good doctoring.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Byock’s early work in family and rural medicine and the moral crisis that awakened him to the need for palliative medicine - 1:51
Dr. Byock’s experiences in pioneering the nascent field of palliative medicine - 7:53
Combating the prevailing notion that medicine is only about treating injuries and curing illnesses - 11:16
A story about a dying patient and the extra mile Dr. Byock went for her, which solidified his belief in the power of palliative care - 17:05
Reimagining our relationship to death, both from the clinician’s and patient’s perspectives - 24:10
The Four Things that Matter Most - 31:19
Lessons learned from patients experiencing the end of their lives - 35:52
Dr. Byock’s advice to young medical professionals and students - 39:31

Connect with Dr. Byock on Twitter @IraByock.

Dr. Byock is the author of several books:

Dying Well

The Four Things that Matter Most

The Best Care Possible

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Making Sense, Space, and Meaning in the ICU (with Dr. Adjoa Boateng) Apr 19, 2022

Dr. Adjoa Boateng has always felt drawn to helping those at the margins of society. An intensivist and physician-writer at Stanford, Dr. Boateng has found language to be a crucial part of not only her clinical work, but of her art as well. In a medical specialty that can often be mired in technical jargon and dehumanizing shorthand, she champions an even greater importance on the choice of words physicians use as a critical aspect of care.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Boateng’s career in helping individuals from marginalized populations - 1:51
How she maintains a connection to the spiritual dimensions of medicine despite working in what can often be the most impersonal of medical settings, the ICU - 4:45
Her reflection on a particularly transcendent moment with a patient approaching death - 7:21
Making space for the sacred, even in the antiseptic rooms of a hospital - 9:57
How she discovered her passion for narrative medicine and writing poetry - 15:40
The importance of humanizing language, especially when talking to patients - 17:37
The concept of “miracles” in medicine - 22:26
The difficulties Dr. Boateng experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a new attending and new mother - 26:17
The intense scrutiny she has experienced as a black woman working in medicine - 30:39
A poem Dr. Boateng has been writing for her son about his birth - 35:23

Connect with Dr. Boateng on Twitter @BoatengMD.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Coaching Doctors to Address the Burnout Crisis (with Rebecca Merrill) Apr 19, 2022

A crisis of burnout is rippling through the medical community; physicians are experiencing ever-increasing mental, physical, and social strain while the healthcare system offers little assistance with that burden. For leadership coach Rebecca Merrill, this crisis is a calling. For years, she has been coaching senior leaders in healthcare to help them reconnect with what brought them to medicine in the first place. In this episode, we speak with Merrill about how she helps clinicians lead a purposeful life and how healthcare institutions can better safeguard against workforce attrition.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What coaching is, how it compares to therapy, and how it can help doctors - 2:20
What makes physicians unique when it comes to coaching them - 10:40
How Merrill responds to skepticism of coaching - 14:44
The primary causes causes of physician burnout - 16:32
How healthcare administrators can balance patient satisfaction with physician well-being - 24:32
Merrill’s advice to medical professionals around self-care 38:06
Merrill’s advice to healthcare leaders and administrators who want to better support and protect their staff from burnout - 40:28

Merrill's website can be found at MerrillLeadership.com.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Medicine as Ministry (with Dr. Samuel Brown) Apr 05, 2022

As a college student, Dr. Samuel Brown never believed he would work in medicine. Yet today, he is not only an accomplished intensivist at Intermountain Healthcare and a professor of medicine at the University of Utah, but also an acclaimed writer, theologian, and religious historian. For Dr. Brown, this career is truly a spiritual calling. In this heartfelt and frequently humorous episode, we meet with him to discuss his unusual journey to medicine and to understand how his personal philosophy helps him connect with the sick and dying.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Brown’s personal history of religiosity and his initial resistance to a career in medicine – 2:43
How Dr. Brown’s belief in the divinity of each human informs his work as a physician – 11:16
The changing social, cultural, and medical contexts of death and dying in America, and the development of the modern ICU, as explored in his book Through the Valley of Shadows - 15:09
The depersonalization of patients in the ICU and how spirituality helps foster the doctor-patient relationship – 21:36
Finding meaning in tragedy, especially one as massive and widespread as the COVID-19 pandemic – 28:33
Dr. Brown’s advice for all students and new medical professionals on maintaining a healthy outlook in an often-harrowing world – 33:29

Dr. Brown’s most recent book is Through the Valley of Shadows: Living Wills, Intensive Care, and Making Medicine Human.

Connect with Dr. Brown on Twitter @DrSamuelBrown.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Embracing the Role of the Physician Leader (with Dr. Lloyd Minor) Mar 22, 2022

Few people have a more well-rounded understanding of our healthcare system than Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of Stanford Medical School. With diverse experiences in research, surgery, healthcare education, clinical care, and institutional leadership, Dean Minor has cultivated a unique bird’s-eye view of the obstacles that face our increasingly complex medical system. In this episode, we ask him to share insights on how to create robust support systems for both patients and medical staff alike, in order to address difficult institutional challenges such as burnout, work-life balance for healthcare staff, and racial inequities in care.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dean Minor’s interests in math and science shaped his career as a physician scientist - 2:13
Dean Minor’s belief that earning trust and respect as a leader is paramount to making a shared vision come to life - 8:57
His challenges with work/life balance during his years of training - 10:23
Stanford’s commitment to precision health initiatives - 13:23
Racial disparities in our healthcare system, and what we can do to create better outcomes - 27:18
The importance of teaching leadership skills to medical trainees - 32:26

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

The Heritage of Medicine (with Dr. Cesar Padilla) Mar 22, 2022

The practice of medicine has a rich legacy, sharing common themes yet manifesting in myriad forms around the world. For Dr. Cesar Padilla, an obstetric anesthesiologist and clinical assistant professor at Stanford, this historical and cultural thread is vivid and alive, informing care and connection with his patients and students. In this episode, we ask Dr. Padilla to reflect on his personal history and that of the wider medical field to gain insights on best practices for care across cultures.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Padilla’s childhood summers residing in a Catholic hospital in Mexico, and how that ignited his passion for medicine - 3:45
Why Dr. Padilla believes the ‘art’ of medicine resides in human connection - 6:18
The educational inequities & challenges he faced as a first generation immigrant - 10:12
Why the history of medicine and culture is so important in providing quality care - 16:24
How to connect with patients when differing cultural backgrounds are involved - 26:06
The one piece of advice Dr. Padilla wants all medical trainees to remember - 35:19

Dr. Padilla writes extensively about the history of medicine. Here are articles mentioned in the episode:

The Best Argument for Medicare for All - Our Nation’s First Hospital, Co-founded by Benjamin Franklin, Provided Free Care for the Poor

From an ICU Doctor - What We Really Think About Death and Dying

A partial list of Dr. Padilla’s other writings: https://medium.com/@cesarraudelpadilla

Connect with Dr. Padilla on Twitter @TheMillennialMD

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

The Spirituality of Care (with Chaplain Bruce Feldstein, MD) Mar 08, 2022

Chaplain Bruce Feldstein, MD is the director of the Jewish Chaplaincy Service at Stanford University, as well as an adjunct clinical professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. After 19 years practicing as an emergency medicine physician, an injury led Bruce on a path of finding a deeper sense of his life’s work as a Chaplain. He now teaches an award-winning curriculum on spirituality and well-being for medical students and faculty at Stanford.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Chaplain Feldstein’s unexpected journey from emergency physician to chaplain - 3:35
The unforgettable moment when Chaplain Feldstein first prayed with a patient - 5:00
How to connect with patients in a spiritual way – even if they’re not religious - 18:04
Five key relationships to foster in your life to counter compassion fatigue - 30:57
The core teaching within Chaplain Feldstein’s class, ‘The Healer’s Art’ - 37:40

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

With Patients Until the End (with Dr. Mimi Dunne) Mar 08, 2022

One aspect of the medical profession that doesn’t often garner a great deal of public attention is that of caring for patients who are dying. For Dr. Mimi Dunne, the relief of suffering has been her life’s calling — specifically the mission of relieving mental and social suffering in the lives of terminal patients, and helping them and their families find solace and meaning as they face mortality. This week, we ask Dr. Dunne to share insights and lessons from her experience in palliative care.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What palliative care entails and what kinds of physicians specialize in it- 02:06
Dr. Dunne’s path from emergency care to palliative medicine - 3:36
Common misconceptions about palliative care - 7:43
Stories of a pivotal patient case that illuminates Dr. Dunne’s career - 11:33
What it is like to accompany patients at their end of life - 15:59
A discussion of Narrative Medicine and storytelling - 23:44
A discussion of the Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware - 29:29

Works, Organizations, and Individuals Discussed:

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

The Center to Advance Palliative Care

Dr. Diane Meier, professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Bill Moyer’s PBS docu-series Healing in the Mind

Dr. Laura Carstensen of the Stanford Center on Longevity

Dr. Ira Byock’s work on Developmental Tasks of the End of Life

Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness by Dr. Rita Charon

Professor Dan McAdams’ work on Narrative Identity

The Top Five Regrets of the Dyingby Bronnie Ware

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Finding Meaning in Medicine Mar 08, 2022

Medicine is a challenging and complex, yet ultimately fulfilling vocation that has seen much upheaval in recent years, from technological disruptions to the COVID-19 pandemic. For medical student Henry Bair and oncologist Tyler Johnson, both at Stanford University, this moment calls for a mindful investigation of the factors driving those who work in health care, whether as clinicians, educators, or executives. Probing the humanistic dimensions of patient care, they explore the philosophies and realities underpinning the healthcare profession.

In this episode, you will hear about:

What first drew co-hosts Henry and Tyler to the medical profession - 03:26
The moments that epitomized why they pursued healthcare as their life’s calling - 10:08
The growing pattern of burnout and alienation among medical workers - 21:40
Previews of subjects that will be covered in future episodes of this podcast - 25:03

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

The Doctor’s Art: On Meaning in Medicine. Premiering March 8th Feb 28, 2022

The practice of medicine – filled with moments of joy, suffering, grace, sorrow, and hope – offers a window into the human condition. Though serving as guides and companions to patients’ illness experiences is profoundly meaningful work, the busy nature of modern medicine can blind its own practitioners to the reasons they entered it in the first place. Join oncologist Tyler Johnson and medical trainee Henry Bair as they meet with doctors, patients, leaders, educators, and others in healthcare, to explore stories on finding and nourishing meaning in medicine. This podcast is for anyone striving for a deeper connection with their medical journey.

Please subscribe for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com. Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com for more information.

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