This week, M3 Jeff Goddard, M2 Taryn O'Brien, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush are on hand to discuss July's news. First, it's hard to ignore Johns Hopkins joining the tuition free bandwagon thanks to Michael Bloomberg...but this gift goes further...maybe it could actually have a desired effect! Meanwhile, the New York Times offered an expose on a practice that might prey on the emotions of anxious new parents--cord blood stem cell storage. And the public health world marks the passing of the man who exposed the infamous Tuskegee Study...a scandal that's still reverberating today.

Sometimes everyone’s a jerk. The hosts discuss the importance of self-evaluation in medicine, but sometimes you just gotta ask–was I a jerk? Dave Etler, MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M4 Happy Kumar, and M2 Holly Hemann use Reddit’s ‘Am I the Asshole?’ submissions to exploring feelings of impostor syndrome, the ethics of classroom behavior, fair recognition of achievements, and cases of medical malpractice. Along the way, they provide practical advice for medical school admissions, dissect the delicate balance of maintaining professionalism in the medical field, and what to think when even mom craps on your dreams. Shut up, mom!

LIstener Neurotic Premed dropped us a message at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus to ask what medical students in long-distance relationships, both platonic and romantic, do to keep them alive and healthy. MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen, M2 Fallon Jung, M3 Jeff Goddard, an PA2 Julie Vuong have a lot of experience in that area. From long-distance parenting to making sure friends still feel connected, it takes planning and intentionality along with a slight tweak to what it means to be "together." They share how they do it successfully! Plus, Chinese researchers appear to have cured a man of his diabetes, Ozempic is powerful enough to affect the food and beverage industry's bottom lines, and Florida allows c-sections outside of hospitals in a bid to improve access.

M1 Fallon Jung, PA1 Olivia Quinby, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, M2 Jeff Goddard, and special guest Dr. Peter Kaboli dive deep into the heart of rural medicine. We kick off with a candid discussion about growing up in small towns and how these experiences shape our understanding of community and healthcare. Dr. Kaboli, an expert in rural health with the Veterans' Administration, shares his insights into the nuances of rural medicine. We explore the multifaceted challenges and rewards of practicing medicine in rural settings, from the importance of forming deep connections with patients to navigating the scarcity of healthcare resources. Telemedicine, workforce issues, geographic barriers, and the digital divide are central to the art of medicine in small towns and on county roads, sometimes requiring innovative approaches to healthcare delivery.

The Sheriff of Sodium investigates the state and future of medical training. If you’ve wondered how well the system that trains future doctors works, or about what factors really determine which medical students get into the most competitive residency programs, this episode is for you. M1 Fallon Jung, M2 Jeff Goddard, and M4 AJ Chowdhury get deep into these issues with a very special guest – Dr. Brian Carmody, known on his blog and YouTube channel as “The Sheriff of Sodium.” Dr. Carmody, a pediatric nephrologist by training, closely analyzes and shares data-driven perspectives on medical education, pulling on threads to understand whether the current medical training system is truly functional, fair, and efficient, examining factors like student debt burdens, physician shortages projections, and why people cheat on licensing exams. Like any good sheriff, Dr. Carmody is skeptical, especially about ideas like future physician shortages, and how schools report residency match outcomes.

Listener Eden is looking ahead to how she'll finance medical school as someone who is in the disadvantaged category of applicants. One option she asked us to talk about is the Health Professions Scholarship Program offered by the US military, and she wanted to hear from someone who is in that program. M4 Wilson Fitzgerald gave us the details, some ideas about what it's like to be a physician in the military, the sacrifices he's decided to make to take advantage of the program, and how it's working out for him so far. PA faculty member Jeremy Nelson, M2 Fallon Jung, and M3 Happy Kumar helped discuss why it might not be a great idea to wait to start medical school so that you have time to save up tuition. And Dave pulls out a bunch of reels he's been saving in his drafts because he doesn't think they're any good. Spoiler alert: they should have stayed in his drafts--but you can see them on our Instagram anyway!

Life’s grey areas, offered up for internet discussion Sometimes, you need someone to tell you if you’ve crossed the line. That’s why Reddit’s Am I The A**hole subreddit exists. M2 Holly Hemann brought some med-school themed samples for MD/PhD students Miranda Schene, Faith Prochaska, and PA2 Julie Vuong to react to. How compatible is MMA fighting and med school? Is it okay to get a secret horse? And isn’t an Eagle Scout the same as a doctor when you get right down to it? Let’s talk about all that! From the discussion: Admissions: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/10sjyd2/aita_for_almost_ruining_a_friends_med_school/ Scope of Practice: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/emu7yf/aita_i_said_my_husband_shouldnt_try_to_help_sick/ The clinical years: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/gf82i0/aita_for_letting_medical_students_observe_when_im/ Financial aid: <a href="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole%2Fcomments%2Fofmggp%2Faita_for_not_telling_my_bf_i_took_out_student%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cdavid-etler%40uiowa.edu%7Cc4a8fb5ef63a46b3568208dc83d4700f%7C1bc445959aba4fc3...

Project 2025 is the name of a project that hopes to serve as a blueprint for a future conservative administration that would promote natural family planning methods and reduce insurance coverage for certain contraceptives. M1s* Fallon Jung, Taryn O'Brien, and Gizzy Keeler (who are--boop boop boop!--leveling up to M2s), with help from Curriculum Manager Billie Ruden, discuss what that might mean for training MDs, where they'll be willing to go, and why it's not just OB/Gyn aspirants paying attention. Meanwhile, congress will consider a bill to make permanent several telehealth changes that were enacted to ease the healthcare crisis during the COVID crisis. KFF.org releases a helpful primer about the US healthcare system everyone should know about, and a scandal at the NIH further jeopardizes trust in science.

On this episode we welcome guest Dr. Joshua Trebach, an emergency medicine physician here at Iowa. This past spring he posted on X that medicine must "lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being 'finally worth it' in the end." We couldn't agree more--live now, not later! Which is why PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Fallon Jung, and MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen are each finding ways to reject that mentality. Indeed, medical education is changing, perhaps slowly, to reinforce the idea that just because medicine can be a difficult life doesn't mean that you should obsessively look forward to the day it gets better. That day is a long way away, so do what you can (what you must) to be who you want to be even as you're drinking from the firehose. Also, we answer one of listener Mohamed's questions on how he can jump right into his first year this fall with his eyes on patient advocacy.

It's easy to forget from our ivory tower that many Americans don’t get beyond high school, making it less likely their kids will. Those kids who do are at a disadvantage compared to peers with college-educated parents. First-generation medical students are even rarer and face more challenges. These students, like PA1 Julie Vuong, M1 Amanda Litka, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, and M1 Holly Hemann, bring valuable perspectives to medicine, understanding a wider range of patient experiences and health determinants. This week we discuss their challenges, the impact on their future practice, and how learning medicine highlights (somewhat uncomfortably) their own families' health struggles. And while some medical schools are going tuition-free, this hasn’t increased low-income student enrollment or primary care graduates...and seems to have done some harm.

Its Our monthly roundup of news from the margins of medicine! M1s Fallon Jung and Taryn O’Brien, M2 Jeff Goddard, and MD/PhD studnet Riley Behan Bush are on hand for our monthly news roundup. Including news that presidential candidate and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy’s brain was ‘eaten’ by a worm and his love of tuna sandwiches. Virtually all healthcare providers globally suffer from a clinical psychiatric disorder. Beethoven really liked lead-sweetened wine, which is probably why he was so sick and deaf. And a Tesla Cybertruck owner smashed his own finger with his vehicle’s frunk to prove that his vehicle’s frunk couldn’t smash his own finger. And can we guess what the shitty life pro tip from Reddit is? Plus lots more observations and revelations from the margins of medicine!

“I honestly have had the most relaxing time I’ve had in forever, and for anybody who’s like, that’s ridiculous, just wait.” The most charitable definition of a hot take is a position taken in order to generate conversation. The more usual definition is a position taken to create controversy (and clicks). Dave asked his co-hosts to come with some hot takes, and it’s up to you to decide which definition they’re using, but PA1 Conner Lieser and M1s Radha Velamuri, Amanda Litka, and Sri Nandakumar offer their hot takes on how hard med school is, the admissions process, shadowing, advice from more advanced students, and more. [Dave's co-hosts were all doing medical student things on our usual recording day, so enjoy this previously released episode!]

M1s Fallon Jung and Alex Nigg, M2 Jeff Goddard, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush hear listener Megan's request for more news on critical healthcare changes from our overlords in the courts and the government. Riley shares insights from her lab work as she works toward finishing her PhD. This episode unpacks the FTC's move to ban non-compete clauses for doctors, a pivotal Supreme Court case on Idaho's abortion policies, and new consent requirements for performing invasive procedures that I guarantee you didn't know were being done on anesthetized people.

Medicine isn’t always kind to its disabled practitioners, but let’s change that. In 2023, a group of Iowa med students founded our chapter of the Medical Students With Disabilities and Chronic Illness, a group “working to remove barriers for students and professionals with disabilities, increasing representation of diverse perspectives in medicine.” M1 Holly Hemann, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska and PA1s Olivia Quinby and Julie Vuong discuss their lived experiences as students navigating disability and chronic illness. They illuminate the essential support systems, the process of securing necessary accommodations, and the powerful sense of community among students facing similar challenges. And they look critically at how these personal experiences enrich the medical profession and underscore the urgent need for inclusivity in medical training. Their personal stories of coping with PTSD, ADHD, daily vestibular migraines, and celiac disease show how these experiences are shaping their medical journey. They also discuss what colleagues present and future can do (or must do better) to understand and support those who face barriers due to their physical and mental conditions.

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

Occupational Medicine offers a great lifestyle, scope mix, and early-career satisfaction. Matthew Kiok, MD, MPH tells us he's found the perfect specialty. Occupational Medicine is one of those careers we're exploring in our sleeper specialty series--those which you might not immediately think of when you're considering a career as a physician. Dr. Kiok tells M1 Fallon Jung, PA1 Julie Vuong, and M2 Jeff Goddard that he has great work-life balance and a satisfying scope of practice. He makes a difference in peoples' lives by keeping them safe in their workplaces or assessing work-related injuries, even testifying as an expert in court. His experiences highlight the unique challenges and rewarding moments in his chosen career and insights into the complicated relationship between doctors, employers, and employees. He offers advice to those considering a similar career path--and he even gave us his email address if you want to ask him more about it! What a guy!

Are you better off as a surgeon or in palliative care? MD/PhD student Jacqueline Nielsen, M2 Hend Al-Kaylani, and M1 Fallon Jung play with personality to see if their path toward choosing the right medical specialty should be dependent on their personality traits. From the introspective nature of psychiatry to the rapid decision-making required in emergency medicine, Dave and crew explore how tests like The Big 5 or Meyers Briggs might influence their specialty choices. Some question the scientific validity of most personality testing, but the Big Five has some evidence behind it, so Dave also created a custom GPT to analyze their test results and suggest best (and worst) specialties for all of them. This episode also touches upon the broader implications of these choices on personal satisfaction and professional success in medicine. Also, we ponder our consumption of news and its impact on mental health and the Kate Middleton mystery's hold on the world.

M1 Fallon Jung, PA1 Olivia Quinby, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, M2 Jeff Goddard, and special guest Dr. Peter Kaboli dive deep into the heart of rural medicine. We kick off with a candid discussion about growing up in small towns and how these experiences shape our understanding of community and healthcare. Dr. Kaboli, an expert in rural health with the Veterans' Administration, shares his insights into the nuances of rural medicine. We explore the multifaceted challenges and rewards of practicing medicine in rural settings, from the importance of forming deep connections with patients to navigating the scarcity of healthcare resources. Telemedicine, workforce issues, geographic barriers, and the digital divide are central to the art of medicine in small towns and on county roads, sometimes requiring innovative approaches to healthcare delivery.

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

Dave hosts a weird cocktail party for his co-hosts, M1s Fallon Jung and Taryn O'Brian, MD/PhD student Jacqueline Nielson, and M3 Chirayu Shukla. The group dives into a variety of topics: surreal dreams, spring break plans, which celebrity they would replace one of their organs with, book recommendations, personal stories, and AI-generated songs about Menards and Chirayu's curtailed tennis career.

Dave hosts a weird cocktail party for his co-hosts, M1s Fallon Jung and Taryn O'Brian, MD/PhD student Jacqueline Nielson, and M3 Chirayu Shukla. The group dives into a variety of topics: surreal dreams, spring break plans, which celebrity they would replace one of their organs with, book recommendations, personal stories, and AI-generated songs about Menards and Chirayu's curtailed tennis career.

The Sheriff of Sodium investigates the state and future of medical training. If you’ve wondered how well the system that trains future doctors works, or about what factors really determine which medical students get into the most competitive residency programs, this episode is for you. M1 Fallon Jung, M2 Jeff Goddard, and M4 AJ Chowdhury get deep into these issues with a very special guest – Dr. Brian Carmody, known on his blog and YouTube channel as “The Sheriff of Sodium.” Dr. Carmody, a pediatric nephrologist by training, closely analyzes and shares data-driven perspectives on medical education, pulling on threads to understand whether the current medical training system is truly functional, fair, and efficient, examining factors like student debt burdens, physician shortages projections, and why people cheat on licensing exams. Like any good sheriff, Dr. Carmody is skeptical, especially about ideas like future physician shortages, and how schools report residency match outcomes.

An alumni of CCOM and SCP returns to prove: you can do it! MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M2 Jeff Goddard, and M1 Fallon Jung visit with alumni Teneme Konne, MD, now a second-year resident. They start by smacking their foreheads over AI-generated images in a recent medical journal, unpacking the rigorous demands of peer review and its pivotal role in scientific accuracy. The conversation then shifts to Dr. Konne’s journey in medicine, and the broad responsibilities of family medicine practitioners beyond clinical care. The resilience and growth he achieved during residency offer a comprehensive insight into the realities of becoming a doctor. Key moments include discussions on medical misinformation, the integral role of primary care physicians, and the personal and professional evolution experienced through residency. It wasn’t completely smooth, but he did it! And the crew discusses Medscape’s Physician Lifestyle & Happiness Report 2024.

Understanding others begins with asking questions. M3 Jacob Hansen, and M1s Taryn O’Brien, Alex Nigg, and Fallon Jung consider recent studies highlighting the ineffectiveness of traditional implicit bias training and the disparities in medical care for children of color. Jacob successfully finished Step 1 and the co-hosts tap him for some of his insights from clinical rotations, particularly learning he won’t be pursuing a career in surgery. Dave tries to understand an important aspect of med student culture using his Gen X brain: memes, including their potential as educational tools. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  Leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). Or email [email protected]. We want to know more about you: We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoatYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttributionDOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: <a href="http://youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="youtu.

Happy Valentines Day! MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, and M1s Taryn O'Brien and Fallon Jung share how they navigate relationships amidst their hectic schedules. With quizmaster Jeff Emrich from student financial services, they play The Just Married Game and discuss their personal plans, the balance between work and personal life, and their insights into relationships in med school through a series of questions answered by their partners--can they guess what their partners think of them? The group also touches on the impact of medical school on their personal lives, highlighting the importance of communication and support in maintaining strong relationships.

“I honestly have had the most relaxing time I’ve had in forever, and for anybody who’s like, that’s ridiculous, just wait.” The most charitable definition of a hot take is a position taken in order to generate conversation. The more usual definition is a position taken to create controversy (and clicks). Dave asked his co-hosts to come with some hot takes, and it’s up to you to decide which definition they’re using, but PA1 Conner Lieser and M1s Radha Velamuri, Amanda Litka, and Sri Nandakumar offer their hot takes on how hard med school is, the admissions process, shadowing, advice from more advanced students, and more.

“A nice re-imagining of how healthcare could be delivered.” It’s another sleeper specialty episode! This time we’re visiting with Andrea Weber, MD, MME. Herself a graduate of the Carver College of Medicine, she is now assistant director of Addiction Medicine and associate program director of the Internal Medicine and Psychiatry residency program. M4s AJ Chowdury and Nabeel Baig, M1 Fallon Jung, and PA1s Noah Vasquez and Julie Vuong quiz her about why she chose med-psych, the combined training she received, the different paths med-psych trainees can take, and much, much more. This is an info-packed episode!

Preventing disease and injury in life, the skies, and at work. It's another sleeper specialty episode! This time we're talking about a *really* low-key one: Preventive Medicine. M2 Jeff Goddard asked Dr. Silvia Caswell of Loma Linda University to join us to talk about her work in one aspect of prev med: lifestyle medicine. There are others under the prev-med umbrella, too, including occupational medicine and aerospace medicine. PA1 Conner Liser is also on hand to talk about the training she completed, the work she does with patients, the differences between the work that primary care providers do and her work, and the day-to-day life of working in her specialty. You're not going to want to miss this one.

In another in our series on "sleeper specialties," we visit with Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) doc Brittany Bettendorf. M1 Alex Nigg and M2 Madeline Ungs learn about this lesser known specialty that combines the detective work of internal medicine with a focus on kids with childhood diseases, including managing their transition to adult care. There aren't many residencies for med-peds, which alone makes it a sleeper! And Dr. Bettendorf talks about her work in medical humanities at CCOM as a Medicine and Society course director, Humanities Distinction Track co-director, editor of our literary journal, and more.

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

These might be very bad ideas…but we’ll talk about them anyway. Riley leads a discussion with Jeff, Levi, and Katie of unpopular opinions about medicine and medical education. Anki sucks! Gap years should be mandatory! All clerkships should be optional! 8th graders should review scientific papers! We don’t know about you, listeners, but the co-hosts enjoyed this discussion so much you can look for a part 2 in December!

M1 Hend invited David Kozishek, a chaplain at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to talk with M3 AJ, M1 Jeff and new co-host M1 Ervina to talk about the role of chaplains on the healthcare team. David also helps the co-hosts discuss the role that religion may play in their lives as future physicians, the tensions and compatibilities between evidence and faith, and how they might respond when their own beliefs may in conflict with standard practices. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode--does religion play a big part of your life? How would you respond to the scenarios we talked about? What questions do you have about the connections between faith and healthcare?

Short Coat co-hosts Brian Young (M1), Jeff Goddard (M2), and Fallon Jung (M1) discussed the challenges and experiences of medical school, including personal anecdotes about coping with stress, the demands of the curriculum, maintaining emotional well-being, the significance of peer support, and the importance of learning from both academic and personal experiences. Brian talked about a student-led initiative, Nets for Nets, aimed at providing mosquito nets to a community in Southern Mexico, illustrating the blend of medical education with social responsibility. Also, Dave shows his co-hosts pairs of images he got an AI to make, and his co-hosts try to work out which is the most like their actual medical school experiences thus far.

Bringing the healthcare pieces together Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz, co-director of Stanford University’s Primary Care for Cancer Survivorship Program, author, and science journalist, returns to continue our discussion from November 9 about our fragmented health system and what can be done about it. M2 Jeff Goddard, M1s Fallon Jung and Alex Nigg, and MD/PhD student Jacqueline Nielson talk with her about what’s missing from the medical safety nets that help low SES patients get emergency care, what kind of AI we really need to bind pieces of of the system together (hint: AIs that offer differential diagnoses and other doctor stuff probably isn’t it!), and the need for continuous incremental change in medicine.If we’re ever going to get there, she says, we need a collaborative approach with involvement from various stakeholders in healthcare, including patients, healthcare workers, programmers, insurance companies, and policymakers. The aim: to move medicine from a fee-for-service model to one that is driven by the actual value doctors provide their patients (and that removes bureaucratic burdens instead of creates them). More about our guest: Website URL: https://ilanayurkiewicz.com/ Social Media URL: https://twitter.com/ilanayurkiewiczAmazon URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393881199/ref=cm_sw_su_dp We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).We want to know more about you: We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoatYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit <a href="http://theshortcoat.com/help" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a ...

What you get away with as an undergrad won’t serve you in med school. M2s Jacob and Maddie, M4 Mason and new co-host PA2 Mark take us through how they changed their study habits from undergrad through the clinical years. Dave reads an old German folktale about how to become a doctor. Hint: it’s harder today, and involves much less mansplaining, but there’s at least one feature that still exists from antiquity.

Dave declared this recording day to be “Effort Free Friday,” as it was officially Thanksgiving Break! That didn’t stop M1 Jeff Goddard from describing a recent meeting of the AMA Students Section that offered an object lesson on how policy is (or in this case, isn’t) made. Among many other topics, some students wanted the AMA to declare a position on the current Israel-Hamas war. In the end, the AMA declined to do so, perhaps deciding that it didn’t have the political capital on a divisive issue that could threaten its ability to participate in other conversations it has a more direct role in. Co-hosts M2 Happy Kumar, MD/PhD student Faith Goddard, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush talk about their personal efforts to understand this compilated issue. And, In the spirit of the tenets of Effort Free Friday, Dave dragged Alex Trebot out from the AI closet to host a trivia contest.

A recent MedPage Today editorial shines a light on four traits that are crucial for every resident. These elements aren’t traditionally taught, but are key for future doctors. They encompass selflessness, optimism, personal responsibility, and a hunger for personal meaning. M4 Alex Belzer, who’s currently interviewing, and M2s Hend Al-Kaylani and Eric Vallin break them down, exploring how each can enhance both personal and professional interactions. And a New York Times editorial video tackles a darker side of medical practice – violence against emergency medicine providers. The challenges faced chuck yet another curveball into the complex reality of a physician’s work-life, the erosion of human connection in healthcare, and the necessity to spark change.

Dr. Michael Graham, a seasoned Nuclear Medicine practitioner and professor at the University of Iowa, reached out to us recently because at a national level his specialty is experiencing a shortage of new residents. The reasons for this include a less-than-perfect fit with the way it’s traditionally been lumped into radiology, a field with some parallels but some important training differences. M1 Fallon Jung, PA1s Olivia Quinby and Noah Vasquez, and M2 Jeff Goddard talk with Dr. Graham about how the field has evolved and changed the dynamics of patient care and medical practice.

We have GOT to get it together. What’s the best way to navigate a fragmented healthcare system? How are patients both the victims and unwitting custodians of their own medical stories? And can primary care address gaps in long-term cancer treatment? We had a fun conversation with Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz, the author of ‘Fragmented, A Doctor’s Quest to Piece Together American Healthcare.’ Jeff, Fallon, AJ, and Alex walked away not only enlightened about the gaps in the contemporary healthcare system but also the importance of primary care and specialists working together to build patient relationships and keep clinical information flowing.

Dave’s been seeing a lot of videos on social media that suggest “You might have if you [trait or behavior that most people have or do to some degree]. Which is great–it’s always nice to know that you are not alone, that your experience is not unique. But how should physicians work with a social media self-diagnosis? There may some day be a vaccine against fentanyl, meant to protect against overdoses. This is great news, if it works out, because people die from fentanyl overdose every day. Who will get it, what affect it will have on anesthesia, and the parallels to how people view HPV vaccines will among the things we’ll be watching. And Dave has co-hosts Jeff, Jacqueline, Faith, and Riley practice their doctoring on each other.

Do docs and patients mean the same thing when they talk about ‘health?’ Fallon, Sri, Radha, and Kait discuss the concept of ‘health.’ What does healthy mean to our patients? What does it mean to physicians? The definition has changed over time–from freedom from disease to a more self-actualizing concept of thriving in one’s circumstances. Even the normal body temp of 37 degrees C is changing! Is nothing sacred?

As tuberculosis is on the rise once again in this country, it remains *the* cause of death around the world. But thanks to fans of the famous vlogbrothers, John and Hank Green, the world has some additional tools to fight a disease which we've been able to cure for decades, lacking only the will to do it. And Dave tells what he learned this week about Katalin Karikó, the Hungarian-born researcher who, despite being cast aside as a crank in the 1980s, received the Nobel Prize in 2023 for 40+ years of work that saved millions of lives in just a couple short years--and which is now about to revolutionize medicine.

As another physician shortage looms, M2s Jeff and Olivia and M1 Fallon look at the reasons–the market forces, political issues, and the missing incentives. There is some good news–a shortage of physicians means that residents get a ton of solicitations for post-training jobs. Elon Musk’s Neuralink might be bad for monkeys, but the FDA has cleared the way for human trials to begin. What place do techbros–who have a rep for “moving fast and breaking things”– have in medicine where lives are at stake? And Dave gives a pop quiz on this year’s Ig Nobel Prize winners--listen to learn more about the latest technology in excretion analysis!

Physician Associate (formerly Physician Assistant) students learn the preclinical curriculum right along side their Doctor of Medicine colleagues here at Iowa. Of course, that means they learn the same things, but also the level of trust and mutual understanding between the two professions is that much more explicit. October 6 to 12 is Physician Associates Week, and PA1 producer Noah Vasquez rounded up some classmates--Olivia Quinby, Emily Sarvis, and Noah Herkert--to talk about how they chose their future profession, what they're learning, and what their plans are after they graduate.

The beginning of the 20th century brought huge changes to medicine; we’re still trying to cope with them. Special guest Dr. Adam Rodman, visits with M1s Jeff, Faith, and Linda and PA1 Kelsey, to talk about “path dependency,” the idea that a complex system (like medical education) is almost impossible to change without starting over. The path we have taken to today constrains what we can do tomorrow. We discuss the founding of medical education as we know it today and how that has created an academic medicine system that values facts, science, and publication more than things like equity, empathy, and work-life balance. The good news is that very dedicated people are working to make the sorely needed adjustments to these areas and more…without burning it all down and starting again.

Motherhood is a revered institution in many cultures, but in the good old US of A there's one area where mothers are being failed: medicine. Maternal mortality continues to increase to alarming levels, especially among people of color. We explore our thoughts on why, and what doctors can do in an environment in which financial profit is a prime motivator for health systems, rural areas are losing OBs, and nurse staffing levels are too low. Plus, we hear from some influencers with their health advice in a game of unnecessary censorship.

How should Thomas choose between his great career options? We’ve all been there: faced with some good options, which one do we choose? Listener Thomas wrote in with his dilemma: he studied and loves engineering, but what about medicine? M1s Jacqueline Nielson, Fallon Jung, and Sri Nandakumar discuss what they studied as undergrads, what made them realize that medicine is the right path, and how to become certain about that. Also, women surgeons are better than male surgeons, according to yet another study, and a supermarket’s chatbot recommends meals for busy people, like delicious chlorine gas.

Why docs don’t like the word “provider,” and the surprise dealt to the AAMC by OB residency programs a Delaware-based health system, is taking a stand against the use of the term “provider” to describe physicians. The AMA agrees, saying they oppose the term “provider” as inadequate and urging MDs to insist on being identified as "physicians." Co-hosts Nicole (Pathology Extern), Riley (MD/PhD student), and Jeff (M2) discuss why "provider" might not capture what doctors do. In the mid 90s, OB/Gyn residencies helped to pilot the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Electronic Residency Application Service, or ERAS. This year, to the “surprise and dismay” of the AAMC, the OB residencies are jumping ship this year and starting their own system. Despite the oft-repeated trivia, urine isn’t sterile. I know! mind blown.

Why do we struggle to change when our world changes around us? Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum is beloved by its visitors. Styled as an homage to Victorian displays of medical and biological curiosities, its exhibits include human remains with extreme pathologies…and sometimes dubious provenance. Once such items were joyfully collected by rich men to fill their cabinets of curiosities. But times have changed since the museum opened in 1863. The museum’s leaders have decided to reassess the exhibits’ ethical and moral qualities, despite the anger of devoted fans who like it fine the way it is, thanks. Dave, M2 Jeff Goddard, and new co-host M1 Fallon Jung discuss our all-too-human resistance to change, as well as a proposal by a consumer group to open access to a ‘secret’ database of state medical boards’ disciplinary actions against physicians, which they hope will prod medical boards to do their jobs better.

AI chatbots can help brainstorm ways to communicate more compassionately. We’ve talked about the study that found patients rated responses by the recent generation of AI chatbots significantly better in both quality and empathy than physicians. We decided to test ourselves on our efforts to bring up awkward topics with patients and others by comparing our answers to those provided by Anthropic’s Claude-2. Did M2 Jeff Goddard, M3 Betty Tu, M2 Yumi Engelking, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan-Bush do better than a bot? Betty and Yumi told us about CCOM’s new First Generation and Low-income in Medicine Association chapter. And we review some of the health advice found on social media, including videos by Tik Tok’s urmomstoering, angelapharmd, heyitskikiiiiii, and mirandaksmith.

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

How do you choose between jumping in with both feet vs. watching and learning? Listener Jordan DM’d to say that she’s having trouble finding the right balance of initiative and observation in her clerkships. To stand out, should she jump into situations and try to contribute? Or is it better to step back and observe? M2s Trent, Bridget, Maddie, and Yumi discuss their ideas about it, and we ask some faculty and experienced students to weigh in. Plus, a dumb folktale by chatGPT offers us the story of radiologist Dr. William his magical radiograph-reading chicken Clara.

[A Note to Listeners: this episode features discussions of sex abuse, rape, and other crimes that many listeners will find disturbing.] Insights From the Bench on How Doctors Can Work With The Law To Protect Victims of Sexual Assault. The Honorable Rosemarie Aquilina–the judge in the Larry Nassar USA Gymnastics Sex Abuse trial–talks with us about how even well-meaning doctors can ruin prosecutions of sex abuse cases. Trauma informed care, restorative justice, and compassionate advocacy are all tools that must be shared between the law and medicine. As Aline and Jessica discuss very sensitive and disturbing topics with her–listeners beware–we think you’ll find Judge Aquilina’s courage and values resonant with attributes of the best medical practitioners.

Recognizing good advice and discarding the bad is part of the admissions process. Aline has finished her PhD! She walks Jeff, Riley, and AJ through what defending a dissertation is like, and looks back on some of the things she’s learned about herself and about science. And, bad advice is like a leaky umbrella that lets you down when you need it most. So how do you recognize good advice and distinguish it from bad advice when you’re applying to medical school?

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

The Supreme Court has struck down the use of race-conscious admissions practices--affirmative action--that many colleges use to counteract bias against admitting people of color. Short Coats Hend (M2), Nicole (M3), Faith (MD/PhD) and AJ (M4) discuss why that's a problem for patients, and what might happen now that AdComms are forced to use proxies to diversify their classes. Harvard continues it's run of bad legal luck with the news that its morgue manager has been selling body parts. And chatbots are helping docs talk to their patients with more empathy. Dave subjects his co-hosts to another concoction of food items.

M2s Trent Gilbert, Olivia Jenks, PA1 Faith Anton, and M4 Sarah Costello discuss what it might mean that doctors recently discovered a group of patients, previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, who might actually have other treatable immunological disorders that present as psych disorders. We also discuss other news of the week, and Dave subjects his co-hosts to a pop news pop quiz.

Think of it as education you don’t have to pay for! In an episode best described as…laid back?…calm?…sleepy?…Nicole, Alex, and Sarah discuss why those AdComm-required experiences are actually important. Both the colleges and the applicants themselves benefit from them, but in the rush to ‘get them over with,’ their utility gets overlooked. Instead, they’re often seen by applicants as a means to an end, not an end in and of themselves.

[We'll be back next week with a new episode! For now, take a listen to this re-run!] Decisions made at the end of life are among the most complicated. M1 Jeff, M3 Ananya, and MD/PhD students Riley and Miranda discuss what they’re taught about the ethics surrounding death. What are the physician’s responsibilities? How do they balance the patient’s wishes, the family’s desires, the directive to do no harm and to provide the best possible care, and the need to ensure that such considerations are supplied to any and all patients. Add in the myriad cultural and religious beliefs that doctors, patients, and families have, and you get quite a difficult set of calculations to ponder.

Med students are smart, but how much useless info can they spout? It’s Spring Break, so we’re taking a break from our usual content to bring you a trivia contest featuring M4 Emerald, MD/PhD students Riley and Faith, and CCOM Learning Communities Coordinator Cody. Dave created a trivia bot using chatGPT, and to ratchet up the tension, he poured some shots of mysterious and probably unpleasant liquids to punish his co-hosts’ wrong answers. Happily for his co-hosts, it didn’t work out well for Dave.

First year of med school contains many life lessons. We are fortunate to have a friends group of first-year students on the show to look back on their experience and reflect on what they discovered. M1s Olivia and Katie, and PA1 Faith talked with Dave and admissions guru Rachel about how their lives have changed, what they realized about themselves, and their plan for incorporating those lessons into year 2. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We want to know more about you: We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttributionDOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA…

The importance of getting your head outside of medical school. Lots of people have hobbies, and perhaps many of those people use them to step outside their day-to-day lives for a while for a peaceful break. Is there time for a hobby or three in medical school? M3s AJ and Alex, M1 Hend, and MD/PhD student Sam say there absolutely is! In fact, it’s possible the importance of finding time for your outside interests is greater in medical school than any other time!

Burnout is the wrong word for what’s ailing healthcare workers. The term burnout doesn’t really cover what happens to physicians and others in healthcare. Dr. Wendy Dean and others are coming around to the idea that what’s really happening is moral injury–what happens when you want to do the right thing but aren’t allowed to do it. M1s Jeff, Faith, and Linda visit with Dr. Dean to talk about moral injury, what people are doing about it, and what still needs to be done. Her book, If I Betray These Words, is available everywhere, and is a great read for anyone interested in knowing why their doctor can’t just do what’s right for their patient.

Some stories from history that remind us medicine has come a long way. Podcaster Ryan Nanni, of the Shutdown Fullcast, joins M2 Matt, M1 Jeff, Md/PhD student Riley, and Communities Director Cody to talk about some ‘fun’ stories from history. For example, how did a man named “Doctor” (his first name) probably kill President Garfield? And what was the dumbest, most dangerous marathon in Olympics history? Plus, the disease that helped make the cowboy hat a thing.

The beginning of the 20th century brought huge changes to medicine; we’re still trying to cope with them. Special guest Dr. Adam Rodman, visits with M1s Jeff, Faith, and Linda and PA1 Kelsey, to talk about “path dependency,” the idea that a complex system (like medical education) is almost impossible to change without starting over. The path we have taken to today constrains what we can do tomorrow. We discuss the founding of medical education as we know it today and how that has created an academic medicine system that values facts, science, and publication more than things like equity, empathy, and work-life balance. The good news is that very dedicated people are working to make the sorely needed adjustments to these areas and more…without burning it all down and starting again.

M1 Hend invited David Kozishek, a chaplain at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to talk with M3 AJ, M1 Jeff and new co-host M1 Ervina to talk about the role of chaplains on the healthcare team. David also helps the co-hosts discuss the role that religion may play in their lives as future physicians, the tensions and compatibilities between evidence and faith, and how they might respond when their own beliefs may in conflict with standard practices. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode--does religion play a big part of your life? How would you respond to the scenarios we talked about? What questions do you have about the connections between faith and healthcare?

The process of “doing research” is a methodical slog. AJ has finished up some interventional radiology research and gotten it published recently. He and Daniel, Jeff, and Mallory–who’ve all been down that road–walk Dave through the research process, step by step. The crew discusses how they’ve found a problem to examine, done the background lit searches, gotten approval from the ethics watchdogs, collected data, written it up, and submitted the finished research to a journal. Plus, Dave gives everyone a pop quiz on the latest fascinating research from some random website he found–research you can USE, though you might want to ask someone before you start sniffing their pits. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

Recognizing good advice and discarding the bad is part of the admissions process. Aline has finished her PhD! She walks Jeff, Riley, and AJ through what defending a dissertation is like, and looks back on some of the things she’s learned about herself and about science. And, bad advice is like a leaky umbrella that lets you down when you need it most. So how do you recognize good advice and distinguish it from bad advice when you’re applying to medical school?

The ownership of firearms is a uniquely American right, and for some, a uniquely American problem. Gun deaths recently passed motor vehicle accidents as the most common cause of death for children (for certain demographic definitions of the word). Jeff, Miranda, Kelsey, and Dave discuss what public health and physicians have to offer that could mitigate gun violence without abridging the right to bear arms.

Questions lead to experimentation, which leads to evidence, allowing for conclusions, and then--voila!--practice. Equipoise was a new word for Dave, Mitch, Nathen and Riley. Jeff explains that it describes a state of equilibrium at which debate on a topic is no longer required, and factuality has effectively been achieved. But in science, that state has time and again been upset by new ideas and evidence that initially seem wrong. So, who decides whether the debate is remains open, or has gone on long enough?

Dr. and Lady G have a new podcast! Will and Kristin Flanary, better known as Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken, visit with The Short Coats to talk about their new podcast, Knock Knock, Hi! AJ, Madi, Zay, Jacob, and Hend talk with the Flanarys about the value of satirizing medicine–a surprisingly universal source of workplace comedy–an its ability to humanize physicians. Kristin discusses her experiences as co-survivor of everything Dr. Flanary has put her through, like cancer (twice), a midnight cardiac arrest, and–shudder–medical school.

Med students got jobs, and most are even happy about it. Match week, when senior medical students select/are selected for their post-graduation jobs as junior residents, was for CCOM a success. That doesn’t mean it isn’t nerve-wracking for all involved. M1 Jeff, MD/PhD students Faith and Daniel, and M2 Jacob look at the nationwide stats and find room for optimism about their own future prospects. And Dave asks his co-hosts provocative questions to get them to fall in love with him. It didn’t work.

Med students are smart, but how much useless info can they spout? It’s Spring Break, so we’re taking a break from our usual content to bring you a trivia contest featuring M4 Emerald, MD/PhD students Riley and Faith, and CCOM Learning Communities Coordinator Cody. Dave created a trivia bot using chatGPT, and to ratchet up the tension, he poured some shots of mysterious and probably unpleasant liquids to punish his co-hosts’ wrong answers. Happily for his co-hosts, it didn’t work out well for Dave.

Med School is a Transformative Experience. PA 1 Kelsey, M1 Faith, M3 Rick, and M4 Ananya talk about the changes they've seen in themselves since arriving at medical school. No matter how prepared you are, there are some things about being a medical student that can’t be understood until you are one…and until you’re almost done with medical school. Listener Cathy, a registered nutritionist dietician, wants to go to medical school after 25 years in healthcare…but her physician friends think she’s crazy. Should she trust her gut, or the people ‘living the dream?’

The things everyone gets wrong about medicine and medical education: Your family and friends, maybe even students themselves before they got to med school, have some weird ideas about doctors and medical school. No matter where these ideas come from--medical dramas, social media, movies--chances are you'll find yourself explaining them or falling for them. M4s Mason and Talia, and M1s Jeff and Trent discuss the myths and misunderstandings they’ve heard about their world. Also, stories of medical students embarrassing themselves. It’s part of learning, but also cringe. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

How medical students keep from going nuts while programs and schools decide they’re worthy. This is the season of uncertainty, as both pre-meds and med ask themselves, “will they let me in?” It’s out of their hands, but M4 Mason, M3 Ananya Munjal, and M1s Jeff and Faith have some experience to draw upon to keep you from going nuts. Also, we discuss the revolt underway as medical schools around the country back away from the US News and World Reports rankings.

UVA med students create app to find AnKing flashcards for you. M3s AJ and Ananya, and M4 Mason get a visit from the medical student creators of the machine-learning app NovaCards.ai. Shane Chambers and Jordan Bagnall (and their co-founder Charbel Marche) found themselves spending tons of time finding AnKing flashcards to learn pre-clinical medicine, so they did what any modern medical student with AI-building chops does: get a computer to do it for them, automagically! NovaCards is especially useful during pre-clinical courses, but Shane also talks about how he’s been using it himself during clinicals–and you can join the fun for free. We also discuss the state of (and barriers to) the use of artificial intelligence in medicine.

How straightforward is any discussion about genetic engineering? M1 Jeff talks with M3 Ananya, MD/PhD student Riley, and M3 AJ about the nuances of genetic engineering, a scientific pursuit that not everyone agrees should happen. Despite that view, it seems likely that genetic engineering has been, is, and will be an increasingly available tool in medicine’s arsenal as our understanding of genetics increases. But first, we answer Listener Helina’s question: what should she be thinking about when picking medical school electives?

Without trust, medicine doesn’t work. M4 Nathan, M1s Trent and Leon, and MD/PhD student Aline talk about the nature of trust–what it really means, how we trust ourselves and others, and what it means when it’s lost. Trust is, after all, the thing that makes much of society possible–it’s the belief that people do not only what’s in their own interest, but what’s in the best interest of other people. Medicine is a perfect domain to explore trust, given what doctors ask of patients and what patients ask of doctors.

Decisions made at the end of life are among the most complicated. M1 Jeff, M3 Ananya, and MD/PhD students Riley and Miranda discuss what they’re taught about the ethics surrounding death. What are the physician’s responsibilities? How do they balance the patient’s wishes, the family’s desires, the directive to do no harm and to provide the best possible care, and the need to ensure that such considerations are supplied to any and all patients. Add in the myriad cultural and religious beliefs that doctors, patients, and families have, and you get quite a difficult set of calculations to ponder.

Three Medical Students’ perspectives on their first med school semester. Co-hosts Hend, Brian, and Leon are on hand to discuss the things they learned in first semester about medical school, including how their own understanding of it has changed. What is medical school like in those first, rather intense few months? Did they adjust to the (much) faster pace? Did they learn the language of medicine? Have they found their people? Also, helping people recover from addiction just became easier, and some good news on the mental health of first-year interns. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

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

[A Note to Listeners: this episode features discussions of sex abuse, rape, and other crimes that many listeners will find disturbing.] Insights From the Bench on How Doctors Can Work With The Law To Protect Victims of Sexual Assault. The Honorable Rosemarie Aquilina–the judge in the Larry Nassar USA Gymnastics Sex Abuse trial–talks with us about how even well-meaning doctors can ruin prosecutions of sex abuse cases. Trauma informed care, restorative justice, and compassionate advocacy are all tools that must be shared between the law and medicine. As Aline and Jessica discuss very sensitive and disturbing topics with her–listeners beware–we think you’ll find Judge Aquilina’s courage and values resonant with attributes of the best medical practitioners.

Race is commonly spoken of in medicine as a risk factor for diseases. It has even found its way into the equations that help doctors assess biological function. But race--commonly acknowledged these days as a social construct and not a biological one--really a valid way to factor in the differences between one patient and another? M3 Vijay and other students are helping lead the charge to re-assess these ideas. Also, MD/PHD students Aline, Levi, and Riley help listener Michelina decide what to do about her hair during interviews...and debate whether aspiring docs should even be worried about their physical look when applying.

How should med students think about research projects, how to get involved, what to look for in a mentor, and realistic expectations for research in medical school. Co-hosts Chandler, Jeff, Matt, and Faith talk with Robert Roghair, MD, the director of our Medical Student Research Program to find out what it means to do research during medical school. Dave makes his co-hosts take a pop quiz on Holiday Season research posted at StudyFinds.org.

Another “frat” is more evidence that housing co-ops work in med school. After our recent episode with members of AKK, the students living at Phi Rho wanted their time on the show. Tracy, Mitch, Jeff, and Ashray stop by to discuss their own beloved housing arrangement.The gang plays another of Dave’s weird games, in which his co-hosts try to match each other’s energies with a sound-based guessing game. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We want to know more about you: We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoatYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttributionDOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ;Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;…

More possibly terrible ideas about how the world should work! Dave and Riley enjoyed the first hot takes episode so much, they decided to do a follow up of those they didn’t get to. Aline, Alec, and Miranda join in, with their takes: no medical students who haven’t failed, Tik Tok filters are doing to damage to children’s brains, students lie about their ability to hear heart murmurs, and more. Listener and US Marine Tanner writes in to ask about his undergraduate education plan as his military service draws to a close, but Dave has concerns about how schools will view education at a for-profit institution.

Co-hosts Aline, Riley, Jacob, and Tracy discuss why they’d have reconsidered their desire to go to medical school…if only they’d known! Things like medical ‘hazing,’ the opportunity costs, and the heirarchical nature of medicine are all infuriating at times, and cause a sort of stress that can make students miserable. Forewarned is forearmed! Plus, listener John and his fiancé will be applying to medical school together. Is that even a good idea, and should they tell their schools about it?

Happy Thanksgiving! Dave and co-hosts Matt, Miranda, Happy, and Chirayu take a moment to acknowledge and call out those they're thankful for. The gang settles an age-old question: what medical specialty would each Thanksgiving dish be? Listener Thor wants to know: how can he be the best and most helpful shadower possible?

Co-op housing saves money for health professions students Housing is among the most expensive parts of the medical student budget, but here at Iowa there is an option that could serve as a model for students at other schools looking for inexpensive housing that comes with friends! The Alpha Kappa Kappa Medical Society started in the early 20th century as a fraternity, but in more recent times has evolved into a housing co-op/collective–owned and maintained by its residents rather than a landlord looking for profit. Zay, Conor, Nolan, and Ian discuss its organization, weird bits of its history, and purpose; and its community of not just medical students, but all the other healthcare students who live, study, and play there.

These might be very bad ideas…but we’ll talk about them anyway. Riley leads a discussion with Jeff, Levi, and Katie of unpopular opinions about medicine and medical education. Anki sucks! Gap years should be mandatory! All clerkships should be optional! 8th graders should review scientific papers! We don’t know about you, listeners, but the co-hosts enjoyed this discussion so much you can look for a part 2 in December!

M2s Matt, Happy, and Jacob, and MD/PhD student Levi welcome Rachel Barron and M4 Dao Tran to talk about a program which links medical students with families and patients suffering from rare genetic conditions. Rare Compassion seeks to build mutual understanding between learners and people with untreatable or unknown conditions as they navigate a healthcare system that has difficulty dealing with ambiguity.

Many medical students decide to take a year “off” to do research. But is it necessary? M2s Zach and Elvire, PA2 Ethan, and Md/PhD students Miranda and Riley talk about why a student would want to take a whole year out of med school to do research. Some reasons discussed include ambitions for a research-heavy specialty program; to make up for deficiencies in other areas; and just to increase one’s skills in the event that their future careers might benefit. The gang pimp each other on important ‘medical’ knowledge, and Dave fires up the SCP Test Kitchen to create more efficient snacks for busy students.

M2s Matt, Caroline, and Maddie, and PA2 Ariele, discuss what they're thinking about with respect to healthcare issues in the US November 2022 mid-term elections. Mental health, lowering costs, the primary and knock-on effects of abortion bans, and more, are all issues that healthcare voters may be considering. Short Coats may not all agree on these issues. Instead, what's important is simply to vote.

Physician Assistants have been an important partner to MDs for 50 years. A big crowd is in the studio to talk about physician assistants during National PA Week! PA2 students Ariele and Hannah join M2s Chandler, Hend, and Sophie to talk about the partnership in learning they have at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, as well as their future partnerships with physicians. The gang explores these roles and more in an improv game of General Hazepital.

What you get away with as an undergrad won’t serve you in med school. M2s Jacob and Maddie, M4 Mason and new co-host PA2 Mark take us through how they changed their study habits from undergrad through the clinical years. Dave reads an old German folktale about how to become a doctor. Hint: it’s harder today, and involves much less mansplaining, but there’s at least one feature that still exists from antiquity.

There’s always something more to do, but should you do it? And how much? First, we get something important out of the way: Is “Drinking from the Firehose” the best analogy for medical school’s workload, or is “The (Infinite) Stack of Pancakes” more accurate? M2s Matt and Zay, MD/PhD student Riley and M4 Nathen discuss how they decide how much to do in medical school to become the best doctor they can be.

M4s Nathen and Zack, M3 Rick, and MD/PhD student Riley offer their ideas on prepping for residency interviews and the questions they'll probably be asked. Dave offers up an 'educational' improv exercise to help them prepare. Premed listener Emily was told that Family Medicine is a dead end...by her mom who is a Family Medicine doc! That's not really the case, is it?

Iowa College of Public Health Professor Peter Thorne visits with M4s Nathen and Zack, M3 Rick, and M2 Chirayu to look at what climate change means for doctors and patients in the future. As seas rise and weather events become more and more severe, there will be changes to the kinds of conditions and people that physicians will treat. Garrison writes in to ask us about a med school that just wants 90 credits and an MCAT–is it too good to be true?

Co-hosts Aline, Riley, Jacob, and Tracy discuss why they’d have reconsidered their desire to go to medical school…if only they’d known! Things like medical ‘hazing,’ the opportunity costs, and the heirarchical nature of medicine are all infuriating at times, and cause a sort of stress that can make students miserable. Forewarned is forearmed! Plus, listener John and his fiancé will be applying to medical school together. Is that even a good idea, and should they tell their schools about it?

M2s Matt, Chirayu, and Jacob, and PA2 Ariel discuss the premed activities they found most helpful (as opposed to required) now that they’re in medical school. A Yale study claims to bring pigs back to (some semblance) of life. The gang practice their patient interaction skills by delivering some fake bad news, then following that with fake breakthrough treatments.

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

Have we learned anything from HIV or COVID? M4 Nathen, M2s Noah and Shana, and MD/PhD student Aline discuss the new epidemic of “Monkeypox,” and try to discern if our country has learned anything about how to respond to emerging diseases. A BMC Medical Education journal article shines some light on the best (and worst) study techniques med students use to drink from the firehose. Dave asks his co-hosts to celebrate an incoming class of med students by PIMPing each other…while wearing mouth spreaders.

Race is commonly spoken of in medicine as a risk factor for diseases. It has even found its way into the equations that help doctors assess biological function. But race--commonly acknowledged these days as a social construct and not a biological one--really a valid way to factor in the differences between one patient and another? M3 Vijay and other students are helping lead the charge to re-assess these ideas. Also, MD/PHD students Aline, Levi, and Riley help listener Michelina decide what to do about her hair during interviews...and debate whether aspiring docs should even be worried about their physical look when applying.

Listener Riley wants some suggestions on experiences that will help him grow while he pursues his path to medicine. We discuss some comments from YouTube on female urologists and male patients. That leads to a discussion on why hospitals default to environments for their adult patients which are downright icky.

Whether it’s a class assignment, a personal statement, or a scholarship essay, students are often commanded to reflect on their experiences. Reflection is can be a useful part of understanding what you are becoming. But what that means and how to do it are frequently not well defined. Our M4 co-hosts discuss whether their fears about the residency application process were well-founded or just wheel spinning.

Sometimes, you just don't want to take that extra loan money. One option: a part time job. But that is risky--the time you devote to that job could have been spent on studying, and perhaps could decrease your chances at those competitive residency programs. But there are medical students who make the choice to work, and some jobs might even help your chances.

MD/PhD students Michelle and Aline, PA2 Alice, and M2 Jacob discuss the pros and cons of their use of social media, including... ...who the heck gets to decide what is "professional," and does anyone even know what that means? Listener Alyssa joins the crew to discuss her question: how can she discuss the challenges she experienced during undergrad without sounding whiney (even if her challenges would sure have made Dave whine a bit).

Dr. Abby Hardy Fairbanks, medical director of Iowa City's Emma Goldman Clinic joins co-hosts MSTP students Madi and Riley, and M2s Mao and Tyler to help us understand how the recent SCOTUS decision striking down abortion as a federally protected right will affect their training. The changes may extend beyond OB-Gyn training to affect other specialties...as well as the trust that confidentiality brings to the doctor-patient relationship. Also, Dr. Hardy-Fairbanks talks about the advocacy roles physicians can take on, from state-house lobbying to voting to just being there for their patients. CONTENT WARNING: We're discussing a controversial subject. The opinions expressed are not those of the University of Iowa. Listener discretion is advised.

Chirayu (M2), Maddie (M2), Tracy (M2) and new co-host Levi (MSTP) discuss the financial changes that doctors experienced after COVID, and whether a career in medicine makes as much financial sense as it once did. MIT scientists use locust cyborgs to find cancer cells. And we visit with two premeds–Deeraj and Daniel–who are proving that competing with classmates is a losing strategy for studying medicine.

Dave asks his co-hosts--M2 Maddie, M2 Chirayu, MD/PhD students Aline and Hannah--to discuss the things they would like to change about medicine and medical education, if (when) they could. A study in JAMA Pediatrics finds one reason students of color may drop out of med school: mistreatment. Dave fiddles around with AI text-to-image software. Can his co-hosts guess what the AI was trying to create? We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheShortCoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

Yes, you will (did) work hard to get your MD, but others have doctorates, too.  Lighten up. Noah (M2), Ariele (PA2), Nicole (M2), and Miranda (MSTP) discuss the impulse many MDs and MDs-to-be have to gatekeep the word “doctor” when advanced practice providers use it.PhDs, DNPs, AuDs and many more also have doctorates. Instead of worrying about who worked harder to get it, better perhaps to support each other and not worry about who deserves to call themselves a doctor.The American Board of Radiology did something crazy–they told programs their trainees will get a bunch of leave for birthing and non-birthing parents to care for their newborns. Noah and Ariele try the third hand experiment. Tik Tok science for the win? Or is it social pseudoscience? We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We want to know more about you: We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoatYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheShortCoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttributionDOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: <a title="https://youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8" href="https://gate.sc/?

Morgan (M3), Eric (M3), Aline (MSTP), and Abby (graduate!) discuss their experiences being evaluated in medical school. Abby offers her big tips for new MDs to get the best deal on internet service (apply for Medicaid and wait for them to give you candy). A doc goes to jail for his COVID cure kits. We practice giving sincere compliments to each other while trying to make the other person laugh. Can the co-hosts reassure a freaked out Redditor who abuses Imodium?

Riley, Sahaana, Nicole, and newbie Mao discuss their answers to questions that incoming students often ask about medical school How do you find friends? Should you date classmates? How do you find your specialty? What kind of living situation works best? In the news: a medical student is suspended for allegedly retaliating against a patient with an extra needlestick; and we try to replicate the latest science from Tik Tok. Yes, it's the Hanger Reflex.

Short Coat Listener Josh wrote in to share some hacks he uses to get grumpy patients on his side the moment he walks into the exam room. Co-hosts Jessica, Aline, Hannah, and Riley share their own techniques on managing those first few seconds of the patient visit. Plus, many tangents along those lines, such as when not to use 'quips' and humor with patients and bosses.

Dave asks his co-hosts to discuss the ups and downs of their first year, which some will argue is the hardest. What were their social lives like? How much leisure time do they get? What about sleep? Dave loves a good case study, so he subjects the crew to some to see if they can guess the patients' conditions.

Dave asks his co-hosts to think about the role of discomfort in learning. It's a signal that you need to pay very close attention, both to the topic and to why you feel that way. Listener Michelina, an undergrad mom with a full-time job, asks if she should extend her time in college to seek a toxicology degree or just stick with biology. The discussion on working during medical school continues, as Michelina wonders if she can work full time while she balances motherhood and med school.

There are at least three ways an aspiring MD/PhD can add those last three letter to their name, but why choose one way over another? To celebrate our CCOM Art Show, the crew makes some art for Dave to admire (See them for yourselves on our Instagram. The co-hosts answer Dave's probing questions as he tries to get to know them even better.

A man in Germany takes 90 for the team to sell vax cards. Tucker Carlson’s new documentary seems to sell a bizarre vision of the decline of male supremacy. Dave has an "better" idea for composing residency personal statements.

Facing a content-free episode, we discuss what medical students do when they're avoiding purpose and meaning (ie., they want to just have fun). We discuss a more nuanced view of work-life balance in medicine than is usually discussed (referenced: Necessary Interruptions: When to Let Life Get in the Way, by Jennifer Frank, MD on Medscape). Madeline challenges the gang to play 5-second rule, Medicine Edition.

Abbey Hardy-Fairbanks is an OB/Gyn who often works with expectant moms who use drugs. Future resident MDs: this episode features some of the many things she's learned about meeting patients where they are, practicing medicine without judgement, and understanding what her clients can and cannot accomplish in their circumstances. Approaching patients with an open heart from the first moment, even when their lives are outside society's mainstream or approval, can mean the difference between losing them for good and them coming back to see anyone for more help.

Listener Preston is weighing PharmD or MD school. How can he choose, and how his process of choosing make schools feel better about him? Brylee didn't get into med school this time around, is facing a tight turnaround for the next application season, and she hasn't even got a compelling gap year job lined up yet. Is she risking another rejection by rushing things? M4 Mackenzie Walhof and M1s Happy Kumar, Matt Engelken, and Jacob Hansen try to convey their passion for random, made-up gap year. Can they convince a skeptical interviewer?

Nurse RaDonda Vaught faces jail time for an error that killed her patient, and the crew discusses what they learn and know about dealing with medical errors. While Vaught (convicted later on the day we recorded this episode) made some pretty terrible errors that justifiably ended her career, her employer bears responsibility, too...but so far is getting off without meaningful consequence. Threatening jail for nurses who make medical errors isn't going to help attract people to the profession, especially when their employers create conditions that lead to errors.

An injury during medical school or residency can temporarily or permanently alter one's career prospects and trajectory. Even serious disabilities don't have to be career-enders. But in many cases, it's up to the injured to counter the ableism that still exists in medicine. Also, what unionizing residents might accomplish, and why it might be needed even in today's graduate medical education paradigm.

Sometimes, you just don't want to take that extra loan money. One option: a part time job. But that is risky--the time you devote to that job could have been spent on studying, and perhaps could decrease your chances at those competitive residency programs. But there are medical students who make the choice to work, and some jobs might even help your chances.

Rushing to med school may be a good idea, but there is a danger of missing experiences that make you a better student and a better doctor. But if you're going to do it...go hard. Nutrition is well covered in the med school curriculum, but there's a lot we don't understand. And Falling off a tall stack of milk crates on purpose has questionable health benefits. You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

The M4s are picking their favorite residency programs in the hopes that they love the next phase of their training. We discuss the factors they're weighing now that interviews are done. And a listener about to start med school wants to know how students study, and how they also have social lives when studying is so intense.

Medical schools' mission is to create doctors that treat patients. In that context, the options provided for trainees who don't see that as their own mission may be limited. However, those options do exist--should schools acknowledge them? Should schools even promote those options to their students? And listener Nicole asks what prerequisites she can take at a community college, if any.

* “Cuddles” worries that he can’t be a research MD if he doesn’t get into an allopathic med school due to his low MCAT. But is that really the problem? * Can osteopaths be academic (research) physicians? * Dave gives his co-hosts a pop quiz on old time remedies after learning chimps may be practicing folk medicine.

Listener Valerie's pre-med advisor still haunts her years later, despite a stellar recovery from academic disaster. We got hammered by anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers on our Instagram. Will our response get the same result? The co-hosts and Dave celebrate the upcoming Valentines Day observance--can we guess what our SOs and parents think of us, Newlywed Game style?

Folk rock god Neil Young and others have removed their music from Spotify, which hosts Joe Rogan's controversial podcast over his discussions with COVID and vaccine deniers. Does that actually accomplish anything, or is it too late to win over the hesitant? And we play Kiss, Marry, Kill: Medical Specialties Edition.

Whether it’s a class assignment, a personal statement, or a scholarship essay, students are often commanded to reflect on their experiences. Reflection is can be a useful part of understanding what you are becoming. But what that means and how to do it are frequently not well defined. Our M4 co-hosts discuss whether their fears about the residency application process were well-founded or just wheel spinning.

Listener Riley wants some suggestions on experiences that will help him grow while he pursues his path to medicine. We discuss some comments from YouTube on female urologists and male patients. That leads to a discussion on why hospitals default to environments for their adult patients which are downright icky.

If your undergraduate studies in a different field lacked a certain enthusiasm but you’ve now decided to pursue medicine, it can be difficult to know where you’ll stand with admissions committees. Fortunately, adcomms don’t just look for perfect grades and unwavering and early certainty from med school candidates on their path to medicine. We discuss a great way to fill a hole in what your school teaches–create a course on the subject!

Most people don't see themselves as partners in success, but as hired hands. Doctors are employees, too, and have similar issues with their employers! 30% of administrators reported losing physicians during the pandemic. Either an exit from healthcare or a mass shift of physicians from low-engagement jobs to higher engagement positions may have already begun. The Short Coats discuss what a great job for a doctor might look like.

Medical school is all-consuming, but sometimes you need to take time to deal with the slings and arrows of life. Don’t be afraid that you’ll jeopardize your career by taking a leave during medical school. Better to do it before your situation causes harm to your test scores or grades. A Brown University study finds that schools are failing in their diversity goals for admitting URMs.

Doctors who practice community medicine make more than academic physicians (sometimes lots more). As it often does, the question of which to choose depends on which aspect of each you can live without. The co-hosts also visit with Santa, because Dave’s been naughty, to answer pop quiz questions on holiday crimes.

If you want to be an author on a publication, you’ve got to be open with your lab about your goals. Go into research with the aim of improving your skills, and know exactly what skills you want to work on. Some kinds of research are easier to do and get published in medical school.

Our expert looks at the mistakes that can keep you from landing your spot in med school. Give the admissions committee what it needs to assure them you want this more than anything, and that you’ve done your homework. When is the right time to apply? When YOU are ready. Don’t rush it, because whether you’re successful or not in finishing med school, a bad decision will affect you for many, many years.

Eliminate unnecessary friction to the completion of a task. Paying others to do other life tasks can be helpful. Saying no is as important as maximizing efficiency.

Happy Thanksgiving! We discuss the MD/PhD life, and the jobs that will prepare a hopeful MD/PhD student while also giving the admissions committees something to love. We diss Thanksgiving while still loving it, including a special Turkey Day pop quiz.

Medicine is filled with both the momentous and the prosaic. Yet every interaction is a chance to process and understand the impact one person can both have and be subject to. Dr. Campbell suggests students start journaling their experiences early. Not only might this lead to a lovely book of essays near the end of a career, but it's also a great tool to track the fleeting experiences that will much sooner make a great personal statement!

Puzzled by the interviewer's question? You can fumble around with the answer, or answer a question that wasn't asked. Did the Electronic Residency Application Service screw some applicants (again)? We get to know this week's cohosts using interview questions they might actually enjoy answering.

A question Dave found on reddit inspired this week’s topic: is there any program or school that is “out of your league?” Co-hosts recap their recent residency interview experiences. We practice answering absurd residency interview questions.

We discuss the many uses (real or potential) of capsaicin as we taste hot sauces from some random multipack co-host AJ had lying around. The co-hosts fight each other with words in a game of Megabattle. Warning: cartoonish violence is described. If you don't like the through of being stabbed by flaming antlers, you might want to skip this one.

The experience of job hunting for a residency position is unlike any other. It's way easier to donate bone marrow than many think. Dave stuffs the episode with Squid Game references in the hopes that various algorithms love us.

The Physician Assistant can do most things an MD can do, aside from prescribing certain kinds drugs, and they don't usually practice independently. Iowa's interesting because PA students train with MD students during their didactics. This close contact means that trust is established early between the two professions. PAs must amass so many hours of clinical activity before they enter school that they start with MUCH more experience than MDs usually do.

You may have heard of the dean's letter. It's sent to all residency programs, one of the things they'll use to choose who to invite for an interview. But do you know what's in it...and that it's creation begins on your first day of med school? YouTube announces blanket ban on vaccine misinformation, and axes the biggest misinformation peddlers. And, can The Short Coats pass the 2021 IgNobel Prize Winners Quiz?

Married couples applying to a school together are really a bonus for schools, all other factors being equal. We discuss Niki Minaj's cousin's friend's testicles, because that's a thing we do now. And Wiki How has interesting illustrations--can we guess the article?

We talk with a listener about how she can find a school that is friendly to non-traditional students. Should we bringing wooly mammoths back to life? Is talking about people who engage in questionable COVID treatments just adding to the problem?

Medical students can use their music background to enhance their education. Playing together and improvising is great practice for working in teams. The mental health benefits of playing or singing are huge--it's impossible to play or sing without forgetting your cares.

Now that Texas has conferred on its citizens the responsibility for enforcing it's ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, what will be the effects? Also, the University of Iowa community protests alleged sex abuse in Greek life, but the movement is tearing itself apart. And we play a game to distract ourselves from all that stuff.

Rushing to med school may be a good idea, but there is a danger of missing experiences that make you a better student and a better doctor. But if you're going to do it...go hard. Nutrition is well covered in the med school curriculum, but there's a lot we don't understand. And Falling off a tall stack of milk crates on purpose has questionable health benefits. You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

A listener asks about the etiquette of keeping the adcom up to date on their activities. We discuss Dave’s experience in the TSA line with an anti-masker. Dave tries to come up with new business ideas that YOU can use (if you’re brave). This episode is sponsored by Enso Rings, makers of soft, safe silicone rings. Listeners get 10% off rings at EnsoRings.com using promo code SHORT!

One important responsibility that doctors can and should take on is to educate their communities on health issues. Learning how to do this in medical school can be as easy as collaborating with your university news paper. Plus, our advice for a young mother and wife whose med student husband will be away during third year: plan, iterate and empathize.

Our expert looks at the mistakes that can keep you from landing your spot in med school. Give the admissions committee what it needs to assure them you want this more than anything, and that you’ve done your homework. When is the right time to apply? When YOU are ready. Don’t rush it, because whether you’re successful or not in finishing med school, a bad decision will affect you for many, many years.

Dave picks his co-hosts' brains on how they interpret the latest numbers on COVID. We eat baked goods that AJ brought us and try to guess what's in them, and fail because they're deliciously unlike anything we've had before. And we play Out of the Loop.

Most people don't see themselves as partners in success, but as hired hands. Doctors are employees, too, and have similar issues with their employers! 30% of administrators reported losing physicians during the pandemic. Either an exit from healthcare or a mass shift of physicians from low-engagement jobs to higher engagement positions may have already begun. The Short Coats discuss what a great job for a doctor might look like.

CASPer seeks to help schools understand applicants’ non-academic and people skills. It’s never been validated, but more and more schools are using it. Some residency programs have begun using ‘supplemental questions’ as so-called objective measures like STEP 1 and STEP 2 CS fall away. Are these new hurdles useful? Or do they add to the burden of becoming a doctor for no reason?

Your med school application won't be the last time you write a personal statement. They're everywhere in medicine, so keep track of experiences you can write about when you need to. Be careful about thinking too much about strategy, sacrificing the 'personal' part. It's pretty easy to spot someone who isn't writing with feeling. Very few people can honestly write about a lightbulb moment when they suddenly knew what they wanted, so don't bother.

Asking for and getting help from one's med-student partner when parenting gets overwhelming is essential. Organizing with other med student parents for mutual support is crucial. The fear that med school is completely inflexible for parents may be unfounded.

Eliminate unnecessary friction to the completion of a task Paying others to do other life tasks can be helpful Saying no is as important as maximizing efficiency.

We share more stories from our med student parents. What the research says about how medical schools are supporting parents and pregnant students in medical school. How should med schools support student parents and pregnant students--can schools do better?

* Urologist Amy Pearlman has built her practice upon the opportunities offered by YouTube, Twitter, and Tik Tok. * The one question no one asks themselves that can help you decide on your future specialty: what can’t you live without? * Medical school does not teach you how to be a doctor. That’s what residency and fellowships are for. You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

TL;DR * Medical school is all-consuming, but sometimes you need to take time to deal with the slings and arrows of life. * Don’t be afraid that you’ll jeopardize your career by taking a leave during medical school. Better to do it before your situation causes harm to your test scores or grades. * A Brown University study finds that schools are failing in their diversity goals for admitting URMs.

Guest Marty Makary condemns the old way that healthcare responds to current events. Sticking to the clinical trials process and a reluctance to use the knowledge already available from Chinese doctors slowed US responses and killed people. “We had terrible medical leadership throughout the pandemic, and I think it’s good for our leaders to show some degree of humility to say, look, we consistently got it wrong.” You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

The choice to become pregnant in medical school is always a difficult one to make, considering the time constraints and the physical toll it can take. Raising a kids in medical school is perhaps even harder, as even if things go well in the pregnancy, now you've got little humans to learn about, protect, and enjoy (and miss out on, sometimes). In Part One of this three-parter, we'll lay it all bare for you--what's it really like to raise a family while learning to be a doctor.

Humanism and compassion isn't just for the good days...they're especially for the bad ones, the days during which humanism is the hardest to practice.

Doing stuff outside of your coursework is fantastic…until it isn’t. Actual photograph of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle in use. [Dave was suddenly called home for a family emergency, so no recording this week. Enjoy this rerun, though!] Listener Tasneem Ahmed–a fourth-year medic at London’s King’s College–joins MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M4 Holly Conger, and M1s AJ Chowdhury and Alex Belzer on the show. She wrote to us at [email protected] because she wanted to talk with us about those times when extracurricular activities are too much of a good thing. These activities are important to both schools and students as a way to convey and learn vital lessons about service and career opportunities. But there is a temptation to overdo it in an attempt to distinguish oneself as a competitive applicant. Take that far enough, and it’s a recipe for exhaustion and burnout. We also take time to compare the two systems of medical education, dance on the grave of Step 2 CS, and cover the most important story of January 2021: Gwyneth Paltrow’s exploding vagina candle. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

* Taking the med ed bull by the horns in a purposeful way will get your through one of the toughest moments. * Given any definition of “success,” a medical student who succeeds in medical school engages “like they paid for it.” * The definition of “success” doesn’t necessarily include honors grades or high scores. If you choose what it means, you will succeed!

How Gaming Can Help You Learn Medicine Better TL;DR Rote memorization is part of medical education, but drawing deeper connections between concepts is what makes you a physician.Medical school emphasizes finding the correct answer, but when you begin to practice medicine you’ll find that the answers are much more complex than that. Although moving from med school to residency can be scary–as with any transition–Paulius found it to be easier than he expected. Dr. Paulius Mui is a first-year family medicine resident in Virginia, and a long-time listener (since before med school!). He wrote to Dave not long ago because he had published a game called Table Rounds. It’s a game he and his friends in med school had made up, and now he’s working to bring it into the world as an actual product. Paulius sent Dave a copy of the game [for free, he’s not a sponsor. –Dave], and M1s AJ Chowdhury, Alex Belzer, Nolan Redetzke, and M4 Joyce Wahba play the game. Players use cards–each with a medical term or concept on it–to draw connections between them. The connections can be deep or they can be spurious, but if you can make your case you’re a winner. But perhaps more importantly, it’s a game that you can make your own, coming up with rules that make it even more interesting and helpful. Paulius also gives his advice to Joyce, who’s about to start her residency in Emergency Medicine, and discusses his first-year as a resident beginning while the pandemic raged. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you! You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to theshortcoats@g...

Often a discussion of medicine as a career is discussed in terms of sacrifices made. What sacrifices have our co-hosts made? How did they prepare or study before they started school in the fall? Did they find their people, or did pandemic online medical education get in the way?

Should Victoria also get a law degree to facilitate a career in health policy? Shea sends feedback on our recent discussion of options for unmatched MD Seniors We practice answering patient questions with a straight face by visiting Yahoo! Answers for what might be the last time! Resources: You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the list to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

Affective presence is the lasting and stable impressions your interaction partners get from you. Your scores and grades only get you in the door. It's your personality that makes you a medical student, and later, a doctor.  So make sure you're giving off the right vibes! Listener Kalmen reminds us of a paths for some students who don't match. You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you're struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the list to [email protected]. We love you. Resources: You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you're struggling with racism, harassment, hate your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the list to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX - Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere - Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8 ; Hexalyte - Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA;

COVID stressed healthcare but showed us a better future. TL;DR COVID revealed what’s broken in healthcare, and also offers a glimpse of how it can be fixed Distributed, decentralized and digital isn’t about technology, but about putting patients at the center of healthcare. Read Dr. Nundy’s book Care After Covid: What the Pandemic Revealed Is Broken in Healthcare and How to Reinvent It. Care After COVID…by Shantanu Nundy, MD This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, Member FDIC. Panacea is banking for physicians and medical students! Shantanu Nundy, MD, is no stranger to healthcare policy and patient care. He’s a physician, entrepreneur and technologist “passionate about reinventing healthcare for all.” He’s a CMO for a company working to improve health outcomes, a primary care doc in the Washington, DC area, and a lecturer in health policy at the George Washington Milken Institute for Public Health and advisor to the World Bank Group on digital health and innovation. So we were grateful that he offered to sit down with Dave, M4 Holly Conger, M1s AJ Chowdhury and Rick Gardner, and M3 Emma Barr to talk about his new book Care After COVID. He shows us a future that COVID has revealed as possible for healthcare if we have the will to make it happen: in which technology is a tool that puts patients at the center of everything physicians and systems do. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

How did COVID affect the 2021 Match? This week’s sponsor, Panacea Financial (Member FDIC) is giving away $500 to five students participating in the 2021 Match. Check it out! Match Week is huge for senior medical students. It’s the week they find out if they will continue their training (yikes!), and where in the country they will go to complete it…and this year’s match was even more-than-usually anxiety provoking due to COVID. Were our fears–of large numbers of unmatched applicants, programs with many unfilled positions, and students unfairly penalized by virtual interviews–realized? We try to figure it out with the stats available to us just an hour before recording. This Week in Medical News Some Grand Rapids, Michigan residents were very bad on Instagram. Hey, future and current students–keep other peoples resected organs off social media, and while you’re at it, you really aren’t supposed to take pictures in the OR without consent. M’kay? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

The Art of Compliments Photo by Ross Dunn Our sponsor, Panacea Financial, is having a giveaway! 5 students in the 2021 Match will get $500 in their Match Day Giveaway, so head on over to find out more! It must have been a bad week for someone, because Dave thought it’d be great to have a compliment festival. Of course, compliments have a huge role in learning, though Dave wasn’t sure there were enough opportunities for getting compliments during the pre-clinical years. So he asked M1s AJ Chowdhury, Nicole Hines, and Rick Gardner, and M4 Marisa Evers to join him in complimenting each other just for fun. Here’s the benefit Rick mentioned in the show: Shooting Hoops for Shelter House. And just in case this whole medicine thing doesn’t work out, we took a very scientific BuzzFeed quiz to decide on our alternate careers. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

No school, employer, or profession is perfect; and lots of times, you have to step up to fix it. Photo by Georgie Pauwels This episode’s sponsor, Panacea Financial, is having a Match Day Giveaway! Med students in the 2021 Match can enter to be one of five students who will win $500! Enter at panaceafinancial.com/matchday. Long time SCP listener and CCOM M4 Austin Kazarian joins us on the show to talk about the personal finance course he proposed and helped create. Wait, isn’t there enough to learn in medicine? There is, but as long as med school debt is a problem, it’s important to learn how to deal with it, as well as many other financial issues that exist for new residents. Join him, MD/MBA student Gabe Conley, and M4s Joyce Wahba and Tim Maxwell for a discussion on how medical students can fix the inevitable gaps in their schools’ curricula, and why it’s important to look for a joint that’ll take your suggestions and let you lead with them (and see this article, and the Academic Medicine commentary discussed during the show). And if you want to bring Austin’s personal finance for physicians curriculum to your school, he’ll share his proposal with you to get started–drop him a DM @AustinKazarian. Also, Dave gives the crew a news quiz. Were you paying attention these past few weeks? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. Panacea is banking for medical students and doctors. Every once in a while, Dave likes to just get to know his med student co-hosts better. This time, in order to accomplish that goal, he invited each of them–M1s Rick Gardner, AJ Chowdhury, Alex Belzer, and M4 Tim Maxwell–to bring some converation starters with them. Is it relevant? Sure, if you squint your ears real hard, jeez, can’t you guys give up on clinical relevance every so often and just have some fun? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

The advice students get from mentors, peers, and advisors isn’t always good. Photo by CarbonNYC [in SF!] This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a division of Sonabank, member FDIC. Panacea is banking for medical students, built by doctors. Opinions are like a-holes. They’re everywhere. But that doesn’t mean that the advice you’ll get is always useful. On today’s show, Marisa Evers, Rick Gardner, Eric Boeshart, and Nicole Hines discuss the advice that co-hosts have gotten during their journey that didn’t quite pan out as true. Plus the crew try to guess what’s been censored out of stock photos Dave found–play along on our Instagram. <path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.

When should med students trust their school…and when should they push back? This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a division of Sonabank, member FDIC. Panacea is banking for medical students, built by doctors. Med students sometimes find it difficult to trust their school will get them through this ordeal of learning medicine.  Sometimes you’re taught things that seem less than useful.  Sometimes your professors or administrators don’t seem to understand what’s at stake for you.  Sometimes the rules and procedures are puzzling.  When should you trust the system, and when should you push back?  To help him with this topic Dave talks to M1s Rick Gardner, AJ Chowdhury, and Eric Boeshart;  and M4 Holly Conger. They discuss times when trust was warranted (turns out the Kreb’s cycle really does have clinical applications), and when to push back if something needs fixing. Plus, Dave and the crew visit the saddest place on the Internet to practice answering real medical questions: Yahoo! Answers. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

The medical student’s jobs may be less than sexy, but they’re important. Photo by Oregon State University Medical students are both learners and an important part of the teaching hospital labor pool. Recently, Dave realized he doesn’t actually know–what are their actual jobs? And how do they find out what they are? In general the job is to both learn medicine and be helpful. There are many tasks that belong to no particular person, and students can take advantage of this by being there to jump in and take on the job. Whether it’s getting that cup of water or calling another hospital for a patient’s records, someone’s got to do the unsexy stuff. By taking on that task that no one else has time for the student frees up a nurse, a resident or an attending for the more complex tasks. Like teaching! Perhaps as important, that student has an opportunity to demonstrate their can-do attitude and get that all important positive comment on their evaluation to show their prospective residency programs as they apply for jobs. M3s Nick Lind and Emma Barr, and M4s Holly Conger and Joyce Wahba join Dave to share what they’ve learned, and show that even if you’re not the brain of the operation, even if you’re just a kinesin dragging your vesicle around a cell in between the hospital’s toes, the least glamorous task is a lifesaver to someone. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Doing stuff outside of your coursework is fantastic…until it isn’t. Actual photograph of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle in use. Listener Tasneem Ahmed–a fourth-year medic at London’s King’s College–joins MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M4 Holly Conger, and M1s AJ Chowdhury and Alex Belzer on the show. She wrote to us at [email protected] because she wanted to talk with us about those times when extracurricular activities are too much of a good thing. These activities are important to both schools and students as a way to convey and learn vital lessons about service and career opportunities. But there is a temptation to overdo it in an attempt to distinguish oneself as a competitive applicant. Take that far enough, and it’s a recipe for exhaustion and burnout. We also take time to compare the two systems of medical education, dance on the grave of Step 2 CS, and cover the most important story of January 2021: Gwyneth Paltrow’s exploding vagina candle. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Which take on medicine is best for patients and provider mental health? Dave and the gang–including M1s AJ Chowdhury and Alex Belzer; M4 Holly Conger; and MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk–take a look at the prevalent idea that medicine is a “calling,” somewhat like religion is for many. That’s an imperfect analogy, but there are parallels. People talk, for instance, about the sacrifices, the altruism, the service, and the requirement that doctors be at all times upstanding and display exceptional integrity. This view has some obvious benefits for the profession, including that its practitioners are laser focused on being the best physicians and people they can be. But that view of physician-hood carries with it a lot of weight. When medicine is viewed as a calling, being a physician may become one’s primary identity. And when perfection remains frustratingly out of reach, the risk is that you’ll come to view yourself as a bad person and not as a doctor who is still learning. At least, that’s what Dave worries, but is it true? Plus, Holly brings us up to date on life as an M4, especially her search for a residency position. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

How they can help, support, and understand what you’re doing here. “I’m afraid medical science has yet to find a cure for ‘Brown Owies,’ madam.” [We livestream our recording sessions most Fridays on our listeners Facebook group, The Short Coat Student Lounge. Join us to add your questions and comments to the show!] Families are a blessing (usually). A source of support, love, and acceptance, they can prop you up in those moments when you need it. Sure, sometimes they goof–well meaning comments, misplaced efforts to help, and untimely visits do happen–but they just want what’s best. On this episode MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk and M1s AJ Chowdhury, Alex Belzer and Nicole Hines talk about the things they’d have wanted their families to know about before med school began. Speaking of misguided attempts to be helpful, Dave leads the team in an exercise to develop their communication skills, to see if the crew get their medical points across to their patients even when forced to speak as cavemen. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Are you an allopath or an osteopath? Photo by cogdogblog [Happy New Year! Did you know you can join The Short Coat Student Lounge on Facebook, and help us with the show? We livestream there every time we record, and if you’re there you can help us make sure we get all the angles.] A while back we got a somewhat provocative listener question: do osteopathic medicine students have a disadvantage in entering competitive specialties? Our answer back then was not really. And we weren’t wrong, but recently Dr. Ian Storch of the DO or Do Not Podcast offered to sit with us and expand on our ideas. Of course, M3s Jenna Mullins, Allison Klimesh, and MD/PhD student Miranda Schene were only too happy to get some new information on the topic. And he brought with him two of his podcasting DO students, Amir Khiabani and Courtney Merlo. Among the clarifying points they offered: Why do people choose an osteopathic education over an allopathic education?What is the real deal with board exams–do DOs really have to take both the USMLE and COMLEX boards?Do osteopaths really experience bias when trying to match in subspecialties?What is osteopathic manipulative medicine, anyway? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Good intentions are everywhere. Good behavior...well, that's more complicated. Such is the case with microaggressions, the term coined by Harvard University psychiatrist Chester Pierce in 1970 to describe minor yet hurtful comments. Pierce's original definition encompassed statements aimed at African Americans, but of course one can accidentally or purposefully put down any minority individual--women, LGBTQ+ individuals, non-white ethnicities, and more. Unfortunately, nearly 50 years after Dr. Pierce proposed the term, microaggressions are still a thing. Dave admits to his sins, and M1s Sahaanna Arumagam and Nathen Spitz, along with SCP intern Joel Horne discuss how to prepare for the inevitability of witnessing, experiencing, and committing microaggressions. Plus, can this week's co-hosts diagnose their weird patients' quirks? This Week in Medical News: Speaking of good intentions gone awry, hospitals are relying on AI algorithms to direct extra treatment at those who need it, except the AI thinks wealthy white people are needier than African American patients. And researchers announce an effective treatment for 90% of cystic fibrosis patients. We Want to Hear From You: What are your microaggression stories? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].

[Happy New Year!  We are taking a break from recording, and our next new show is out on January 14.  In the meantime, enjoy this rerun.  This episode was sponsored by Pattern. We hope you’ll check out their disability insurance offerings for docs at http://patternlife.com/partner/shortcoat.] Doctors and medical students often have an identity based on perfection and infallibility.  Often it that identity comes from their own expectations of themselves, and sometimes it comes from external sources.  Whatever the source, it’s both motivating and problematic to feel shame when mistakes are made,  or when knowledge is imperfect. Fourth-year student and future OB/Gyn doc Luci Howard visited with MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk and M1s Caitlin Matteson, Morgan Kennedy, and Emerald Dohleman to talk about her project to create a curriculum about shame and medical student identity.  Her shame–as a first-gen college graduate, as a perfectionist, and as someone who’s made mistakes–was holding her hostage in some ways, but now her curriculum works to illuminate and combat the negative effects of shame in medical education, and it will soon be integrated into the College of Medicine’s curriculum. Her work means that future medical learners will learn how to react productively and rationally when they inevitably achieve less-than-perfection. Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! We Want to Hear From You Would you be willing to share experiences that have felt shameful in order to help others? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Happy Holidays! As we recorded this show, vaccine doses were beginning to spread across the world–well, across the rich countries of the world, anyway. The poorer countries were left with the WHO’s risky donation-funded program to distribute doses, causing concern that the program might just collapse because some countries we could mention decided not to contribute. We’re looking at you, United States of America and China. We discuss ‘the right to be forgotten,’ a right which many in the USA and elsewhere might not meaningfully have. And Dave pretends to be a medical educator with a pop quiz on historical medical practices. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

[Last week’s show encountered some technical difficulties. So enjoy this rerun instead. We promise it’s cool.] “He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news.” Photo by firepile Co-hosts Nathen Spitz, Brandon Bacalzo, Mariam Mansour, and Greta Becker rehash their recent microbiology exam which they say kicked their butts, and how they deal with that nasty feeling. Dave discusses what Naegleria Fowleri means to him. Nathen and Mariam reminisce on their experiences with patient instructors and standardized patients. And the gang practices giving bad news to their patients, using made-up diseases with names created by neural networks and assisted by their attending “Dr. Etler.” We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

[This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. Please support our sponsor by visiting https://panaceafinancial.com/] In mid-November, the American Medical Association declared racism to be a public health threat. With that declaration, they adopted policies to acknowledge and recognize racism as detrimental to the health and well-being of all of America’s citizens, and to encourage the study of its effects and the creation of medical education curricula. Great! But this week’s co-hosts, Nathen Spitz, Aline Sandouk, Sahaana Arumugam, and Ananya Munjal, have mixed feelings and hope that the AMA won’t be among the many institutions that have made similar declarations without taking real action. But first, listener Malcolm wrote in to [email protected] to ask how he might take advantage of his fortunate position as the holder of multiple acceptances to medical school in negotiating for financial aid. The co-hosts have definitely got some advice, based mostly upon our fantasies of being in the same position. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Hippocrates set a high bar. [Hope your Thanksgiving was excellent, safe, and happy! We didn’t record anything this week, so here’s a rerun for you.]Dr. Danielle Ofri–NYU professor of medicine, Bellevue Hospital internist, and author of great renown–joined us this time to talk about her new book, When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error.  Examining medical errors is a something all good physicians do–sometimes on a stage in front of their colleagues but often surreptitiously. However, “mistakes were made” simply isn’t acceptable to most patients and lawyers. Meanwhile, the shame felt by practitioners who make mistakes is not only unhelpful but hinders their development and can contribute to burnout and depression.   Because of the consequences of shame are so dire, Dr. Ofri argues in her book that confronting mistakes in a humane, understanding, and open fashion is vital.  Not many years ago, a headline grabbed her attention:  medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States.  How can that be? she wondered.  If people were dying at that rate, wouldn’t physicians have noticed this earlier?  Of course, it turns out that the story of medical error is much more complicated than that headline would lead one to believe, and set Dr. Ofri on the path to this latest book.  Join MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M4 Marisa Evers, M2 Jessica De Haan, and M4 Anne Nora for this discussion on the sources of error, the causes, and the ways to understand and learn from the inevitable. We also discuss her and her colleagues’ experiences fighting COVID-19 in New York City and learning about the disease in real time. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

[This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. Please support our sponsor by visiting https://panaceafinancial.com/] The Short Coats have begun livestreaming their recordings in our Facebook group (most Fridays at noon central–join us and be a part of the show). Listeners Garrett and Isaac wrote in with questions about the clinical hours schools want from their applicants. How important is the number of hours, asked Garrett, and what changes in that number are schools making in COVID times? Lucky for you, gentlemen, MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M3 Emma Barr, and M1s Alex Belzer and AJ Chowdhury are on the show to suss it out for you. Plus, we provide some suggestions for alternatives if the usual activities just aren’t available to you. And livestream viewer Cierra asks how we think this year’s experiences will change medical education. Did we learn new things about how to deliver medical education? Are students less prepared than they would otherwise have been? A couple shows ago, Dave indulged himself in a rant about Americans’ seeming inability to follow best practices for spreading COVID, basically saying those folks are wimps. But a recent editorial in MedPageToday.com makes him reconsider his delivery. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Given how much med school costs, isn’t it best to go for your cheapest option? [This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. Please support our sponsor by visiting https://panaceafinancial.com/] A listener we’re calling Victor Von Stateschool called us at 347-SHORT-CT to continue the recent spate of listener questions about choosing a medical school. Sure, prestige is something to consider…and yes, perhaps moving away from home to broaden your horizons is a good idea…but what about just picking your cheapest option even when you have the stats to go elsewhere? MD/PhD students Sahaana Arumugam and Miranda Schene, and M2s Ananya Munjal and Nathen Spitz try to put it all together. Pro tip: you can actually pit schools’ offers against each other to lower your tuition! We also talk about the CCOM Art Show that Ananya and Sahaana are helping to put together, and which any med student from anywhere can submit work to. And we try the Whisper Challenge again, because we’re not in the studio together to get germs on each other. Thanks, COVID… We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Should Jenna broaden her horizons by moving away for medical school? Photo by merra marie [This episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a Division of Sonabank, Member FDIC. Please support our sponsor by visiting https://panaceafinancial.com/] Listener Jenna got into Carver College of Medicine! But she’s worried–should she go to a new place to study medicine instead, or should she stay in comfy, cozy Iowa City where she’s been the last few years? Sit tight, Jenna, because M1 Lola Lozano (Texas), M1 Albert Pedroza (Nebraska), MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk (lots of places) and M1 Nicole Hines (Iowa) are here to look at the options with you! Bun Bun writes in to complain about what they saw as our unfair treatment of Ivy League schools…although, if they’d listened verrrrry carefully, they’d see that’s not something we actually did. Dave loses his cool about the pandemic complainers. Yes, it’s frustrating to have to stay home and avoid family over the holidays. But this is war. And yet…he immediately proves the point by forgetting you can’t play the Whisper Challenge without a mask on. So the crew braces themselves against the disappointment–damn you, COVID!–and soldier on. Brave podcasters, all. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Name recognition is great, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. So Fancy! Listener Morgan wrote in to ask what we thought about Ivy League schools with high name recognition, and whether it should be an important factor in her decision on a school to attend. MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk and M2s Greta Becker, Mariam Mansour, and Brandon Bacalzo discuss what they’ve learned about the value of big name schools and compare them to the education Morgan would get at the lesser-known schools. We discuss the future of The Short Coat Podcast, namely our plans for livestreaming video of our recording sessions at The Short Coat Student Lounge. Join the SCP Lounge so you can be a part of the show, and we’d love to hear your ideas for such a venture. And we visit the saddest place on the Internet to give the crew a chance to practice answering medical questions, including how riding the bus affects fertility and recent developments in the war on hydrogen peroxide. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Photo by quinn.anya On this episode, M2s Nathen Spitz and Sahaana Arumugam, M3 Emma Barr, and MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk reminisce about simpler Halloween times, when the only thing to worry about was whether your costume was going to be on the sexy branch or the non-sexy branch of the decision tree. Emma gives us her thoughts on why it was a good idea to do her ‘core’ clinical clerkships (like Internal Medicine, Psych, and Peds) at community hospitals in Des Moines instead of at our academic medical center closer to home. It’s time to vote in the US, and we reflect on why students absolutely must not ignore politics, and just how easy it is to get involved. And, anticipating his friends’ need to one day be decision makers in medicine (and perhaps politicians?) Dave forces them to fight to the figurative death. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Next semester Madi Wahlen will enter the PhD phase of her MD/PhD journey, and the though to that transition makes her kind of nervous. Fortunately, both she and Aline Sandouk were on this week’s episode, allowing space for Madi (and co-hosts Levi Endelman and AJ Chowdhury) to ask Aline questions about her experiences transitioning to the PhD phase. How did she handle the transition? How did she find a lab to work in? What kinds of specialties to MD/PhD students typically go into? Aline knows! Reminder to US Listeners: Vote! Time is running out to get your absentee or mail-in vote counted. Head on over to http://ballotpedia.org to research candidates, find out how voting works in your state at http://vote.org, and know that Dave and The Short Coats love you for your engagement in the process of choosing our leaders. And Dave gives the gang a fill-in-the-blanks quiz on weird research he found. What do mosquitos and people both hate enough to stop having sex? What do coked-up bees and people tend to do more of? And what preference do chickens and people have in common? Dave has the answers. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

What you should know about the super hierarchical world of medicine Have you ever wondered what the world of medicine would look like to an ethnographer? To University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Professor Tania Jenkins, perhaps it looks like a ladder of status, from the lowly med student to the exalted attending (and even higher). For her book Doctors’ Orders: The Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession, Professor Jenkins spent years looking at the construction and consequences of those distinctions for doctors before, during, and after their training, especially among American, international, and osteopathic residents in two US hospitals. Cohosts Emma Barr (M3), Bryn Myers (M2), and Greta Becker (M2) discuss with Dr. Jenkins why status hierarchies seem so important in medicine, what they accomplish and inhibit, and why they may be short-changing the system, the practitioners, and the patients. Dr. Jenkins also helps us answer a question from “Glisten Rumpybottom” about the future of medicine as the scope of practice for mid-level practitioners like nurse practitioners and PAs continues to expand. Is this a safety issue or a turf war? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

What having a chronic health issue means to medical students varies…except that it will make them even better doctors. Listener Michael has type one diabetes and “an incredibly rare form” of epilepsy. He’s pretty open about this and plans to use his experience to inform his education on patient care. He got in touch to ask us to discuss chronic health conditions and how they interact with medical school and the patient experience. We were lucky enough to find a few medical students to offer their own journeys for discussion to cohosts Emma Barr, Aline Sandouk, and newbies AJ Chowdhury and Alex Belzer. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

We are honored to talk with author and physician Jeff Moody, University of Iowa College of Medicine class of ’92, and urologist, here to talk with us about physician burnout, It’s the topic of his new book The Doctor is Burned Out:  A Physician’s Guide to Recovery. Co-hosts Madi Wahlen, Aline Sandouk, Ananya Munjal, and Nicole Hines talk about ‘wellness,’ the ways that med students and physicians look at medicine and medical education that contribute to burnout, like the dangers of maximizing everything you do and a reliance on external metrics for success, why some specialties are more likely to have burnt out docs than others. Dr. Moody also encourages us to understand our own value to the system–in dollars–as a way to ask for solutions for burnout. He encourages us to remember that our lives effect burnout, too–docs and students aren’t exempt from adverse childhood experiences, divorce and other stressors of life! And of course, we talk about his prescription for how to fix burnout if it happens to you. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Things happen in Iowa. They really do. That’s why Dave put together a little trivia contest for his co-hosts–Sahaana Arumugam, Emma Barr, Aline Sandouk, and Brandon Bacalzo–to test their knowledge of the excitement that is Iowa. But first, we discuss the news that, as alleged by a whistleblowing nurse, a doctor in Georgia has been forcing sterilization on women at an Immigrations Customs and Enforcement detention center. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but we note with concern how America treats incarcerated people. And we discuss Brandon’s research experience on a horse tranquilizer’s potential as treatment for psychiatric disorders. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

“He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news.” Photo by firepile Co-hosts Nathen Spitz, Brandon Bacalzo, Mariam Mansour, and Greta Becker rehash their recent microbiology exam which they say kicked their butts, and how they deal with that nasty feeling. Dave discusses what Naegleria Fowleri means to him. Nathen and Mariam reminisce on their experiences with patient instructors and standardized patients. And the gang practices giving bad news to their patients, using made-up diseases with names created by neural networks and assisted by their attending “Dr. Etler.” We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Does a physician need to know everything about healthcare, even the *shudder* money stuff? [Dave was out of the office on recording day last week, so enjoy this rerun!] Physicians go through years and years of school to be great at this calling, so why on earth would anyone want to tack on an MBA, too? Co-host Gabe Conley decided to do just that. He’s been thinking about this for a while, but hadn’t pulled the trigger on the idea. Then, as he was about to become a fourth-year medical student, SARS-COV-2 came along and gave him a nudge in the right direction. Gabe explains why he thinks it’s vital to understand business principles as a physician–and it’s not just to make more money. And Dave prompts Gabe and his fellow co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Brandon Bacalzo, and Madi Wahlen to answer some conversation starters. As a result, some conversations were started and we all learned a thing or two. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

The UN Relief and Works Agency has a tough job, especially in Palestine. In this bonus episode (recorded prior to the US pa we talk with Dr. Akihiro Seita, the Director of Health and WHO Special Representative to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.  He joins thanks to our Global Health Programs unit and its director Robin Paetzold as well as the University of Iowa Lecture Committee.  MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M2 Abby Fyfe, MD/PhD student Ossama Abu-Halawa, and our former intern Joel Horne, who has a strong interest of his own in global health, talk with Dr. Seita about the difficulties of providing refugees with healthcare when everything seems stacked against their health. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Preference Signaling Tokens may be a way to combat over-applying for residencies, but the schemes have a ways to go yet before they’re ready for prime time. Dear Residency Program: I love you. Do you love me? Check YES or NO!!! Dave noticed something he’d never heard of before: a company offering ‘tokens’ (for a fee) that could be used by residency program applicants to signal their love for particular programs.  The general idea is to combat the common applicant strategy of applying to as many residency programs as possible to be sure  the applicant gets a match.  While this strategy is quite reasonable from the individual applicant’s perspective, it causes problems for both programs and the general body of applicants because those extra applications flood programs with candidates that may not actually be interested.  Then he found out that the Otolaryngology Program Directors Organization will be doing something similar, and Aline Sandouk, Eric Boeshart, Emma Barr, and Nicole Lacina explore a analysis of who wins and who looses in such a scheme.   Plus Dave creates an educational game to help students plan how they’ll react to common odd situations.  And by educational, he clearly meant “educational.” We Want to Hear From You Do you think Preference Signalling is a good idea? What if medical schools adopts the idea?  Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a kick to hear from you!…

Listener Shivam wrote to [email protected] to ask his question: does becoming a DO hinder one’s chances in competitive specialties? MD/PhD students Aline Sandouk and Sahaana Arumugam, M2 Nathan Spitz, and M4 Marisa Evers weigh in, while Dave uses his tiny brain to try and parse the National Residency Matching Program’s statistics to find an answer. Photo by chaddavis.photography The gang considers whether it would help their anxiety to adopt an alter ego to overcome their anxiety surrounding upcoming events. Then Nathan clues them in to the defacing of the famous George Floyd mural in Minneapolis by a medical student. All that and a smattering of Ellen Degeneris news–is she cancelled? We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Are we cancelled because we angered you? Or did we do okay in the discussion? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  Then, call home. They miss you.…

Why was the Hispanic population in Clarion, Iowa seeing so many more infections? Wright County Courthouse, Clarion, Iowa. Photo by Brandonrush (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication) Dr. Michael McLoughlin, internist at Clarion Clinic, was puzzled. Why were 95% of the patients who showed up with novel coronavirus infections Hispanic? And what interventions would best help his community? Meanwhile, M2 Abby Walling was looking for a summer project centering on health disparities after her overseas global health experience was cancelled. Global Health Programs Director Robin Paetzold knew them both (Dr. McLoughlin graduated from CCOM in 2013), and helped get them together to find answers and develop solutions. M4 Sophie Williams-Perez, M2 Ananya Munjal, and M4 Marisa Evers sat down to talk to Abby and Dr. McLoughlin to discuss what they found. As a bonus, Dr. McLoughlin discusses his life as a rural medicine practitioner in his town of 3,000. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

A study is only as good as its methods, and the #medbikini study wasn’t pretty bad. Maybe you heard:  some researchers tried to help vascular surgeons understand that their social media profiles might contain “unprofessional” content.  Things like wearing swimsuits and swearing and drinking  *shudder* alcohol. Especially by wymmin! Okay, maybe it was better intentioned than that, but join Aline Sandouk, Eric Boeshart, and Ananya Munjal as they explore the ideas and the execution behind this now-retracted ‘study.’ Listener Logan wrote in to [email protected] to ask why he’s getting the impression from the questions on his secondary applications that there is a divide between specialties and service.   And Ananya talks about her recently launched arts journal for medical learners, The Appendix. It’s not just for CCOM students, either! Any health science student can join the fun! We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Hippocrates set a high bar. Dr. Danielle Ofri–NYU professor of medicine, Bellevue Hospital internist, and author of great renown–joined us this time to talk about her new book, When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error.  Examining medical errors is a something all good physicians do–sometimes on a stage in front of their colleagues but often surreptitiously. However, “mistakes were made” simply isn’t acceptable to most patients and lawyers. Meanwhile, the shame felt by practitioners who make mistakes is not only unhelpful but hinders their development and can contribute to burnout and depression.   Because of the consequences of shame are so dire, Dr. Ofri argues in her book that confronting mistakes in a humane, understanding, and open fashion is vital.  Not many years ago, a headline grabbed her attention:  medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States.  How can that be? she wondered.  If people were dying at that rate, wouldn’t physicians have noticed this earlier?  Of course, it turns out that the story of medical error is much more complicated than that headline would lead one to believe, and set Dr. Ofri on the path to this latest book.  Join MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M4 Marisa Evers, M2 Jessica De Haan, and M4 Anne Nora for this discussion on the sources of error, the causes, and the ways to understand and learn from the inevitable. We also discuss her and her colleagues’ experiences fighting COVID-19 in New York City and learning about the disease in real time. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

Academic medicine--in which a physician works at a university and may have research and/or teaching duties in addition to patient care--is but one of the fulfilling options available to medical students. What's that lifestyle like? That's the question an anonymous listener (who we'll call Dr. Piledhigh Erandeeper) wanted our help answering. Fortunately we have Miranda Schene and Sahaana Arumugam (both in our Medical Scientist Training Program) on hand to tell us--including co-hosts M1 Brandon Bacalzo and M2 Mason LaMarche--what they know about this career option. Plus Dave puts his co-hosts through a game of Doctor Forehead, featuring some of the more interesting oddball medical stories he ran across prepping for this week's show (see the next section for those links). This Week in Medical News: The President's new budget could be another nail in the coffin for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Mayo applicants get acceptance letters that the institution later had to rescind, causing one of the disgruntled victims to create a crowdfunding campaign. And if you're in the market for "global elite" DNA, then...well, you've already missed your chance. Is there a MD career niche you want to know more about? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

Does a physician need to know everything about healthcare, even the *shudder* money stuff? Physicians go through years and years of school to be great at this calling, so why on earth would anyone want to tack on an MBA, too? Co-host Gabe Conley decided to do just that. He’s been thinking about this for a while, but hadn’t pulled the trigger on the idea. Then, as he was about to become a fourth-year medical student, SARS-COV-2 came along and gave him a nudge in the right direction. Gabe explains why he thinks it’s vital to understand business principles as a physician–and it’s not just to make more money. And Dave prompts Gabe and his fellow co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Brandon Bacalzo, and Madi Wahlen to answer some conversation starters. As a result, some conversations were started and we all learned a thing or two. We Want to Hear From You How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email [email protected].  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!…

No doubt about it, this road to becoming a physician has financial risks It feels risky to go to medical school, and for someone with a young family, like our listener who sent us their question to [email protected], those risks can feel existential. After all, if things don’t go as planned, the financial payoff of this calling might not be realized and the debt would be crippling. And Dave, as an inveterate catastrophizer, has sympathy for that worry. But is it the right way to be thinking about this endeavor? Brandon Bacalzo, Mariam Mansour, Levi Endelman and co-host newb Elias Kovoor are here to tell you why it can be better to go for it without fear. (We have done other episodes that focus on the concerns of parenting in medical school from a mom’s perspective and from a dad’s). Another listener question (Dave forgot to make up names for these anonymous submissions) asks, how the heck are you supposed to “do the research” when looking for a medical school? We have some good suggestions for that, too. And Dave, aware the his med student friends are always looking to save money at the grocery store, puts together a taste test–can the co-hosts distinguish between store vs. national brands, and which do they think is better? We Want to Hear From You Any responses to the stuff we talked about? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].  Do all three!…

Photo by brianna.lehman Listener Soma let us know that the AAMC has released an interview app for medical schools to collect videos of applicants answers to some standard questions. Their website says the tool addresses the needs expressed by its member schools during the upcoming interview season. Soma wondered, what do we think? Of course, that no matter what we think, it seems like applicants will probably have to do it anyway. But M2s Mariam Mansour, Greta Becker, Kayla Kruse and Nikitha Pothireddy are on hand to consider. Hmm…what DO we think of a new item for applicants to put on their to-do list in order to apply to medical school? What DO we think of a set of what appear to be screening questions that could be asked in some other interview format, such as a live virtual interview? What DO we think of a tool which seems to add another item to med schools’ to-do list? What DO we think of a tool which seems at a glance to be similar to another tool that was tried and cancelled for Emergency Medicine residency applications due to lack of interest from programs and applicants? Also, in light of a surge of COVID-19 cases that seem to be driven by young people eager to discard social distancing and masks to hang out with their buds in bars, we discuss the fairness of asking a screening question during interviews about whether the applicant has been doing the right thing to protect others. This Week in Medical News The first person to be treated for sickle cell disease with CRISPR in the US has gotten great news. On the other hand, investigators using fMRI to look at brain function have gotten some bad news. We Want to Hear From You Obviously, our discussion on questioning applicants on their bar-hopping habits might have other viewpoints we didn’t cover. What did we miss? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  …

Being a physician leaves you no choice–you ARE going to lead. Dr. Brent Lacey is a gastroenterologist who is passionate about helping physicians succeed with business and personal finances. As a physician, he understands how overwhelming it can be to step out of clinical training and into a career, and he has seen firsthand the lack of education on how to run a practice and manage finances. That’s also why he founded The Scope of Practice website. http://www.thescopeofpractice.com/ One of the critical job responsibilities of being a physician is leading a team. Those teams can be small–such as those that are caring for patients–or huge–like those that lead healthcare systems. No matter what, learning how to lead a team–and how to be lead–is as important as any medical knowledge a medical school can impart. Dr. Brent Lacey is a leader himself, a gastroenterologist, a Naval officer, and physician career coach. He knows a few things about leadership, and he talks about these topics and more on his show, The Scope of Practice Podcast. He visited with MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk, M4 Holly Conger, and M2 Nathen Spitz to talk about what makes great leaders in medicine, how to be a great team member, and–very important for you future interns out there–why having a goal of just surviving the first months of your intern year is not good enough. Dr. Lacey wasn’t just helpful in our conversation, but he’ll also email you a set of resources just for SCP listeners! Thanks, Dr. Lacey! We Want to Hear From You What lessons are you learning about teamwork and leadership? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  …

It feels risky to be wrong…here’s how to get used to that [Don’t forget to share the show with your friends and family–send a screenshot of the share to [email protected] to get a free thank you gift from Dave!] The Socratic method–teaching using questions–is a big part of medical education. It’s also often a big adjustment that medical students have to make when arriving at med school. Why is this method so important to med school profs, and how do you get comfortable speaking up in front of everyone when you know you’ve got no idea? Short Coats Emma Barr, Nick Lind, Holly Conger, and Tim Maxwell have all been there! Also, since Dave is a news junky, he has the gang play a headline mashup game. Come along as we find out the controversial views of a professor about the function of bones! Buy Our Merch and Support The Show Do something nice for us!  We deserve it? This Week in Medical News In the race to re-establish supply lines in the midst of the pandemic, The White House paid the Texas company $7.3 million for test tubes which turned out to be unformed soda bottles. And fears of out-of-control coronavirus transmission due to BLM protests fizzles. We Want to Hear From You Have a question we can answer? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  It’s how this show is YOUR show!…

[Once again, our circumstances force us to endure mild sound quality issues. Sorry, but that’s round-table podcasting in the pandemic age. You’ll be alright.] We got some lovely responses back from listeners of last week’s show (in which we discussed racism in America and in medicine), including a most important one from Cachae on the best ways to talk to your black friends about racism (hint–it’s not asking them to educate you). And Cam wanted to know whether he could ask an admissions office member for feedback on his primary application before he submits it instead of getting a rejection after. Wouldn’t it be more efficient? And Dave and his co-hosts–Abby Fyfe, Nick Lind, Madeline Cusimano, and newb Holly Conger–exercise their minds with a game of Would You Rather. Buy Our Merch and Support The Show Do something nice for us!  We deserve it? This Week in Medical News Science made Dave mad again, with a study on how bald men are more susceptible to poor outcomes from COVID-19 because of the androgens that make them bald–except they didn’t control for one itty-bitty variable! And that study of hydroxychloroquine that found that it’s more deadly than other treatments, thus halting trials around the world? Turns out we shouldn’t trust it much. We Want to Hear From You So, how’s it going? Do you even read these questions down here? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].  …

A group of public professionals, infectious disease professionals and community members are pushing back on the common perception that #BLM protests will unnecessarily exacerbate the pandemic. This news leads to a discussion of racism in America. NB: The discussion should speak for itself, but this is the age of internet outrage. So we acknowledge that when it comes to talking about racism in America, there are few better ways to go wrong than by doing so with a room full of white people. And yet, a handful of white people on a podcast that’s minimally planned is what we had to work with in the moment. We hope we got it mostly right, and whatever we didn’t, we hope that your feedback will be in the spirit in which the discussion took place–heartfelt, sincere, and with an eye towards a future free of white fragility, fear, and especially marginalization. But before all that, we were blessed with listener question from Kayla, who’s looking forward to some gap years in the Peace Corps. What should she do about the resulting timing problem that creates for her future medical school application? We Want to Hear From You So, in our discussion on racism, what did we get wrong, and what did we get right? Express your constructive criticism at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  …

Logan wrote in to comment on what we call ‘box-checking,’ the idea that med school admissions committees only want applicants who’ve done all the best activities and lots of them, and that applicants must participate in activities that “stand out” if they want any chance of getting in. Co-hosts Nick Lind, Aline Sandouk, Emma Barr, and Sally Haeberlin discuss what adcomms really want. Also, we visit Yahoo! Answers for those odd questions we love so well. Shouldn’t docs carry tranquilizer guns? Share an Episode and Get Free Stuff Dave made these, and he wants to give one to you. Just share an episode online and send a screenshot to [email protected]. Do something nice for us!  We deserve it? This Week in Medical News Half of Americans don’t plan on getting vaccinated for SARS-COV2 when a vaccine becomes available to them. And many Americans are experiencing major symptoms of anxiety and depression. We Want to Hear From You Your questions are important to us. Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].  It’s what good listeners do!…

[Would you like a FREE Short Coat pin made by Dave’s own two hands? Share an episode of SCP online and email a screenshot to [email protected]!] Listener Christy has several years as a South Carolina emergency department nurse under her belt. But for a while now, she’s been planning to change careers, with her sights set on an MD. She very much wants, however, to be able to discuss her current work during interviews without coming across as a know-it-all. We don’t often do this, but Dave decided to invite Christy on the show as a co-host to talk about it, and with Short Coats Anna Wilcox, Camilla Koczara, Greta Becker, and Hannah Steenblock, suggest some strategies to her live and in-person. As a special bonus, Christy’s been working with COVID-19 patients, so we get to find out a little about her experience on the front lines. Plus we enjoy a poorly thought-out exercise straight from Dave’s brain on ethical dilemmas. This is your chance to find out: would the co-hosts allow the kitty to live or get that extra penis they’ve been dreaming of? Buy Our Merch and Support The Show Do something nice for us!  We deserve it? This Week in Medical News While we’re all staying at home and not driving very much, the rate of motor vehicle accident fatalities In March somehow went up compared to last March. And citizens pinning their hopes for COVID-19 treatment on hydroxychloroquine might want to have a re-think. We Want to Hear From You

Photo by lauralizzy13 [This episode is brought to you by Pattern. We hope you’ll check out their disability insurance offerings for docs at http://patternlife.com/partner/shortcoat.] As many of us are, The Short Coats–including this week’s M1 co-hosts Nathen Spitz, Maddie Wahlen, and Caitlin Matteson–have been gazing into their cracked crystal ball to discover the new shape of medical school amid the pandemic. In a previous episode, the crew prognosticated on how interviews would change (and how you can be sure those changes won’t scuttle your chances for interview success), for instance…and it turns out we were right! Adding some certainty to that, the Association of American Medical Colleges has cancelled all its conferences until July of 2021. So yeah. Sandgroper Largemun, an anonymous listener from Australia, wants to know some ways that he can stand out in medical school to land that choice residency. Good thing you wrote to us at [email protected], Sandgroper, because we have ideas for that! This Week in Medical News Dave thinks heartthrob Dr. Fauci’s sun is setting as a leading member of the President’s COVID-19 task force. What do you think? We Want to Hear From You Has your outlook changed at all since the lockdowns began? Are you feeling optimistic? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  …

[This episode is brought to you by Pattern. We hope you’ll check out their disability insurance offerings for docs at http://patternlife.com/partner/shortcoat.] Doctors and medical students often have an identity based on perfection and infallibility.  Often it that identity comes from their own expectations of themselves, and sometimes it comes from external sources.  Whatever the source, it’s both motivating and problematic to feel shame when mistakes are made,  or when knowledge is imperfect. Fourth-year student and future OB/Gyn doc Luci Howard visited with MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk and M1s Caitlin Matteson, Morgan Kennedy, and Emerald Dohleman to talk about her project to create a curriculum about shame and medical student identity.  Her shame–as a first-gen college graduate, as a perfectionist, and as someone who’s made mistakes–was holding her hostage in some ways, but now her curriculum works to illuminate and combat the negative effects of shame in medical education, and it will soon be integrated into the College of Medicine’s curriculum. Her work means that future medical learners will learn how to react productively and rationally when they inevitably achieve less-than-perfection.   Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! We Want to Hear From You Would you be willing to share experiences that have felt shameful in order to help others? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].   We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

This episode is brought to you by Pattern. We hope you'll check out their disability insurance offerings for docs at http://patternlife.com/partner/shortcoat. Are Zoom interviews the future? They could be, if some sort of magic doesn't intervene in the course of the pandemic. Meanwhile, everyone has a love-hate relationship with video conferencing, and Dave fears that those on the sharp end of the interview may not have the technology and skills to shine brightly. So, with the help of Brandon Bacalzo, Sahaana Arumugam, Nathan Spitz, and Claire Carmichael (all M1s who, like you, are in the thick of virtual everything right now), we collect our thoughts on how you can remove the distractions and subconscious biases that could sink your interview. What advice would you give for virtual interviews? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]! We need to hear from YOU!

Moving to a new place can be daunting–but it’s an amazing opportunity! (This episode is brought to you by Pattern Life. We hope you’ll check out their disability insurance offerings for docs at http://patternlife.com/partner/shortcoat.) Listener Noodles (not her real name) is planning to go to med school in a new state, perhaps. What’s it like, she wondered, moving to a new state for med school? And Lex Turesboreme is back to ask how MSTP student Miranda Schene and M1s Brandon Bacalzo, Maggie Jakubiak, and Kenzie McKnight deal with an inevitable part of med student life–their families’ medical questions. Got a question we can help with? Call 347-SHORT-CT or email [email protected]. We’ll talk about it on the show! This Week in Medical News: A Texas nursing home medical director has decided it’s a good idea to do what he’s calling an “observational study” of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine on his elderly patients with COVID-19. And we can’t help but discuss the president’s thoughts on disinfectant and the VP’s coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx’s rather visible reaction.

Policy is not sexy. I mean, it's not saving lives, or curing disease, or making groundbreaking discoveries. But it isn't a stretch to say that policy is as important as any of these, because politicians are making decisions about health and healthcare that affect millions of patients and their physicians. The laws they come up with determine what you can do for your patients, how you practice medicine, how you get paid, what kinds of care are legal or illegal, and much, much more. Seems like something doctors should pay attention to, perhaps even get directly involved with. M4 and future surgeon Sarah Eikenberry got a glimpse of the process as the first student to take the Carver College of Medicine's new advocacy clerkship. Think you know how a bill gets passed? You might be surprised to know that Schoolhouse Rock didn't tell us the whole story. Her self-assigned project for the clerkship was to get a bill passed in the Iowa state legislature to include the Stop The Bleed campaign in public education for Iowa school children. That turns out to be a pretty big project! Was she successful? What did she learn? Where do things go often off the rails?

Choosing a specialty is far too important to rush it, so keep an open mind on day one of med school.

Dave wants to help his co-hosts–M1s Nathan Spitz, Cody West, and newbs Chris Halbur and Eli Schmidt–in their journey to physician-hood, so he puts on his medical educator hat and visits Yahoo! Answers.  He also discovers that when discussing his complaint with the doctor, he wants to be the crudest possible kind of patient. Senorina Espanole (not her real name) writes in to tell us what she’s doing to keep busy and help her community while being socially distant.  And Dave explains why toilet paper hoarding might not actually be what’s happening. Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! This Week in Medical News In another sign that the old rules which society and even medicine function were, to some extent, arbitrary, the FDA has relaxed the blood donation guidelines for gay men.  Doctors treating patients with COVID can’t get adequate PPE, or tests, and now they can’t even get paid.  And the White House fax machine ran out of paper but because we live in THE FYOOOOTTTUURE, luckily hospitals can email their COVID testing results in! We Want to Hear From You Senorina Espanola sent in a question–what about you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].  It’s what good listeners do! We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Dave asked listeners what they’re doing to help out in the time of COVID-19 and got some responses back to talk about.  These things, whether big or small, directly related or tangential to this public health crisis–even if it means staying at home–are all part of an unusual effort among the people of the world to contribute to a greater purpose.  Whether it’s making PPE, making explainer videos, picking up garbage outside, or staying home, it’s all important. Which reminded Dave of a New Yorker article on why many people find it so difficult to believe that this massive effort of social distancing and lockdowns is a good idea. And we talk about the things that still are able to bring us joy even when we can’t venture out of the house. Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! We Want to Hear From You What is bringing you joy these days? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].  Do all three! We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

(For the first time ever, we did the show with all five hosts in different places,  and it shows.  Forgive the scratchy audio in some places. We’re working on it, and hope you can look past it this time.) In this time of social distancing, The Short Coats reluctantly step back from their education and research.   New co-hosts M1s Ananya Munjal and Claire Carmichael, along with MD/PhD students Aline Sandouk and Miranda Schene, discuss the national residency Match statistics, what their lives look like as they distance themselves from other humans. Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! This Week in Medical News A 3D printing company comes to Italy’s rescue, making ventilator parts, then gets sued for patent infringement for their trouble.  Flattening the curve may look more like flattening many curves.  And some believers in Indian traditional medicine suggest drinking cow urine will fight COVID-19. We Want to Hear From You Have you joined any efforts to help your community amid social distancing? Tell us about it at 347-SHORTCT or email [email protected]. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

There's no doubt that the global pandemic of COVID-19 has caused much human suffering.  And for those people around the world who are the worst affected, know that you have our deepest sympathies.  No one should have to go through this.   Nevertheless, something compelled Dave to think about the ways that society might change as a result of the pandemic...in some ways, perhaps for the better; in others, perhaps things will just different than were before.  Either way, co-hosts Eric Boeshart, Kenzie McKnight, Michael Gardeau, and Nathen Spitz try to look into the crystal ball a bit.   Next up, the crew answers some listener questions.  "Lex Turesboreme"  wants some advice on using lectures wisely when attendance isn't required.  And Soon-to-be-Dr-Ray is looking for some perspectives on which school to enroll in: the DO school or the MD school.  We're on it, friends! And Dave takes the opportunity to put on his fake medical educator hat to give a pop quiz on historical epidemics.

Choosing a specialty is far too important to rush it, so keep an open mind on day one of med school.

Emotions are difficult to ignore. Especially when those emotions are telling us to ACT NOW! That's what listener Jordan from Texas is fighting as he happily gets an acceptance from his backup, with no word from his dream school. Should he commit now? Should he sit tight? Co-hosts Brandon Bacalzo, Michael Gardeau, Jessica De Haan, and Cody West (All M1s) share their experiences and advice for Jordan. And Dave continues his quest to learn all he can about his med student friends with a game of Would You Rather. This Week in Medical News: What if transplant patients could introduce their immune systems to a friend who broadened its horizons and eliminated the need for anti-rejection meds? The National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art will help remove and preserve your tattoos after you die. And the first observed case of bladder fermentation syndrome. We Want to Hear From You: How's med school application season going for you? Did you experience any interview trail weirdness you want to share? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. We love all kinds of messages!

Academic medicine--in which a physician works at a university and may have research and/or teaching duties in addition to patient care--is but one of the fulfilling options available to medical students. What's that lifestyle like? That's the question an anonymous listener (who we'll call Dr. Piledhigh Erandeeper) wanted our help answering. Fortunately we have Miranda Schene and Sahaana Arumugam (both in our Medical Scientist Training Program) on hand to tell us--including co-hosts M1 Brandon Bacalzo and M2 Mason LaMarche--what they know about this career option. Plus Dave puts his co-hosts through a game of Doctor Forehead, featuring some of the more interesting oddball medical stories he ran across prepping for this week's show (see the next section for those links). This Week in Medical News: The President's new budget could be another nail in the coffin for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Mayo applicants get acceptance letters that the institution later had to rescind, causing one of the disgruntled victims to create a crowdfunding campaign. And if you're in the market for "global elite" DNA, then...well, you've already missed your chance. Is there a MD career niche you want to know more about? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

How the huge change the USMLE has made to Step 1 might affect medical education and your strategy for applying to residency.

Turkish listener Ali would like to come to the US for residency and to practice medicine someday, so he wrote to us to ask us what we knew about how that works. Co-host Nadia Wahba happened to visit Turkey a while back and blew our minds by letting us in on a little secret: that in the city she visited, there are public parks full of well-cared-for pets you can visit and play with. Also, Dave subjects the gang--which also includes MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M2 Jenna Mullins, and M3 Brendan George--to a game of Great Minds Think Alike: Med School Edition. This Week in Medical News: A Florida resident calls the cops after they receive what the suspect is a box of Novel Coronavirus (now named Covid-19 by science) from China. And how an AI alerted some agencies and businesses early to the pandemic, before it blew up and just a day after a now-deceased Chinese ophthalmologist tried to warn his med school classmates. We Want to Hear From You: How are you? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected]! We love you.

What does Rosanne Cash have to do with science or medicine? Sure, the American pop, folk, country, and roots rock legend isn't technically a scientist. But it was surprising for us to learn that Rosanne Cash has the soul of one within her, with its arms spread comfortably around her musician and poet souls. When the University of Iowa's Hancher Auditorium reached out to the College of Medicine to let us know she'd be putting on a concert and might be interested in coming to speak on a panel, we had to dig a little deeper to find out about the connection. Rosanne was diagnosed in 2007 with Chiari malformation, a disorder of the skull which puts pressure on the brain and causes the cerebellum to protrude into the spinal canal. It's an incredibly painful, debilitating problem that is usually diagnosed in children, not in a woman in her 50s. Her doctors gave her all sorts of diagnoses (some with a dose of condescension), until she diagnosed herself. Even then, it took finding the right doctor to believe her to get her on the long journey to recovery. The lessons of her identity and career-threatening condition are profound. Then, too, is Rosanne's curiosity about music and the brain. With MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M1 Alexa Schmitz and neuroscientist Justin Sipla, PhD she was fully on board for an often trippy exploration of how and why we are creatures of rhythm, the "sorcery" our brains use to fabricate meaning from vibrations in the world around us, and what an openness to shared experiences can do for medical students and doctors and their patients. There are other connections to medicine. The link between a performer being on stage for an audience and physicians performing a role for their patients are considerable, and the lessons Rosanne has learned about creating a shared experience between performer and audience are applicable to the relationship between doctors and their patients. But there is also her desire to "keep a beginner's mind" that every doctor should appreciate--cultivating one's curiosity and understanding that "insecurity is part of the game" are essential lessons that could keep you from missing something important in patient care. We Want to Hear From You Never forget that we are always excited to answer our listeners' questions or take their suggestions. Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

Listener Salutes McGee (not her real name) is planning on med school after her tour of duty. What hard-won skills, she wonders, will transfer to medicine? And Krystal writes in with her med school debt worries. Will she need to plan to pay off $600,000 all in? No need to fear, Krystal and Salutes, because M4s Liza Mann, Derek Bradley, Jessie White, and M2 Abby Fife are here to soothe your fears and answer your questions. Dave quizzes his co-hosts on medicinal booze. And And Dave heard from University of Maryland medical student and Elisabeth Fassas that she'd written a book published by Simon and Schuster's Kaplan arm just before she started medical school last fall. So as a bonus, he asked her for some tips on how you can set yourself up for a successful pre-medical experience from the very beginning. Pick up her book, Making Pre-Med Count, at your favorite bookseller. This Week in Medical News: For the first time, lab-grown heart muscle tissue has been transplanted into a human patient. And never mind coughing into your elbow or sneezing into a handkerchief; if you want to stop the spread of germs, just lower your damn voice. We Want to Hear From You: Are you (or do you know of) a medical student anywhere who's done something cool like Elisabeth Fassas? Write to us at [email protected]. Maybe we can help spread the word!

Listener Joseph starts medical school soon, and wants to know how to manage his new life as an M1. Luckily Kylie Miller, Kalyn Campbell, Marissa Evers, and Erica Henderson (all veteran med students) can help, Joseph--bottom line, studying is paramount, but there are keys to success you need to remember. Plus, we visit Yahoo Answers for some real-life health questions, including a couple that got Dave thinking about his own embarrassing problems. This Week in Medical News, Radiologists have begun to re-think something they've been doing to protect patients since the 1950s. The NIH and many others aren't doing what they're required to do with their research data, leaving important data unreported. And for the first time, drug company executives have been sentenced to jail time for their roles in opioid addiction. We Want to Hear From You: Got a burning question for us about med school, being a doctor, or literally anything else? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

When listener Celebi Jigglypuff (yes, that's a pseudonym) reached out to ask whether we felt taking Step 1 after a year of clinical rotations (as some schools require) was a good idea or not, we were prepared to sink our teeth into that and have a normal show, too. But then, University of Iowa College of Education PhD student Andrea Ash happened to reach out to us because she's been looking at Step 1 as a class project and was surprised about what she was finding. Everything from residency programs using scores for an unintended purpose to a cut score far below the averages that students were obtaining to officials snarking about students who should be studying rather than having lives outside of med school. And thus, Dave's plans for the show were subverted for the greater good--a discussion on much of what's wrong with this important exam that can affect a medical student's dream specialty choice. Is all hope lost if you score less than average for a given specialty? Certainly not! These are averages. But it's a source of anxiety that to many seems unnecessary--maybe it's long past time, they say, to make Step 1 pass/fail. Of course, then residency programs would grasp for some other metric to use as a way to weed out their long lists of candidates, but we'd be happy to deal with that in a future show. We Want to Hear From You: Did you catch what started us talking about this week's topic? Celebi Jigglypuff's question! See why we love listener questions? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected] and tell us what you want us to discuss on next week's show!

Research takes time, so what's a realistic outcome for the summer research student? Pipette LeGogettuer (not her real name) wrote in to ask for our input on her summer research plans. Not only is she struggling to come up with a project idea but she has very specific hopes for her outcome--first authorship. Is that realistic? How can she find a project and someone who will sponsor her in their lab? Don't worry, Pipette! Miranda Schene, Danial Syed, Art Thanupakorn, and Mahek Shahid--most of whom have done summer research themselves--have got your answers! And Dave puts the crew through another of his 'educational' activities, a role playing scenario set in an operating room 100 years in the FYOOOTURE! This Week in Medical News: In Romania this past December a patient undergoing surgery for her pancreatic cancer caught fire during her operation. And a study in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that old habits die hard, at least when it comes to giving pelvic exams and pap smears to young women and girls. We Want to Hear From You: What do you think of our advice to Pipette? Do you have a question we can help answer? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

On a previous episode, Mason LaMarche discussed a college friend who had a habit of sketching his bowel movements. On this episode, his friend defends his artistic endeavor, while another LaMarche friend writes in with a question about mind over matter. And the gang--Mason, and M2s Emma Barr, Nick Lind, and Sahaana Arumugam--tastes some treats from another land. What does that have to do with med school? I don't know, cultural competency? This Week in Medical News: JAMA's case study on frontotemporal dementia has implications for us in the Carver College of Medicine's Writing and Humanities Program. And Harvard geneticist George Church is creating a dating app to match people based on genetic compatibility...in other words, eugenics? We Want to Hear From You: What question do you have about med school, the application process, or your love life? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. We love questions!

[Happy Holidays! Dave is on vacation, but here's a re-run to tide you over. We'll be back with new episodes starting 1/16] We on The Short Coat Podcast like to encourage people to follow their med school dreams in spite of whatever apparent obstacles stand in the way. So when we found out that Jessica McCabe, host of the popular YouTube channel How to ADHD, was coming to the University of Iowa, we were excited to get her on the show. And with co-hosts Irene Morcuende and LA--both successful medical students and ADHD brains--on hand along with CCOM learning specialist Chia-Wen Moon to prove that this obstacle can be just another bump in the road. You may be surprised to hear how those with ADHD brains--and the groups they work in--can actually benefit from their atypical thought processes. But what kinds of effects does ADHD have in med school? What techniques have worked for LA, Jessica, and Irene? How do relationships suffer and flourish when one of you has ADHD? What are the myths about ADHD that need busting? How can a learning specialist help? And how can medical schools support its students who need the help? All questions we answer for you, Short Coats! We Want to Hear From You: Do you have ADHD? What about a learning disability? What are you struggling with, and who or what has helped you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

[Happy Holidays! Dave is on vacation, but here's a re-run to tide you over. We'll be back with new episodes starting 1/16] Short Coat Scribbleson Wordsonpaper (not his real name) wrote a paper for one of his classes, and was told it'd be worth putting it out there for publication. But where, and how? So we asked Writing and Humanities Program Director (and SCP exec producer) Cate Dicharry to give some guidance. Scribbleson's second question, about the lifestyle factors that medical students weigh when making a specialty choice, was a great one for co-hosts Mackenzie Walhof, Miranda Schene, and Abby Fyfe to dig into. Plus Dave puts on his ten-gallon perfesser hat, offering up a pop quiz on the 2019 Ig Nobel prize winners. This Week in Medical News: what happens when you want to study pregnancy and other women's health issues? Yeah, your research proposal gets rejected because you didn't include men among your subjects. And an Oregon doctor finds out that he has 17 kids he didn't know about from his time in medical school. We Want to Hear From You: What factors are you weighing to make your specialty choice? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

This episode comes out the day after Christmas, and is recorded the week before, so we're exploring what some describe as "the most wonderful time of the year," and what others describe as Thursday. Given that recording date, in a bit of time travel Hillary O'Brien, Laura Quast, Jenna Johnson, and LJ Agostinelli share what they want to will have gotten (because time travel is confusing for grammarians) for Christmas. LJ shares her recent experience defending her thesis, Kylie Miller stops by with her cat Mowgli, the gang tries Turkish treats, and Dave forces them to take a pop quiz on Christmas according to unreliable internet sources. This Week in Medical News American patients turn to internet black markets to trade, barter, and sell their medicines and medical supplies because that's how great our system of healthcare is. And get ready for home epigenetic testing.

On this bonus episode of The Short Coat, we hear from Dr. John Mrachek. Dr. Mrachek is an anesthesiologist of 17 years who reached out to us at Iowa because he'd long felt a wedge being driven between doctors and their patients. He said that wedge, made of mouse clicks, political meddling, insurance middlemen, patient satisfaction surveys, and annoying electronic health records--was disconnecting physicians from their purpose. And that missing sense of purpose, he fears, is leading them to burn out. It's contributing to a frightening problem: physician suicide. Modern medicine, he says, is in peril. Among the solutions, Dr. Mrachek feels, is to encourage physicians and students to take inventory of their most memorable patient stories. He argues that this will return to them that lost connection to their work. This talk, given to our first- and second-year medical students and the first he'd given on the topic, is the the beginning of his mission to spread that idea. We Want to Hear From You: what are you feeling after listening to Dr. Mrachek? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three.

The amazing Dr. Ryan Gray, host of quite a few of the pre-med focused podcasts over at mededmedia.com (of which we, of course, are a member), joins Maddie Mix, Hillary O'Brien, Nick Lind, and Kyle Kinder as guest co-host! Which is good, because we start with a rather difficult topic: should the parents of a profoundly disabled child--who will never be able to care for herself in even the most basic of ways--be allowed to 'freeze' her development so that she remains physically six years old if it will enable them care for her at home? Plus, with the news from our own University of Iowa that surgeons often prepare for surgery by watching YouTube, Dave subjects Dr. Gray and his co-hosts to a YouTube-based health topics pop quiz. This Week in Medical News: The decline of rural emergency rooms has gone so far as to create a new kind of telemedicine. Crazymothers (no, that's not a slur, that's what they call themselves) want us to stop calling them anti-vaxxers. And month-long birth control may become achievable if you can swallow a six-pointed star about 2 inches in diameter. We Want to Hear From You: So, what's up with you? Tell (or ask) us anything at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

A question from listener Blake--do we use Anki or Brainscape for studying?--led to a discussion of the various tools and techniques Aline Sandouk (MD/PhD student), Nick Lind, Madeline Cusimano, and Mason LaMarche (all M2s) use to shove medical knowledge into their brains. And the co-hosts get some practice with their patient communication skills using questions posed by Yahoo! Answers users. This Week in Medical News: MIT wants pics of your poop to train their artificial intelligence with, which is not at all a problem. Hiccups could be a way of teaching babies how to monitor their breathing, an activity that is partially under voluntary control. And the vaping sickness epidemic continues. We Want to Hear From You: What are your favorite study apps and tools? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

FYI, there's new merch for charity (stickers!) at at theshortcoat.com/store! Happy Thanksgiving, bishes! It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America, and as we 'muricans collapse on our sofas replete with turkey with all the trimmings, let us give thanks that M1s Nathen Spitz and Morgan Kennedy, and MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk are here to discuss auto brewery syndrome (or how to be a guilt-free Thanksgiving Day day-drinker if you want your life ruined for years by a real zebra of an illness). And the gang tries to string together arbitrary medical words into illnesses and breakthrough treatments. This Week in Medical News: trauma surgeons at the University of Maryland let the world know that they're the first in the US to put patients in suspended animation. And Dave doesn't understand at all why media outlets are giving a seemingly minor development in aging research--we share some of the features of an important cell replication enzyme with plants, woot!--"breakthrough" status. We Want to Hear From You: did anyone in your family embarrass or annoy you on Thanksgiving? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Good intentions are everywhere. Good behavior...well, that's more complicated. Such is the case with microaggressions, the term coined by Harvard University psychiatrist Chester Pierce in 1970 to describe minor yet hurtful comments. Pierce's original definition encompassed statements aimed at African Americans, but of course one can accidentally or purposefully put down any minority individual--women, LGBTQ+ individuals, non-white ethnicities, and more. Unfortunately, nearly 50 years after Dr. Pierce proposed the term, microaggressions are still a thing. Dave admits to his sins, and M1s Sahaanna Arumagam and Nathen Spitz, along with SCP intern Joel Horne discuss how to prepare for the inevitability of witnessing, experiencing, and committing microaggressions. Plus, can this week's co-hosts diagnose their weird patients' quirks? This Week in Medical News: Speaking of good intentions gone awry, hospitals are relying on AI algorithms to direct extra treatment at those who need it, except the AI thinks wealthy white people are needier than African American patients. And researchers announce an effective treatment for 90% of cystic fibrosis patients. We Want to Hear From You: What are your microaggression stories? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected].

We on The Short Coat Podcast like to encourage people to follow their med school dreams in spite of whatever apparent obstacles stand in the way. So when we found out that Jessica McCabe, host of the popular YouTube channel How to ADHD, was coming to the University of Iowa, we were excited to get her on the show. And with co-hosts Irene Morcuende and LA--both successful medical students and ADHD brains--on hand along with CCOM learning specialist Chia-Wen Moon to prove that this obstacle can be just another bump in the road. You may be surprised to hear how those with ADHD brains--and the groups they work in--can actually benefit from their atypical thought processes. But what kinds of effects does ADHD have in med school? What techniques have worked for LA, Jessica, and Irene? How do relationships suffer and flourish when one of you has ADHD? What are the myths about ADHD that need busting? How can a learning specialist help? And how can medical schools support its students who need the help? All questions we answer for you, Short Coats! We Want to Hear From You: Do you have ADHD? What about a learning disability? What are you struggling with, and who or what has helped you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

Today's show features multiple screams, so don't freak out. Because it's Halloweeeeeeeen! Co-hosts Hillary O'Brien, Jenna Johnson, Elizabeth Shirazi, and newbie Erica Noyes (all M1s) tell their scary med student stories for your entertainment. And Short Coat MD Wannabe has a serious question about her future, as her post-bacc program is proving harder than expected. This Week in Medical News: Mortician YouTuber Caitlin Doughty, of Ask a Mortician, is doing good work to change how America fears death and draw the curtain back from its mysteries. Some undergrad has the amazing job of making little cars for rats to drive around in. And a haunted wheelchair is terrifying security guards in Chandigarh, India. We Want to Hear From You: What's the scariest thing to ever happen to you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT to tell us in your own words!

Second year students Abby Fyfe, Mason LaMarche, and Madeline Cusimano offer their advice to first-year Morgan Kennedy, who confesses that she's feeling the burn of being an M1. And Mason discusses the opportunities he's had to present his undergraduate work at conferences, a good way to stand out from other pre-medical applicants. And it doesn't have to be bench or clinical science, either, as Mason demonstrates. Plus, Dave pretends to be a medical educator with a game he calls MegaBattle. Can his co-hosts help their professors defeat a variety of creatures with strange powers? This Week in Medical News: A Venezuelan telenovela is being chopped up and overdubbed to deliver public health messages in Africa. Migrant children detained in the US are battling preventable diseases as Customs and Border Patrol throws up their hands at the complexity of offering vaccinations to that population. And a childhood cancer drug--the only on that exists--is in short supply in the US because it's hard for Pfizer to turn a profit on it. We Want to Hear From You: What are you struggling with? We can help--call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]!

Short Coat Scribbleson Wordsonpaper (not his real name) wrote a paper for one of his classes, and was told it'd be worth putting it out there for publication. But where, and how? So we asked Writing and Humanities Program Director (and SCP exec producer) Cate Dicharry to give some guidance. Scribbleson's second question, about the lifestyle factors that medical students weigh when making a specialty choice, was a great one for co-hosts Mackenzie Walhof, Miranda Schene, and Abby Fyfe to dig into. Plus Dave puts on his ten-gallon perfesser hat, offering up a pop quiz on the 2019 Ig Nobel prize winners. This Week in Medical News: what happens when you want to study pregnancy and other women's health issues? Yeah, your research proposal gets rejected because you didn't include men among your subjects. And an Oregon doctor finds out that he has 17 kids he didn't know about from his time in medical school. We Want to Hear From You: What factors are you weighing to make your specialty choice? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Two questions this week from Short Coats! Listener Luis wrote in to ask what books co-hosts Hillary O'Brien, Kylie Miller, Emma Barr and newbie Sahaana Arumugam consulted to find their paths. And Mia wrote to [email protected] to find out more about MS/DO or MS/MD programs and what they look for in their applicants. And can we find patient-care uses for weird proverbs? No, we can't. But it was fun to try. This Week in Medical News. This week Dave learned about "The Husband Stitch" much to his disgust. North Dakota physicians no longer have to lie to their patients about drug-induced abortions; and long-ignored African DNA is finding its way into gene banks courtesy of a Nigerian health tech startup. We Want to Hear From You. What's going on in your world? We like stories, so call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or send your questions or comments to [email protected]!

Fourth-year students David Rudolph and Chandini Reddi join co-hosts Brendan George and LJ Agistonelli to answer listener Krista's question--a self-confessed "loud mouth" with radical thoughts about how she'd like to practice medicine one day. Can she bring those ideals to life, or will she be drummed out of medicine. Are there other, related careers that might allow her to achieve her goals even better? We've got you, Krista! Plus, Dave asks David and Chandini what they learned from watching their Medical Student Performance Evaluation take shape before it gets sent off to residency programs they're applying to. This Week in Medical News: Weill Cornell joins the list of schools offering med school for free (to some). Napping is good for you, up to a point. And skeletons aren't just scary during Halloween--they seem to be part of the fight-or-flight response in a rather big way. We Want to Hear From You: so, how are you? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

A cliche, of course, but true. Because without the nurses (and other people) doing their jobs to help the doctor, the doctor can't do nuthin'--no IVs, no regular BP checks, no comfortable patients, no monitoring while they're home sleeping, no nothing. Listener Amber stops by to ask what med students learn about nurses and how to work with them, and of course M4s Hillary O'Brien and Kylie Miller and new M1 co-hosts Jessica De Haan and Greta Becker are happy to help. And Fifi Trixiebell returns, craving med school war stories. Also, Hillary and Kylie discuss the residency personal statements they wrote and where they sought help. Do you have war stories to share? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime to tell us. We'll play them for Fifi (and whoever else is listening).

Co-host and MD/PhD student Miranda Schene is a woman who has obviously been raised well. So when her mother, Ginny, wrote to [email protected] asking about the surprises med school had in store for this week's gang, Dave--who also loves his mother--couldn't very well say no! M1 Nathan Spitz and M2 Jenna Mullins, along with new co-host M1 Bryn Myers join in to give Mama Ginny the deets. Plus Dave asks if his co-hosts can find and supply doctors' testimonials for some As-Seen-On-TV products. This Week in Medical News: The plight of a Colorado prisoner sheds more light on the abysmal healthcare incarcerated mothers-to-be get. And some interesting case studies show why it might not be a good idea to keep roosters in your backyard if you have varicose veins; and what a diet of chips, fries, and sausages can do to your eyes. We Want to Hear From You! What are your favorite case studies? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Dave can't get enough!

Some of the most important contributions to knowledge have come at a terrible price. The BBC featured a story on their site about an anatomy atlas that was created by a Nazi doctor, and the images within are those of hundreds of dissected political prisoners. The very conditions in Hitler's concentration camps may have been among the reasons why these illustrations are so detailed. It is a terrible piece of work. This book, now out of print for decades, is still on the shelves of surgeons and consulted (if rather furtively) when they run out of other options. But we have to ask--can its vast utility outweigh it's evil origins? Short Coats, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Plus the gang visits Yahoo! Answers to practice their patient-communication skills, sort of. Pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma were both in the news recently as opioid manufacturers who will be paying millions for their roles in the opioid epidemic. And a study suggests intermittent fasting (a religious practice but also a diet fad) may be effective at limiting inflammation for rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Elders are not just sickly adults. Ours is an aging society, and as the populations skews older, medicine has begun to realize that treating elder patients isn't the same as treating adults or children. Treating the conditions of older people means that clinicians have to understand them in ways that go beyond diseases and drugs. Hence, the science of geriatrics. Dr. Louise Aronson is a geriatrician and the author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life (Bloomsbury 2019). It's a beautifully written book the focuses on the stories of our elders and what they can teach us about their needs both biological and psychological. Among the things co-hosts Miranda Schene, Emma Barr, Mason LaMarche and Nick Lind learned: Older people respond in unpredictable ways to medications. Often the work of a geriatrician is to 'deprescribe' medicines that are hurting them. Never undervalue the things that are important to elders just because they aren't medicines or procedures. If the patient needs something from their doctor that increases their success in life, then it's important. Recognizing when you as a doctor are doing things for you, vs. when you're doing things for your patient is important. Older people are no longer beyond help simply due to age. With the right training and an in-depth understanding of the science of aging, huge gains can be made in treating the serious disorders of elderhood. American medicine's concept of "the Good Death" (aka, dying at home surrounded by loved ones) isn't a given for elders. Understanding what elders want, rather than subscribing to some monolithic idea, is important. We Want to Hear From You: Are you considering geriatrics, and why? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Ceremonies are important. If you're like Dave, you think they're a bit of a pain--you have to dress up and keep a straight face. But as a bit of (lengthy) symbolism, they do have their place, and the White Coat Ceremony is no exception. Maddie Mix and Aline Sandouk reflect on their White Coat Ceremonies and what it meant to them to be standing up in front of those they admired, respected, and loved, and promised to essentially selflessly give their lives to medicine in return for admiration, respect, and love of their own. Of course, since Aline got kicked out of Cedar Rapids' Paramount Theater for using her cell phone by a very angry usher, I guess that respect and love she can expect from others will only go so far. It makes a good story, though, and was totally offset by a bit of feedback she got from a listener. Remember--you can send questions or feedback to [email protected]! We love it! This Week in Medical News: Another month, another new organ no one's EVER noticed before. Ebola gets a new, very promising treatment. And the ongoing reproducibility crisis in research gets another look, this time from a study in the BMJ that looks at authors' use of "spin." We Want to Hear From You: As we begin the next admissions cycle, we offer free advice! How can we help? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

Brandon Bacalzo and Angeline Vanle join the team as incoming medical students. Luckily for them they have the chance to put questions about med school to M2 Nick Lind and M3 Brady Campbell, including how to find the new study habits they'll need to succeed. Ethical objections to a controversial practice in medical education have been simmering for a while, so we discuss how medical students should prepare for potential dilemmas that may occur during their training. And Dave is snared by clickbait yet again--because who wouldn't want to know more about how tickling elders could keep them young? And are there other kinds of stimulation we should study to cure disease? Artificial intelligence is always fun, so we try out an app that measures your stress level, pulse, and (one-day) your blood pressure just by looking at your face. We Want to Hear From You: What are (were) you thinking about when you started medical school? Did your hopes and fears pan out? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

For those who have been out of the student game for a while, or who feel they need a little extra time to get acclimated to the fast pace of medical education, there are programs like our Intro to Medical Education at Iowa. Whatever an individual school calls it, these programs can act as a bridge between your life before med school to the rigours of learning medicine. On this episode that Dave forgot to release a while back because he went on vacation, we meet pre-M1s Nicole Lacina, Timothy Morris, and Alec James. They and their teaching assistant, regular co-host Jacob Chrestensen are here to have some fun and describe what it's like to crack the firehose with this program instead of taking it full in the face. Plus, Dave's unreasonable susceptibility to clickbait leads him to make up a new game. Can the co-hosts get him to click on their article with their crazy headlines? Yes. Yes, they can. We Want to Hear From You: Are you starting med school this fall? What did you do to prepare yourself? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

When listener Caven wrote in asking why CCOM graduates don't include hardly any specialists and why they all seemed to be going into primary care, Dave was puzzled. While it's true that a state school like ours, serving a rural part of the country, emphasizes primary care, he knew that not 'everyone' goes into primary care. On further questioning, it turns out Caven's info came from the Medical School Application Requirements (MSAR) tool on the AAMC website! What was going on? Dave sought help from his friends in Admissions, and it turns out that MSAR doesn't tell the whole story...and aspiring med students have to dig deeper. Also, Dave asks his co-hosts Matt Wilson and Tony Mai, both rising M4s, to give their advice for those starting clinical rotations. And they help Aline Sandouk and LJ Agostinelli answer some of Yahoo! Answers most probing health questions. This Week in Medical News, there's good news in med school diversity--the number of students underrepresented in medicine is on the rise. A paper in Nature Microbiology says the authors have found an easy and economic way to convert A and B red blood cells to type O cells, the universal donor type. And a study in JAMA notes that patients of surgeons who behave unprofessionally around their colleagues have more complications. Plus, cell phone horns are probably not a thing.

Our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.co/scp. Be sure to pay them a visit to learn more about their new medical school loan, and tell 'em we sent you! Admissions counselor Megan Kosovski joins the fun to help LJ Agostinelli, Aline Sandouk, and new co-host Armin Avdic answer some listener questions. Claire, for instance, wants to know if she needs to quit her job as a radiation tech to fulfill pre-med requirements like shadowing and volunteering. And Elizabeth wants to know what colleges typically do when personal difficulties arise between one's peers and mentors. Plus, Dave satisfies his pretensions to be a medical educator by giving the crew a pop quiz. Can they discern which strange research project is the actual strange research project and not one Dave made up? The AAMC offers insight into a 'new' trend in medical education: the three-year fast-track MD degree program. It's been tried before in times of shortages...is the time right to roll it out again to address physician shortages and high student debt? The Short Coats offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]! We'll try to help!

Continuing our recent discussion on the price of healthcare in the United States, on this episode we talk with Dr. Martin Makary. Dr. Makary is a surgeon at Johns Hopkins, a best-selling author, and a health policy expert. Dr. Makary's latest book entitled The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It, is due out in September. We were so glad to talk with him, because it's all-too-easy to be jaded about the 'business' of healthcare when one in five Americans are in collections over healthcare debt. But Dr. Makary combines outrage at the market forces that have created a used-car-lot sales environment with optimism about healthcare's future prospects for transparency and fairness. Things are changing, he says! Interestingly, the medical students doing research with him--pouring their hearts, souls, and minds into it--have helped to create that sense of optimism in him. In other words, millennials may be saving American healthcare even as they're killing the napkin and real estate industries. On top of all that, while The Price We Pay is an indictment of the insurance and billing practices that hinder the work of doctors and the healing of patients, the book is also a guidebook to the things that can and are being done to restore medicine's mission.

We're devoting this episode to the perils of love between med students and their non-medical partners. Despite the clickbait title (don't hate the player, hate the game), it isn't destined to end badly! It just takes lots and lots of patience, communication, and sacrifice, not to mention a plan. Kelsey Adler, Madeline Slater, Terry Hayes, and new co-host Chris Schanbacher--all married or in committed relationships with people who aren't medical learners--are ready to offer an anonymous listener advice on keeping love alive with her soon-to-be med student. Plus, we talk about how med students socialize, how "their persons" can join in some of the more fun bits, and what changes significant others can expect to change about their relationships. To cap off their hard-earned words of wisdom, Dave decided to see how close his co-hosts and their "persons" really are, with a bit of fun we're calling The NewlyMed Game. Will each couples' answers to Dave's questions agree? Will their loving relationships dissolve in acrimony when they disagree? That's a chance Dave's willing to take! Are you dating a medical student? What advice do you have for others? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Dan Weissmann is a former NPR journalist who was interested in the crazy world of healthcare costs in America. He'd suggested to his former bosses that he start covering people's stories of dealing with their medical care and it's often unpredictably wallet-sucking expenses, reasoning that the subject is one we all can relate to. Plus, he though, it's a damn important topic with political, economic, and personal implications. Unfortunately, it wasn't the story he'd been employed to tell, so he back-burnered the idea. Until one day he decided to leave radio and strike out on his own. As Dan put it to co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Laura Quast, and Dr. John Pienta, suddenly that story was very personal. After all, he didn't have health insurance through an employer anymore, and he found it difficult to even make a decision on what insurance to buy since that industry (and its collaborators in healthcare) makes choosing intentionally difficult by not supplying information we usually rely on to make purchasing choices. So he started his new job, one he created for himself, a podcast he named An Arm and a Leg. Now in its second season, the show explores the topsy-turvy world of paying for health, using the stories of real people. Those people are incredibly easy to find, too, because they are our friends, neighbors, relatives, acquaintances, strangers, men, women, children...all of us are victims. If we want to fix it, Dan's here to say that our best hope is listen to and understand these stories, because we're all in this mess together. This week, president Donald Trump signed an executive order that would require insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors to give patients more info about the prices they'll pay for healthcare...but some say he have consulted with Danish cement manufacturers? And Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders uses a puzzling figure to support his signature campaign issue of "Medicare-for-all"...a figure that Politifact and Kaiser Health News isn't so positive about. What stories have you heard about the damage caused by spiraling and opaque healthcare costs? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

How do medical students deal with the stress of constant examinations? Dabin Choi, Gabe Conley, Claire Casteneda, and Erik Kneller discuss meditation, sleep, prayer, and eating habits that keep them from letting the fear derail them.

When listener Caven wrote in asking why CCOM graduates don't include hardly any specialists and why they all seemed to be going into primary care, Dave was puzzled. While it's true that a state school like ours, serving a rural part of the country, emphasizes primary care, he knew that not 'everyone' goes into primary care. On further questioning, it turns out Caven's info came from the Medical School Application Requirements (MSAR) tool on the AAMC website! What was going on? Dave sought help from his friends in Admissions, and it turns out that MSAR doesn't tell the whole story...and aspiring med students have to dig deeper. Also, Dave asks his co-hosts Matt Wilson and Tony Mai, both rising M4s, to give their advice for those starting clinical rotations. And they help Aline Sandouk and LJ Agostinelli answer some of Yahoo! Answers most probing health questions. This Week in Medical News, there's good news in med school diversity--the number of students underrepresented in medicine is on the rise. A paper in Nature Microbiology says the authors have found an easy and economic way to convert A and B red blood cells to type O cells, the universal donor type. And a study in JAMA notes that patients of surgeons who behave unprofessionally around their colleagues have more complications. Plus, cell phone horns are probably not a thing.

The thing about conspiracies that's hard to combat is that there is sometimes a kernel of truth in them that makes them more believable. Dave found some unfortunate 'facts' about medicine and doctors on a random website , and asked Miranda Schene, Kyle Kinder, Nick Lind, and Dr. John Pienta not to refute them, but to discuss the little nugget of truthiness they're based on. Warning: in the end, we didn't bother to refute them--we figured y'all are learned enough to know why they're truthy-but-not-true! Let us know if we're wrong about that! And Dave asks his co-hosts if they can find the true research title among the truthy garbage titles he made up. Friend of the show Dr. Yolanda Villalvazo found out that Veterans Administration Hospitals have been experimenting with a program for a few years that allows patients to tell their providers what they should know about their lives. And Dave rants about the state of the research poster...but one man thinks he has a solution for those afflicted by the poster session blues. We Want to Hear From You: A new class of MD students is getting ready to begin at med schools all over the country. What questions do you have about med school? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Cultural competency is a tough thing to teach, but so important. Today's physician (and med students!) encounter patients from wide range of backgrounds, any of which could come into play in a patient-provider interaction. In this episode, Brent asks how med students learn about the nuances that come with treating people of different backgrounds, from ethnicity to gender to religion to disability. Aline Sandouk and Brady Campbell consider the question and offer their experiences. And Brady, who's co-hosting on the eve of leaving CCOM for a year-long Masters in Public Health program at Hopkins, talks about why he's pursuing a whole 'nother degree and why he's decided Hopkins is the right place for that given that we have a lovely Public Health school right next door. A New Jersey pastor and a British clairvoyant are under investigation for promoting the use of 'miracle mineral solution' as a cure for malaria in Uganda. The WHO has removed 'gender identity disorder' from the International Classification of Disease. And with Viagra's patent set to expire, what's on the horizon for ED treatment? Don't worry, we make plenty of jokes about that, as if you had any doubt. We Want to Hear From You: What are your questions for The Short Coats? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Dr. Marley Doyle is a reproductive psychiatrist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She's also "legally blind", with 20/400 vision. She struggled through medical school just like all med students, but with that additional complication. She made it, however, and her discussion with Aditi Patel and Irisa Mahaparn gives some clues as to why. First, her disability was invisible which made it easy for people to assume that she wasn't disabled. And second, she was naive to the fact that she could ask for help. In other words, she stumbled through it all and came out the other side without having been a "burden" for her school. Years later, she acknowledges that she could have asked for more help. We also discuss the technical standards that most schools have in place to define what a student physician should be able to do physically, intellectually, and emotionally to succeed in school. These standards, however, often seem to be written with a stereotypical disabled person in mind, one who cannot possible succeed because of their disability, and thus should not be in medical school. We discuss the concept of "assumed competence" which, as recent CCOM guest lecturer Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami pointed out, allows people with disabilities to show they are able to fulfill their duties as opposed to assuming they cannot. And we discuss the AAMC's recent first-of-its-kind report "Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians With Disabilities," which brought to light the inconsistent policies and procedures for, lack of support of, and lack of awareness many schools have of their legal obligations under the law towards students with disabilities. And we talk about why med schools that don't encourage disabled people to apply are missing out on a piece of the diversity puzzle. Plus, Dr. Doyle helps answer a listener who is lucky enough to have several med school acceptances, and wants to know how to decide among them! Lucky you, 'Anxious Premed!' Don't worry, we can help. Are you living with a disability and discouraged about your med school plans? Are you in medical school, disabled, and have some advice to offer? Tell us about it by calling 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

We’re clearing out the backlog of listener questions–thank you listeners for so many fun ideas to talk about! Cailin had her med school dreams ‘crushed’ in college when the science prereqs turned out to be too intense. She’s now considering an MPH, but she hasn’t entirely given up on becoming an MD. Aline Sandouk, Irisa Mahaparn, Levi Endelman, and Dr. John Pienta are on board to say it’s not really a problem, Cailin…as long as you can be realistic about the timeline. And Melvin Piebags (not his real name) sent in a series of questions: how do we cope with failure? Is anatomy lab a grim place to be? How do we cope with difficult patients and colleagues? We're answering them all on this episode. Do you like our answers? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

Admissions counselor Megan Kosovski joins Aline Sandouk, Emma Barr, Nick Lind, and Hannah Van Ert for this show, because we had a listener question from a Canadian listener not-named “Molson.” What’s it like, Molson wanted to know, for a Canadian to apply to medical school in the US, which he’s considering doing since Canadian schools are so few and the odds are so low.  Molson, pull the tab on that brewski and we’ll get you sorted. As Executive Producer Jason Lewis is leaving us for greener pastures, Dave is preparing to take part in interviewing his replacement.  Which means that he’s gotta rev up his BS detector so he can help select the right person.  With that in mind, can his co-hosts detect the BS or truth found within the often ridiculous claims found Snopes.com? Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! This Week in Medical News A tragic incident of a trans man losing his baby after a series of errors and confusion related to his gender is detailed in a case study.  Yet another reason for the US graduate medical education system to change how it treats residents might be found in their shrinking telomeres.  And the risks to OB/Gyn training that recent abortion bills in Alabama and elsewhere are posing (WARNING: politics and conspiracy theories ahead!). We Want to Hear From You How do you feel about the recent anti-abortion bills? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

[Once again, our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.  Thank you, CommonBond!!!] Former listener Cash commented on Facebook that he doesn’t listen any more because of our political comments.  So on today’s show, Aline Sandouk, Rob Humble, Irisa Mahaparn, and Admissions Counselor Kate McKenzie help Dave process Cash’s feedback.  Should medical students, physicians, and scientists express themselves on political issues or should they remain publicly neutral? Moreover, with medicine and science having become among the hottest topics in politics, is there an actual obligation to take a stand? Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! This Week in Medical News A recent study of volunteers who had their genes sequenced, proteins mapped, biome surveyed, and blood analyzed intensively found that the dream of “personalized” medicine may just be within reach…but at what cost?  Coca Cola is accused of including undisclosed kill clauses in its nutrition research agreements in case don’t like the results.  And another study confirms that which women of color have three times the risk of dying during pregnancy and after compared to white women! We Want to Hear From You How can we help you on your med school journey? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].  Do all three! We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.

Our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.  Be sure to pay them a visit to learn more about their new medical school loan, and tell ’em we sent you! Emma Barr, Miranda Schene, Allison Klimesh, and new co-host Jenna Mullins are all first-years at the Carver College of Medicine.  As our co-hosts this time, they’re happy to help answer listener questions!  For instance, Tim wrote to us asking about the disadvantaged applicant designation on the med school application, saying he’s hesitant to apply it to himself though on paper he might fit that description.  And Mike wrote in to clarify some things about three-year MD degree programs, but he’s also wondering if he might be a good fit for an accelerated path. This week in medical news, actor Maureen McCormick claps back at anti-vaxxers who are using an episode of the 1960s sitcom The Brady Bunch, which she starred in as Marcia Brady, to support their argument that measles is not that big of a deal. Which got Dave thinking about the medical dramas of his youth (and beyond), specifically their theme songs.  Can his co-hosts Name Those Med Tunes? Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time! We Want to Hear From You What was your favorite medical drama and why? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, <a title="Talk to Us!" href="http://theshortcoat.

Our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.co/scp. Be sure to pay them a visit to learn more about their new medical school loan, and tell 'em we sent you! Admissions counselor Megan Kosovski joins the fun to help LJ Agostinelli, Aline Sandouk, and new co-host Armin Avdic answer some listener questions. Claire, for instance, wants to know if she needs to quit her job as a radiation tech to fulfill pre-med requirements like shadowing and volunteering. And Elizabeth wants to know what colleges typically do when personal difficulties arise between one's peers and mentors. Plus, Dave satisfies his pretensions to be a medical educator by giving the crew a pop quiz. Can they discern which strange research project is the actual strange research project and not one Dave made up? The AAMC offers insight into a 'new' trend in medical education: the three-year fast-track MD degree program. It's been tried before in times of shortages...is the time right to roll it out again to address physician shortages and high student debt? The Short Coats offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]! We'll try to help!

Saie Joshi is a first-year med student at Baylor, but that's not all she is. She's got a beautiful singing voice and a busy schedule advising med school hopefuls from her tight-knit Indian-American community. And, of course, as she's an up-and-coming podcaster we were excited to have her on as a guest co-host. Aline Sandouk, Issac Schwantes, and Rob Humble spoke with Saie about her show Brown Girl White Coat, and about ZdoggMD's recent reflection on moral injury among physicians and healthcare providers. Fittingly, we had a question from listener Jesse about his path forward after a bad first semester lead to a low graduating GPA. Luckily Saie was on hand to help. Scientists at Yale have found a way to partially re-start the brains of pigs hours after they were slaughtered, causing ethicists to clutch their inhalers. The Feds rounded up more than 60 people including doctors and pharmacists in Appalachia charging them with opioid offences and fraud. And a cure for bubble boy syndrome using HIV has changed the lives of 10 infants barring unknown future side effects. We Want to Hear From You. Do you have a project you want to tell us about? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email [email protected]. We'll help you spread the word. Merchandise: theshortcoat.com/store.

This week, with help from LJ Agostinelli, Irisa Mahaparn, and new co-host Fili Bogdanic, Dave offers listener Karstan some advice for med students (and others) who want to start a podcast. It's a worthwhile activity, without question, for discovering and understanding the field you're growing into, provided you can find the time! Listener Coleman writes in to find out what kind of plan we'd suggest having for visiting medical schools. Dave has ideas...but to his surprise his co-hosts weren't even sure pre-interview visits were necessary! Vive la difference! And we once again plumb the depths of Yahoo! Answers for some real-life medical questions, the excuse Dave always gives for doing this to his co-hosts. To Dave's relief, scientists have found that declines in working memory can be temporarily reversed using non-invasive transcranial alternating-current stimulation, but to his eternal dismay, his co-hosts always...uh, the always...wait, what was I writing about? What would you do to increase your working memory? Let us know that, or anything else by calling 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected].

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is a sprawling organization, and for good reason. As CEO Karen Goraleski says, it's a big tent. And with all the disciplines needed to fight emerging infectious diseases like Leishmaniasis and other neglected tropical diseases, from veterinary medicine to ecology to entomology to logistics--it's no wonder. With University of Iowa College of Public Health epidemiology student Kurayi Mahachi, this bonus episode explores the job of eliminating the world's most difficult to treat diseases--infectious or otherwise--and why Americans must not shrug it off as someone else's problem but join the fight. Also, premedicine and med students take note: TropMed is the ASTMH's yearly conference, and it sounds very friendly and is a ridiculous bargain for those looking to explore this fascinating, world-saving effort as a career. This November, consider joining them in Maryland, just 10 miles from Washington, DC. We offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected]. We'll answer your questions or find someone who can!

We're devoting this episode to the perils of love between med students and their non-medical partners. Despite the clickbait title (don't hate the player, hate the game), it isn't destined to end badly! It just takes lots and lots of patience, communication, and sacrifice, not to mention a plan. Kelsey Adler, Madeline Slater, Terry Hayes, and new co-host Chris Schanbacher--all married or in committed relationships with people who aren't medical learners--are ready to offer an anonymous listener advice on keeping love alive with her soon-to-be med student. Plus, we talk about how med students socialize, how "their persons" can join in some of the more fun bits, and what changes significant others can expect to change about their relationships. To cap off their hard-earned words of wisdom, Dave decided to see how close his co-hosts and their "persons" really are, with a bit of fun we're calling The NewlyMed Game. Will each couples' answers to Dave's questions agree? Will their loving relationships dissolve in acrimony when they disagree? That's a chance Dave's willing to take! Are you dating a medical student? What advice do you have for others? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Dr. Marley Doyle is a reproductive psychiatrist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She's also "legally blind", with 20/400 vision. She struggled through medical school just like all med students, but with that additional complication. She made it, however, and her discussion with Aditi Patel and Irisa Mahaparn gives some clues as to why. First, her disability was invisible which made it easy for people to assume that she wasn't disabled. And second, she was naive to the fact that she could ask for help. In other words, she stumbled through it all and came out the other side without having been a "burden" for her school. Years later, she acknowledges that she could have asked for more help. We also discuss the technical standards that most schools have in place to define what a student physician should be able to do physically, intellectually, and emotionally to succeed in school. These standards, however, often seem to be written with a stereotypical disabled person in mind, one who cannot possible succeed because of their disability, and thus should not be in medical school. We discuss the concept of "assumed competence" which, as recent CCOM guest lecturer Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami pointed out, allows people with disabilities to show they are able to fulfill their duties as opposed to assuming they cannot. And we discuss the AAMC's recent first-of-its-kind report "Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians With Disabilities," which brought to light the inconsistent policies and procedures for, lack of support of, and lack of awareness many schools have of their legal obligations under the law towards students with disabilities. And we talk about why med schools that don't encourage disabled people to apply are missing out on a piece of the diversity puzzle. Plus, Dr. Doyle helps answer a listener who is lucky enough to have several med school acceptances, and wants to know how to decide among them! Lucky you, 'Anxious Premed!' Don't worry, we can help. Are you living with a disability and discouraged about your med school plans? Are you in medical school, disabled, and have some advice to offer? Tell us about it by calling 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

If you got only rejection letters this application season, you might be thinking your dreams of attending med school are dead. Well, pick yourself up off the ground, soldier, it's not over yet because you can apply again. But don't go throwing good money and time away by reapplying without taking a close, honest look at what your application was missing. Amy A'Hearn, our admissions assistant director, visited to discuss what you should think about when re-evaluating your competitiveness, with the help of Aline Sandouk and Irisa Mahapan. Don't give up...find out what Amy's top recommendations are, and get your dream back on track! Match Week was great for us here at UI as our students did better than the national average for finding a job after med school. But all was not perfect this year, as during the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), the servers crashed denying unmatched residency programs and applicants critical time to do the same. In the end, it all worked out...but it was a stressful time for all--but from our viewpoint, especially for SOAPing students! And it isn't the first time, either. Share your stories--anonymously, if you like--of your rejections and how you fixed it! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Think of an inventor. What comes to mind? The quirky lone genius, coming up with a blockbuster device that will save the world? The Avengers' Tony Stark in a cave throwing together a functional exosuit from scrap metal? Back to the Future's Doc Emmet Brown crying "1.21 jigawatts?!" and then immediately coming up with the perfect solution? Or is it a person like neurosurgeon Matthew Howard, toiling away year after year alongside a team of trusted experts, all working together to take an idea--slowly--from problem to concept to prototypes to product to FDA approval to market to patient? Dr. Howard was recently named the University of Iowa's first ever National Academy of Inventors fellow, with 34 patents in his portfolio, so we wanted to take a look at yet another amazing aspect of medicine: the people who define and then create solutions that make the surgical world go 'round. Some of his inventions succeed--including a way to guide catheters to their destinations using magnetic fields--while others --like the "shunt scissors" he discusses--are waiting to set the surgical world on fire. But to Dr. Howard it's just a good time. Also, Dave gives the crew--Aline Sandouk, Miranda Schene, Hannah Van Ert, and Maddie Mix--a pop quiz to see if they can guess the invention from some weird patents. Some of the quiz's incorrect answers could be money makers, so feel free to patent them and make a fortune. We Want to Hear From You. Have you ever had an idea for something and thought, I should patent that? Like that time Dave thought up an ejection seat for motorcycles? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected] and tell us about it.

Listener Zachary wrote to [email protected] to ask whether it's useful for students to join medical associations and societies such as the AMA, ACOG, or AAP. Co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Laura Quast, Hillary O'Brien, and newbie Sophie Williams-Perez offer some things they find useful about their memberships, including staying informed about political positions and the latest research in their fields, as well as for understanding what it means to be a physician. Listener Oscar about had a heart attack when he read how much money the Carver College of Medicine thinks a first-semester student should budget for additional expenses (aside from tuition and living expenses). So we asked Financial Aid Counselor Chris Roling to help, and it turns out that this area of the med student budget is real squishy. Plus, Dave has some mouth spreaders to use up, so he makes his co-hosts deliver made-up diagnoses to fictitious patients with them. Because that's educational. A BMJ article got us talking about whether or not doctors should be crying at work. And we revisit everyone's favorite anti-anti-vaccination 18-year-old Ethan Lindenberger--who has famously annoyed his mother by getting his vaccinations just as soon as he legally could--after he testified before the US Senate. Are you a member of a medical society or organization? What do you get out of membership? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. SCP T-shirts are available at theshortcoat.com/store!

As CCOM's second-look day (which we call Get Acquainted Day) approaches, Aline Sandouk, LJ Agostinelli, Miranda Schene, and Danial Syed discuss the benefits--to both the student and the school--of taking a second look at the schools they've been admitted to. And listener Caven wants us to talk about our fantasy gap years. Can our co-hosts articulate the benefits of gap year jobs that Dave made up for them? Spoiler--they sure can. UC Berkeley biologists have found a way to genetically engineer brewers yeast so that they pump out dank medicines. Texas Republican state representative Bill Zedler has some pointless thoughts about why vaccines aren't needed in the US. And we discuss what Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers have to offer med students. If you could do anything you want--and you can--what would you do during your gap year? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Here's a question we get often, in one form or another: will [some aspect of my life to date] hurt my chances for getting into medical school? Kyle Kinder, Irisa Mahaparn, Aline Sandouk, and Hanna Van Ert are here to reassure listener Rachel that, despite her background in medical malpractice law, she's going to be fine...if she can articulate what she took away from that part of her life. Listener Fifi Trixiebell, who you may recall set off the keto wars of 2018 which ultimately led Dave to declare a moratorium on diet related topics, wrote in to apologize (no need, Fifi), and also point out that Iowa is the most America of the states. Can the co-hosts discern which other states have achieved total-Murica status based on their rankings for bald eagles, fast food, and astronauts? The Chinese researcher who claimed that he'd genetically engineered two girl infants may have accidentally (or as Dave speculates, purposefully) made them into super-intelligent, super-stroke-recovering humans. And researchers my have discovered an entirely new form of neural communication. We Want to Hear From You. Do you need advice? We give it out, whether it's related to med school or not? Call in your pleas for help to 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Listener Nathan called in to the SCP Hotline at 347-SHORTCT to ask how research works for medical students. Is it necessary? Is it recommended? How do you find research to do? Irisa Mahaparn, Miranda Schene, Emma Barr, and newcomer Nadiah Wabba are on hand to discuss the roles of research in med school, how it can help a residency applications, for which residency applications research is a recommended component, and how it all works. Also, can the crew figure out what has been censored from medical stock photos? To play along, visit the show notes for this episode at theshortcoat.com. Cancer Dogs is a Canadian organization looking to make cancer-smelling dogs a valid screening tool; we discuss whether physicians and med schools discourage med students from pursuing primary care; and as a generation of vaccine deniers' children comes of age, are they going to defy their antivaxxer parents? Is research important to you? Do you plan to do research in med school or residency? Let us know at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Dr. Mamdouh Aker is a very big deal in Palestine, the kind of man everyone knows and respects, and it's easy to see why. He’s urology surgeon and the deputy chair of the Board of Trustees of Berzeit University in Palestine's West Bank. Among the founders of the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners and the Independent Commission for Human Rights, Dr. Aker was also a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference and in the Palestinian-Israeli bilateral talks between 1991 and 1993. He's also a member of several councils and committees focused on the health, education, and wellbeing of the Palestinian people. During his visit to the Carver College of Medicine he spoke to our students and faculty about the state of Palestinian healthcare. He was generous with his time, as he also sat down with med students Shakoora Sabree, Ossama Habu-Halawa, Jordan Harbaugh-Williams, and Joelle Friezen to discuss the topic. Our discussion was near the anniversary of his 45-day ordeal in the custody of Israeli security forces in the early 1990s because of his outspoken views that his Palestinian patients were prevented from receiving adequate healthcare.

Listener Jen sent an email to [email protected] asking M4 Irisa Mahaparn, and M1s Nick Lind and Madeline Slater about the doubts they've experienced in their journey through medical education. Oh, Jen. The doubts they have experienced! We discuss them, along with the sources of doubt and how they are learning to overcome them to achieve their goals. Also, we try to give listener Ryan some ideas about his genetics course assignment. We also visit the worst place on the internet to get medical advice, Yahoo! Answers, and discover a potential new treatment for desert-based constipation. All it needs is a good clinical trial and a few not-squeamish human subjects! As the measles outbreaks in the northwestern US and elsewhere continue, Clark County in Washington has experienced a jump in vaccination rates of 500%, almost as if people are starting to trust science. Inventors at MIT and Harvard are both working on swallowable injectors, which sounds worse than it is. And is Wikipedia good enough for med schools to use it in some way? It depends, of course.

[Purchase an SCP T-shirt to contribute to our Charity of the Semester, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Visit http://theshortcoat.com/store. Thank you!] Listener Renee writes in to ask Aditi Patel, Maddie Mix, Nick Lind, and guest Dr. John Pienta whether she can legitimately hope for admission to an MD/PhD program without a strong science background. Luckily, Maddie rolls MSTP style, so she helps us answer. Another listener, Sarah, wrote to us hoping for some suggestions on how to prepare and strategize for her physician shadowing experiences. And Ellen writes to give us some feedback on a recent episode. Plus, Dave's Pop Quiz on undeniably dangerous drinking games--inspired by a case study involving Dutch men, booze, MDMA, and a drinking game of fish swallowing which no one should ever play--is suspiciously easy for his co-hosts. Want to skip med school and go straight to treating patients in your very own pre-fab hospital room? Well you mustn't do that...but with this product on Amazon, you could. Contribute your ideas to the show! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

This week, we're winging it on SCP--life was a bit more complicated for Dave than usual--but we have some great questions to address from some non-US listeners. Nice to have confirmation that we have more than a couple of those! Luke from Australia wants to come to America, either to study medicine or after his Australian medical education is complete. Which should he choose, and what will he think of our Australian accents after he listens? And Justin, listening in the Philippines, wants to know what story our co-hosts tell themselves when they think about why they're studying medicine. Justin Hababag, Aditi Patel, and Kylie Miller are on hand to discuss. What story do you tell yourself about your interest in medicine? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

But what's this? Podcast merch? Dave has a special announcement, what we're going to use the money for (it's *not* for the show or to line Dave's pockets), and how you can get a special offer and help do some good at the same time. Everybody knows about med school tuition. And then there's the cost of student loans. But there's so much more, and listener Richard wrote in to [email protected] ask: what are the hidden costs of attending medical school? Luckily Dave has a crew of people on hand who've figured that out: Aline Sandouk, Nick Lind, Maddie Mix, and LJ Agostinelli. Get prepared with their list of things you need to spend money on, and a couple things you shouldn't spend on. Another listener, Sarah, would like some idea of what kinds of extracurricular activities med students can get into, and how to find them. We got you, Sarah! And after pondering what the point is of the case study in medical literature (aside from amusing Dave to no end), the crew takes a pop quiz on weird cases found on the internet. The Gates Foundation may be throwing it's considerable weight and funding behind reducing maternal deaths in the US. What hidden costs of medical school did we miss? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

When thinking about a career in medicine, those who are leaning towards getting an MD often consider the Physician Assistant path; and if they're leaning towards a PA career they often consider the Medical Doctor path. On this show, PA students Steffanie Robertus and Terry Hayes join MD students Emma Barr and Katie Christel explore the similarities between their educational journeys, the exams they'll take, the career paths, and the lifestyles they'll enjoy. Then, Dave pits the two teams against each other in a fight to the death. Or was it a trivia contest? Have you ever wondered if "defecation postural modification devices" (i.e., those potty stools recommended by unicorns to help you poop) really work? So do gastroenterologists and their friends. Cancer rates have dropped a whole bunch in the last few decades. And a Chinese researcher who edited the genomes of twin baby girls is either in danger of being put to death or is doing just fine thank you. Love or hate the Squatty Potty? Need advice? Have questions? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Tell us all about it.

Former co-host and now PM&R Doctor Cole Cheney returns for a discussion of what he's discovered about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which rewards careers in public service by forgiving student loans after 10 years of qualifying work. The first 11 years have passed since its inception, and you'll never guess how many people have had their loans forgiven. Aline Sandouk, Dylan Todd, Brady Campbell, and financial aid counselor Chris Roling were on hand for a discussion of why you'll want to have a backup plan to pay off your med school debt. A study looks at whether we're ready for whole genome sequencing as a screening tool for newborn babies. We discuss whether teenagers are capable of withstanding the rigors of medical school. And an we explore the 'confidence gap' between men and women in medicine and whether it's even important. Are you a woman who has been counselled to lean in and act more confident? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Happy New Year! With the holidays slowing down the pace of listener questions, Dave asks new co-host LJ Agostinelli and old hands Rob Humble and Hillary O'Brien to discuss the harsh truths and pleasant realities of studying medicine. Plus, Yahoo! Answers gets another visit, and manages to live up to Dave's characterization of it as the saddest place on the internet. Scientists make themselves chuckle while proving a point about the gold standard of research, the randomized controlled trial, by elaborately studying whether parachutes save lives. Expensive drugs eek out a win over cheap exercise in treating high blood pressure, causing doctors and patients everywhere to cry, "Meh." And in the battle to curb the ever-increasing national sleep debt, Dave gets a weighted blanket for Christmas.

Madeline called to ask: it's finals week and you're stricken with seasonal depression--what's a med student to do? We feel you, Madeline. Luckily, Aline Sandouk, Nick Lind, Derek Bradley, and Hillary O'Brien are ready to throw open the curtains on their ideas to help. And Jeannet-tello hit us up on our Instagram to find out what she should do about impostor syndrome. Dave shares the recent video that UIHC Marketing and Communications unwisely allowed him to be in. Healthcare providers, if you want to take the Surgeon General's advice and save people from dying of opioid overdoses, you might kiss your ability to get health insurance goodbye. And a Tennessee physician starts off his new job as a US Representative by promising--for no reason at all--to dig up the dirt the CDC has been hiding about vaccines and autism. Thank goodness, we're all saved. Are you nervous about starting med school? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Share your fears!

Aline Sandouk discusses with her co-hosts the recent breakthrough in her research--which is pretty much that she's experiencing the exact opposite of what PhD students fear, and that her research may just have a path forward. Whew! And while we couldn't answer any listener questions this week--hang in there, Madeline and Tiana, you're on the list!--we did answer anatomy questions asked with dental mouth spreaders in our mouths. Warning: this episode contains more than the usual amount saliva-based sounds. Plus, Kylie Miller explains to Aline, Madeline Slater, and Nick Lund that she is a compulsive licker. This Week in Medical News: A DNA study determines that stethoscopes are gross. More doubts expressed at the validity of research in light that many top docs aren't disclosing conflicts of interest in their publications. And docs (plus Dave) are learning that women might actually need uteruses for more than housing and then expelling babies. Are you a compulsive licker? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Are you buying what med student Instagrammers are selling? You've probably noticed them. Cute med students hawking makeup and study guides on Instagram, posting photos of their fav study beverage, and composing carefully arranged shots of the contents of their backpacks, #medstudentlife #sponsored. Well, who can blame them--med school's expensive! But is it a slippery slope, just waiting for some unsuspecting student to lose their ethical footing? Short Coats Sam Palmer, Miranda Schene and newbies Allie Fillman and Allison Klimesh take a look. Funny thing: that stuff you learned about mitochondria? Wrong. And with the news that there are now real live genetically engineered babies in the world--thanks to a Chinese scientist with his own ethical problems--we wonder why it was even necessary, what the dangers are to the family who 'benefited,' and just where the heck is this young mad scientist, now, anyway? Would you be a med student influencer if you could? Why, and what limits would you set? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Short Coats Rob Humble and Claire Castaneda are joined by new co-hosts Mitchell Hooyer and Jeremy Sanchez to talk about their personal experiences as members of the LGBT community while studying medicine. They highlight Iowa's surprisingly inclusive nature--among other things, Iowa was only the third state to legalize same-sex marriage. And they discuss the interesting origin of CCOM's student group EqualMeds, as well as how LGBT topics are covered in med school curricula. We also answer the question: why is it even necessary to include specific discussion of these groups given that all people are the same on a cellular level? Plus, we answer a listener question from Nikki: is it easy to make friends in medical school if you're an introvert? What have you experienced as an LGBT student or seen as an LGBT ally? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

This past week, the Carver College of Medicine hosted its 12th annual Examined Life Conference. Our featured presenter, journalist and memoirist Sarah Smarsh, grew up in a family of farmers and teen mothers in Kansas. Her family, laborers trapped in a cycle of poverty, made the kinds of choices that poor people must make in rural America--whether to eat or seek medical attention, for instance. Decades of inattention--and scorn--from politicians and the media have widened this class divide, and have sent the inexorable message that their voices don't matter. Ms. Smarsh's recent book, Heartland: A Memoir of working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, tells the tales of her family's struggles with poverty, addiction, workplace injuries, and family violence that many economic and political elites don't have the background or will to truly understand. Though Ms. Smarsh has managed to escape that cycle, she has retained her citizenship in--and love for--that largely unexplored country, and offers a deep look at what it's like to be poor in the wealthiest and most powerful society on the planet. Our executive producer Jason T. Lewis, Rob Humble, Gabe Conley, Teneme Konne, and Christopher Portero Paff talk with Ms. Smarsh about what the working poor are facing, how our willful lack of understanding shapes our perceptions of their struggles, and why it's crucial that medicine encourages and welcomes them as providers.

The MD isn't the only degree offered by many medical schools. For those who get excited about data, research, and advancing medical knowledge, you can add a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Of course, there are those who get their PhD separately from their Medicinae Doctor. Others get their PhDs from combined degree programs, including Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTP). Aline Sandouk and Jayden Bowen took on the topic with a number of first-year MSTP students--why is an MD/PhD something you should consider? Join them and Ossama Abu-Halawa, Hassan Ahamed, Akansha Jain, Madi Mix, Nate Mullin, Miranda Schene, Hannah Van Ert, and Qi Wang as they reveal reasons you might want to consider this sort of combined degree and the types of programs to choose from. What questions do you have about MSTP or MD/PhD programs? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

[We’re now available on Spotify and RadioPublic!] Co-hosts Tim Maxwell, Aline Sandouk, Annie Rempel, and Mackenzie Walhof confront pictures of their younger selves and offer themselves the advice they should have gotten at the start of their med school journeys. Listener Darius asks us for the best options to progress from his current work as an EMT-B/paramedic to medical school–among our suggestions is to check out the AAMC’s list of post-baccalaureate programs, including Iowa State University’s excellent but reasonably-priced option.  Dave offers up his own Recipe for Med School Success–a concoction he’s pretty sure no-one has ever thought of, but which his skeptical co-hosts end up enjoying–and promises an e-book with them all!  Submit yours to be part of it and get it free! Annie also tells us about her recent arts-and-medicine exhibit at The Examined Life Conference, called Snapshots.  A follow-up to her Stanford Honors in the Arts show, it’s a series of drawings and interviews offering “realistic glimpses into the inspirational life stories of those affected by Huntington’s Disease.” We Want to Hear From You What’s your favorite weird snack? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].  Do all three! We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

As medical science progresses, it not only answers questions but generates even more. Listener Tyler pointed out a study (now on hold) that proposes to withhold the current standard of care for victims of penetrating trauma to try something else, and he wondered what we thought of the ethics involved. Co-hosts Nick Lind, Kyle Kinder, Madeline Slater, and Justin Hababag are here to help unwind these and other questions. For instance, we explore how far medicine has come in its quest for answers by looking to the past, and what does My Pillow (as-seen-on-tv) have to do with the opioid crisis? Puzzled, we explore the possibilities for how as-seen-on-tv products could help with other public health efforts. Could the Comfort Wipe wipe out ebola? We visit with (a) President Donald Trump (soundboard) to find out. We still don't know how a pillow can help with opioid addiction, but perhaps we're seeing the first glimmers of a turn-around in this particular public health crisis. What are favorite as-seen-on-tv products, and have you used any to eliminate a public health issue? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

This past week, the Carver College of Medicine hosted its 12th annual Examined Life Conference. Our featured presenter, journalist and memoirist Sarah Smarsh, grew up in a family of farmers and teen mothers in Kansas. Her family, laborers trapped in a cycle of poverty, made the kinds of choices that poor people must make in rural America--whether to eat or seek medical attention, for instance. Decades of inattention--and scorn--from politicians and the media have widened this class divide, and have sent the inexorable message that their voices don't matter. Ms. Smarsh's recent book, Heartland: A Memoir of working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, tells the tales of her family's struggles with poverty, addiction, workplace injuries, and family violence that many economic and political elites don't have the background or will to truly understand. Though Ms. Smarsh has managed to escape that cycle, she has retained her citizenship in--and love for--that largely unexplored country, and offers a deep look at what it's like to be poor in the wealthiest and most powerful society on the planet. Our executive producer Jason T. Lewis, Rob Humble, Gabe Conley, Teneme Konne, and Christopher Portero Paff talk with Ms. Smarsh about what the working poor are facing, how our willful lack of understanding shapes our perceptions of their struggles, and why it's crucial that medicine encourages and welcomes them as providers.

Our newest co-host has already had a taste of fame. Abby Fyfe joins the crew this time, along with Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, and Aditi Patel. Turns out, Abby is an old hand at being internet famous, because she was once run over by a bus. True story. She has since regained her 3-dimensional shape, but did she mine that experience for her med school applications? But first, listener Tyler wants to know: is your undergrad institution's reputation an important factor for med school admissions committees? And we got some feedback from Alex, an actual registered dietician, and Blake responds to a recent question from Courtney about raising kids during med school. Later, Jayden quizzes us: can we guess what these genes do based on their very geeky names?In light of recent scandals in research and retractions of studies, an article in Molecular Cell proposes a Hippocratic Oath for scientists. And there's a new opioid possibly coming to market that is 500 times more powerful than morphine. What experiences did you mine for your med school application? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Jennifer Andersen, a sociology PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, teaches a course called Sociology of Health and Health Care. She reached out to us to propose that her students would send in questions for us as an extra credit assignment, which was a great idea we jumped on because it meant Dave would barely have to prepare for this show...I mean, it'd be a great education opportunity for her students' young, fertile minds. Ahem. Aaanyhow, her students really stepped up with some great questions for Aline Sandouk, Aditi Patel, and new co-hosts Kelsey Anderson and Jacob Chrestenson. So come along with us as we dive into questions like, "have you ever had to do something in med school that wasn't ethical," "is it better to come to medical school with an open mind about your eventual career," and "what's it like working with different attendings all the time?" They've got answers to all these queries and a lot more. What do you want us to talk about on a future show? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

We love listener feedback...even when it's negative. And this whole obesity thing is really great for generating negative listener feedback. For instance, Marlene thought our comments on nutrition were mostly wrong. And Laura didn't seem happy with what we thought was our neutral stance on keto, either, as she's having some success with it...although a lack of carbs looks just as bad as a bunch of carbs. We could ride this obesity gravy train all the way...but Dave is le tired. Fortunately for our egos, a while back we managed to give some good advice to Victoria on interviewing , who called back to give Irisa Mahaparn, Aline Sandouk, and newbs Justin Hababag and Annee Rempel some GREAT news! Go, Victoria! This Week in Medical News: are you ready to share your brains with other people? Are you ready to drink your own urine? Are you ready to not choose a medical school based on it's ranking in US News & World Reports? We think hard about those important questions. We Want to Hear From You. Have we stepped on your sacred cow? Are you happy with our advice? Have we done anything useful today? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

The MD isn't the only degree offered by many medical schools. For those who get excited about data, research, and advancing medical knowledge, you can add a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Of course, there are those who get their PhD separately from their Medicinae Doctor. Others get their PhDs from combined degree programs, including Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTP). Aline Sandouk and Jayden Bowen took on the topic with a number of first-year MSTP students--why is an MD/PhD something you should consider? Join them and Ossama Abu-Halawa, Hassan Ahamed, Akansha Jain, Madi Mix, Nate Mullin, Miranda Schene, Hannah Van Ert, and Qi Wang as they reveal reasons you might want to consider this sort of combined degree and the types of programs to choose from. What questions do you have about MSTP or MD/PhD programs? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

This week, listener Jen sent us an article from JAMA in which the author bemoans his tendency to let the electronic health record (coupled with his data-entry difficulties) dominate his attention at the expense of his ability to really see and empathize with his patients. The cost: missing clues that indicate a patient's progressive decline and family dynamics that contribute to the condition. Meanwhile, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend find themselves chewing on sleeping pill side effects, causing us to wonder--why is Ambien still on the market, unless it's to create really great slam poetry? And we practice our teamwork in a mobile game called SpaceTeam, proving perhaps that not all such games make for good podcast fodder--you decide, but don't @ us, we already know the answer. Will we see a shift in the standard of care for appendicitis, now that a Finnish study has backed up the mounting evidence that it can often successfully without surgery? And a study on the high costs of poor healthcare around the world suggests that fixing it will cost 6% of the cost of doing nothing. Do you have suggestions for what we should talk about on SCP? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Pick your favorite!

In most of India, palliative care--a medical specialty focused on improving the quality of life of people with life-limiting or disabling diseases--is available to only 1% of people who need it. But in Kerala, one organization is making lots of headway in promoting this vital specialty. In this episode, Pallium India's founder, chairman, and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. MR Rajagopal visited the University of Iowa College of Medicine to talk about their efforts to introduce to Indian providers a new way of thinking about pain and other symptoms by providing emotional, social and spiritual support. As you might expect from such a practitioner, Dr. Rajagopal is an extraordinarily thoughtful man with a kind, quiet voice that belies what must be an extraordinary force of will needed to accomplish his goals. Tony Rosenberg, Ellie Ginn, Rachel Schenkel, and Jayden Bowen discussed how he began his journey, what his fellow Indian providers made of these ideas, and what his hopes are for the future of palliative medicine around the world. Do you or anyone in your family have experience with palliative care? Tell us about it at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Fifi Trixiebell (not her real name) wrote to [email protected] asking us to discuss what medical students learn about nutrition, and whether they think the keto diet is just another fad. Luckily, Madeline Slater, Emma Barr, Kyle Kinder, and newbie Sam Palmer--M1s all--just had a unit on nutrition so that's an easy one. But Fifi Trixiebell had written in before, a message which--despite his policy of answering every listener question--Dave had passed over. Why did he ignore it? He's not sure; it was a while back, but it may have triggered him. We also discuss an article from HuffPo about the "unique and persistent trauma" doctors visit upon their obese patients. Plus, with the announcement of the 2018 Ig Nobel Prizes, we cover the weird winners in medicine; and Dave puts his co-hosts to the test on their knowledge of past winners. Sure, when a person is stressed out, the cortisol and adrenaline circulating in the blood mediate the body's responses, but what about mitochondrial DNA? Have you ever heard from a perfect stranger how to fix your life? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Listener Hannah wrote in after shadowing physicians, noting that many of the morbidly obese patients she observed resisted their doctors' advice to lose weight. Is there any hope that doctors can treat this intractable illness when patients don't "want" to do the work? Aline Sandouk, Claire Casteneda, Ali Hassan and Kylie Miller offer their views and what they've learned so far about treating this difficult disease. Also, in Dave's constant quest to 'contribute' to his co-hosts clinical skills, we visit the saddest place on the Internet, Yahoo! Answers, so they can practice their patient education techniques. Congratulations, Sperm Donor #2757! You're the father of 45 girls and boys between the ages of 1 to 21 years old, and your generosity has made things very weird! And we discuss yet another questionable beauty practice, the vampire facial, which OH COME ON NOW, HOW CAN THIS BE REAL? What are your views on the obesity epidemic...is it hopeless? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Aditi Patel, and newbie Madeline Slater are on hand to answer listener questions, such as J's query about the utility of post-bacc programs for med school applicants, and Chelsea's question about the use of primary literature in medical school curricula. We also discuss how membership in Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society boosts residency applicants' competitiveness, and what some schools are doing to ensure they don't leave out minorities underrepresented in medicine. Plus, have you considered acquiring a medicine bag of polished stones from everyone's favorite MD, Gwyneth Paltrow? With the news that her company GOOP has settled a lawsuit in several states alleging some of their products make questionable health claims, we explore some of the items promoted at their recent convention. Hospitals are tired of shortages of vital medicines, so some are banding together to make them by forming their own non-profit drug company. Do you know anyone who uses GOOP products? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Activia (not her actual name, though it probably should be. Feel free to take that name, anonymous caller) emailed us at [email protected] to ask whether she should retake her physics classes (which she took while coping with other unfortunate life-related stuff) or concentrate on getting great grades in other courses. In addition, she wanted to know if admissions committees REALLY take into account extenuating circumstances? Well, you're in luck, Activia! We've got answers from non-traditional first-year students Kyle Kinder, Nick Lind, and Emma Barr; and our friendly admissions staff Dan and Amy chime in, too. We also play a game of Psych! while Dave tries to use their performance to make judgements about their personalities. Can he do it? No he can't, though he notes with concern Kyle's suspicious ideas about male anatomical structures and function. Too late, Admissions, you said yes! Facebook has become known as a place where you can find any number of suspicious ideas, but it seems ready to judge so-called alternative health pages as unworthy of its platform. And we discuss an article that argues the MCAT should no longer be used because of a legal concept called "disparate impact." Have you just started medical school? What's been the best and worst parts of your new life? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

On today's show, we'll answer a question from listener Victoria about having a feeding tube during med school interviews--should she worry that it will make her look weak and infirm, and thus not a good applicant for med school? Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek, Jayden Bowen, Marissa Evers and Gabe Conley tell her why she should OWN it by not being the first to mention it! Go Victoria! Meanwhile, Mark discusses what he did to overcome his sadness in the past year after his wife moved to pursue her own medical education in California while he finishes up at CCOM, and what he's learned by adopting his new unconventional lifestyle. Go Mark! A CNN story about an alleged "medical kidnapping" of an 18-year-old brain aneurysm patient shocked many, but it turns out the story wasn't as simple as the article made it appear. And reaction to New York University's plan to make tuition absolutely free to all medical students forever took the med ed world by storm...but some aren't buying that it will have the ostensible consequences of lowering the barrier for underrepresented minorities and encouraging more to go into primary care. Did NYU's announcement move it higher on your list of schools to apply to? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Our visit with pre-health students in the Carver College of Medicine's Summer Health Professions Education Program continues as co-host Teneme Konne talks with SHPEPers Asjah Coleman, Kirsten Grismer, Ahone Koge and Margaret Mungai. Before the show, Teneme also visited with two of Iowa City's homeless population, and gained some insight into their lives as well as the reasons they are living on the streets. Plus, we play a game of Mafia, SCP style. Will the hospital administrator, the attending, or the resident escape death? And who is the mystery disease that threatens them all? Dun, dun, duuuunnnn. Also, we discuss LGBTQ+ health disparities, and a review of the evidence that criminalizing drug use has negative effects on efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and other illnesses. Were you lucky enough to take advantage of a SHPEP program, or are you looking forward to participating in the future? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

The day-to-day of internship, residency, and an MD career doesn't allow much time to process the effect it's having on the practitioner. Rushing from one patient to the next, putting out the fires even while drinking from the firehose, and being selfless in service to the patients' needs means that one's own stories are buried, neglected. More and more, however, medicine is acknowledging the need for practitioners to examine and tell their stories so that they can learn from them, teach their lessons to others, and show colleagues that they are not alone. In 2015 Dr. Emily Silverman was in her second year of her internal medicine residency at UCSF. She found herself with a little more time following her frenetic intern year, and with her own stories that had gone untold and unexamined. She started to write, first in a blog she called The Nocturnists. Then, in 2016 she organized the first live storytelling session with her colleagues. Now, in 2018, those live sessions--held in theaters with fun music and a bar-- are playing to sellout crowds. Not only do the shows allow for catharsis, but for community. And because Dr. Silverman isn't ready to allow The University of Iowa to be a satellite venue (and believe us, we asked), we're grateful that The Nocturnists is also a podcast! Each episode feature a piece from the live show, followed by a relaxed, thoughtful discussion between Dr. Silverman and the storyteller. Her email to Dave earlier this spring to tell The Short Coats about The Nocturnists was a wonderful break from the usual pitches for Caribbean med schools and Ivy League pay-to-play programs; and it gave Kylie Miller, Brendan George, Marisa Evers, and Sanjeeva Weerasinghe a great opportunity to discuss what it is The Nocturnists are thinking about.

The Summer Health Professions Education Program, SHPEP, has become a summer tradition at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Students from around the country participate in SHPEP’s goal: "to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students underrepresented in the health professions and prepare them for a successful application and matriculation to health professions schools." Iowa program's SHPEPers Hailey Phillips, Hiancha Pinho, and Meranda Pham join co-host Teneme Konne to discuss the program, what it accomplishes for them, and how mentorship -- examples of success in healthcare -- are crucial for those who are underrepresented in medicine. Are you underrepresented in medicine? Who is your mentor? What barriers have you faced and/or overcome? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Executive Producer Jason has kindly let Dave go on vacation, so Aline Sandouk takes over the hot seat, with Irisa Mahaparn, Hillary O'Brien, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Jayden Bowen. Together they unravel the mysteries of the human body and med school. For instance, why do med students feel guilty about having to take time off to deal with their bed bug infestations? And what would having many normal or two overly large testicles do to fertility? Such brilliant questions!!! Does Amazon's Jeff Bezos have Toxoplasmosis? Our lawyers say definitely not, but toxo does have a link with risky behaviors, and business people can win big by taking risks. So, naturally, a new study looks at how likely students with toxo are to be business majors. Also, the mental health consequences of sucking up to your boss, and one woman's warning that her child's Hot Cheetos habit led to her losing her gallbladder. So, what's up with you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

While Dave and the crew try a recipe from the Med School Success Cookbook, they consider listener Imari's question: how much did co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Eric Schnieders, Gabe Conley, and Irisa Mahaparn think about finances when choosing a medical school? While it's important to know what your financial standing will be when you graduate, including your loans and how they're affected by scholarships and living situation, we think there are more important things to think about. And Maggie has noticed many med schools have co-ed fraternities and wants our thoughts on their benefits for students. Happy to help explore this interesting and fun possibility for lowering costs, sharing responsibilities, and joining a new med school fam, Maggie! Now that the Large Hadron Collider has finished tearing a hole in the universe, researchers are using the technology in its subatomic particle detectors to create 3D color x-rays. And CRISPR-Cas9 has proved to be an excellent tool for editing genomes...and also tearing them up and spitting them back out with all kinds of errors and random deletions. Do you belong to a med school fraternity? What's it like? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

'tis the season to be applying to medical school. Which is why we got so many listener questions to address on this episode (thank you!) Listener Magnus wanted suggestions for how to prepare for MMI and regular admissions interviews, so we invited our resident experts, Amy A'Hearn (from CCOM med student admissions) and Tom O'Shea (from CCOM physician assistant admissions, for his experience with MMI interviews) to help out. They, along with Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Marc Moubarek and new co-host Shakoora Sabree, also answered questions from listeners Cameron and Sarah about whether opening up about personal/political views and sexual orientation is okay on applications and in interviews. And listener Jake wanted to know how med students learn to cope with death. Do you have something to add to the discussion, or a question we can answer? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]!

Listener Amari returns to ask Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Tony Rosenberg, and Mark Moubarek--what do they think of med school YouTubers? Is it advisable to broadcast your life during med school in an age when everything you do online has a permanent risk associated with it? Of course, there are some recommendations for residency program directors in searching social media for candidates' info. Next up, Jordan is looking for advice on great pre-med activities that will teach him as well as look great on his application. And Richard is both shy and working in a lab, and he's worried that it will be difficult for him to make connections with doctors for things like shadowing. Have you ever regretted your social media footprint professionally? What pre-med activities would you recommend to Jordan? How can Richard break out of his shell? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Listener Hanna wrote in to ask an important question: is it better to apply this year despite possibly ending up in the second tier of applicants due to a late MCAT score, or should she just wait until next year? Good question, Hannah! Aline Sandouk, Irisa Mahaparn, Tony Rosenberg, and admissions counselor Dan Schnall (in absentia) have the answer. Another listener, Amari (and we hope we've spelled that right), phoned in to the Short Coats Hotline to find out if there is a medical school equivalent to the infamous Freshman 15 many undergrads suffer through, and if so, what she could do about it when she starts her journey in medical education. Med students aren't, in general, known for being good liars; they tend to be a pretty ethical bunch. But perhaps they suspend their morality enough to fool each other with lies about their time in medical school. We'll see about that, as they play Two Truths and a Lie. Researchers discover what might be a vaccine to treat diabetes...and it's already in use around the world, though not in the US. And the US Supreme Court 's decision to uphold the most recent version of Trump's travel ban won't hurt patients seeking medical attention at all, unless they need a geriatrician, nephrologist, cardiologist, internist, critical care specialist, nurse, medical technician...hmm, that seems like rather a lot. We're still giving away keyfobs if you post a review somewhere and send a screenshot to [email protected], and we've begun collecting recipes for our future Recipes for Med School Success cookbook. Do you need advice? Do you have questions about medical school? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

How can you brag about yourself without bragging about yourself? We are taught from a young age (most of us, anyway) not to brag. It is better, we may sometimes be told, to show confidence. Listener Rachel wrote in with a question about the secondary application: how does one confidently talk themselves up without coming across as a braggart? Lucky for Rachel, we have Daniel Schnall from our Admissions staff, on hand to help Mark Moubarek, Kylie Miller, Aline Sandouk, and Gabe Conley with some great advice about how to sell yourself on your application and also back it up. Don't want to look like a chump? Dan has your answer, Rachel. Plus, Kylie wants to feed the (med student) world, and the group plays Doctor Forehead. Do you know the terms and concepts Dave found in the news last week, and why they were even being talked about? Meanwhile, everyone knows ortho residents don't get enough exercise. Skinny, pale, weak, they're practically collapsing under the weight of their own skin. Which is why we're relieved that someone took pity and created a peer reviewed(?) workout routine for them, using common materials found around the ortho workroom. Get swole! Is the NIH doing it's job of funding innovative research and fostering research careers? Doesn't sound like it. And the AMA goes all in on a call to ban the American Dream sale and ownership of assault weapons. Are you a gun owner who feels like the AMA goes to far? Do you want advice and don't want to pay for it? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We'll talk about it.

We love when listeners get in touch, which is why Dave was glad to hear from Adil who, after listening to our discussion of the new national Right-To-Try legislation, sent us a paper he wrote on the subject the year before. It really helped clear some things up that we weren't sure of. Like the fact that it doesn't actually do anything to help patients get faster access to experimental drugs, has a kind of informed consent problem, allows patients to further conflate research with therapy, and more. And with thousands of new medical students poised to matriculate this fall, Dave and co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Kylie Miller, and Amy Hanson try out a new awkward icebreaker activity to see if it has some utility for new student orientations. The Trump administration walks back their recent decision to claw back money earmarked for fighting epidemics around the world. Back home, St. Louis University opens an influenza hotel. And the function of REM sleep finally revealed...maybe.

Steve Sosebee is the president and CEO of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. He’s married to Dr. Zeena Salman, a pediatric oncologist working with the PCRF. For 25 years, PCRF has been leading medical missions to help children in the Middle East, helping children get medical treatment abroad, and delivering humanitarian aid. Their recent visit to the Carver College of Medicine gave Short Coats Reem Khodor, Ethan Craig, and Nico Dimenstein a chance to sit down with them to discuss the challenges and realities of working to provide healthcare within the confines of an occupied territory.

Listener Meghan is about to start med school in the fall, and is thinking about what sort of regular habits medical students like Aline Sandouk, Tony Rosenberg, and new co-host Jayden Bowen use to keep them on track. Not only do we look at some routines they use (and debate whether they're even helpful), but we also have a suggested routine for the new student. And Dave, who's begun writing dean's letters (or 'Medical Student Performance Evaluations') for students who will be looking for jobs this year, has some sobering news for his co-hosts: they are, themselves, already writing them. Dave thinks most first-year medical students have never heard of this important document, nor do they know what will be in it...and how it could help or hinder their efforts to land that plum residency. Dermatologists are less accurate in diagnosing melanomas than the stupidest artificial intelligence...but don't cancel your derm dreams yet. Meanwhile, patients get the 'right to try' from the Trump administration...but is almost completely bypassing the slow FDA approval process a good idea, or will the bad actors in medicine end up lining their pockets on the hopes of their desperately ill patients? What are your med school routines? Did your school read you in on the MSPE when you started? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Take your pick!

Irisa Mahaparn, Tony Rosenberg, Aline Sandouk, and Rachel Schenkel--a crew of rising M3s and an MD/PhD candidate--were on hand this time to help answer some listener questions. Arman writes in to give us his method for combating test anxiety, and Jen wants to know what med students learn about physicians' bias against obese patients. Plus, our Short Coat Podcast keyfob giveaway is still kicking--listen to find out how to get one of your very own for free. But first, Irisa has strong feels about her local community supported agriculture subscription, so she made us some snacks. Most of them were delicious. One of them was...well, surprising is a word for that one, given Dave's reaction. Dave learned this week about one company that says cockroach milk is a superfood. Do you want free advice from people who've been there? Leave a message at 347-SHORTCT, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]!

Listener Amanda is like many medical students--anxious and worried. In her case, she wonders if she won't be as prepared for med school as her classmates when she starts in the fall, because they are "ahead" of her due to their experience and former careers. We've got you, Amanda: Aline Sandouk, Hillary O'brien, Erik Kneller, and Sanjeeva Weerasinghe are here to help. Also, which of our hosts are on team Yannie or Laurel? It doesn't matter, because Dave did some sophisticated analysis and discovered something about the morphing audio clip that has the internet arguing again. The netflix series 13 Reasons Why returns for season 2 today as we record this, and Netflix has announced it's response to mental health professionals' concerns with the content. Speaking of mental illness, Blue Cross Blue Shield has released a new study that says diagnoses of major depression are on the rise. A portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the unwitting donor of the amazing HeLa cell line used for just about every kind of study of every kind of disease these days, is hung in the National Portrait Gallery. Do you have a question we can help answer? Do you need advice? We're giving away answers for free (along with SCP key fobs)! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Our Short Coat Podcast keyfob giveaway is still happening! Post the show somewhere on the internet where pre-med and med students hang out, and email a screenshot to [email protected], and we'll send you one with our thanks! Our own Claire Castaneda won first place in the Carver College of Medicine's Carol A. Bowman Creative Writing Contest for Medical Students, and her piece caught Dave's eyes and heart. She talks with Aline Sandouk, Melissa Chan, and Tony Rosenberg about the dynamics of family strife and the pressure they can exert to follow one career path over another. Meanwhile, Aline expresses her feelings on being left behind by her original classmates as she continues her MD/PhD studies. And considering that most doctors still don't (and mostly, can't) know much about how medical marijuana should be prescribed, Dave subjects his co-hosts to a pop quiz. NYU Langone Medical School lost two of their community to suicide in one week, in the ongoing tragedy of physician and student suicide. What Maryland doctors could face as the bar for juries to decide medical malpractice is lowered. Is Iowa's US Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, trying to pressure Supreme Court judges to retire in order to one day secure a Roe v. Wade busting win for pro-life conservatives? Ebola is back, just in time for the Trump administration to dissolve the office responsible for preparing for pandemics.

Oh, gosh. It's Kaci McCleary and Amy Young's last show as co-hosts. Irisa Mahaparn and Teneme Konne join them to discuss their impending moves to Colorado and Minnesota. Also, they lament Iowa's new Fetal Heartbeat Bill and what some observers believe will be an associated collapse of OB/Gyn in Iowa should the law go into effect. But life goes on, and Amy--a relatively new parent--talks parenting fails. Luckily for her little Sammy, Dave has her beat. And listener Corey reaches out on Facebook to tell Dave he's wrong. Shocker. Plus, you can get a free SCP keychain/backpack-flair/shot glass-coaster made by Dave...listen to find out how. Meanwhile, Indiana is recommending that it's citizens get vaccinations before traveling to...Kentucky and Michigan? Trump's old doctor finally admits that his former patient really did dictate his note that praised the then-candidate's health. And the Golden State Killer is nabbed by a DNA ancestry website. If you're a future OB, are you concerned about or celebrating Iowa Republicans' strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

The day-to-day of internship, residency, and an MD career doesn't allow much time to process the effect it's having on the practitioner. Rushing from one patient to the next, putting out the fires even while drinking from the firehose, and being selfless in service to the patients' needs means that one's own stories are buried, neglected. More and more, however, medicine is acknowledging the need for practitioners to examine and tell their stories so that they can learn from them, teach their lessons to others, and show colleagues that they are not alone. In 2015 Dr. Emily Silverman was in her second year of her internal medicine residency at UCSF. She found herself with a little more time following her frenetic intern year, and with her own stories that had gone untold and unexamined. She started to write, first in a blog she called The Nocturnists. Then, in 2016 she organized the first live storytelling session with her colleagues. Now, in 2018, those live sessions--held in theaters with fun music and a bar-- are playing to sellout crowds. Not only do the shows allow for catharsis, but for community. And because Dr. Silverman isn't ready to allow The University of Iowa to be a satellite venue (and believe us, we asked), we're grateful that The Nocturnists is also a podcast! Each episode feature a piece from the live show, followed by a relaxed, thoughtful discussion between Dr. Silverman and the storyteller. Her email to Dave earlier this spring to tell The Short Coats about The Nocturnists was a wonderful break from the usual pitches for Caribbean med schools and Ivy League pay-to-play programs; and it gave Kylie Miller, Brendan George, Marisa Evers, and Sanjeeva Weerasinghe a great opportunity to discuss what it is The Nocturnists are thinking about.

Remembering a recent episode in which we spoke briefly of colored test tubes, Adee writes in with a question for Hilary O'Brien, Erik Kneller, Mackenzie Walhof, and Rob Humble--what, if anything, do medical students learn about laboratory science? And we got a lot of feedback on our recent discussion of unwanted sexual attention from patients, all of it pretty good! Which is nice...thank you, listeners! We also see if the co-hosts have the skillz needed to translate patients' chief complaints into...well, something that resembles a chief complaint.

Listener Zipadee Doodah (not her actual name) was the victim of unwanted sexual attention from a patient. Because her employer didn't have a policy in place to deal with it, she fought for one. But she wonders, what sort of training do medical students get on dealing with unwanted advances from patients? Kaci McCleary, Erik Kneller, Eric Schnieders, and newbie co-host Cheryl Wang offer their perspectives. Plus we consider a clever approach from a restauranteur who was surprised to learn that her efforts to create a welcoming, inclusive place of business had a harassment problem of its own. How she dealt with it might be a model for medicine. We also heard from Yanis, who's got an MBA/MA and is applying to medical school. But he's worried a lack of science-types to write letters of recommendation letters might hurt his chances. Finally, Paulius responded to our recent episode on test anxiety--specifically, Dave's painful ice cube technique--with a more gentle technique of his own.

Short Coat Podcast veteran Keenan Laraway, MD (CCOM '15, Internal Medicine), returns to the microphone to give his insights into one of the most important parts of residency--finding and being a mentor.

How do medical students deal with the stress of constant examinations? Dabin Choi, Gabe Conley, Claire Casteneda, and Erik Kneller discuss meditation, sleep, prayer, and eating habits that keep them from letting the fear derail them.

Listener Lavender BloodPoison (not their real name) sent us a message saying they were impressed by CCOM's Primary Care residency match statistics. And while many schools that serve states like ours do love primary care, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics," as the saying goes. How should one interpret match statistics in light of the fact that many who appear to match in primary care will go on to specialize after their first year residency?

Listener Luis wrote in expressing his anxiety that his med school--which he'll begin attending this fall--doesn't have the prestige or programs to support his desire for a competitive specialty like ophthalmology. If that's the case, he wondered, what can he do to increase his chances of obtaining his dream career?

The Short Coats discuss their perspective on how med school can test a romance, and what role it should play in the selection of a school to attend.

The Short Coats propose some paths forward for non-empathetic med school applicants, as well as outlining some of the less obvious areas empathy comes in handy they might want to think about

One of the things we Short Coats agree on is that the stigma medical students and physicians face when dealing with mental illness must end. We are people, too, and thus are subject to the full range of human maladies. So when listener Kate reached out to [email protected] to tell us of her University of Michigan classmate Rahael Gupta's JAMA article addressing her own struggles, we could only respond with sympathy and admiration.

Dave found himself with another group of women co-hosting the show, so what better time to talk about #MeToo and the powerful people being taken down by their sexual harassment and abuse of others. Erin Pazaski, Hillary O'Brien, Laura Quast, and Liza Mann weigh in on why this seems to have staying power in the news cycle, and why it seems to destroy some powerful men and not others. Plus, since this is a group of friends who, through med school, have come to know each other well, Dave challenges each to answer questions as their friends would. Speaking of creepy, The University of Miami has a problem on its hands with a medical student who's been posting other students' social media pics of their car selfies and beach photos on websites where other folks are excited by such things. A New Hampshire doc loses her license after refusing to use an EHR because she'd rather practice 'medical art' (among other things). And more medical schools want to hear from premeds what they think about health insurance. Your thoughts and comments are important to us! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Can Courtney succeed in med school despite the demands of motherhood? We ask a mom who did it. And, how med students can erase debt fast.

In the first of a two-part answer to listener Courtney's question, Dr. Tom McNalley (MD '04) joins the gang to assure her that it is possible to be a parent of three small children while studying medicine. Also, we take personality inventories and compare the results; do we have what it takes to be in medical school?

We revisit this weeks' co-hosts fears of moving into the clinical curriculum--were their fears realized? The US's largest health insurance company is sick of their patients' bullshit. Needle exchanges may be coming to Iowa, and the work of our own Sarah Ziegenhorn, a 2nd year medical student here at Iowa and executive director of the Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition was featured on Iowa Public Radio this week. And If you're going to have a robot crawling around inside you, it'd better be cute.

During Human Rights Week at the Carver College of Medicine, we heard some hard truths from national news commentator, human rights activist, and podcaster Angela Rye. In her speech to the College of Medicine, she clued white people in on what black Americans face every day in 2017, and how Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech was just the beginning of his activism. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Walhof, Joyce Wahba, Claire Casteneda and Gabe Conley discuss the department of Health and Human Services announcement that it would be forming a department to protect doctors from having their rights infringed by requirements that they provide treatments that they don't agree with because of religion or conscience. Do doctors need that protection? Or do they self-select what they do and don't do by where they practice and what they specialize in? And with the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in the history books, Dave delivers a pop quiz to see if his co-hosts can identify real or fake health-adjacent gadgets. The march of genetic medicine continues, as the NIH has given the green light to using CRISPR to modify cancer patients' T-cells ex vivo, hoping to turn them into killers of myeloma, sarcoma, and melanoma. And Walmart is going to do its part in the fight against opioid addiction by including in prescriptions a substance that destroys leftover opioids when patients are done with them, for free. Are you ready to patent Dave's inventions? Do you think docs need to be protected by the government from their patients' needs? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Annie wrote in to [email protected] to ask Kaci McCleary, Erik Kneller, Gabriel Conley, and Marissa Evers if she should give up her 10-year job as a radiology tech so she'd have time to do research before applying to medical school. As is often the case with these kinds of questions, the answer is no! But maybe yes. In some cases. Later in the show, we say to hell with this brave new world of collaboration-not-competition, and battle to the death! Will neurotoxin triumph over infinite sausage? We discuss the recent Medscape Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report and find out who will be happier: neurologist Kaci, or urologist Gabe. Also, we find out what they will drive, and how many friends they won't have. A Pennsylvania Democrat introduces The Stable Genius Act (tempting...). And we find out how the weather and the holidays impacts the blood supply and what the Red Cross wants you to do about it (hint: it involves giving blood now). It's coming up on application season! What questions do you have? Is our advice to Annie useful or rueful? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

The second-year students are moving from the pre-clinical curriculum to the clerkships this week. This transition is exciting--after all, seeing patients is what they've come to medical school to do, and now it's finally happening. Pat Brau, Kylie MIller, Brady Campbell, and Levi Endelman discuss some of the things they've learned in their Transition to Clerkships week, and Dave has some advice for them on how to get the most out of clerkships and how to get good evaluations for their 'dean's letter' that will make them shine for future residency directors. Of course, one thing that is helpful if you're seeing a patient is being able to tell if they're truly sick. That becomes second nature at some point, but even lay people can do it. That skill will come in handy for those in California who subscribe to the idea that raw water is a good idea. Transitions are exciting and tough...what makes changes easy or harder for you? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Listener Arman calls back to thank us for some good advice we gave him on continuing his hobbies and interests outside medical school! Nevertheless, he notes how difficult it often is to take advice, even when we want it, and wonders if we know why? Of course we do, and Levi Endelman, Tony Rosenberg, Mark Moubarek, and Rob Humble are willing to advise him. And Samuel paints doctors with a broad brush when he writes to tell us his worries about the kinds of people who go to medical school and the sorts of things they do when they get those precious letters after their names and the prestige to go with them. The WHO and others are ready to add 'gaming disorder' to the International Classification of Diseases, to the dismay of many experts (and little ol' us). And researchers in India are taking a 2014 internet hoax to its logical conclusion and trying to decide if 'selfitis' (the obsessive taking of selfies) is a real concern, as well as how people use them to prop themselves up. Wanna show us your best duck-lips selfie? Need some advice that you won't take? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

It's winter break at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. For most people, that means there are a couple weeks to relax and rejuvenate their minds, bodies, and familial relations. Despite a lack of available co-hosts, The Short Coats never take a break, which is why Dave had to invite fellow student affairs staffers Chris Roling (Financial Services) and Kate McKenzie (Admissions) to join MD/PhD student Aline Sandouk and physician assistant student and noob co-host Paul Kretkowski on this week's show. To give Chris and Kate the full experience, we visit with the fine patients at the Yahoo! Answers Doctor's Office to hear and answer their questions on concussions, nail gun injuries and impressive DIY treatments, and the potential dangers of floor pizza. Our humble state of Iowa is home to a new effort to create nanovaccines for influenza which promise to eliminate many of the current vaccine's downsides while increasing its effectiveness. More evidence that the gut and brain are intimately linked. And the scandal of the CDC's banned words might have been a trifle overblown. Have something you want us to talk about on the show? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

As the semester wrapped up, Dave didn't feel it was necessary to ponder great questions or debate contentious issues, so this week's show is pretty newsy...and there's never a shortage of things to talk about there. Of course, Dave had to make up a stupid game for his co-hosts Erik Kneller, Erick Schnieders, Irisa Mahaparn, and Kaci McCleary to play, in which they pimp each other on non-medical topics. Ever heard of bagel-related hand injuries? Avocados can also wreak havoc on unwary knife-wielders, which is British chain Marks & Spencer excuse for offering UK citizens seedless avocados. Significant progress has also been made in the fight against tropical illnesses as a result of the 2012 London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. We discuss the idea that moving to Canada may solve American MDs' paperwork woes, even if the countries' respective healthcare systems each have their benefits and drawbacks. A UK surgeon decides it's cool AF to carve his initials in his patients' livers, although the patients themselves disagree. And man flu is real. Of course it is. Do you have any suggestions for future show topics? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

From an early age people are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Whether they knew it all along or discovered their career path along the way, medical students have made a commitment to the answer, “I want to be a doctor.” As soon as that answer is given, however, an equally challenging question awaits. “What kind of doctor do you want to be?” In the second episode of Night Float, Dr. Tony Chung (R1: Ophthalmology), Dr. Travis Snyders (R2: Internal Medicine), and Lisa Wehr (M4) discuss the process of choosing a specialty. Some medical students will have an ‘aha’ moment, while many others will face a timeline and search more for a ‘tipping point’ that favors a particular choice. The resident physicians share their own experiences with decision making and encourage students to explore their options through making early connections, asking questions, gaining experiences, and not being discouraged or dissuaded even when the process involves navigating unsolicited advice or looping back around. How are you going about making your choice of specialty? What questions do you have about specialty choice? In general, what would you like to hear from residents about their medical school or residency experiences? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Chrissa wrote in to say that she believes that complementary and alternative medicine systems should be more important to mainstream, Western medicine. In fact, she's studying Ayurvedic medicine, and she wants to know if she should talk about it in her future medical school admissions applications and interviews. Gabe Conley, Patrick Brau, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Derek Bradley (along with several other co-hosts I put the question to) offer their advice to Chrissa, which is, sure, but be careful how you do it. Researchers publish results that show bacteria may have been busy developing resistance to Ampicillin even before it was made available for prescription in 1962. Modern Americans are preparing for bloody combat by learning battlefield medicine. And we consider evidence that surgical patients may be more aware of pain than Dave is real comfortable with. Did Dave offend you with his jokes about CAM? Are you studying CAM or have an interest in using it in your practice some day? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Preparing for Residency Interviews Welcome to Night Float! In this series  of special episodes, resident physicians take a break from the demands of their days (and nights) to offer information, guidance, and support to medical students and to share their residency experiences. Fourth year medical students are currently in the heart of residency interview season, and they are doing all they can to secure a position through the residency match process. In the first episode of Night Float, Dr. Desiré Christensen (R2: Psychiatry) and Dr. Matt Maves (R1: Pediatrics) discuss their interview experiences and offer suggestions about how to prepare. Helpful links AAMC Careers in Medicine – Careers in medicine is a resource designed to assist medical students in choosing a specialty and navigating the residency match process in a strategic way. Doximity – Doximity is a network of physicians and medical students. FREIDA – FREIDA is the AMA Residency & Fellowship Database. We Want to Hear From You What are your residency interview stories? What suggestions do you have for medical students preparing to match? Medical students, what questions do you have about the residency application process? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Dave found himself with another group of women co-hosting the show, so what better time to talk about #MeToo and the powerful people being taken down by their sexual harassment and abuse of others. Erin Pazaski, Hillary O'Brien, Laura Quast, and Liza Mann weigh in on why this seems to have staying power in the news cycle, and why it seems to destroy some powerful men and not others. Plus, since this is a group of friends who, through med school, have come to know each other well, Dave challenges each to answer questions as their friends would. Speaking of creepy, The University of Miami has a problem on its hands with a medical student who's been posting other students' social media pics of their car selfies and beach photos on websites where other folks are excited by such things. A New Hampshire doc loses her license after refusing to use an EHR because she'd rather practice 'medical art' (among other things). And more medical schools want to hear from premeds what they think about health insurance. Your thoughts and comments are important to us! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Mark Shrime is an otolaryngologist (and American Ninja Warrior competitor) who may just be on the leading edge of change in the way global health sees surgery. In this conversation with Tony Mai, Amanda Manorot, Brian Wall, and Hadeal Ayoub, Dr. Shrime argues that the way surgery is used in international development to date--surgeons fly in for two weeks, do their thing, and fly back out--doesn't do much to allow their host countries to develop their own surgery skills. For his part, he's managed to arrange his work at Harvard to allow him two months abroad helping to strengthen health systems in countries like Congo, Haiti, Cameroon, and Madagascar. The problem is, policy-makers see surgery as 'too expensive,' disregarding it as a tool for global health intervention. Ebola and Zika therefore get all the attention. But analysis of the cost-effectiveness of surgery as a tool in global health efforts belies this view, and shows the burden of surgical diseases may be as high as a third of the global total. Fortunately, Dr. Shrime has good advice for future surgeons who face a system that embraces Relative Value Units as a measure of physician performance, and yet want to pursue work outside their hospitals to effect global healthcare change. What are your thoughts on the effort to elevate surgery as a global health intervention? Any thoughts on who we should interview next? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected] to share your ideas.

Dave loves all Short Coats--he's like a benevolent god, except without any godly powers or omniscience but with plenty of love. However, he does like to put people in iffy situations, which is why he and his wife Christine fired up the Short Coat Test Kitchen to create Golden Thanksgiving Perfection Salad for the co-hosts. Perfection not included, but Gabe Conley, Claire Casteneda, and noobs Erik Kneller and Nick Evans don't hate it. While they enjoy that, listener Rachel messaged us on Facebook to suggest we discuss the latest news in chronic traumatic encephalopathy research, in which former NFL player Fred McNeill is the first to have had a PET scan before his death, which means there is now evidence that PET scans can be used as a diagnostic tool for CTE. Speaking of research, Dave pops a quiz from tweets on #weirdresearch. A 7-year-old boy has had 80% of his skin replaced with close to 1 square meter of skin genetically engineered from his own cells...and he's doing great! And another genetic engineering first will soon bear fruit (or fail) for a man who is the first to have had his DNA engineered from within as a treatment for Hunter syndrome. Do you have things for us to talk about? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Medical school definitely hasn't made a priority of teaching about how medicine works as a business. MDs who get involved in that side of healthcare typically learn on the job. But recent caller Ryan is interested in that topic, and wanted to hear from us about what CCOM students are learning about it. A couple years ago, M4 Joe Nellis and some other students founded the Healthcare Management and Delivery Science Distinction Track, in part because they knew that decisions about healthcare delivery and outcomes evaluation were being made without MDs having a clear idea (or even input on) how and why. He and M2s Philip Huang and Amanda Manarot got together with Dave to talk about what they've learning on issues like teamwork, e-health, data and decision-making. And while the healthcare leaders of tomorrow still have to learn much of the biz after they leave medical school, having a fuller grasp of the forces that affect how medicine is practiced is key, especially as the private practice of medicine gives way to employment in hospitals and other organizations. Dave took issue with this article which posits that doctors' salaries are a problem for healthcare costs, despite the fact that according to the author's own figures, that amount makes up about 1/32 of the cost of healthcare per US household. Do you want to learn about this stuff? Or are you content to worry only about taking care of patients? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

When many people think about becoming a physician, they focus on the positive side of the practice of medicine. Things like diagnosing and successfully treating patients, forming therapeutic relationships, and even income and prestige get most attention. But there is one thing that receives less attention: sometimes, doctors deliver very bad news to their patients. Learning how to do that gracefully in a way that supports patients rather than devastating them is an important skill. And in a team-based environment, it can be tricky. M3 Marc Moubarek shows M1s Joyce Wahba, Gabe Conley, and new co-host Claire Casteneda the ropes. Of course, Dave devises an educational exercise to "help." In other bad news, it's not getting any easier to get into medical school...in fact, it's getting harder. In the last decade, applications have doubled for top 10 schools focusing on primary care, and others (like Iowa) have increased 1.5 times. Time to be interesting, applicants! Are you doing something more interesting than checking off the boxes on your medical school application? We definitely want to know about it. Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. If you're doing something really interesting, maybe we'll interview you on the show

Dave has been noticing a certain mid-semester droopiness among some students at the College of Medicine. Perhaps, he conjectured, we all need a bit of a pick-me-up. So, Levi Endelman, Issac Schwantes, and new co-host Derek Bradley share things about themselves of which they are proud. Issac, however, finds himself less than impressed by Dave's contribution. And the boys reminisce about their rural Iowa upbringings, from careening over the ubiquitous gravel roads to romancing atop grain elevators. Vox has begun collecting data from ER visitors on the resulting bills, so the American Hospital Association issues a warning to its members. And the US opioid epidemic is finally a national emergency, officially. Will the president's latest proclamation have any effect? Will there be any actual, you know, funding applied to the problem? Your guess is as good as anybody's. What do you do when you're academically down in the dumps? Do you take your cell phone to the bathroom? Admit it! Show the world you aren't afraid of its judgement by calling us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

In Iowa and many other states, migrant workers are a big part of the economy. Many of these people don't have time for and can't afford regular medical care. But leaving them without care isn't an option, either. Fortunately, there are organizations which engage with this population. The Carver College of Medicine, for instance, has a very strong emphasis on learning through serving the medically underserved. By setting up migrant health clinics where those workers live--in their often temporary and extremely basic housing communities--students can learn about the practice of medicine outside a doctor's office or hospital while bringing badly needed healthcare to those who'd otherwise forgo it. Second-year med student Jesse White suggested a show on working with these populations. Joined by fellow second-year Erin Steele and retired Physician Assistant Peg Bouska, we discuss the non-ideal world of practicing medicine without the right spaces, equipment, systems, and tools...and what students learn about medicine by doing so. Is learning through service important to you? What experiences have you had with service learning, and what did you learn? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Alumni Nate Curl, MD (emergency medicine, '07) and Cathryn Turner (pediatric psychiatry, '10) returned to the Carver College of Medicine last week to attend The Examined Life Conference Jason and Dave put on every year. It was a great opportunity to connect Levi Endelman and Matt Wilson with them for a discussion of their paths to med school, the kinds of experiences they've had since graduating, and some of the things they'd like to have done differently. They also helped answer a listener question from Mary, who is concerned about what she's heard: that self-care--eating healthy, exercise, etc.--in medical school and beyond is well-nigh impossible for such chronically busy people. What concerns do you have about entering medical school? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. We'll try to help.

Once you're on the path to doctorhood, it can be hard to step off. You'll probably be happy...but what if you find out you'd rather just skate? Sure, you're making money, you're an important part of the medical profession, you've got this under control...but there's something missing: satisfaction. How can medical students prevent that from happening? How can anyone? Eric Snieders, Brady Campbell, Erica Henderson, and Marissa Evers take the example of San Diego's local hero Slomo (former neurologist John Kitchin) as well as the apparently happy lives of hunter gatherers and residents of Norway, (but perhaps NOT the residents of the US of A) and try to think about what will keep them happy as they wend their way through the medical industrial complex. Thinking about tattooing your eyeball? No? Hmm, weird. Well, a Canadian model would like you to think again...especially if you're planning on having your boyfriend do it. You've been warned. Are you eyeing a tattoo? Got one you want to show us? We want to see it! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Dave's gotten a few requests over the years from folks who want to know: is it a good idea to have pets while you're in medical school? And Dave also has co-hosts who wanted to talk about their pets on The Short Coat Podcast. Now, Dave isn't a pet kinda guy, but luckily he went out of town and Kylie Miller was able to take over the mic. Which means that finally, after all this time, some med student pet owners--Kaci McCleary, Vic Hatcher, Tim Maxwell, and Lisa Wehr--were able to get together with Kylie to talk about the challenges and rewards of having a fur baby while working through medical school. PS: if you want to see pics, visit http://theshortcoat.com/pets/. Are you worried about having a pet while studying medicine? Or are you completely unconcerned? Tell us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Donors are very important to universities and medical schools, typically contributing money to further the educational mission. Often, donors get a plaque on the wall, and some even get whole buildings named after them. But we're also grateful for the donors who get no plaques and whose names aren't known: those who, after they pass away, donate their bodies to medical schools so that students can use them to learn. On the afternoon of the CCOM Deeded Body Ceremony, Patrick Brau, Mackenzie Walhof, Brady Campbell, and Reed Johnson reflect on the nature of this gift, what it meant to them, and some of the unexpected things they learned. Scientists were surprised this week to find out that jellyfish sleep, perhaps just like we do...which is weird because you'd think that sort of thing would get them killed. And in the spirit of the season (interview season, that is), we discuss evidence for why you probably shouldn't have your med school or residency interview at 30,000 feet. Would you donate your body to a medical school? Why? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Euthalia (not her actual name, though it probably should be. Feel free to take that name, anonymous caller) called us at 347-SHORTCT to express her sadness that she didn't get a secondary interview at Iowa. Which sucks for Iowa because...well, we might not get to meet Euthalia. Of course, she knows rejection is not the end of the road for her dream. Brett Hanson, Tony Mai, Patrick Brau, and Levi Endelman share some things she needs to do now to prepare her for the next time she applies, if that's what she decides to do. Euthalia might be feeling anxious, a good bet because just about everyone we know has anxiety up the wazoo. Luckily, Dave heard about a study in which subjects were able to decrease their anxiety by talking to themselves in the third person. This seemed like a good idea, so we gave it a try. Warning: you might want to turn down the volume. Or unsubscribe. Meanwhile the Endocrine Society has new guidelines for how young transgender kids can begin hormone therapy. And, to the surprise of no nurses at all, nurses in some places have more dangerous jobs than prison guards and police officers. Be kind to the nurses, doctors. What are your rejection stories? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Among the biggest projects a premed faces: not just getting into medical school, but getting into one that meets their needs. Do they want a school strong in service learning activities? Will they be happy in a system that recognizes academics first and foremost? Is the location more important than other factors? These are only a few of the factors that go into the decision...and Dave's co-hosts couldn't care less about them. There were only two things that M1s Kyle Leubka, Gabriel Conley, Joyce Wahba and Eric Schnieders were most interested in... Listeners Ryan and Michelle called in to pitch show ideas. Ryan wants a show about Technology, Business, and Policy (he's a podcaster at the University of Pennsylvania medical school...check them out). And Michelle wants to know whether her currently well-cared-for Husky will survive having a med student owner. Watch for future episodes, guys! What topics would you like to see us tackle? Do you have any strongly held criteria you're using to judge medical schools? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Katee Verhoef and Corbin Weaver, from the new show The Vagibonds Podcast are in the studio to talk about their work discussing feminism through the OB/GYN student lens, as well as how they never introduce their co-host who just happens to be familiar to the SCP audience. Plus, we explore the taste of medications. Right out of the research lab, they usually taste gross. This is why pharmaceutical companies go to a lot of effort sweetening them up, otherwise you'd throw up instead of being soothed. But Dave suspects that Big Pharma hasn't fully considered the possibilities for how medicine should taste, so he devises one of his 'experiments' to test whether medicine should taste like ham and gravy baby food instead. Katee, Corbin, Elizabeth Shirazi and Hillary O'Brien help Dave test this medical marketing breakthrough (psst, GSK, call us!). And listeners Evelyn and "Maynard" wrote in with feedback and questions for The Short Coats. And Ryan Gray, MD of the Specialty Stories Podcast wrote in offering a clarification of our answer to Terel's recent question. Perhaps a bigger breakthrough, however, is the news that the FDA is willing to consider evidence that MDMA (or ecstasy) could be a "Breakthrough Therapy" for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. And what about the new genetically engineered T-cells designed to seek out and destroy childhood leukemia, which the FDA has actually approved? What experiments should Dave inflict on his co-hosts next? Do you want to call us out on some bogus thing we said? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Interview season begins soon, which means it's time to worry about the weird questions you'll be asked during med school interviews. Kayla got in touch with us at our new Facebook Group, The Short Coat Student Lounge, and asked what strange or difficult questions Lisa Wehr, Liza Mann, Irisa Mahaparn, and new co-host Mackenzie Walhof had been asked when it was their turn. Kayla's question, of course, inspires Dave to have them try to play a game of Questions, at which all the co-hosts fail miserably. The FDA announced that it's seeking public comment on plans to reduce nicotine in cigarettes to sub-addictive levels. Interesting idea...but we have questions. Google is trying to give US mobile users who search for info about depression a link to a screening tool for the disease...but we have questions. One thing we don't question: our old friend Martin Shkreli's securities fraud trial jury selection transcripts were released, and let's just say the jury of his peers don't give a rat's butt about what he's actually on trial for...they hate him for the drug thing. What questions do you have for us? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, join our Facbook group, and email [email protected].

Our recent show on mental illness in medical school generated some listener feedback. K wrote to say thanks for the honest discussion (our pleasure!), and wondered how open she should be on her medical school application about her journey to sobriety and how it led her to find a love for community service. Dave's six (!) co-hosts this week--Kalyn Campbell, Kylie Miller, Levi Endelman, Irene Morcuende, Kaci McCleary, and Laura Quast--agree that it's a tough question with two answers...the one we'd like to be able to give, and the perhaps more realistic one that acknowledges human nature. Listener Erica called in wondering how students cope with the challenges of medical school and residency, especially in the context of a mental illness. And Terel dropped us a line to ask the differences between a hospitalist and an internist. Groundbreaking research from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that alternative medicine is a crappy option for cancer patients' survival rates...except for prostate cancer. And a Chinese startup publishes a study in which CRISPR knocks out pig PERVs. That's Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses, silly, and it means if you need an organ transplant one day, you might have to thank a pig for that heart. Are you ready for your future pig heart? Who would win in an alpha-gal fight, Kylie or Kalyn? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

While Dave was on vacation, Teneme Konne got together with some folks we talked to back in July, pre-health students in UI's Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), a program that offers minority students and others access to mentorship and insight into future health careers. Yasmine Rose, Kristine Pham, Gil Osuna-Leon and Martin Rosenfeld came back, along with program administrator Nicole, and shared with us the progress they made, what they learned, and where they're going to take their newfound confidence in their health career choices. Also, are Iowans really the rudest drivers? And Yasmine is passionate about her rant on the hypocrisy of environmentalists that eat meat. If you want to rant for any reason, and think we are the best people to rant at, give us a call! Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

[Hey, gang! We're re-releasing this super good episode because when it first posted the file was screwed up. Enjoy!] Physicians are no better than the rest of us at dealing with mental illness, even as they struggle to get their own patients to recognize and have treated their own disabilities. As society becomes more open about 'mood disorders,' it is still common for MDs to reject treatment for depression, substance abuse disorders, anxiety, and more...and physicians and medical students are literally killing themselves. Our co-hosts this week, Zeynep Demir, Innie Kim, Jason Lewis, and Kaci McCleary all have e xperienced their own disorders, and have formed a CCOM chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Still in it's infancy, they hope to destigmatize mental illness among physicians, residents, and medical students in the hope that those who suffer can be saved and become what they always wanted to be: effective, compassionate, and healthy physicians. We want to hear from you! Do you suffer from a mental illness, and worry about your future as a physician? We'd love to hear your story, anonymously if that's what you'd prefer. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

A listener wants to know more about the secondary application. Given the the turnaround time often recommended (a week), how important are they? Do they need to be as well crafted as your personal statement? What do schools get out of them? And are they just a way for schools to extract more money from applicants? We asked our medical school's admissions staff for answers to these questions so you can get on with crafting your best possible application. And JC writes in to say nice things, including that he wants to start his own show when he matriculates this fall. Go, JC, GO! In science and medicine news, one major destination for patients' medical dollars is the emergency room visit. One recent study asks what do docs know about the costs of caring for some common complaints they see in the ER? Turns out, not much...but when doctors are in charge of knowing the costs of care, is the patient really helped? Meanwhile, a startup in (where else) California wants to charge $8000 to give old people young blood, because we need more dystopian sci-fi concepts. And a discussion on the problems people can experience surrounding orgasms reveals something about Kylie that would have made Jim Henson blush. We LOVE hearing from listeners, and we really work hard to answer your questions. If you have something to say or a question to ask, call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

Sometimes you're having so much fun that the time flies by and you forget that you have other important things to do. That's what happened on this week's show, in which Dave brings Aditi Patel, Aline Sandouk, Kylie Miller and Irene Morcuende along for a trip through the medical supplies section of Amazon. Can they guess what the medical device is based on the reviews alone? We did get to talk about one bit of medical news, pointed out to us on twitter by AJtha808Scientist: the fact that Iowa made national news by forcing the closure of 1/4 of its Planned Parenthood clinics. Thanks for the tip! We also heard from Hannah of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She wrote in to let us know why, according to the study we discussed in our last show about longevity in US counties, her beautiful corner of the country is so damn healthy. Spoiler: it doesn't involve sitting on the couch and eating chips like Dave was hoping. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

The world of work, and medical school, is often about adjusting for a number of "top" priorities. Dave's been having one of those weeks where his work is pulling him in several directions at once, and thought to ask his co-hosts Erin Pasaski, Patrick Brau, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Kaci McCleary what techniques they use when they, inevitably, find themselves struggling to manage all of the important tasks med school throws at them. Also, since the CCOM Writing and Humanities Program exists to bring art into the lives of busy med students, Dave went out and bought playdough so his co-hosts could flex their sculpting skills on common patient complaints. Visit our Facebook page for the gallery! Speaking of priorities, a research letter in JAMA takes note of the FDA's somewhat lackadaisical interest in surveilling the cosmetics and hair care industry, and why that should probably change. Will flu shots (and other vaccination injections) soon be replaced by a tiny bed of nails? And Dave warns medical students not to study with their phones in the same room. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

The world of work, and medical school, is often about adjusting for a number of "top" priorities. Dave's been having one of those weeks where his work is pulling him in several directions at once, and thought to ask his co-hosts Erin Pasaski, Patrick Brau, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Kaci McCleary what techniques they use when they, inevitably, find themselves struggling to manage all of the important tasks med school throws at them. Also, since the CCOM Writing and Humanities Program exists to bring art into the lives of busy med students, Dave went out and bought playdough so his co-hosts could flex their sculpting skills on common patient complaints. Visit our Facebook page for the gallery! Speaking of priorities, a research letter in JAMA takes note of the FDA's somewhat lackadaisical interest in surveilling the cosmetics and hair care industry, and why that should probably change. Will flu shots (and other vaccination injections) soon be replaced by a tiny bed of nails? And Dave warns medical students not to study with their phones in the same room. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

This week, Teneme Konne introduced Dave to some students participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/AAMC venture, the Summer Health Professions Education Program, which has as it's aim to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of minorities and prepare them to apply, matriculate, and succeed in healthcare professional education. Yasmine Rose, Kristine Pham, Gil Osuna-Leon and Martin Rosenfeld talk about how students of ethnicities underrepresented in medicine need this kind of mentorship from people who have faced, fought, and vanquished the same challenges they'll face on their path to medical school. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

As a planned parenthood sex educator, listener T'keyah wants to know what medical schools teach about meeting the needs of LGBTQIA+ patients. Amy Young, Patrick Brau, Liza Mann, and Teneme Konne can't, of course speak for all medical schools, but they can speak about what they are learning: quite a lot, not least because we have a great LGBTQ clinic for our students to do clerkships on! T'keyah snuck a second question in, too: she loves her job, and it's important work. So, is the advice she's gotten to stop working while studying for the MCAT valid? A study out of the UK says that men of advanced paternal age (ahem, forty or older) tend to father geekier boys: smart, focused, and unconcerned about what people think of them. And we took note of an column this week on why doctors swear so much. Hint: it's not all sunshine and roses, being a physician. With this in mind it is only logical that, in the name of science, Dave has his co-hosts stick their hands in ice water and recite Dr. Seuss. Will they be able to withstand the ethically induced pain? Thank you, T'keyah for your question! If you have something to say or a question to ask, call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

A flood of listener questions this week! It's probably due in part to medical school application season has begun, which means medical school applicants are trying to figure out if they have what it takes...on paper. For instance, an anonymous listener ("Meldor") called in to find out what kinds of gap year jobs Liza Mann, Elizabeth Shirazi, Kelsey Adler, and Teneme Konne thought would allow her to keep connected to the world of medicine while she's applying. Of course, there are lots of jobs like that...but is it really necessary? We play a game to find out who can best spin any gap year job to an admissions interviewer. Also, listener Mike returns to let us know more exactly what he was concerned about in our long-past episode in which we spoke of gun violence. Meanwhile, Andrea wants to know more about what medical students learn about health disparities; given that much of human disease is about societal influences, including economic and racial divides, it turns out the answer is quite a lot. Lastly, after hearing our recent discussion on food deserts, Erica let us know about an organization at her alma mater, the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Brightside Produce is devoted to generating scientific results that increase yields and reduce environmental impacts of small-scale agriculture in cities. Basically, they're fighting inner-city hunger using science to enable urban farmers.

Listener T'keyah sends Cole Cheney, Aline Sandouk, and John Pienta a question on gap years, which boils down to what kinds of gaps are okay according to admissions committees? Cole reveals his post-med school podcasting plans, and he and John discuss how not getting your residency match can be a GOOD thing...after one is done crying. And at T'Keyah's suggestion, we try to offer sex education to each other without using words or concepts banned by state boards of education. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

A listener wants to know more about the secondary application. Given the the turnaround time often recommended (a week), how important are they? Do they need to be as well crafted as your personal statement? What do schools get out of them? And are they just a way for schools to extract more money from applicants? We asked our medical school's admissions staff for answers to these questions so you can get on with crafting your best possible application. And JC writes in to say nice things, including that he wants to start his own show when he matriculates this fall. Go, JC, GO! In science and medicine news, one major destination for patients' medical dollars is the emergency room visit. One recent study asks what do docs know about the costs of caring for some common complaints they see in the ER? Turns out, not much...but when doctors are in charge of knowing the costs of care, is the patient really helped? Meanwhile, a startup in (where else) California wants to charge $8000 to give old people young blood, because we need more dystopian sci-fi concepts. And a discussion on the problems people can experience surrounding orgasms reveals something about Kylie that would have made Jim Henson blush. We LOVE hearing from listeners, and we really work hard to answer your questions. If you have something to say or a question to ask, call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

What is it about public health issues that lends itself to bandwagons? John Pienta, Levi Endelman, Hillary O'Brien, Issac Schwantes, and Jason Lewis discuss Finland's contribution to parenting, the cardboard box in which babies sleep. This year, hundreds of thousands of boxes will be given to new parents by US states in an attempt to improve infant mortality rates. Is that at all helpful, or are we ignoring other causes of death among infants? You know things are weird in healthcare when baking soda is in such short supply that hospitals start cutting back on open-heart surgery. And thanks to a certain 19th neuroanatomist's ideas about the relative sizes of the frontal lobe and the olfactory bulb, we decided that humans have crappy senses of smell...a 'fact' that turns out was never tested and is probably not at all true! We also heard from listener Mike, who we offended 70 episodes ago. We're not entirely sure what we said, exactly, that made Mike give us up after listening to roughly 80 hours of our half-baked opinions, but we always count ourselves fortunate to hear specific negative feedback (and hey, positive feedback is nice, too). Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

Sometimes you're having so much fun that the time flies by and you forget that you have other important things to do. That's what happened on this week's show, in which Dave brings Aditi Patel, Aline Sandouk, Kylie Miller and Irene Morcuende along for a trip through the medical supplies section of Amazon. Can they guess what the medical device is based on the reviews alone? We did get to talk about one bit of medical news, pointed out to us on twitter by AJtha808Scientist: the fact that Iowa made national news by forcing the closure of 1/4 of its Planned Parenthood clinics. Thanks for the tip! We also heard from Hannah of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She wrote in to let us know why, according to the study we discussed in our last show about longevity in US counties, her beautiful corner of the country is so damn healthy. Spoiler: it doesn't involve sitting on the couch and eating chips like Dave was hoping. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

It's a more-or-less unstated goal of ours to show medical learners that podcasting can be a beneficial experience both for the host and for listeners. And we're always banging on about the need for better science communicators. So Erin Pazaski, Levi Endelman, Kylie Miller, and Irene Morcuende were recently excited to get an email from Terel Jackson, a premed at OSU who said she had gotten the message! She started her own show, Health Science (For The Rest of Us), which takes "a super practical look at the body, its shenanigans, and the world of fascinating ways we try to keep it healthy." Of course, we had to have her on the show to tell us all about her adventures in radiation, body odor, neti pots, and more. Also, how Americans' lifespans vary widely by county, and the unusual prescription one PA hospital is giving their patients. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

Listener T'keyah sends Cole Cheney, Aline Sandouk, and John Pienta a question on gap years, which boils down to what kinds of gaps are okay according to admissions committees? Cole reveals his post-med school podcasting plans, and he and John discuss how not getting your residency match can be a GOOD thing...after one is done crying. And at T'Keyah's suggestion, we try to offer sex education to each other without using words or concepts banned by state boards of education. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

One of our podcasting goals is to encourage others to create their own shows, especially medical learners. So John Pienta, Irisa Mahaparn, Adam Erwood, and Erin Pazaski were pleased to hear from listener Terel, who got it and launched a podcast of her own! Go, Terel! Although perhaps she and her fellow pre-meds should (not) consider the path taken by another undergrad, who decided to skip all that pesky applying and test taking and just declare herself a medical student so she could jump right in and start seeing patients. On the other hand, if you worked hard getting your MD, then getting married to it may be something to consider. And Dave offers his co-hosts some practice at answering health questions they might really hear someday, which he pulled from the saddest place on the internet: Yahoo! Answers. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

Improvisational acting is a greater part of medical school than one might expect. Between pretending to be doctors for one's simulated patients, or acting like you know what you're doing when you're not entirely sure, a big part of med ed is faking it until you make it. So Dave, in his never ending quest to offer (ahem) valuable teaching moments, asks Mark Moubarek, Irisa Mahaparn, Kaci McCleary, and newcomer Johnny Henstrom to put on their masks once again for a game of General Haze-pital. Will Johnny be cured by the dashing doctor Dr. Mark and his two eager med students, Kaci and Irisa? Tune in to find out. Also, we discuss the recent trend of trying to cure public health issues by using market forces, including the recent proposal to tax prescription opioid manufacturers a penny per milligram to fund addiction treatment and prevention. And an Indian medical student turns to Whatsapp to deliver a baby on a train...thus fulfilling a heroic daydream we've all had about saving the day in dire circumstances. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or send your greetings to us at [email protected].

We've got a crowd of M1s in the house rapidly approaching the end of their first year. This past week, Kylie Jade Miller, Levi Endelman, Adam Erwood, and new co-host Irene Morcuende took their physical exam skills practical exam; and they discussed some research they did at the intersections of medical and society--the public health implications of the American-as-apple-pie cycle of incarceration, the effects of Medicare expansion have had on access to mental healthcare, what happens when substance abuse sufferers are offered clean needle and Narcan, and whether taxing sugary drinks have an effect on obesity. Dave, seeing an opportunity to torture his co-hosts, put them through a Pop Quiz: can they discern if the research he presents to them is real or from the depths of Dave's mind? Kylie uses the occasion to let her secret gunner out. Listeners, we offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email us at [email protected].

Dave is no scientist, but he is 'science-adjacent.' This week, after having read of research involving the benefits to brain function conferred by Marmite consumption, he conducts his own experiment on SCP hosts John Pienta, Kaci McCleary, Aline Sandouk, and Nathan Miller. Will they be able to use their new Marmite-based powers to pass Dave's Pop Quiz and identify actual Amazing Health Products You Can Get? Listener Hannah wants to know all about the medical science training program lifestyle, and how it differs from the MD student experience, and since Aline is an MSTP student herself, Hannah's in luck. And 23andMe has finally received approval from the FDA to offer genetic screenings for defects that either one already knows about or that knowing about might do more harm than good. Listeners, if you like what you hear today, please leave us a review on iTunes!

Among the topics we Short Coats often ruminate on is the lack of basic science literacy in the public and press...and among politicians. How did we get to this place when science is so mistrusted? So when Dave put out the call for co-hosts to talk with this week's guest, Kelsy Adler, Levi Endelman, Lisa Wehr, Marc Toral, and Laura Quast were only too happy to oblige. Shaughnessy Naughton is the founder of 314 Action, an organization that seeks to address dearth of science knowledge among politicians directly by encouraging and financing the election of people with STEM backgrounds to public office at all levels. Shaughnessy Naughton is the founder of 314 Action, which "champions electing more leaders to the U.S. Senate, House, State Executive and Legislative offices who come from STEM backgrounds." her organization seeks to change are politicians' active resistance to the acquisition of data on things like gun violence and climate change, and ignorance of the evidence that already exists on vaccinations and evolution. Among the challenges they face is the perception that science is above politics; the task of creating and financing a network of donors and supporters; understanding and effectively countering the politician's biases toward reflecting certainty instead of nuance. And they're addressing the need for training people of science to move beyond simple advocacy so that they can engage with the political process and change the system's anti-science biases from within. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for occasional Live shows in which you can participate.

Sometimes, Dave has ideas. This time Dave's idea was to get his long-suffering co-hosts to enjoy the YouTube beauty treatment known as The Black Mask. Because, dermatology! Which is better, the DIY treatment or the store-bought version? Kaci McCleary, John Pienta, Adam Erwood, and Lisa Wehr will try to suss it out so you don' t have to. Also, we discuss Iowa's shortcomings with respect to mental health--its recent closures of state mental health hospitals and the reduction of psych beds across the state--as well as Iowa's recent moves counter to the trend--adding hospital beds and even residency programs! Meanwhile, is the anesthetic ketamine poised to revolutionize emergency treatment for suicidal depression? It's been many years since we had a new class of drugs to treat depression, but as always there are risks and doubts to be considered. On a related note, Dave attended a meeting of CCOM's new chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and John reviews briefly the College's new class "The Thriving Physician," both meant as antidotes for medical education's deleterious effects on mental health. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page where we often broadcast our recording sessions live so you can join in on Fridays.

This episode is all about false dichotomies--situations or ideas that seem like dilemmas (and thus require a difficult choice to be made) but which really aren't. Much of the public discussions of things like the hours that residents work, the funding for medical research, the lifestyles that residents are forced to lead, the choices that prospective medical students make are couched in terms of either/or choices. Corbin Weaver, Matt Wilson, John Pienta, and Kaci McCleary discuss the alleged dilemmas that we encounter in medicine and medical education, and conclude that these choices are often not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have both shorter hours and safer patient handoffs and quality education, despite rules that seem to indicate otherwise. It is possible to adequately fund basic science research and fund a sensible national defense, despite presidential budgets that slash NIH funding. And should listener Justin study during the summer prior to med school to begin medical school on the right foot, or will he struggle if he takes a break to live a little? Listeners, share your thoughts and questions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time.

Statistics on Human Trafficking vary, but Dr. Shannon Findlay, an Emergency Medicine resident at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, offers some sobering information. It is believed that 21 million people worldwide are affected by human trafficking, and perhaps 18,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year in forced labor or sex work. It's not just people being brought into the country against their will, either, or even moved across state lines. Even people within their home towns can be victims. Recognizing that someone is a victim of human trafficking is difficult, as there are so many variables and misunderstandings to overcome. Physicians may be running across victims and not realizing it, even if something doesn't seem right about a patient interaction. Corbin Weaver, Tarek Karam, and Kylie Miller join Dr. Shannon to discuss the problem, how physicians can recognize potential victims, and what they can do about it. And with Match Day around the corner, Dr. Findlay also recalls her match day experience as well as offers advice to new residents in their intern year. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page where every Friday we go live to include your questions and comments in our show.

Dr. Sharon Larson is Iowa's first female cardiothoracic surgeon. You might be forgiven for thinking that Iowa's been a bit backwards for not having had this glass ceiling broken sooner, but there aren't exactly a surplus of women who've sought out this demanding career. In the United States, only 5% of CT surgeons are women in this already-tiny specialty. When Dave read about her in the local paper, he figured she'd be a great guest for Kylie Miller, Philip Huang, Hadeal Ayoub, and Erin Pazaski to talk with about things like glass ceilings and how women succeed in a man's world. Turns out, Dave was right--she's a great guest to talk to about the long road to becoming an attending in her field, what male surgeons should know about female surgeons and vice versa, and how a woman might find she and her friends taking golf lessons to prove a point. Listeners, hearing from you makes everything better. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

We recorded this week's show while doing a Facebook LiveThis week we start with some feedback from listener Paulius, who has a suggestion for a future show on the unsung heroes of primary care. Thank you! Dave bats the idea around with John Pienta, Kylie Miller, Tarek Karam and Elizabeth Shirazi. Meanwhile, as biomedical science grapples with a study-replication crisis perhaps caused by structural problems that discourage repetition in favor of novel findings and breakthroughs, we consider the advice of Ioannis Yannas, one of the inventors of artificial skin. Are cat lovers really at risk for schizophrenia? A large UK study says piffle, although cat-lover Kylie points out that there are some caveats. And though Tarek and Kylie are well-behaved on the mic, their individual approaches to weather-related flight delays reveal some points of contention. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Love is on the air this week, as Cole Cheney hears a declaration of listener Naomi's feelings...and then gets a Valentine's week surprise. Also, Dave, Matt Wilson, Levi Endelman, and newbie Tarek Karam confront the perils of old age (apparently, Dave is emitting 2-Nonenal as we speak). An article on the lower cost of body donation (as compared to funeral costs) has the group thinking about the contributions their own donors have had on both their education and their understanding of how important it is to do one's best to honor them. As Match Week creeps up on us, the potential for confusion is high for hospitals and residents from from countries marked for travel bans/extreme vetting/whatever by the US president. To the extent the US healthcare system depends on foreign medical graduates and international medical graduates, there may be trouble ahead. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

The efficacy of any biomedical researcher is based on his or her foundation of scientific knowledge. Few would have any problem grasping that idea. What's less well understood, by both researchers and laypeople alike, are the stories of the biological materials they work with. Often these materials are cell cultures, tissue samples, human DNA. Unlike the chemicals, reagents, test tubes, and machinery used in research, these materials often come from people. That's easily forgotten when they can be ordered from catalogs and websites in the way of other commodities. But those people, who may no longer live among us, have stories. In the case of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman who passed away in the early 1950s of cervical cancer, the cells taken from her without her or her families' knowledge touched off a revolution in biomedical science. They've contributed to the vaccine for polio, were the first cells to be cloned, and have been used in a number of cancer, virus, and pharmacological studies all over the world. Rebecca Skloot's 2009 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks noted that Mrs. Lacks' cells have been used in more than 60,000 studies, and 300 more are being added each month. They are of huge importance to science because they were the first so-called immortal cell line--unlike most cells, they divide and reproduce essentially without limit. But though no-one in Henrietta Lacks' family knew of their existence at first, the cells ultimately became of huge importance to her descendants. In this episode, Alison Pletch, Eboni Jones, Greg Pelc, and I were honored to be able to welcome two members of the Lacks family to the show. David Lacks is Mrs. Lacks' grandson, and Victoria Baptiste is her great granddaughter, and they spoke with us about their ancestor, informed consent, and their work with the National Institutes of Health on HeLa cell research guidelines.

Ian Drummond is a fourth-year student at Case Western. When it came time to consider what specialty to go into, Ian realized he didn't have the knowledge needed to make an informed choice. So he did what anyone would do: started a podcast in which he will interview physicians from all 120 medical specialties listed on the AAMC's Careers in Medicine site. Okay, not everyone would do that, but he did, and iatroblasts everywhere owe him a huge thank you. Because while it is a massive undertaking it is also super helpful! Cole Cheney, Tarun Kadaru, Liza Mann, and Hillary O'Brien spoke with Ian to find out what he's learning from his guests on The Undifferentiated Medical Student. We also discuss the challenges and benefits of podcasting for busy med students. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Is labeling people during a med school interview a good idea? Is such labeling always an example of ad hominem? Are doctors who write newspaper articles espousing antivaccination ideas deserving of sanction by their employers, or are they simply expressing valid concerns? Are their employers guilty of the same sins as administrators at NASA who didn't listen to engineers before the space shuttle Challenger disaster? Our first tweetstorm critique brought Dave to consider all these thoughts with Matt Wilson, newbies Laura Quast and Kendra Frey, and Adam Erwood. Also, radiologists face the extinction of diagnostic radiology by AI and pigeons, 3D printers capable of producing functionally complete human skin are here, and hybrid pig-human embryos all found their way into the news this week. And Dave tests his co-hosts' knowledge of medical history in a Pop Quiz. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

On Inauguration Day, listener Tekia (and we hope that's spelled right) called to let us know that we were helping her stay frosty. Another listener, Liza, wrote wondering if her peers with MD family members are at an advantage in medical school. Co-hosts John Pienta and Adam Erwood (who have physicians in their immediate families) and Kylie Miller and Rob Humble (who don't) are happy to discuss the blessings supposedly showered upon those for whom medicine is a family business, and how those who aren't so fortunate can soldier on without those advantages. Also, birds don't break wind. Thanks for letting us know, Twitter. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every week.

Medical school admissions committees look for clinical experiences on applications, so it behooves premeds to seek out ways to get into the clinic as a way of learning about the practice of medicine and to show they are serious about becoming a physician. But there are clinical experiences that can hurt your application, and the Association of American Medical Colleges want to warn premeds that participation might signal a lack of judgement. Corbin Weaver, Kylie Miller, Teneme Konne, and Levi Endelman give some advice on the ones to avoid. Meanwhile our president-elect is thinking about creating a 'commission on autism,' and may be looking to a well-known anti-vaxxer to head it up. And a cybersecurity flaw leaves pacemakers and defibrillators wide open to hackers, allowing them to shock patients or drain batteries. And we find out whether our co-hosts can really understand their patients, even if they speak sdrawkcab. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Fresh from winter break, Kaci McCleary, Tony Rosenberg, Mark Moubarek, and new co-host Teneme Konne bring us up to date on their activities during their time off. We hear from co-host Amy Young as she sends in her (surprising?) thoughts on the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, the good old mesentery might get a well deserved promotion, from fatty membrane that gets in the way during abdominal surgery but conveniently holds your spleen to full blown organ...so long as you're an Irish researcher. Sadly, recent extra-legal efforts to replace fatally flawed mitochondria in human ova with healthy ones might prove to be worthless (and worse). France declares everyone an organ donor, unless you opt out (you jerk). And Dave takes everyone on a tour of the murky world of autonomous sensory meridian response on YouTube. Will we jump on the bandwagon, or wipe the condensed hot breath off our ears and sit this one out? Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Dave and the gang (Kaci McCleary, Rob Humble, Elizabeth Shirazi, and later in the show Anthony Hunt (an Iowa pharmacy student to whom Rob is affianced) say goodbye to what many acknowledge was an itchy, prurient rash of a year. Fortunately, medical students around the country are working to make medical school a better place, including some Michigan students who have formed a consult service for those who need help not being terrible oral presenters. NASA technology is doing its part, taking Mars lander technology and using it to detect bed sores, which is a far bigger deal than you might expect. Another group of researchers has created a cool bit of nanotech that can effectively diagnose 17 different disorders just by 'smelling' your breath. Can today's co-hosts smell any better than a bunch of high tech nano-whatis? We do a little experiment to find out. Share your thoughts and ideas with us each week: call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, send us emails at [email protected], and follow us on Facebook.

Dave once again forces the group to play a game of questionable relevance to medicine in which his co-hosts ask each other anatomy questions while wearing speech jammer headphones. Corbin Weaver, Matt Wilson, and Issac Schwantes are good sports, however, which is easy for them seeing as how Dave is the absolute worst at talking while wearing the mind-scrambling headset. We also discuss a couple recent examples of bias in medicine, including flight attendants' response to a young, black doctor's offer to help a distressed passenger in flight, and Delta's follow up admission that its policies weren't helpful. Another example: a recent study that seemed to conclude women were better doctors than men, without addressing other, perhaps systemic reasons for the results. And what can hairdressers do about domestic violence? Illinois lawmakers think they can help quite a bit. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

We tried Roto Z eye drops in the past, and were unimpressed. But thanks to Doug Russo, who secured the real deal--Roto Z Pro eye drops--Kaci McCleary and newbies Matt Wilson, Jenna Schade and Elizabeth Shirazi felt the burn. Now that they're suitably refreshed, Dave decides that he must do his part to help med students keep their wits about them by playing a game of MegaClash! Listener and ortho resident Emily calls in to say hello and express concern that med students are forced to choose specialties based on shallow exposures. We address a worrying sentiment Dave noticed popping up a lot this week: that "if you can see yourself doing anything else besides being a doctor, do that instead." But it's cool, because the National Academy of Medicine has formed a coalition of organizations to address burnout and suicide in medicine and medical education. And a UK surgeon offers his students a way to observe surgery without all the boring bits, leveraging Snapchat Spectacles. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Dave and the crew--Mark Moubarek, Levi Endelman, Julie Gudenkauf, and Erin Pazaski--look back on things they experienced as the semester draws to a close. As first years, Levi and Erin share their thoughts on entering medical school. Mark is getting ready for his clerkships to begin. And Julie has finished up her primary-care clerkships and is moving into exploring some of the more specialized areas of medicine. We also discuss the not surprising fact that baby-boomers are more into cannabis than their children and grandchildren are. Meanwhile, some other podcasters who couldn't join us this week send in their Short Thoughts on American consumerism, a woman that was truly a pioneer in medicine, and cats. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

Coaching is an integral part of sports, it's often used by corporate executives, and even helps people manage ADHD. But until recently coaching wasn't something physicians used to achieve their goals. For this show, Mark Moubarek, Aline Sandouk, and Amy Young talk with Georgetown University faculty member Maggi Cary and Georgetown student Jack Penner. Dr. Cary is a certified coach specializing in leadership coaching for healthcare professionals. But a serendipitous acquaintance with Jack lead to him becoming a client. Recognizing its value for him as a student--in dealing with the so-called hidden curriculum and impostor syndrome, among other things--they have put together a pro-bono arrangement for twelve Georgetown student with area coaches. These relationships have allowed students to address areas of concern for them without the fears they may have in reaching out to faculty or peers, such as raising red flags or competitive issues. It has also allowed them to get some of the individual attention they may be missing in education systems that are focused more on mass production of doctors. And as medicine itself moves away from the idea that the doctor is the captain of the ship and towards a more integrative model of cooperation between medical professionals, more doctors are excited about learning leadership, management, and even surgical skills that encourage and value the input of their teammates. Dr. Cary and Jack also help us consider an idea sent in by listener JW--that burnout among physicians might be addressed by adopting a less martyred approach to their work in favor of understanding that "it's just a job." Share your thoughts with us on this episode and ideas for future episodes. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every week.

Just hours before a new crop of medical students are to be welcomed into the world of medicine, Kaci McCleary, John Pienta, Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek, and Lisa Wehr confront one of the most uncomfortable topics in medical education: physician and student suicide.  Among doctors, suicide rates are much higher than among the general population.  The long hours, high pressure (from both one's internal monologue and from outside sources) to succeed, fear of public humiliation regarding one's shortcomings, isolation, inadequate supervision, the stigma against mental illness, the career penalties faced by those who admit to unwellness, and more, all contribute to the problem.  Institutions also have a difficult time addressing incidents of physician suicide effectively, as they try to walk a tightrope strung between respect for the privacy of the deceased, the needs of colleague survivors to talk about it, the desire to avoid adverse publicity.  Meanwhile, the work does not stop. The only breaks are a moment of silence, a visit with a grief counselor, or an "open forum" to discuss one's feelings. 

Happy Thanksgiving! The crew--John Pienta, Marc Toral, Dylan Todd and new guy Jay Blomme--were lucky enough to hear from a couple listeners about our recent post-presidential election episode. For instance, Kayla called 347-SHORTCT to say thanks; we presume she had more to say, but she got cut off. We continue our discussions on logic and logical errors, considering the efforts that Facebook and Google are making to reduce the effects of 'fake news.' John has some suggestions on how to have a productive conversation with people whose opinions you don't share. Dylan is the master of strange analogies that ultimately are right on target. We discuss one idea in DIY medicine we might be able to get behind, a device that allows women to take some control of their breast reconstruction journey. And we mark the passing of 'The Radioactive Boy Scout,' David Hahn, who attempted to build a working nuclear reactor in his back yard as a teenager. And some podcasters who couldn't join us this week send in their thoughts on what they'd do with an extra day no one else could mess with. Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

With the close of the election of 2016, many people, including us, found themselves dismayed and surprised by a great many things. But why were we so shocked? Now that our hindsight has been LASIK'd, some are noticing the truth that was hiding in plain sight: people were feeling ignored. And those people were the ones that the electoral college protects: rural Americans. In this episode, we (that is, Dave, Mark Moubarek, John Pienta, Rob Humble, and Amy Hanson) try to step out of our bubble. We cast our eyes on our own ignorance and speculate a little on what our fellow Americans want. We try to avoid politics in this episode in favor of thoughtful, empathetic consideration. Let us know whether or not we were successful.

John Pienta, Levi Endelman, Kylie Miller, and Adam Erwood get to answer some probing questions: what's the first thing a student wants to know upon starting a new clerkship? What's the most important skill they've ever learned? And what medical specialty should Vladimir Putin pursue? Also, if you're in a performance slump, science says you just need to be reminded that one day you will be worm food. And men seem to be having trouble with the idea of having minor procedures and experiencing side effects in exchange for the privilege of having sex without certain undesirable consequences like babies. And we discuss the apparent YouTube trend of DIY braces made by 13-year-olds from wires, superglue, and rubber bands. If you can ignore the risks of your face falling off, it's a real money saver!

Compassion fatigue is a problem for many practitioners. In medicine, some of the needs are so great, and the resources are often so finite. Aline Sandouk, John Pienta, Rob Humble, and Kaci McCleary discuss what happens when caring itself becomes a limited resource, the reasons empathy can dwindle, ways to cultivate it, and the role that compassion can play in caring for oneself. We also learn what monks and nuns are teaching us about how compassion manifests positivity and even neural plasticity. Also, in his role as showrunner, Dave talks with the group about whether it's a good time (or even a good idea) to spread the word through things like t-shirts (you can let him know what you think about it), and the crew visits with the strange patients over at Yahoo! Answers, where people are vibrating on command, accidentally pulling out their nerves, and considering cranial anatomy.

Halloweeeeeeennnn! It's upon us, and while we're women and men of science around here, we're not completely able to shed our lizard-brain's need to take shortcuts. Which is why we are not at all surprised to know that ER docs still think the moon's revolutions around the big blue marble are in any way important. Fortunately, the post-cave-dwellers at the Marburg Center for Undiagnosed and Rare Disease are putting IBM's Watson to good use by diagnosing--in seconds-- rare diseases that defy the efforts of meatier doctors. And a Rutgers study finds that med school faculty severely underestimate students' stress and mental health issues. But enough of that scariness; the Short Coat Podcast is fielding a team for the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine's Trivia Night fundraiser, so we practice and accidentally learn a lot more than we thought we would.

WHO researchers in Uganda are keen to teach schoolchildren there how to spot dubious health claims. This leads Dave to ask Levi Endelman, John Pienta, and newcomers Alice Ye and Adam Erwood whether their generation was taught the principles of logic and scientific thought in a way more effective than his own generation was taught. On a related note, listener Jake writes in to remind John that even we on The Short Coat Podcast, careful as we are to disclaim any logic whatsoever, should be wary of "shallow/uncontrolled" arguments.  We discuss emerging ideas on treating ICU patients in ways that minimize ICU delirium and PTSD, a problem once known as ICU psychosis, including changing the ways patients are sedated, their environments, the emphasis on convenience for healthcare personnel, and other factors that may be making patients crazy. Perhaps one day, ICU patients might receive some benefit from Kratom, which the DEA has now removed from the Schedule 1 drugs list after public outcry.  And doctors are still better than online "symptom checkers" at diagnosing both common and uncommon illnesses.  Take that, Doctor Google.

[Since Dave and the Writing and Humanities Program was putting on an art-and-medicine conference last week, we’re posting this rerun.  Enjoy!] Dave helps Mark Moubarek, Amy Young, Rob Humble, and Corbin Weaver to practice their clinical skills by  answering random people’s “health” questions from the saddest place on the Internet. But first we discuss the AMA’s policy to support the ban on direct to consumer advertising of drugs and implantable devices, and how such advertising makes the doctor-patient relationship complicated. Will drug companies retaliate by advocating for bans on advertising doctors and hospitals to patients.  Researchers in the UK may be about to get the green light to edit the genes of human embryos seeking answers to why some miscarriages happen.  Are we approaching the slippery slope? A neurologist wonders why Ted Cruz’s face is so unsettling.  And we note with interest a number of recent public health news stories in which officials suggest that women have the primary role in undesirable health consequences, including Zika/microcephaly and alcohol-related unwanted pregnancies; now South Africa has chimed in by tying scholarships for young women to virginity in order to prevent the spread of HIV. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher [huge_it_gallery id=”68″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

This week, Dave, Aline Sandouk, John Pienta, Doug Russo, and Tony Rosenberg reflect upon the joy that podcasting brings, as we were recording the show on International Podcasting Day (Sept. 30).  Something else to celebrate: Doug (and Rob Humble) got to chill with an actual hobbit.  Or maybe it was Sean Astin, it isn't entirely clear. But whoever it was, Samwise was in Iowa stumping for Hillary Clinton. Hobbitses are very liberal, what with their hairy feet and pipeweed. Meanwhile, Doug was listening to the recent show in which Mark Moubarek discussed Rhoto eye drops, and bought some for us to "do." After the burning subsides, we discuss the advice from an attending overheard recently: should everyone really try to know everything?

After listening to our recent show that featured a review of a wrist-worn device that you can shock yourself with to punish you for engaging in bad habits, listener Paulius drops us a line to ask what Amy Young, Corbin Weaver, Aline Sandouk, and John Pienta do to reward themselves when they do the right things. Like watching YouTube videos of people doing things well. Or turning your life into a video game. Next, Amy attempts to learn some sort of lesson about clinical medicine as a result of her recent nasty bike wreck. And Dave's fear of ending up on YouTube in a video recorded while he recovers from anesthesia leads to a discussion on online privacy

Close your eyes, and picture an opioid abuser. If you're like me, you see a man in a flophouse or dark alley. He's cooking up heroin in a spoon over a lighter. Maybe he has a loop of tubing around his upper arm, and he's shooting the heroin into a vein in the crook of his elbow. Once he's done with the injection, he leans back with a euphoric sigh. Fade to black. Maybe it's just me, but this is the image that, for years, mediated my perception of the opioid epidemic, but it's a stereotype created by television and movies. Even as a stereotype, it's outdated, though. For decades, now, much of the epidemic is one of prescription drugs. The CDC says 78 people die from opioid overdoses every day. At least half of all opioid overdoses are from prescription drugs. Meanwhile, deaths from illegally made opioids, like the synthetic Fentanyl which is often mixed with heroin or cocaine to increase the high, increased 80% from 2013 to 2014. The American Society of Addiction Medicine says that prescription pain reliever overdose deaths among women increased more than 400% from 1999 to 2010, compared to 237% among men. In 2014, 168,000 adolescents were addicted to prescription pain medications. More than 2 and a half times that number of kids were taking prescription pain relievers for non-medical uses. Next week, from September 26 to September 30, 2016, the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine will host the Opioid Overdose Prevention Summit. Second-years med students Sarah Ziegenhorn, Petra Hahn, and Cameron Foreman helped organize the conference, in which students from the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Social Work, Public Health, and Nursing will join together to increase their knowledge and to influence public policy and legislation; personal perspectives; and student advocacy. , Sarah, Petra and Cameron were joined by Assistant Dean Denise Martinez and Nurse Kim Brown, whose son Andy died of an overdose, to talk about the issues of opioid addiction, treatment, and overdose prevention.

This week, Dave volunteers to wear a device that's received a lot of buzz lately, Pavlok. It's creator says that through classical conditioning it will help eliminate bad habits--nail biting, unhealthy eating, procrastination, for instance. It's ubiquity on Dave's social media feeds this past summer got Dave thinking about how much of human disease is based in behavior, bad habits. So Dave asked the company to send it's crowdfunded, wrist-mounted electrical shocker for evaluation, and they inexplicably said yes. Aline Sandouk, Lisa Wehr, and Nick Sparr all had a crack at it, and share their experience. Along with Rachel Schenkel, they attempt to use it to teach Dave not to say "Uh." Is it effective and worth the $169 price tag? Are its integrations with the Internet of Things or its Chrome plugin a help for those looking to kick their bad habits? Are there better, cheaper alternatives? Also, the Affordable Care Act has begun withholding Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals based on patient satisfaction surveys, and giving bonuses to those which do well on those surveys. We explore medical education's trade-offs in a game of what if. Hint: it turns out that our little group members are a bit mercenary.

Stress is a part of medical school. Worrying about tests, studying until you drop, late nights, early mornings, and drinking from the firehose all seem to promote the idea that med students should do nothing else but study. Dave, Aditi Patel, Marc Toral, Levi Endelman, and Kylie Miller agree, which is one reason Aditi and Dave put on a monthly Art Club. Students get together over lunch and have fun with paints, ceramics, drawing, whatever! No pressure, just an hour away from medicine. And speaking of being away from medicine, a listener calls into 347-SHORTCT with a question about how best to keep in touch with family and friends who might not understand the demands of medical school. And we discuss Aditi's family (who just happen to be the subject of a documentary available on Netflix) and the methods they're using to select her future husband. And we play Superfight!

Dave, John Pienta, Mark Moubarek, Matt Maves, and Levi Endelman are aware that the world is full of questions.  Nowhere is that more true than on the saddest place on the Internet, Yahoo! Answers. There folks ask the kinds of things that a primary care physician might have to answer.  What is the worst way to get rid of acne scars?  What could be the cause of blisters on one's lips after kissing one's dog?  How much milk should one use in one's bath?  There are no stupid questions. But first, since Matt has returned from a year in Des Moines doing clerkships there, we discuss what that's been like and the benefits of doing some clerkships outside a more academic setting.  We also discuss the psychiatric disorder pica and the kinds of things people swallow on purpose (or by accident).  Also we talk about drug maker Mylan's difficulties with, well, everyone after we collectively realized they're gouging patients who need epinephrine auto-injectors to keep themselves alive.  Meanwhile, a company is offering a supplement that its CEO, a pioneering MIT aging researcher, and it's Nobel-prize festooned board of scientific advisors say might just be a way to extend the human health span.

yan Gray, MD, was a physician in the Air Force. He'd planned all along to be an orthopaedic surgeon...but the military had other plans for him: aerospace medicine. Later, when a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis forced him to give up flying, his career plans changed once again, and he decided to set aside the practice of medicine to focus his growing business as the proprietor of MedicalSchoolHQ.net where he advises pre-medical students on their efforts to get into medical school. He's also a podcaster in that vein, as the host of The Premed Years podcast, the OldPreMeds Podcast, and The MCAT Podcast. As Dave, Nicole Morrow, Amy Hansen, Alex Volkmar, and Tony Rosenberg found, not only is Dr. Gray a thoughtful adviser, but he's a lot of fun to talk to. His thoughts on being a non-traditional medical student (he was one himself), the efforts of some schools to create competency- and systems-based curricula instead of exam-based curricula, and the types of students admissions committees are most interested in are definitely worth knowing. And check out Dr. Gray's new book, The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical School Interview.

Just hours before a new crop of medical students are to be welcomed into the world of medicine, Kaci McCleary, John Pienta, Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek, and Lisa Wehr confront one of the most uncomfortable topics in medical education: physician and student suicide.  Among doctors, suicide rates are much higher than among the general population.  The long hours, high pressure (from both one's internal monologue and from outside sources) to succeed, fear of public humiliation regarding one's shortcomings, isolation, inadequate supervision, the stigma against mental illness, the career penalties faced by those who admit to unwellness, and more, all contribute to the problem.  Institutions also have a difficult time addressing incidents of physician suicide effectively, as they try to walk a tightrope strung between respect for the privacy of the deceased, the needs of colleague survivors to talk about it, the desire to avoid adverse publicity.  Meanwhile, the work does not stop. The only breaks are a moment of silence, a visit with a grief counselor, or an "open forum" to discuss one's feelings. 

Is Dave ready for Snapchat? Corbin Weaver, Cole Cheney, Taz Khalid, and Tony Rosenberg try to convince him to start one up for the show. Are antibiotics really dead, now that the first totally resistant E.coli bacteria has been found in a US patient? Amazon reviews of common medical equipment leave everyone a bit unsettled. We explore Corbin's reflections on psychiatry and whether patients are helped or hindered when healthcare does the tasks of everyday life for them. And since dental health is so important for overall health, Dave creates some savory alternatives to traditional toothpaste flavors, and the crew tests them out, to see if any of them are a good idea.

Dave is excited to meet some new people who are getting ready to don the short coat this coming week. Kylie Miller, Brady Campbell, Kyle Anderson are all new students at the Carver College of Medicine. Each of them would be called a non-traditional medical students, either because they come to med school with a college degree outside the usual pre-medical subjects, or because they took a break between college and medical school. This summer they all participated in the Introduction to Medical Education at Iowa program, and along with their teaching assistant Vivian Zhu, were adventurous enough to take the microphones for a spin. What other things these guys did to prepare for starting their medical studies? Have they experienced any doubt? Have they considered the emotional challenges med school offers in addition to the hard work?

Dave's feeling a bit concerned for the future of the world these days. As a consumer of science fiction movies and books, he's long noticed a theme therein: that of the old people holding on to the reigns of power, both economic and political, while the young people struggle for a foothold.  As society continues to skew older--with medicine becoming better and better at keeping the elderly healthy longer--will the youngsters lose whatever agency they have?  John Pienta, Nick Sparr, Tony Rosenberg and Taz Khalid humor Dave by talking about it.  Also, since Tony's here, there is  somehow more talk of poop.

Do you, dear students, have tons of money? No? Weird. Luckily, Joe Saul-Sehy of the Stacking Benjamins podcast joins us on the show this week.  Joe was a financial advisor for many years, he was known as the Money Man  on WXYZ-TV in Detroit, and he’s a financial columnist in a bunch of places around the print and web news media. He and his wife Cheryl, a pediatrician, have gone through all the stages that pre-meds and med students go through. So we asked him to join us to talk about the strategies they employed to claw their way back from med school debt, educating yourself about how money works, having fun with  managing your money, and why it's particularly important for doctors to understand money.  Joe's got plenty of information, resources and 'fintech' apps to recommend for succeeding in this area that many people (never mind med students) have not adequately explored.

Sister Helen Prejean has been an anti-death-penalty advocate since 1981, when she first became the pen pal of a death-row inmate in Louisiana's Angola State Prison. Since then she's witnessed five executions in Louisiana, and has written two books on the subject, including the book that was made into the 1996 film Dead Man Walking. The role of physicians in state-sanctioned death isn't much talked about, and being a prison physician isn't something many doctors aspire to; nevertheless, we saw an opportunity to talk with Sister Helen about why medical students should think more about the death penalty.

Dr. Lauren Hughes is a graduate of the Carver College of Medicine who, in addition to her work as a family physician, has made a career in public policy. During medical school she also got her Masters in Public Health at George Washington University in Washington, DC. After graduating from med school in 2009, she delayed her residency to serve the American Medical Student Association as its national president, and then completed her residency at the University of Washington. These days Dr. Hughes is the Deputy Secretary of Health Innovation at the Pennsylvania Department of Public Health. Mark Moubarek, Corbin Weaver, Rob Humble and newcomer Morgan Bobb spoke with her about her career in public health and policy.

On a recent show, Dave opined that shaving one's armpit hair might cut down on deodorant failure, and a listener called into vindicate him, much to Mark Moubarek's shame. Another listener, PharmD and author Tony wants to know how a medical student gets to the point where they can be confident enough to say to a patient, "There will be no problems." Mark, Amy Young, John Pienta, and newcomer Julie Gudenkauf weigh in on the acquisition of confidence and the art of reassurance.

John Pienta's been experimenting with his diet. Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek and Corbin Weaver talk about the science and John's experiences with a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. He concludes that the medical profession is giving bad advice about what we eat and how nutrition works. Plus, John drops some knowledge on how the combination of theanine and caffeine can improve cognitive performance (for goodness sake, ask your doctor first, none of us are qualified on this stuff). And is the tide shifting against the National Rifle Association? The American Medical Association's reaction to the recent Orlando mass shooting is one sign, perhaps. We discuss America's gun culture, the signal that open carriers send to people around them, the cultural components of using guns as a resolution to problems, and more. Is increasing violence in America a sign that humanity's immune system is kicking in?

In his former life, co-host Mark Moubarek was a children's entertainer. So in a stroke of genius, Dave decides to have him make balloon animals for Aline Sandouk, Marc Toral, and Rob Humble. On an audio podcast.  But it's okay because it's summer! Or, read another way, Dave had nothing prepared for the show, and so we're free styling.  Not a care (or a plan) in the world.  We talk about eating bugs, the television programs we were allowed to watch as children, Dave's impending trip to the Podcast Movement conference, and how he'd love to do a presentation on what podcasting can do for medicine.  Also, Aline's physical transformation after she took Step 1, and we observe the phenomenon of scientists with out of control eyebrows.

Ask "How are you?" of students in the hallways of the Carver College of Medicine, and you'll hear them respond that they're "living the dream." Okay, that's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but getting to live that dream is easier for some groups of people than it is for others. After Dave spoke to UI med student Terrance Wong about his plans to connect mentors with pre-meds who need them, especially minority pre-meds, Dave and Alison Pletch thought it'd be fun to get together with some of those very people and find out what they're doing to prepare for medical school. What are the challenges they've faced? And what resources have they found to help them get there? Xavier Ferrer, Teneme Konne, and Waale Gbara--members of the University of Iowa's Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students--join us with their personal stories; and if you are a student "underrepresented in medicine," what have you learned on your journey to medical school? And what questions would you have asked that we forgot? Tell us at http://theshortcoat.com/tellus.

Is Dave ready for Snapchat? Corbin Weaver, Cole Cheney, Taz Khalid, and Tony Rosenberg try to convince him to start one up for the show. Are antibiotics really dead, now that the first totally resistant E.coli bacteria has been found in a US patient? Amazon reviews of common medical equipment leave everyone a bit unsettled. We explore Corbin's reflections on psychiatry and whether patients are helped or hindered when healthcare does the tasks of everyday life for them. And since dental health is so important for overall health, Dave creates some savory alternatives to traditional toothpaste flavors, and the crew tests them out, to see if any of them are a good idea.

We want to know more about you! Post a photo of where you're listening using #shortcoatpeeps, so we can creep on you. With the semester suddenly over, Doug and Rob look back with Kaci on their first year of medical school. We answer the questions of listeners Claire and Jennifer on the value of attending a prestigious medical school and the career opportunities afforded an MD/MPH graduate. Harvard biologist and mad (but probably awesome) biologist organizes a secret meeting to explore the production of synthetic human genomes, and we play a game to celebrate the end of another arduous semester.

Sister Helen Prejean has been an anti-death-penalty advocate since 1981, when she first became the pen pal of a death-row inmate in Louisiana's Angola State Prison. Since then she's witnessed five executions in Louisiana, and has written two books on the subject, including the book that was made into the 1996 film Dead Man Walking. The role of physicians in state-sanctioned death isn't much talked about, and being a prison physician isn't something many doctors aspire to; nevertheless, we saw an opportunity to talk with Sister Helen about why medical students should think more about the death penalty.

Oh, snap.  Our recording last week was nuked by the computer gods.  Here’s a re-run to keep your auditory meatus occupied. What can medical students and residents do to keep their chins up during their training? That’s what listener Ross–who has noticed the contrast between his happy med student co-workers and his crabby resident co-workers–wants to know. John Pienta, Gabe Lancaster, Jake O’Brien, and Matt Becker consider the question and the advice we gathered from residents. Also, with the news this week that Hawkeye alumnus and former NFL player Tyler Sash, who passed away in September, was a victim of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Jason Lewis joins in to examine the implications. Is football a worthy pass-time or is it a killer of young men? When parents ask their doctors for a sports physical, should their doctors be thinking about the risks? And when docs see kids with injuries caused by their participation in sports, do they need to consider their obligations as mandatory reporters of child abuse? We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”66″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

The war in Syria continues, and while West Africa's Ebola outbreak has receded, Doctors Without Borders is still in West Africa as it works to transition from caring for survivors to rebuilding and supporting local healthcare systems to do the work. Med students Ethan Forsgren, Nick Dimenstein, Amelia Hurst and Sean Wetjen spoke with Dr. John Lawrence, vice president of the aid organization's US board of directors, about some of the future directions that MSF might consider in a world where humanitarian crises seem to happen every day.

Prince has left the building, so The Short Coats take a moment to eulogize the Purple One. Listener Rayhaan is looking for advice on preparing for the dreaded multiple mini interview, and of course we have ideas for him to consider. Of course, some wackadoos think that if only he'd begun preparing for medical school in high school, perhaps he'd have it in the bag. And if you're worried that the over 40 crowd are too addled to work more than 25 hours a week, you're not alone--the University of Melbourne has the research to back it up.

As Alison Pletch and Deep Bhatt prepare to leave CCOM and begin residency, they share with Kaci McCleary and Corbin Weaver their thoughts on leaving Iowa and beginning their new chapters. LIstener Todd calls the Short Coat Hotline with a question on studying for the MCAT. We aren't much impressed by a study that says people view scientists as trustworthy murderers. Iowa's Board of Medicine considers a ban on conversion therapies. And are docs shrinking 'tumors' by deciding they don't get paid enough to remove them?

From inner-city Oakland, Cali to medical school; that's an unlikely journey. Unlikely because inner city poor kids don't even hear about opportunities, never mind have access to them. UI med student Terrence Wong was one of those kids, but he eventually found an advantage that most such children don't have: a mentor. Today he's not just a medical student, but he's a startup founder. His company, MedMentor, is about to launch its app to connect those who need mentorship to those who can provide it. Dave and Terrence spoke about his journey, how he deals with critique, why he's doing it, and how he manages the crazy med student slash startup life.

Today's show features empathy--having too much or too little, or what happens when it's switched on very suddenly. Aline Sandouk, Marc Toral, Amy Young, and Kaci McCleary discuss an autistic man whose ability to sense the feelings of others is activated suddenly; why ignoring what others think might help you win at life; and how incorrect beliefs about the biology of black people can lead you to misinterpret their pain just when they need you most. Plus a listener's plight gives us an opportunity to empathize with the lack of Short Coat Podcast episodes for her to listen to...and provide a solution.

The understanding of the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes is changing. The "calories in, calories out" model of obesity is giving way, faster and faster, to a more nuanced view. The brain, molecular medicine, hormonal differences, and genetics are all coming into play as we consider this new paradigm. Drs. Dale Abel and Miguel Lopez are two researchers--one in Iowa, one in Spain--working to advance the science of these world-wide epidemics, and Taz Khalid, Aline Sandouk, and Eric Wilson want to know: where is this train headed?

Listener Oscar's having the pre-med/post-acceptance jitters; luckily Aline, Marc, Dylan, and Lisa are on hand to offer some advice on this all-too-common case of impostor syndrome. Plus, now that Match Week has concluded, we discuss what the Match 2016 stats reveal, and ask ourselves what options exist for those who don't match. And we play One-Word Medicine--can the good doctor treat an embarrassing problem in the emergency room?

Are board exams a waste of resources? Is electrocution an antidote to boredom? This week we discuss the petition, created by medical students at Harvard, to zap the USMLE Step 2 exam, and opine on whether it (and other such exams) actually accomplish anything. Next, according to one study, people are happier self-administering electrical shocks than they are being alone with their thoughts. And we once again visit Yahoo! Answers Health to practice patient education.

We answer a listener question, and we wear bags on our heads and touch things.

As Kaci entered her clinical clerkships, she had four two-week specialty rotations in a row, and found herself hating them. Are two-weekers a waste of time? And can a rebel be a successful medical student?

Corbin Weaver visits the local grocery store to hear a presentation on pelvic floor disorders, part of the store’s health outreach efforts, and marvels at the fact that A) many people seem to have a very foggy notion of anogenital functions, and B) that some also seem to have no inhibitions about bringing up embarrassing bodily foibles in a room full of strangers.  Also, Dave points out that sometimes medical research reaches into the past to ‘discover’ ancient remedies that actually work. So Corbin, Mark Moubarek, Alex Volkmar, and new host Erin Renfrew sample and evaluate some folk- and old-timey prescriptions to see if they have any merit, aside from causing very bad breath and wet, salty feet.   Meanwhile, Obama will ask for a bunch of dollars to fund a longitudinal NIH database of a million regular people and their health data, which seeks to enable the delivery of precision medicine.   We discuss the burgeoning startup scene involving talk therapy apps and the problems they can and can’t solve.  A company wants to sell us some vagus-nerve-stimulating headphones to cheer you up, and not at all to make you puke.  The US is going to be working together with Cuba to bring that country’s lung cancer vaccine to our shores.  And Erin recommends the musical Hamilton for studying. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher [huge_it_gallery id=”70″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s well known TED talk discusses the utility of ‘power poses,’ and medical students are always looking for ways to feel more powerful.  So Dave challenges Ellie Ginn, Tony Rosenberg, Marc Toral, and Mark Moubarek to give them a try.  Zika remains a force for making people crazy, and Brazil has banned the use of a larvicide incorrectly linked with  Monsanto as a result of a report from a group of Argentinian physicians who advocate for the ban of insecticides.  Tony suggests a better option: mosquito-mesh body suits.  In fact, he’s full of ideas, including replacing the traditional family-medicine feces chart, used to help patients discuss their poop with their doctors, with plastinated specimens; and he’s considering launching a company that offers fecal transplants from specimens provided by celebrities and sports figures. Also, Wake Forest researchers have 3D printed implantable body parts, including muscle, bone, and cartilage.    A hospital in California has it’s data hacked and held hostage, and it pays up $17,000 to get it back. And a certain ambitious 18-year-old, of whom we spoke in around this time last year, is back in the news for opening a clinic and practicing medicine without a license. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher [huge_it_gallery id=”069″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Dave helps Mark Moubarek, Amy Young, Rob Humble, and Corbin Weaver to practice their clinical skills by  answering random people’s “health” questions from the saddest place on the Internet. But first we discuss the AMA’s policy to support the ban on direct to consumer advertising of drugs and implantable devices, and how such advertising makes the doctor-patient relationship complicated. Will drug companies retaliate by advocating for bans on advertising doctors and hospitals to patients.  Researchers in the UK may be about to get the green light to edit the genes of human embryos seeking answers to why some miscarriages happen.  Are we approaching the slippery slope? A neurologist wonders why Ted Cruz’s face is so unsettling.  And we note with interest a number of recent public health news stories in which officials suggest that women have the primary role in undesirable health consequences, including Zika/microcephaly and alcohol-related unwanted pregnancies; now South Africa has chimed in by tying scholarships for young women to virginity in order to prevent the spread of HIV. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher [huge_it_gallery id=”68″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Zika has been in the news, if you haven’t noticed, as a neglected tropical disease which has been linked to a frightening surge in birth defects in Central and South America.  The response to Zika is going to depend upon the science–which is very much up in the air–along with  economic and cultural factors.  Chief among those are huge income disparities, population complexities, and limits on access to family planning options.  On today’s episode, Ellie Ginn, Marielle Meurice, Kevo Rivera, and Jessica Waters meet up with one of the researchers who is fighting this bug.  Dr. Selma Jeronimo isn’t a household name in the US, but she is becoming one in her home country of Brazil.  She is the director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, and a professor of biochemistry and medicine at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Natal.  Her job is investigating Brazil’s endemic diseases.  With Zika now spread to more than 20 countries including the United States, we took advantage of her faculty appointment at the University of Iowa and her long-time collaborations with Iowa faculty and students, to have her on the show. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”67″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

What can medical students and residents do to keep their chins up during their training? That’s what listener Ross–who has noticed the contrast between his happy med student co-workers and his crabby resident co-workers–wants to know. John Pienta, Gabe Lancaster, Jake O’Brien, and Matt Becker consider the question and the advice we gathered from residents. Also, with the news this week that Hawkeye alumnus and former NFL player Tyler Sash, who passed away in September, was a victim of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Jason Lewis joins in to examine the implications. Is football a worthy pass-time or is it a killer of young men? When parents ask their doctors for a sports physical, should their doctors be thinking about the risks? And when docs see kids with injuries caused by their participation in sports, do they need to consider their obligations as mandatory reporters of child abuse? We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”66″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Dr. Paul Farmer is sort of the rock god of global health.  He’s an incredibly busy and influential guy, so when he flew in from Liberia to spend the entire day here with us at the Carver College of Medicine, it wasn’t easy to keep the stars from our eyes.  Of course, he’s a physician, but he’s also a medical anthropologist, chief of Brigham and Women’s Division of Global Health Equity, professor of medicine at Harvard, and the UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Community Based Medicine and Lessons from Haiti.  One of the things you notice about Dr. Farmer is that although he’s clearly a celebrity in his field, it doesn’t dampen his enthusiasm, idealism, and the pleasure he takes in meeting students who share his passion for understanding and changing how healthcare is delivered to the world’s neediest people. What’s more, he’s the founding director of Partners in Health, an international non-profit that provides direct healthcare services, research, and advocacy to the sick and impoverished around the world in places like Liberia, Haiti, and here in the US.  So, yes, he has things to do. All of which is to say that it’s a particular honor that Petra Hahn, Katie Ryken, Josh Bleicher, Jordan Harbaugh Williams, and Greg Yungtum got to chat with him for this week’s show to explore the differences between charity, development and liberation medicine; it’s Dr. Farmer’s emphasis on the latter, and his view that the poor deserve preferential treatment, that makes him such a force in global health. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher [huge_it_gallery id=”65″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Dave and Emily White, fresh from the University of Iowa Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology’s yearly 4Cast conference,  talk about their presentation on the podcast, which was fun.  And they, along with Rob Humble and Doug Russo, talk about the President’s recent State of the Union address, including the so-called “moonshot” to cure cancer.  Can that even work?  Rob takes issue with the whole moonshot comparison. Also, Google Cardboard saves a baby after other visualization techniques fail.  A Boston urologist is upset that he’s been fired for opposing his hospital’s LGBTQ inclusiveness policies which he finds incompatible with his ‘biblical worldview.’  Should personal beliefs enter into a physician’s practice of medicine? And the Carver College of Medicine’s own Examined Life Journal (our literary journal featuring fiction, non-fiction, and poetry) has been released. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”64″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

John Pienta, Cole Cheney, Amy Young, and newbie Rob Humble join Dave to discuss the recent winter break, the Rose Bowl, and Stanford’s half-time band performance.  We discuss doctors who are non-compliant with their own recommendations for patients.  Is that something they should be condemned for, or is it human nature?  And when patients are non-compliant or engage in risky behavior, should docs acknowledge that as normal human behavior and avoid shaming them for it? Also, a Spanish doctor has created a transvaginal speaker to help fetal development, because expecting moms like that sort of thing.  Cole has seen a patient who is concerned about a recent change in their urine’s flavor.  He also laments that, because of public health concerns, he can’t get a straight-razor shave in Iowa and would like our great state to revisits its legal views on the matter.  And everyone helps Dave figure out what to do when he wins a billion dollars: create an endowed chair that would recognize and deflate outsized egos. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”63″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Cole Cheney returns from our state capital, where he’s been doing his clerkships at our kind-of satellite campus (more about this program specifically is here, if you’re interested). He and Kaci McCleary, John Pienta, and Rachel Schenkel talk about the differences between doing rotations in a teaching hospital and doing them in a community hospital. For example, how are community hospital patients different? And in that setting, what does it really mean if your patient is non-compliant? Cole reveals that he’s ‘afraid’ he’s going to love psychiatry and wants to know: are other students also wary of the specialty? We talk about the downsides of the field, as well as the rather big professional and caregiving upsides. Meanwhile, the white coat–short or otherwise, along with ties, jewelry, and other dangling fashion statements–may be disappearing in an effort to eliminate hospital acquired infections. What effects will that have on patients, their understanding of who’s who in the hospital, infection rates, perceptions of status and hierarchy, and more? John leads us into a discussion of healthcare rationing, and argues that while folks get really upset about the idea, it’s already happening in a country that treats healthcare as a business. Kaci’s mom has a bug removed from her ear–something Dave hadn’t thought of as a possibility, thanks very much. And we answer some questions from Yahoo! Questions’ health forum, because we think we might be better at it than random Internet people. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”62″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

After Martin Shkreli’s arrest, John Pienta, Marc Toral, Greg Woods, and Amy Young, discuss why Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli is so hated, given that capitalist enterprises have profit as their overarching goal–hasn’t he just done his job?  Meanwhile, two ongoing clinical trials have been experimenting on human subjects without consent. Those subjects: residents and their patients.  The experiment: what happens if hospitals return to the longer hours that prevailed for residents before they were restricted in 2011? We explore the limitations of consent, residents’ satisfaction with their working conditions, how many residents may not feel that restricting their hours is best for their patients, and what working and being a patient at an academic medical center means. Also, Donald Trump’s doctor’s note seems totally legit. And since cell lines aren’t necessarily what researchers think they are, is the credibility of research at risk?  Fortunately, researchers who must retract their findings following replication problems are probably not risking their reputations. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”61″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Second-years Kaci McCleary, Marc Toral, Corbin Weaver, and Aline Sandouk are about to finish their didactic studies in the curriculum and embark on their clinical clerkships!  At long last, they get to work with patients.  Among the questions they face: is it better to put yourself out there during clerkships?  Or keep your head down? And are they nervous? Maybe a little, but there was plenty of health news this week to distract themselves with, including a Harvard study that provides evidence that one’s stress and one’s health may be unrelated. Also, pharma bro Martin Shkreli spends his benjamins on a purchase that infuriates a whole new group of people. A doctor combines tattoo artistry with tattoo removal in a new clinic. Most e-cigarettes contain flavorings associated with popcorn lung disease, but what does that mean for patients who lead the vape life?  And the 30 men hired by Liberia to burn the bodies of those who died from Ebola are now being shunned. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”60″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Even though Dave’s in NYC, he still finds a way to call it in (pun intended) for a show with Kaci McCleary, Corbin Weaver, John Pienta, and Jason Lewis. We discuss the possibility that most medical abstracts are at best wishful thinking and at worst fraudulent. And speaking of research, physicians get it together to petition congress to start treating gun violence as a fundable research topic for the CDC. Since apparently no one can possibly know the reason for gun violence in this country, we discuss our own theories and the ways America reacts to it as a social issue. And Yahoo! Answers represents an opportunity for medical students to inform the public, because the public (judging by questions posted on Yahoo! Answers) is in desperate need of information. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher The distribution of probability values in medical abstracts: an observational study. Physicians Demand End To 20-Year-Old Ban On Gun Violence Research Best place to buy Vaseline? Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”59″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Thanksgiving happened last week, so enjoy this re-run! This time, Dave is on vacation, but John Pienta, Aline Sandouk, Cole Cheney, and Kaci McCleary didn’t let that stop them. Thanks to Intern Cory, they were able to carry on without him (*sniff*). Kaci and Aline review their first year: was it fun? I bet you know the answer to that one. How did it change them? What did they discover during the experience? How did they cope? What choices did they make, and how did that affect their well-being? And John and Cole clue them on what they’ll face next year. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Typical Dreams: Stability and Gender Differences Chipotle going GMO-free matters — for the wrong reasons Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”29″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

This Thanksgiving, why not enjoy a Cthurkey while you contemplate the many health hazards embodied by America’s favorite celebration of gluttony?  And if you are a future radiologist, you might be as demoralized as Ellie Ginn, Tony Rosenberg, Dylan Todd, and Kaci McCleary were to learn about a UIowa/UC-Davis study that finds pigeons are just as good at it as you’ll ever be. The new heroin epidemic has caught the attention of Iowans, and the UI hosted a conference this week in the hopes of figuring out what to do about it.  Meanwhile, if you’re still unsure about the health benefits of coffee, a Harvard study of 208,501 health care providers’ risk of mortality shows you’re better off throwing back several cups a day, so pass the creamer. And thanks to Kaci’s melodious voice, Dave has a new ringtone. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Association of Coffee Consumption with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality in Three Large Prospective Cohorts Study finds pigeons uncommonly good at distinguishing cancerous from normal breast tissue Men Overeat to Impress Women Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”58″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Lisa Wehr, Kaci McCleary, Dylan Todd, and Marc Toral discuss things of much import, such as why Dave’s iPad lock screen is a pile of dangerously toxic potatoes, and why it’s important to use the correct pronunciation of gyros but not other foods from foreign lands.  Also, uterus transplants are about to become a thing surgeons do in the US. What about that Ben Carson, amiright?  He’s one smart cookie.  Docs like him are now able to use ultrasound to deliver chemo drugs through the blood-brain barrier without being all stabby about it.  And the Federal Office of Research Integrity hands down its verdict on former Duke researcher and HHMI investigator Anil Potti–hint: he’s not a great researcher, but he can still be an oncologist, so long as he stays in North Dakota, we imagine. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher It’s official: Anil Potti faked cancer research data, say Feds Blood-Brain Barrier Opened Noninvasively with Focused Ultrasound for the First Time Cleveland Clinic to perform first-ever uterus transplants in U.S. Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”57″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Tony Rosenberg, Alex Volkmar, and Doug Russo indulge their Star Wars geekery with Dave, entertaining the various Internet theories of Luke’s and Jar Jar’s importance, while Ellie Ginn sits in the corner wondering what they’re talking about. Meanwhile, the crew discuss their “Early Clinical Experiences” and how great they were…except possibly for Tony’s. Also, a Columbian man dies from his tapeworm’s cancer.  A scientist prints out a simple chromosome, plops it into a hollowed out bacteria, and bam…it lives.  The FDA clears the use of a live herpes virus to treat melanoma, although the devil’s in the details.  A group of 17-year-olds design a simple, portable, cheaper self-adjusting tourniquet, proving that medicine’s status quo — expensive, complex equipment as the norm — is ripe for simplification an improvement. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Man dies after his parasitic tapeworm gets cancer in medical first Meet the student who is trying to invent a better tourniquet Scientist Craig Venter creates life for first time in laboratory sparking debate about ‘playing god’ A ‘huge milestone’: approval of cancer-hunting virus signals new treatment era Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”56″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Cory has found something to enable Dave’s plan to hang a portrait of himself somewhere in the medical school, which leads (somehow) into a discussion of Corbin Weaver’s deep loathing for visitors of the Louvre and Kaci McCleary’s similar feelings for commercial art. And Corbin shares with Kaci, Marc Toral and Dylan Todd a very special experience she had with a patient that really enabled her to experience a patient’s point of view…from about floor-level. Also, DNA is still hard to science with, never mind using it for legal things; halloween plans; and the Internet freaks out about cancer bacon. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Man Is His Own Child’s Uncle, Says DNA Testing Bacon Causes Cancer? Sort of. Not Really. Ish. Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”55″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

New York Presbyterian and Columbia decide to get out of family medicine, so they abruptly closed their FM residency program…three months after a new class of residents began working there. Meanwhile, Dave teaches Marc Toral, Tae Kim, and Kaci McCleary about what physicians used to do to memorialize their patients: use their skin to bind books about their conditions. So that’s nice. And the FDA is considering the first prescription video game. And Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli’s amazingly awful business plan to take an inexpensive generic drug and charge a boatload of money for it blows up in his face when another company undercuts his price by $749 per tablet. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher The Strange Case Of The Woman Whose Skin Was Turned Into A Book Drug compounder offers cheap version of costly Turing drug Trial by Firings: Lessons in Organizing at NewYork-Presbyterian Project: Evo, the First Prescription-Strength Video Game? Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”54″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

John Pienta has an profound moment with a patient, one which crystalized for him a sense that he’s doing exactly the right thing in his life. Meanwhile (being full of profundity this week) he brings Marc Toral, Dylan Todd, and Corbin Weaver good news–that we are not alone in the universe. Maybe…Marc’s not buying it. Whatever, science boy, this changes everything. Also, the things we’re learning about ebola after the infection seems to subside are interesting, and they lead Dave to surmise that we’re all screwed. And conventional wisdom about sleep hygiene–in particular, the idea that we need 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and that modern life is to blame for insomnia–is probably BS. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher The myth of the eight-hour sleep Can’t sleep? Don’t be too quick to blame modern life How Long Can Ebola Linger In The Semen Of Male Survivors? Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star Has Begun Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”53″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

Lisa Wehr teaches Kaci McCleary and Dylan Todd about the invention of the shipping container. We look forward to the day when humans are replaced by robots in the workplace so people can pursue their real dreams. On the other hand, we rage at the work-world gurus who suggest that we behave in a way that our bosses would fire us for (he’s looking at you, four-hour-work-week, follow-your-dreams spewers). Aline Sandouk has an exciting announcement about her medical studies–one that means she’s going to be on the show forever–and we explore the value of clinical versus basic science research. We note the debate on how much worth replication studies are given and how journals are beginning to re-thing retraction of studies that are handled. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher How Much Should Scientists Check Other Scientists’ Work? Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”52″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…

They stand up every day in the front of the room, going on about the nitty-gritty details of this or that, while your desperate fear of missing something that will be on the test is coming off you like an odor.  But who are these lecturers and professors, really? We find out in this series, Secret Lives of CCOM Professors. Professor Hoffmann joins Melissa Palma to talk about his secret life, that of a pie baker.  It’s the sort of thing, he says, that allows him to work with his hands while turning down the intellect a bit. A pie, unlike science, is a short-term goal with an end that, like pie itself, is satisfying.  Plus, pie. We need validation. Leave a review: iTunes | Stitcher Darren S. Hoffmann, PhD Your Hosts This Week: [huge_it_gallery id=”31″] Listen to more great shows for medical students on The Vocalis Podcast Network. The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine; nor do they reflect the views of anyone other than the people who expressed them.  If you have feedback on anything you hear on the show, positive or not, let us know.…