Medicus

I spoke with Dr. Elaine Cheng, a neonatologist at Loyola, to learn about her experiences with navigating the challenges she faces in the NICU and how it’s shaped her perspective on striking the balance between being clinically efficient while consistently being supportive and empathetic towards patients and families.

Episode produced by: Anumitha Aravindan

Episode recording date: 11/10/25

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As ICE raids escalate across Chicago, hospitals and clinics have become sites of risk and confrontation for immigrants seeking healthcare. What happens when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents enter a place of healing? What are a doctor's rights - and a patient's - when the line between care and enforcement blurs? To learn more about this, I spoke with Dr. Amy Blair and Dr. Monica Maalouf, two physicians and patient advocates in the Chicagoland area.

For resources about sanctuary doctoring, you can visit the link below: 

https://www.luc.edu/stritch/bioethics/medicaleducation/sanctuarydoctor/

Episode produced by: Griffin K Johnson

Episode recording date: 11/04/2025

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In this mini-series, we explore different health professions to get a better understanding of the variety of team members involved in patient care. In this episode, we spoke with pathologists’ assistant Alyssha Glass about her journey into this unique specialty and the role of pathologists’ assistants in healthcare. 

Alyssha Glass is a Chicago-based pathologists’ assistant who focuses on hospital autopsy. She is a graduate of Rosalind Franklin University and has been in the field of pathology for 8 years. With a passion for patient care and teaching, she spends her days teaching residents, medical students, and pathologists’ assistant students the art of autopsy and the unique specialty of pathology.

To find out more about a career as a Pathologists’ Assistant, please visit www.pathassist.org. 

If you would like to contact Alyssha, please reach out to us at [email protected] so that we may connect you.

Episode produced by: Rasa Valiauga

Episode recording date: 10/9/25

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Cultural humility is a lifelong practice of self-reflection, openness, and respect for the diverse backgrounds of the families we serve. Unlike cultural competence, which can imply mastering knowledge about “other cultures,” cultural humility emphasizes curiosity, listening, and shared decision-making. In pediatrics, this is especially important because care involves both the child and the family, whose cultural values strongly shape health beliefs and practices.

Today’s discussion is an opportunity to reflect together: how do we approach cultural humility in pediatrics, and what steps can we take to deepen it in our daily practice?

Dr. Ana Aguilar, DO is originally from Loveland, OH. She went to Transylvania University where she did not major in Blood-Sucking and Shadow-Walking, but instead earned a dual degree in Molecular Biology and Anthropology. She attended Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and is a very recent Loyola graduate, now completing a chief year with her best friend and co-chief, Dr. Sana Moqeet, MD. In her spare time, Ana enjoys reading, solving puzzles, writing and denying vampire allegations.

Episode produced by: Deborah Chen

Episode recording date: 09/11/2025

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In this mini-series, we explore different health professions to get a better understanding of the variety of team members involved in patient care. In this episode, we spoke with paramedic Joseph Castello about his journey into the world of emergency medical services and the role of paramedics in healthcare. 

Joseph Castello has been a paramedic for over 22 years and served with the Chicago Fire Department for 20 years. He has also taught and served as a simulation technician for nursing and medical students at Loyola University Chicago for the last 10 years.

To explore careers in emergency medical services, visit https://www.naemt.org/about-ems/careers 

Episode produced by: Rasa Valiauga

Episode recording date: 7/17/25

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In this mini-series, we explore different health professions to get a better understanding of the variety of team members involved in patient care. For this episode, we chatted with Andre Moore about his journey in healthcare law.

Andre Moore is a Chicago native and a final-semester law student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he is a fellow at the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) School of Public Health. Over the past two summers, he gained in-house legal experience, most recently at the American Dental Association, where he worked on healthcare compliance and data privacy and security matters.

Episode produced by: Deborah Chen

Episode recording date: 4/29/2025

www.medicuspodcast.com | [email protected] | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonateContact info for Andre Moore: [email protected]

The goal of this mini series is to spark conversations of these new tools and practices within the community of current and future medical practitioners and staff. It is important for medical professionals to have a say in how these Al tools impact practice to ensure practical and ethical use. Join us in discussions of the history of Al, machine and deep learning. computer visions, natural language processing, responsible Al, and so much more. Let's take a step into the future together.

Joining us is Jonathan Theros, Co-Founder and CEO of Dendritic Health AI. A recent MD/MBA graduate from Northwestern University and incoming internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, Jon founded his company to address gaps in medical education by developing AI tools that help medical students learn more effectively and prepare for clinical practice. In our conversation, we discussed the future of AI in medical education, the specific tools his startup is building, and how physician entrepreneurs can amplify their impact by supporting the next generation of medical professionals.

Dendritic Health AI and Neural Consult:

https://www.dendritichealth.com

https://www.neuralconsult.com

Episode produced by: Caleb Keng & Rohan Sethi

Episode recording date: May 15, 2025

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In this episode, we chat with Dr. Paul Tran, a pediatric gastroenterologist who may be better known as the “med student on rotations” with his social media platform, Alimentary School. Through his skits on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Paul uses humor to connect with the medical community about current issues in medical education. He shares his journey into medicine, advice on mentor-mentee relationships, shortcomings with medical education, and the inspiration for his relatable content.

Paul is a pediatric gastroenterologist, medical educator, and content creator who wants to promote kindness and encouragement within medical education. As a clerkship co-director, clinical skills instructor, preceptor, and mentor, he strives to equip and empower learners to take charge of their own education. He is passionate about promoting effective feedback conversations, cultivating a growth mindset, and pursuing mastery.

Paul can be found on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube as @alimentaryschool.

He also has a new gameshow podcast called “The Four Humors,” which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYEi1fQGAdlnpNV62W-CycEYwyvHSzWoo, and his associated media company is hippocratic-collective.com.

Episode produced by: Angeli Mittal

Episode recording date: 1/31/25

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In this powerful episode, we explore moral injury in healthcare - the profound distress physicians face when they’re forced to make decisions that go against the very reason they entered healthcare. We sat down with Dr. Carol Paris, a retired psychiatrist and the former President and current Vice President of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) to discuss their moral injury survey, part of a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

To learn more about moral injury in healthcare, follow the link below!

https://pnhp.org/understanding-moral-injury-in-health-care/

And if you are a med student or physician interested in filling out the moral injury survey, it’s available at the link below. 

https://www.pnhp.org/survey

The report mentioned in the episode is also available at the link below. 

https://www.elsevier.com/promotions/clinician-of-the-future-education-edition?utm_source=banner&utm_medium=dg&utm_campaign=cotf&utm_content=rpt#2pril6uswzbqotzfozzclm

Episode produced by: Griffin K Johnson

Episode recording date: 4/24/25

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In this 4th year medical student (MS4) series, we chat about the field of Pathology. Our guest, Dr. Anaisa Quintanilla-Arteaga, shares advice on how to set yourself up for success regarding matching into this unique specialty and shares tips to help you stand out both on paper and in person.

Anaisa (Nisa) is an incoming PGY1 pathology resident at Northwestern University. She is originally from El Paso, Texas where she had her first exposure to pathology through forensic pathology. After attending Brown University for her undergraduate studies, she earned a master’s degree at Georgetown University and worked at the National Institutes of Health before matriculating to Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine to pursue her medical degree. Nisa is a proud Hispanic/Latina woman in medicine of Mexican descent who is passionate about improving diversity and equity in medicine, healthcare, and pathology. When she isn’t talking about how cool pathology is, Nisa can be found with her nose in a book or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

To connect with Nisa, reach out to her on X @Anaisa_QA

To further explore pathology, check out @Path_SIG and @MatchToPath

Episode produced by: Rasa Valiauga

Episode recording date: 4/8/25

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