Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD

Guest: Kathleen Bartholomew, RN

Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, BS discusses the reasons that a global nursing shortage exists.

Host: Laura Humphrey, PhD

Guest: Eric Kandel, MD

Dr. Eric Kandel, psychiatrist, neuroscientist professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Columbia University, and Nobel Prize laureatte, discusses the controversies surrounding the duality of the mind and the brain. He also talks about what is known to date about the neurological basis of mental illness.

Host: Joel Heller, MD

Guest: Linda Burhansstipanov, DrPH

Dr. Linda Burhansstipanov, President and Grants Director for the Native American Cancer Research discusses the type of research they've been able to conduct within this community as well as some of their findings.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Gregory Critchfield, MD, MS

In this segment, Dr. Critchfield looks at reasons why BRCA testing is so important in the physician's diagnostic repertoire, and the methods of helping patients reduce cancer risks after receiving a positive test. He then shares studies currently being undertaken to further evaluate the role of BRCA in prevention and treatment protocols. The interview concludes with a review of legislative efforts to regulate genetic testing, and Dr. Critchfield's personal outlook in projecting genetic testing's roles ten years into the future.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Gregory Critchfield, MD, MS

In this segment, Dr. Critchfield examines diagnostic testing modalities for BRCA gene mutations that are available to physicians, their respective sensitivities and specificities, and clinical indications for choosing one test over another. He then discusses possible test results, the length of time required to receive them, and how such information is used by physicians and patients.

Host: Paul Raeburn

Guest: Ron Pollack, JD

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, talks about how SCHIP could be expanded to insure more children, and what that would mean for physicians.

Host: Paul Raeburn

Guest: Donald Kennedy, MD

Donald Kennedy, the editor of Science and the FDA Commissioner under President Carter, gives the FDA a prescription for change.

Host: Paul Raeburn

Guest: Atul Gawande, MD

Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon, author, and writer for The New Yorker, talks about what it means to be a doctor and write about one's work.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Gregory Critchfield, MD, MS

In this segment, Dr. Critchfield shares aspects of the basic biology underlying the BRCA genes and their mutations, including carrier frequencies, modes of inheritance, and their relations specifically to colon, ovarian and breast cancer. The conversation concludes with a discussion on genetic testing limitations followed by patient selection recommendations for BRCA tests.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Gregory Critchfield, MD, MS

In this segment, Dr. Critchfield provides an in-depth overview of BRCA genes 1 and 2, including their history of discovery, known functions, and types of mutations.