Infectious disease physician Janet A. Jokela discusses her article, " Measles is back: Why vaccination is more vital than ever ." Recounting her own experience diagnosing a case in the 1990s, Janet contrasts that contained incident with the current crisis in 2025, which has seen over 1000 cases and the first pediatric deaths in the U.S. in 22 years. The conversation covers the critical 95 percent vaccination rate required for herd immunity, a threshold the country is falling below, and explains ...
Jul 24, 2025•22 min
Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article, " Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal ." She argues that the culture of medicine is steeped in judgment—from the language of "noncompliant" patients to the intense scrutiny of training—and that this culture is crippling physicians. Jessie explains that while judgment is often disguised as a tool for maintaining high standards, it actually drives shame, blame, and exhaustion rather than excellence. The...
Jul 21, 2025•18 min
Nationally recognized psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, " How deep transcranial magnetic stimulation is transforming mental health care ." He shares his experience with deep TMS (dTMS), a non-invasive neuromodulation therapy that offers rapid relief for patients with severe depression, OCD, and other conditions that have resisted conventional treatment. Muhamad explains how recent accelerated protocols can condense weeks of therap...
Jul 17, 2025•18 min
Cardiologist and author Eric Topol discusses his article, " What super agers can teach us about longevity and health span ," which is an excerpt from his new book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity . He introduces the critical difference between lifespan (total years lived) and health span (years lived in optimal health). Eric shares the surprising results of his "Wellderly" study, which sequenced the genomes of over a thousand healthy adults over age eighty. The study found t...
Jul 16, 2025•34 min
Cardiologist Lauren Weber and critical care physician Jess Bunin, co-founders of All Levels Leadership, discuss their article, " Not all heroes wear capes: Sometimes they just speak up in meetings ." They reframe medical heroism, arguing that the most courageous acts often happen not in a code blue, but in a conference room. Lauren and Jess define this as moral courage: the quiet bravery to question a dismissive attending, flag an unsafe policy, or challenge the status quo, even within the rigid...
Jul 15, 2025•20 min
Pediatrician Daniel Johnson discusses his article, " From isolation to innovation: the power of learning communities in health care ." He reflects on the collaborative, case-based learning that makes medical training exciting and contrasts it with the professional isolation many physicians experience after graduation. To combat this, Daniel champions Project ECHO, a global telementoring model that creates virtual learning communities. He describes ECHO as "hospital rounds on Zoom," where an "all...
Jul 14, 2025•19 min
Physician coach Nicole Perrotte and physician advocate and physical therapist Kim Downey discuss their article, " Love, empathy, and the triangle of exhaustion: Why humanity must come first ." Nicole introduces her powerful framework, the Triangle of Exhaustion, which describes the profound fatigue experienced by caregivers, physicians, and parents of atypical children. This exhaustion is composed of three parts: the emotional fatigue from constant advocacy, the social isolation from feeling alo...
Jul 10, 2025•25 min
Pediatrician Arti Lal discusses her article, " Why ADHD in women is finally getting the attention it deserves ." She explores why new ADHD diagnoses nearly doubled for adult women from 2020 to 2022 and the unique barriers they face in getting proper care. Arti explains how historical gender biases have led to misdiagnosis, as female hyperactivity often presents as internal racing thoughts or chattiness rather than the classic external restlessness seen in boys. The conversation delves into the s...
Jul 10, 2025•16 min
Emergency physicians Resa E. Lewiss and Courtney M. Smalley discuss their article, " Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in emergency department triage ." Amid the crisis of overcrowded waiting rooms and long wait times, they argue for the immediate integration of a powerful, underutilized tool: point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Resa and Courtney use compelling clinical examples, like identifying a collapsed lung or a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in under two minutes, to show how POCUS can dramat...
Jul 09, 2025•21 min
Certified financial planner Brian Case discusses the article, " Personal financial planning shouldn't be a taboo subject ." They explore the often-overlooked link between financial stress and the crisis of physician burnout, turnover, and the alarming rate of physician suicide. Brian, Jerry, Jonathan, and Anders explain that despite high earning potential, many physicians struggle with poor financial literacy and significant student debt, which negatively impacts their professional satisfaction ...
Jul 08, 2025•21 min
Internal medicine physician and author Robert C. Smith discusses his article, "Medicine's mental health crisis: why the system is failing us ." He reveals the shocking disparity in care, where only 25 percent of patients with mental illness receive any treatment compared to 70 percent for physical conditions. This crisis, Robert explains, stems from a fundamental failure in medical training: primary care clinicians handle over 75 percent of mental health cases but receive only 2 percent of their...
Jul 07, 2025•22 min
Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, " Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty ." Muhamad calls for a remembrance of the five physician-patriots—Dr. Benjamin Rush, Dr. Josiah Bartlett, Dr. Lyman Hall, Dr. Matthew Thornton, and Dr. Oliver Wolcott—who signed the Declaration of Independence, risking everything for the principles of equality and unalienable rights. He contrasts their revered role with the ...
Jul 03, 2025•18 min
Founding director of the Doctor of Medical Science program at The College of St. Scholastica, Kenneth Botelho, discusses his article, " In the absence of physician mentorship, who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians? " Kenneth highlights the accelerating crisis caused by the erosion of physician mentorship, particularly impacting physician associates (PAs) in primary care who historically relied on close, hands-on guidance. He explains that with an aging physician workforce...
Jul 02, 2025•19 min
Hospitalist Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley discusses her article, " When grief hits all at once: a morning of heartbreak and love ." Jasminka shares a deeply personal account of a Saturday morning where unexpected news of the passing of two friends, Natasa's mother Mirjana and her friend Thomas, both from cancer, suddenly immersed her in profound grief. She reflects on the fragility of life and the ripple effect of these losses, which led to a cascade of memories: her grandfather who would have turne...
Jul 01, 2025•24 min
Medical students Kaitlynn Esemaya, Anamaria Ancheta, and Annique McLune discuss their article, " Why vaccine access still fails America's most vulnerable groups ." They highlight how social determinants of health drive pervasive inequities in vaccination rates among marginalized U.S. communities, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaitlynn, Alexis, and Annique cite CDC data showing updated COVID-19 vaccine uptake for Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adults at 8 percent, nearly half that of whi...
Jun 30, 2025•19 min
Surgeon Suhaib J. S. Ahmad discusses his article, " Why even the best employees are silently quitting health care ." Suhaib explores the phenomenon of highly competent and once-passionate health care professionals disengaging and leaving their roles, often without overt complaint. He argues that this "silent quitting" stems not just from issues with the system or individual leaders, but critically from a dysfunctional organizational culture characterized by a lack of clear values, poor communica...
Jun 29, 2025•22 min
Medical students Vineeth Amba and Archita Goyal discuss their article, " What's driving medical students away from primary care? " They share the widespread discouragement medical students encounter regarding primary care careers, despite initial aspirations to serve communities. Vineeth and Archita highlight the ongoing crisis in primary care, evidenced by a decline to just 25 percent of the physician workforce, high burnout rates, and a projected U.S. shortage of approximately 68,000 PCPs by 2...
Jun 28, 2025•21 min
Family physician and certified executive leadership coach Lisa Herbert discusses her article, " From burnout to breakthrough: How a coaching culture transforms health care ." Lisa shares her personal journey with physician burnout, a crisis affecting 54 percent of physicians, and how discovering coaching revolutionized her approach to leadership and her career. She explains that a coaching culture, which emphasizes curiosity, continuous growth, and collaborative problem-solving over traditional ...
Jun 27, 2025•22 min
Physician coach and marriage and family therapy graduate student Jillian Rigert discusses her article, " Fear of other people's opinions nearly killed me. Here's what freed me ." Jillian shares her harrowing journey through medical discharge from the military and transitioning out of surgery residency, which plunged her into guilt, shame, and a near-fatal struggle with self-worth tied to her career and others' approval. She describes how isolating and starving herself, she reached a rock bottom ...
Jun 26, 2025•17 min
Nephrologist Saad S. Alshohaib discusses his article, " Why truth still matters in the courtroom: lessons from a physician witness ." The conversation provides a profound reflection on his decade of experience serving as a medical expert witness, a role he describes as walking a "narrow bridge between medicine and the law." Saad shares his seven core principles for physicians called to testify, emphasizing that their ultimate loyalty must be to the truth, not the side that hired them. The discus...
Jun 25, 2025•20 min
Historian and ethicist Nigel Cameron discusses his article, " How DrKoop.com rose and fell: the untold story behind the Surgeon General's startup ." The conversation chronicles the dramatic history of the iconic dot-com era company, from its modest beginnings as a personal medical record system to its meteoric rise as the world's top health site. Nigel explains how the company's core strategy was to leverage the unparalleled credibility of former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, leading to a wil...
Jun 24, 2025•19 min
Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article, " Physician wellness is a strategic imperative—not a moral crusade ." The conversation focuses on why physicians must shift their advocacy for well-being from a reactive, moral argument to a strategic one that aligns with institutional priorities. Jessie explains that effective change comes not from complaining, but from understanding two key things: how physicians' own training contributes to the culture of unwellness, and w...
Jun 23, 2025•19 min
Entrepreneur, AI enthusiast, and wellness advocate Vaishali Jha discusses her article, " Gen Z is already transforming mental health care—are we listening? " The conversation explores the vital need for new perspectives in health care, arguing that the system often overlooks the voices of young people. Vaishali explains how Gen Z, having come of age during numerous health crises, brings an essential viewpoint rooted in lived experience, digital fluency, and a desire for more human-centered care....
Jun 22, 2025•20 min
Retired surgeon, psychotherapist, and author Patrick Hudson discusses his article, " Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself ." The conversation explores the profound difference between the biological act of dying and the existential fear of vanishing from the story of the world. Patrick explains that for many, the true anxiety surrounding death is not about the end of life, but the end of mattering. He shares how his own heart attack transformed this question from a medical abstracti...
Jun 21, 2025•14 min
Physician executive Sreeram Mullankandy discusses his article, " Bridging the digital divide: Addressing health inequities through home-based AI solutions ." The conversation highlights that while the future of health care delivery is moving into patients' homes, this shift risks leaving the most vulnerable populations behind. Sreeram explains that non-medical factors, or Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), can influence up to 80 percent of health outcomes but are often missed by traditional s...
Jun 20, 2025•16 min
Pediatrician Sarah Webber discusses her article, " Why it's so hard to admit when we don't like our jobs ." The conversation is a vulnerable look into her personal experience with burnout just nine months into what she thought was her dream job as a pediatric hospitalist. Sarah shares her journey of feeling drained and unhappy, and her initial attempts to "fix" things with more mindfulness, gratitude, and journaling, only to find the dread remained. She explores the profound identity crisis she ...
Jun 19, 2025•17 min
LGBTQ+ journalist BJ Ferguson discusses the article, " Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws ." The conversation serves as a call to action for medical professionals, arguing that their duty to protect patient health now extends beyond the clinic and into the legislative arena. BJ outlines how anti-LGBTQ+ laws, particularly those targeting gender-affirming care, directly threaten patient well-being and undermine a physician's core commitment to do no harm. The discuss...
Jun 18, 2025•17 min
Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article " The broken health care system doesn't have to break you ." Jessie discusses the profound changes in the practice of medicine that no longer align with traditional training models. She identifies outdated beliefs prevalent in medicine, such as self-sacrifice, service at all costs, and avoiding discussions of compensation, which contribute to widespread physician burnout and mental health issues. Jessie emphasizes that the pre...
Jun 17, 2025•21 min
Anesthesiologist Maire Daugharty, who expanded her expertise by earning a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling, discusses her article " Why ADHD isn't just a childhood disorder and what that means for adults ." Maire discusses the critical importance of timely diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, highlighting its negative impacts on self-esteem, mood disorders, substance use, and even criminality when left unaddressed. She clarifies that ADHD is not solely a childhood disorder, with ...
Jun 16, 2025•19 min
Physician Scott Abramson discusses his article " How doctors' words can make or break patient care ." Scott shares two compelling scenarios illustrating the profound impact of a physician's communication. He recounts a family conference where a doctor's use of medical jargon like "lesion" completely obscured the diagnosis of cancer for a concerned family, highlighting the barrier that medical language can create. Conversely, Scott details the powerful influence of a surgeon, Dr. Susan Heckman, w...
Jun 15, 2025•17 min
