Real MD

With Mother’s Day happening this month we wanted to do something special. In this episode, I am joined by guest host, Dr. Jenn Handrop. As a mother who just finished her doctorate, Jenn’s research hits very close to home. At our medical school we have more mothers and parents almost 30% compared to the national average of about 6%. Dr. Handrop takes a closer look at how mothers are navigating medical school, what the challenges are, what support looks like, and how we as a school (and medical schools in general) can do a better job supporting mothers. We are joined by three amazing medical student mothers, two second years and one third year. They are all in clinical training and fighting the good fight to have families and also pursue their dreams of becoming physicians. They also hold leadership positions in a group called WEWILL. I will let them introduce themselves. I want to thank this amazing group for taking the time to have this important conversation. The bottom line is we have work to do, we can do more to support mothers in medicine!

In this episode, medical students, Payton Erickson and Brooke Austin talk about their leadership roles as House Representatives, what it is like building out a house community, and creating meaningful events. We also talk about what leadership opportunities are worthwhile and how making sure the things you spend your time on have direct connection to your purpose. This is an important habit to form now that will help you for the rest of your career.

Brooke Johnston is a pediatric palliative care physician. She also serves as a house director for little wild horse and a Faculty Co-Director of Coaching in PIF (Professional Identity Formation). Brooke also plays the banjo, writes songs and loves doing improv. In this episode, we reflect on her journey into academic medicine, living by her values, and her passion for helping people develop. For Brooke, her path started by literally building houses and she’s still doing the work of serving others and creating strong communities.

For Shi and Cecilia Liang, maintaining a strong connection as a family is the goal but it is not easy. They have 2 young kids and are both building out their careers. I think it’s important to remember there is no perfect template when navigating the messiness of life and at the end of the day supporting each other and staying connected is all that matters. What I liked about this conversation is their openness about the struggle to stay connected as life happens.

Elise Vandamme is a first year medical student who is on a mission to normalize the challenges associated with getting into medical school. We talk about overcoming the dark days when she didn’t get into medical school the first time around and how she has turned that into a desire to help premed students with their personal statements. The reality is that in our professional pursuits, things rarely go as planned and although painful, there are lessons in the struggle that help us regroup and move forward. 

Dr. Mary Murphy started out in Emergency Medicine and is now practicing Hospice and Palliative Care. Her professional journey involves threading life’s experiences together in unexpected ways. In this episode, we talk about how her husband started medical school as she started residency and how their lives turned upside down when they lost their daughter. During their most dire moments, a caring team of colleagues brought her back to herself. In medicine, we will capture and recapture our reasons for practicing throughout our career. Ultimately, Dr. Murphy has found that showing up for people in their most difficult moments has given her a career she loves.

For a few years, The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine has hosted storytelling events with students, staff and faculty. We do this because it helps us grow together as a community. Each event starts with dinner, stories, and some live music in between stories. Last spring, we held an event at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and the theme was about intersections. Intersections represent a change of directions emerging of ideas or identities or a place where we may just pause for a while. This episode features 5 stories that were told that night. Special thanks to all the students involved in making this event happen! 

The topic of this episode is to discuss what support looks like during medical school. Specifically, how do people in committed relationships get through the medical journey and come out the other side, it does take a village of support. Caden Snow and Trevor Ence were kind enough to talk about what it is like to be in a supportive role with their spouses while they are in medical school. But we also talk about what they need in the relationship as well. What I appreciated about this conversation was the simplicity. There are no earth shattering pieces of advice but an accumulation of small insights, kind gestures, and everyday efforts that help keep their relationships strong even during the busy time of medical school

In our career pursuits, sometimes we think we need stay in one lane but doing so doesn't provide variety. Yes, we need certain experiences to pursue medicine but not at the expense of the freedom to explore interests regardless of where they come from.

Dr. Brian Good is a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Utah and also the Phase II Director; having launched a new way of clinical training through Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships. I started working with Brian my first few weeks here and I knew he had a unique career journey. I want you to hear all about it from a person who cares deeply about being honest and kind while doing meaningful work.