Raise the Line

As we've noted on Raise the Line from Elsevier before, the system Americans rely on to keep vaccine recommendations grounded in science has changed in ways that many in the medical community find alarming. Our guest today, Dr. Jason Goldman, has watched this shift unfold from a closer vantage point than most in his role as liaison from the American College of Physicians (ACP) to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“The vaccine guidelines must be based on science and evidence and that doesn't change because of someone's political beliefs. We have to keep politics out of healthcare,” says Dr. Goldman, who has been a prominent voice responding to the risks resulting from these changes as well as other public health issues.

This candid conversation with host Lindsey Smith also explores:

• Why Dr. Goldman calls himself a "dinosaur";
• The Medicare quirk that pits doctors against each other;
• His advice to students when choosing a specialty.

Mentioned in this episode:
American College of Physicians

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As many of our listeners know from news reports, emergency departments have been under enormous strain in recent years trying to manage overcrowding, the opioid addiction crisis, the consequences of an under-resourced mental health system, and rising rates of violence against staff, among many other challenges. But our guest today guest thinks there’s something else that should top that list. "I think hands down the most important issue is the reimbursement model," says Dr. Ryan Stanton, president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians.  

Dr. Stanton’s uniquely-informed view is built on his work leading a physician-owned group staffing two Kentucky emergency departments, serving as EMS medical director for Lexington-Fayette County, and overseeing on-track medical response crews for auto racing series such as NASCAR. 

In this candid conversation with Raise the Line from Elsevier host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Stanton traces how underpayment from insurers is squeezing physicians and warping the incentives of emergency care, and why he believes the profession's ability to advocate collectively, not individually, is what will move the needle. 

This informative episode also explores: 

• Why he thinks physician autonomy is the antidote to burnout; 
• His approach to communicating medical information as a TV commentator; 
• What it’s like providing care at a NASCAR race when the “car is still smoking.” 

 
Mentioned in this episode: 

American College of Emergency Physicians 

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Limiting the side effects of cancer treatments has been an animating force in the field of oncology for many years, and there’s been progress to report on that front, but what if you could target cancer tumors without using radiation or chemotherapy and instead generate heat from inside the tumor to kill cells? 

That’s the quest of our guest today, Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, whose promising research using lasers and nanoparticles to eliminate tumors received Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA earlier this year. “The laser beam that we're using is low power like a laser pointer, and without activation by the laser, the nanoparticles are harmless. Both are targeted just at the site of the tumor so because we don’t use systemic delivery, we avoid all of the systemic side effects,” she explains.

Dr. Green is also the founder and president of the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation, named for an aunt who raised her and who died of cancer without pursuing curative treatment because of her fear of the side effects.  Shortly after, her aunt’s husband also died of cancer, opting for treatments that took a heavy toll on his body.  “At 22 years old, I saw the horrors of cancer and the horrors of cancer treatment and just felt in my heart that there has to be something better than this,” she tells host Michael Carrese.

On this fascinating episode of Raise the Line from Elsevier, we'll explore the science behind Dr. Green's approach, the challenges of raising the millions of dollars needed for human clinical trials, and rethinking the current funding landscape for cancer treatments.

Mentioned in this episode:
Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation

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"It's really hard to justify a test that has any complications if there isn't any reasonable expectation of benefit," says Dr. Rita Redberg, who has spent her career trying to help fellow clinicians consider the actual value of routine screenings and diagnostic testing in asymptomatic patients. Dr. Redberg -- a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco for more than three decades -- is one of the leading voices advocating for a “high-value care” approach, an uphill fight in a healthcare system that tends to reward action over restraint. Her highest profile effort was launching the instructive “Less is More” series in JAMA Internal Medicine when she served as its editor-in-chief for 14 years.

 On a related track, her research on the assessment of the safety and effectiveness of medical technology, specifically high-risk cardiovascular devices, has yielded a troubling picture. "We found only 1% of devices enter the market through the FDA's most rigorous approval process. The high-quality evidence to support benefit for these devices that I had assumed was present, wasn't actually there.”

 Join Raise the Line host Lindsey Smith for an eye-opening exploration of what Dr. Redberg considers to be the overlooked risks and false reassurance of common tests and procedures, and her efforts to put the “do no harm” principle of medicine at the forefront of everyday practice.

Mentioned in this episode:

UCSF School of Medicine

JAMA Internal Medicine's Less is More Series

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For millions of young women and girls, often the first place they turn with questions about their bodies isn't a doctor's office, it's social media which can lead to encountering many misconceptions and outright misinformation. Or, if the right voices show up, it can mean something else entirely.

Our guest today, Dr. Charis Chambers, is one of those voices. She’s a board-certified OB/GYN with specialty certification in Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology, and Chief Medical Officer at Clue, a leading period and cycle-tracking app. She's also the founder of The Period Doctor, a platform she launched in 2019 to provide medically accurate reproductive health information and to place more minority physicians in the spaces where patients are already looking for answers.

 As she tells Raise the Line from Elsevier host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Chambers embraces the role of being a bridge between generations: "I can serve as a medical mediator where I advocate for the child and then educate the parent so that the child’s concerns are met."

Stay tuned to this important conversation to also learn about:

Mentioned in this episode:

Clue

The Period Doctor

The Period and Puberty Parenting Revolution

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"I'd already finished my cardiovascular unit. I'd finished my pulmonary unit. I had never heard about this in any of my classes." That was Dr. Joel Bervell's reaction to discovering that a device used every day in hospitals -- the pulse oximeter -- reads less accurately on darker skin tones. He posted a 30-second video about this consequential discrepancy that, to his utter surprise, gained over 500,000 views by the next morning.

That video launched Dr. Bervell into orbit as a social media presence and created his identity as The Medical Mythbuster. In just a few years, he’s built a following of two million people, earned a Peabody Award and was named to the inaugural Time 100 Creators list, all while finishing his residency. 

On this episode of Raise the Line, host Lindsey Smith welcomes Dr. Bervell to explore the roots of this kind of bias and the real world impact of drawing attention to it. “The most impactful biases in medicine exist because no one stops to ask who was included in the original data and who was left out,” Dr. Bervell explains.

Stay tuned to also learn about:

Mentioned in this episode:
Dr. Bervell on Instagram
TikTok Channel
Facebook
"The Doctor Is In" Show

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Despite gains in recent years, Black, Hispanic, and Asian communities are still under-represented in the U.S. nursing workforce. We’re going to explore that gap and how to close it on this episode of Raise the Line from Elsevier with Dr. Ernest Grant, Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the Duke University School of Nursing. "You get a patient who is more compliant when they see someone who looks like them, who is from their culture and who can advocate on their behalf," he tells host Lindsey Smith. 

Dr. Grant bases that and other insights on a rich professional background that includes 50 years in nursing, being a leading advocate for his profession and breaking down barriers himself as a male nurse of color and the first man elected president of the American Nurses Association. 

In this thoughtful conversation, Dr. Grant reflects on what it took to earn credibility in leadership roles, how he’s navigating the political climate on DEI initiatives, and the causes and solutions to the persistent shortage in nursing faculty, among other pressing issues. Tune in for a uniquely-informed look at what it will take to build a stronger, more representative nursing profession.

Mentioned in this episode:

Duke University School of Nursing

American Nurses Association

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What does it take to compete on the world's biggest stage and then pivot to one of the most demanding training paths in professional life? Today's guest, Samantha "Sammy" Kolowrat, has done both, and she has some fascinating insights into the commonalities of those two worlds on this episode of Raise the Line. “Something that really drew me to medicine is the team atmosphere that’s there as you work towards a common goal, and there's this level of intensity that’s very reminiscent of the experiences I had as a professional athlete.”

Originally from Prague, Kolowrat represented Czechia at six IIHF Women's World Championships and the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and also captained the Division I women's hockey team at the University of Vermont while earning degrees in biology and pharmacology. 

As she starts an anesthesiology residency at Vanderbilt University, she credits her athletic career with shaping how she handles pressure, feedback, and teamwork in medicine. "The more I improve, the more knowledge I acquire, the more skills I hone, the better care my patients get," she tells host Lindsey Smith, describing what drew her to a field that rewards the same relentless fine-tuning as elite sports.

This engaging conversation also explores:

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanderbilt University Anesthesiology Residency Program

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An 11-year-old boy in rural Zambia once told Dr. Genesis Mwamba that he was about to attend school wearing shoes for the first time in his life. That moment, Dr. Mwamba says, crystallized why he started the Lead Me Back Foundation to provide school supplies and other support to marginalized communities in his native country.  

As you’ll learn in this inspiring installment in our NextGen Journeys series, Dr. Mwamba started the foundation in 2021while still a medical student because he had experienced the power of education as an “equalizer” in his own life, taking him from humble roots to a career in medicine.

He and his colleagues have grown the bootstrapped organization to a point where it now provides hundreds of thousands of people across the country with educational access, climate education and community health clinics. “I've always been drawn to opportunities and initiatives that bring help to humankind,” he tells Raise the Line host Dr. Parsa Mohri.

This episode also explores:

Mentioned in this episode:

Lead Me Back Foundation

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"We have an untapped army of 200,000 PAs that really could step up and drive some change in the healthcare system if we weren’t restricted,” says Dr. Jennifer Kolb, capturing her motivation for pushing to update practice regulations for physician associates that date back more than 50 years. 

Dr. Kolb also addresses: 

Mentioned in this episode:
American Academy of Physician Associates

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast