Next time a patient thanks me, I will not let self-conscious worries diminish their words. True thankfulness reflects deep humanistic connection and is unburdened by the hierarchies of medicine.

Paulina M. Devlin, a first-year obstetrics and gynecology resident at the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, Utah, reflects on the expression of gratitude between patients and providers.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the July 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guests Chirag Bhat, MD, and Warren Cheung, MD, MMEd, join hosts Toni Gallo and associate editor Teresa Chan, MD, MHPE, to discuss their research into nurses’ perspectives about giving feedback on residents’ clinical performance. They share their findings regarding the unique perspective nurses can offer, the barriers nurses face in providing feedback, and some possible ways to overcome these barriers.

Read the article discussed in this episode: Bhat C, LaDonna K, Dewhirst S, et al. Unobserved observers: Nurses’ perspectives about sharing feedback on the performance of resident physicians. Acad Med. 2022;97:271-277.

A transcript of this episode is available at academicmedicineblog.org. 

Despite the emotional challenges that my anatomy course presented, I feel reaffirmed in my desire to pursue medicine and now understand the beautiful complexity of the human body in a way I never could have before.

Keldon K. Lin, a second-year medical student at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona, reflects on the common humanity that all patients, both living and dead, share with one another.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the June 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

As tears seeped from the corners of her eyes and stained her cheeks, I felt powerless. I reached for her hand, wishing I could offer my bare human hand instead of an impersonal blue latex glove. Holding her hand was the only thing I could do in the moment; I hoped it made her feel less alone.

Natalie C. Spach, a fourth-year medical student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, reflects on the importance of physicians demonstrating compassion and empathy towards patients when they are at their most vulnerable.  

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the May 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

The resident came into my room with one question and he got it answered. The rest was not his problem. But it was my problem.

Arthur Garson Jr, clinical professor of health systems and population health sciences in the College of Medicine at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, reflects on the importance of two-way communication between patients and physicians.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the May 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Our patients should not be our blind spots. Even with the most thorough routines, I may not catch important clues—be it some subtle discomfort or altered affect—without keen observation, clues that may drastically change a patient’s story and care.

Alan Z. Yang, a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, discusses the importance of observing and truly seeing a patient during a visit rather than focusing solely on standard interview questions and physical exam.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the May 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Guests Lala Forrest and Joe Geraghty join host Toni Gallo to discuss the journal’s Trainee Letters to the Editor feature. They highlight selected letters submitted in response to last year’s call for submissions about the role of trainees as agents of change and discuss how institutions can empower trainees to be leaders and how trainees can get started leading change efforts. Lala and Joe also introduce this year’s call about transformative moments in a trainee’s professional journey and describe what the editors are looking for in successful submissions.

Available at academicmedicineblog.org are a transcript of this episode and links to the 2021 and 2022 calls for trainee letters to the editor and to the articles discussed in this episode. 

Our words and actions may strike others, or strike back at us, in unexpected ways. We must therefore always be ready to show our most human sides: to absorb surprising responses, lean into awkward moments, and apologize when we have erred.

Aldis H. Petriceks, a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, discusses the importance of setting aside the structure of the patient interview and embracing the patient as an authentic, living personality.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the April 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

In the following months, I started noticing a subtle change in the way my patients and the community saw me. I went from being called the doctor to our doctor.

Sharon Reece, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest in Fayetteville, Arkansas, reflects on what she learned during her immersion in rural generalism in northern Alberta, Canada.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the April 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

These golden minutes were not only setting a realtime example of intersecting roles and responsibilities but opening a window into a version of mentorship unique to virtual platforms, a kind of role-modeling that revealed granular moments of sacrifice, struggle, and negotiation.

Yoshiko Iwai, a second-year medical student at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina reflects on Zoom mentorship and the art of juggling medical practice, research, teaching, and family.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the March 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.