This week, we’re sharing a special bonus episode featuring a conversation from Scope Radio with Dr. Tom Hurtado, Director of Student Affairs.

Joined by medical students Noah Danesh (MS3, Keck School of Medicine of USC) and Suchita Kumar (MS4, Vanderbilt University), this discussion explores the power of storytelling, professional identity formation, and the role of mentorship in medical education.

Recorded at AAMC Learn Serve Lead 2025, this episode highlights the “soft skills” that shape the journey to becoming a physician.

Today on the RealMD Podcast we are joined by Sheherya Ali, a second year MD/MPH student at the University of Texas, Medical Branch at Galveston. In this episode, Sheherya shares how the influence of his mother and father help shape his dual passions for buisnes and medicine. And, how he ultimately chose to pursue a career in healthcare. From his diverse premed experiences to his thoughtful approach to decision making, one question consistently guided him: Do I enjoy what I am doing, and do I find purpose in it?

This is part II of my conversation with third year medical student, Sarah Petelinsek. Her journey into research was organic, based on her own interests and unique background. It’s true that research especially during the first year can be intimidating, the learning curve, finding the right people and projects. Often we don’t think that research can happen on our terms and based on our own interests. Sarah shares her story of a little research project that grew out of her love of back country skiing and pre med interest in behavioral economics. After gathering a team of mentors who shared her enthusiasm, great things started to happen. So, if you are curious and follow your interests, research can become a vehicle for finding mentors, exploring specialties, and successful residency interviews. 

TW Jones is a Pediatric Infectious Diseases attending at the U of U. He was recommended to be guest on this episode so I really didn’t know what to expect. Which makes the happenstance of hearing his journey into medicine all the more powerful. To anyone who has been told that you aren’t cut out to do something, the pre-med advisor who discourages you to apply, a family member tells you they don’t think you have what it takes. For those who have been stopped along the way, this episode is for you. I am not saying it will always work out as you want, but I am saying believing in yourself and what you want to do above what other people think you can do, is a powerful state to be in, one that will help you find a meaningful career. 

The Tribal Rural and Underserved or TRU program was created to help students see that value of being immersed in the tribal and rural space both from a standpoint of future physicians who will practice there, but also seeing a different view of what is possible in medicine regardless of where you practice. In this episode, I interview third year medical student Abel Chavez who grew up in a rural community and TRU program director David Sandweiss who trained in tribal and rural areas. What I immediately noticed is that the TRU program teaches you to meet the patient literally where they are, to be a part of the community, and that small changes can make an impact. All three of these things can be scaled up in non-rural settings too. Most of all, I learned from this conversation that there are opportunities in medicine we could be more open to and that we can carve out a unique space to practice medicine in more ways than we think we can. 

In Healthcare, most of the time, you don’t get to choose your team, the patients do. This means the skillset to turn a group of people who have to work together into a high functioning team fundamentally rests on each of us. In this episode, I had the privilege to talk several faculty members who run the Interprofessional Education Program at the U. First off, I want to say the work they are doing is critical to patient care and also job satisfaction of healthcare providers. Think about it, the thing that makes or breaks each day is the quality of interpersonal interactions we are having. What struck me most throughout the conversation was how curiosity can build trust and validate the roles each person has on the healthcare team. This conversation is also a reminder that proving yourself on a team isn’t done by making decisions without input or invalidating others and the knowledge they can contribute. So for all of you who are in training, play in the sandbox of inter-professional education when the stakes are low, become master team builders who can collaborate with the widest range of personalities and skillsets possible, this is where the magic happens for the patient and your career. 

Jordan Broadway (Psychiatrist) helped build RealMD from the early days and we continue to collaborate. In this episode she talks about her career transitions from medical school to residency to being an attending and how at each stage she has leaned into the dark to figure out her next step. I love how she has crafted a great career relying on her innate skills to build a strong community and make deep connections. 

The daunting task of finding and doing meaningful work is understandably hard to navigate. Often, we impose our own limits about what is possible in a career and what doors are open or closed. As a result, the vision of life’s work can be watered down or abandoned. While there are always realities and challenges, what excites me most about this conversation is how Dr. Richard Ingebretsen (Internal and Emergency Medicine) and second year medical student Emma Lester share their amazing story about the origin of wilderness medicine at the University of Utah and the summer elective they hold in the French Alps. The stories and passion shared about training all people including future physicians to be more prepared for the outdoors, to overcome nature deficit disorder, and to make preventative measures in the back country are inspiring to say the least. It is amazing how a vision comes to fruition. Bottom line: when you are doing something bigger than yourself and you don’t care about money or credit, amazing things happen. 

Caroline and Ivan are second year medical students at Eastern Virginia Medical School and St. Louis University School of Medicine. On today's episode, guest hosts Elise and Poi talk about their unexpected journey to medicine. Getting rejected from medical school forced them to navigate through self-doubt and reflection. They share with us their tips on how to move through rejection and leave the other side with a greater sense of self. We'll discover how they carried themselves through rejection and found their place in medicine.

Sarah Petelinsek is a third year medical student who has made it a point to not define herself with the medical student label alone. In this episode we talk about asking for help, experiences that clarify values, maintaining beliefs during hard times, and redrawing the boxes we have to check during medical school. This point of redrawing boxes, struck me as a reminder we all need. There will always be boxes to check but can we redefine and redraw them? Is it possible to keep our beliefs alive and hold onto the things that matter most? Sarah has a way of being both optimistic and realistic that is special and resonates. As we go through the motions, the operational present, maybe we can redefine it, even on a small scale and find more meaning in the day to day process of becoming a physician.