One of my favorite parts of running this podcast is making connections and friends with people all around the world. From this conversation with Dr. Khalid, we discovered a mutual love for videography, and we talk about the power of storytelling in film. Dr. Khalid shares how film is what kept him sane in medical school, and how this interest led him to making short films as a med student. He has continued this passion into his practice and now makes educational medical YouTube content. We talk about the National Health Service in the UK and how exactly it works, and the importance of personalized medical care for patients. In his free time, Dr. Khalid also enjoys tying medicine with humor on TikTok, and has a large following on the platform. This was a fun conversation, and I hope you enjoy :)

We're joined by Ariel, an ICU nurse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She talks about her unique background in medicine, and how she actually got her bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management before deciding to go to nursing school. We also talk about the Anti-Asian bias that has spiked due to the pandemic, and her personal experiences dealing with it. Ariel is passionate about advocacy on her platform on Instagram; we talk in particular about her advocacy for Black Lives Matter, and she shares how important it is for different minority groups to come together to support each other in the fight against racism. All in all, this was a really interesting conversation and it really showed me how intertwined social justice and medicine really are.

Today we're joined by Dr. Bodalia, a junior doctor working in the UK. Morale among healthcare workers during COVID has been especially low and seeing this Dr. Bodalia had a plan to help address it. What started with his idea of DJ'ing in his kitchen on Instagram Live while whipping up breakfast, evolved into now internationally-renown NHSessions, a showcase of different artists like himself through which Dr. Bodalia's ultimate goal is to celebrate the work of frontline workers, while also boosting the spirits of anyone in isolation. Music truly is therapy, and Dr. Bodalia shares how much music shapes his life, as well as his experiences working in medicine during the pandemic. The pandemic was actually his FIRST year working as a junior doctor, and he shares his crazy experiences on the podcast.

Today we're joined by Dr. Cedric Bright, the Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion at the Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Bright talks about his 30 years in medicine, and how it started with majoring in film as an undergrad. He talks about going from selling solar panels in the 80s to retaking the MCAT and getting into medical school after a lot of work. He also talks about his work in health equity and the importance of diversity in medicine. I met Dr. Bright at a premed talk, and I, alongside my fellow premedical students, see him as a role model, and a mentor to talk to with any of our concerns in becoming a physician.

Welcome to Medspectives, the podcast about health professionals, the stories of their practice, and their diverse perspectives into the world around us. I'm your host, Arvind Rajan, and today we're joined by Tiffany Thompson, a paramedic in Pitt County, North Carolina. Paramedics tell some of the best stories about medicine, and Tiffany was no exception. She shares stories from her practice, but also talks about the profession of paramedics as a whole. I think paramedics can often be really underappreciated in the sense that a lot of people don't realize just how much schooling and experience is required to work in this career - the ambulance is much more of a portable hospital than a glorified taxi and paramedics are required to have an immensely wide array of skills, which Tiffany discusses in detail in this episode. This conversation was a lot of fun and we talk about potentially starting a new series on the podcast focused solely on EMS stories. Let me know what you think :)

Today we're joined by Dr. Anupam Mittal, a family medicine physician. Dr. Mittal describes the field of family medicine in detail while dispelling common misconceptions. Definitely stick on till the end where he talks about a case of a healthy 14-year-old who suffered from a heart attack that was related to a simple fever she had years prior - you won't want to miss that story. We also talk about his journey through training and the art of gaining trust from your patients. On broader terms, we talk about how the growth of Gen Z into medicine and the expansion of medicine into social media platforms like TikTok, is changing the field profoundly. All in all, this was a long one, but definitely was one of my favorite conversations I've had and I thank Dr. Mittal for his time. I hope you enjoy.

Today we're joined by  Dr. Hudson Garrett. Dr. Garrett has an extremely diverse background, as he not only works as a paramedic, but also has a Ph.D. in healthcare administration, and is an assistant professor of infectious disease at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.  These diverse perspectives enable Dr. Garrett to understand medicine from not only a clinical viewpoint but also a policy standpoint. He shares updates regarding COVID, including the issue of vaccine hesitancy that will arise in the next couple of months.  Dr. Garrett has an entrepreneurial spirit and shares his time as the CEO and founder of the Community Health Associates as well as his non-profit Infection Prevention Institute. He discusses stories from his years working in EMS, and all around, Dr. Garrett shares a lot of other insight into healthcare.

Today we're joined by Dr. Claudia Goettler, a trauma surgeon at Vidant Medical Center. Trauma surgery is a field we hear a lot about in movies and tv shows, and I wanted to talk to Dr. Goettler about what the realities of the field are. Dr. Goettler and I chat about this, and the field of trauma surgery in broad, and she offers insight into her experiences in the career, including a couple of cases, as well as how COVID has affected trauma surgery. I hope you enjoy.