Real MD

Dr. Joe Mendez is both an assistant professor at The University of Utah, and works at The Huntsman Cancer Institute, specializing in Neuro Oncology. Dr. Mendez talks about building patient rapport, tells his story of becoming a patient, and how it guided his career. Joe's story is for anyone who had to break free of small towns and small mindsets to find themself.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker Meghan Sullivan is the Wellness Program Manager at The University of Utah School of Medicine, and part of a wonderful team that provides individual therapy, group support, and medication management for our medical students. In addition to her wellness role, Meghan is a certified yoga teacher, endurance runner, and mindfulness practitioner. In this episode, Meghan talks about finding her career path, what self-care looks like, and breaks down mindfulness into simple every day steps. She also shares how to get started with the Wellness Program, and leads us in a mindfulness exercise.

Corey Shayman is an MD/PhD student at The University of Utah School of Medicine, and a co-facilitator of the RealMD program. He has completed the first half of medical school and started the PhD portion of his degree this past fall. In this episode Corey discusses the importance of journaling and hobbies, along with his interest in "brain-mapping.”

Dr. Karly Pippitt divides her time teaching medical students and as a Family Medicine Physician here in Salt Lake City. She talks about having strong relationships with her patients and providing opportunities for Medical Students to pursue their passions, as well as access resilience along the way.

Former football player at the University of Utah and fitness enthusiast, Dr. Bridger Battaglia, pivoted from Business to Medical School. Along the way, he overcame challenges, changed his specialty, and is currently a psychiatry resident at the U of U.

Sam Wilkinson graduated from Medical School in May 2021 and is currently doing a research year in Ophthalmology. He talks about how important it was for him to get involved during school, and discusses the challenge of not matching last year.

Former medical student, Jake Fitisemanu tells his story of making a career pivot into public health and how staying connected to his community has served as a guide to finding meaning and purpose throughout his career.

Dr. Ellie Gilbertson was guided by intuition and a love of skiing to attend The University of Utah. She balanced the rigors of medical school with non-negotiable self-care times in the mountains. Picking her speciality was a process she had to think through, that helped her define 'derived joy'. She is currently specializing in Emergency Medicine here at The University of Utah.

Student favorite, Dr. David Morton, stops by to chat about having purpose, getting excited about teaching, creating fun ways to learn, and how to assist students in their journey to becoming doctors.