On Becoming a Healer

Lately we've been hearing about bad behavior on airplanes. Here we discuss an incident in which a passenger unselfconsiously stepped up at an inconvenient time to assist a group of passengers in a tough spot. Saul and Stefan reflect on the qualities of people who go through life making the world a better place in small ways. As millions travel during Thanksgiving, we thought this episode (originally released last year) might inspire those flying the not-always friendly skies.

Our guest, a physician a few years out of residency, describes an experience from her training when an attending yelled at her and hung up the phone when they were discussing a patient. We talk about resident abuse, its impact on patient care, and what can be done about it.

Our guest, a resident physician, describes her reaction and what followed, when she discovered a symbol of hate tattooed on her hospitalized patient's leg. Most of us appreciate that as physicians we don't get to choose who are patients are, and that all deserve good care. But is there more to it than that? Can one grow as a physician and person, and even feel privileged when caring for patients who one might otherwise shun?

Saul reached out to a former colleague whom he worked with closely so that he could apologize for something he did many years ago that he now sees as racist. Saul is a white man and his former colleague, a subordinate at the time, is a black woman. Because of his apology, along with their longstanding relationship, they are able to have an open and honest conversation about how it affected her life, why it happened and how to prevent and respond to racist behavior in the workplace. Stefan moderates the conversation. Guest: Chanel Brown

In a widely reported incident, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine accused, suspended and expelled medical students for cheating based on faulty data -- and then retracted the decision amidst a large public backlash. During the episode students were allegedly given only 2 minutes to defend themselves and were encouraged to plead guilty. When they complained about the administration online, the school passed a policy on social media that would ban some forms of communication. In this episode, Saul (@SaulWeiner) and Stefan (@StefanKertesz) discuss whether what happened at Dartmouth was an anomaly or emblematic of a dysfunctional and even toxic culture within medical education. And, to the extent that it is the latter, they consider how physicians can be scarred and stunted in ways that diminish their potential as healers. Finally, they reflect on what it would take to bring about transformative change.

A primary care doctor in solo practice in a small mid-west city who is deeply trusted by his patients talks about talking about vaccine hesitancy.

We feel safe and can open up in conversations when there is full and open engagement combined with a clear, respectful sense of personal boundaries. Why are such exchanges so rare and yet so important to medical practice and to the good life?

Physicians are neither judges nor God, and yet we seem prone to judge our patients...and ourselves. Saul and Stefan discuss.

Saul and his research team have listened to and analyzed thousands of audio recordings of medical encounters for clinician attention to the life context of each patient when planning their care. Here is what they've learned.