The Accelerators Podcast

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On this episode, Matt is again joined by guest co-host patient advocates Julie Johnson (@solongsarcoma) and Katie Coleman (@kaydaustin) to discuss some mental health issues experienced by patients with cancer. We are joined by Sara Ariaudo, MHA, a former radiation therapist turned mindfulness coach and founder of Mindful Based Healing, LLC. 

We start with a discussion about mindfulness... specifically, what is it? Is it meditation or something more? We discuss how patients can create a personalized mindfulness plan to supplement their care. 

We then discuss patients' experiences managing mental health as the interact with oncology clinics. How can patient's best cope with the emotions surrounding a new diagnosis, and how might mindfulness techniques adjust after treatment is completed? 

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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The Accelerators (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) are closing out 2022 with a focus on mental health!

In this episode, we are joined by friends-of-the-show Drs. Neil Newman and Christina Henson as well as Melody Wilding, LCSW. Melody is an executive coach and author of #RadOnc book club favorite "Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work."

We discuss Melody's book and The Highly Sensitive Person phenotype, which may be expressed in up to 30% of people. This can pose challenges for anyone at work, but we discuss how the phenotype may uniquely impact physicians. We also share how Melody's book has impacted our careers in different ways. 

The discussion then shifts to how employers and physician leaders might make our hospitals and clinics a nicer place to work and how Sensitive Striver physicians might excel in this challenging workplace. 

Here are some things mentioned in the show:

• Melody Wilding's website
• The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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This week, The Accelerators (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) host Dr. Natalie Ridge (@nataliezumab), a DO radiation oncologist who is finishing training and searching for a job. We again discuss the hot - or not - #RadOnc job market. It depends on who you ask.

We start by discussing the fact that residents across the country face a heterogeneous job search experience as connections are essential to rise to the top of a competitive field.

We then turn to an insidious problem in Radiation Oncology and other medical fields: DO discrimination. We hope leaders in our field consider these experiences in their attempts to build inclusive training programs and practices.

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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On this episode, Matt is again joined by patient advocates Julie Johnson (@solongsarcoma) and Katie Coleman (@kaydaustin) for a conversation on patient education for clinical trials and beyond. We host one of our favorite experts, Radiation Oncologist and founder of PRIMR, Dr. David Grew. 
 
We start by discussing how information is presented to trial-eligible patients in clinic then David shares how he started creating scalable video content for local and national trials. 

What follows is an inspiring discussion about the power of readily available, web-based video to educate in a patient centered way.  
 
Here are some things mentioned during the show:

• Dr. Grew's Digital Explanations, patient education videos 
• Katie's video, what an open liver resection and nephrectomy is like
• Katie's video, what is a biopsy like for cancer? 

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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The Accelerators (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) use a "small viral" tweet as a seed for discussion about technology, inequity, and community practice. 

This week, we host Dr. Anna Paulsson, a community Radiation Oncologist practicing in Sonoma County, California. Recently, she wondered whether the celebration of technology in #RadOnc is furthering inequity in our field.

We discuss messaging from societies and conferences to the general public, the role of industry, the PPS-exempt cancer hospitals program, and how medical education might improve with greater access to community practice physicians.

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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The Accelerators host (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) another resident-attending duo to discuss the #RadOnc workforce and job market! 

Drs. Mudit Chowdhary and  John Shumway (a graduating PGY-5 resident at University of North Carolina) review their recent publication evaluating trends in numbers of yearly society job board postings versus graduating residents. We then analyze some of the paper's methods and online discussion of the statistics.

We then discuss the ratio of job postings to graduating residents over time and supplement the data with the lived experience of interviewing for a job in #RadOnc. There is now a strong, data-driven argument against expanding residency positions in our field, so what factors are being considered when departments decide to expand? Are people considering activity in their region? We don't think so.

Finally, Mudit is optimistic that publication and discussion of this issue has initiated a contraction, or at least halted growth. We all agree that progress has been made and modern discussion of the radiation oncology workforce is improved compared to the past.

Remember friends, help control the graduating resident population and don't SOAP in March!

Here are some other things mentioned during the show:

• The Emergency Medicine Workforce Study
• "How Much Are Resident Physicians Worth?" by friend of the show Dr. Carmody (The Sheriff of Sodium)
• Mudit's article on the growth of radiation oncology residency programs 
• The 2020 ARRO Graduating Resident Survey 

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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In this episode, the Accelerators (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) discuss current events and topics: conflicts of interest, the definition of SBRT, medical marijuana, and ultrasound image guidance for skin cancers. 

Here is a book mentioned during the show: 

• How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollen

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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In this episode, Matt hosts patient advocates Julie Johnson (@solongsarcoma) and Katie Coleman (@kaydaustin) to share their experiences and opinions about clinical trials. 

We start by discussing how patients find clinical trials and how they might be offered in oncology clinics. Is there a difference when one's oncologist says "There are no trials available" versus "I'm not aware of any trials"? Julie and Katie raise important considerations, especially for patients with rare cancers. 

We then discuss their experience with trial finders and how to manage participating in a trial, which may be out of state, many miles from home. 

The discussion ends with a challenge for oncology trialists. Why are there not more adjuvant trials in the curative setting? Can we be more thoughtful about the types of trials we run What happens to the patient-participants after trials end? 

Certainly there is much to consider.

We hope you enjoy the beginning of our first patient-driven conversation. 

Some other things that were mentioned in the show:

• Join over 50,000 fans and follow Katie on TikTok, YouTube, and Insta
• Some trial finders: Cancer Commons and TrialJectory
• ClinicalTrials.gov

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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Accelerators hosts Drs. Simul "Neil" Parikh and Anna Laucis hosts The Neils!

Drs. Neil Newman, Neil Parikh, Avinash Chaurasia join Anna in sharing their thoughts after completing their first year of independent practice. Of course they discuss the 3 A's, but there is so much more. The doctors discuss how to gel with your team, protect your health, and other strategies to enjoy your PGY-6 year.  Celebrate yourself!

A thing mentioned on the show:

• Book Recommendation - Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.

The Accelerators Podcast is a Photon Media production. 

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The Accelerators host (Dr. Anna Laucis, Matt Spraker, and Simul Parikh) the Suneja Lab,
leaders in health equity research! Radiation Oncologist Dr. Gita Suneja and PGY-5 resident Dr. Ryan Hutten to discuss their recent publication examining disparities in initiation of advanced radiotherapy between White patients and patients of minoritized groups. 

We summarize and analyze the paper, then discuss potential causes of these disparities. Of course, we must #FixPriorAuthNow - like, yesterday - but the causes spill outside the hospital. Racism and disparities in wealth, power, and resources add up in complex ways to delay care. 

We then discuss Dr. Suneja's local efforts to act on these findings, her health equity research laboratory. The group offers mentorship for a diverse group of students and cross pollination of ideas while recognizing health equity research as a valid academic pursuit. But you don't have to start a lab to act; we share ways to improve equity in your clinic as well.

Finally, Simul's Lighting Round is back! Grab your favorite mocktail, we're headed to Salt Lake City.

Other things we talked about in the show:

• Hutten et al. on worsening disparities between racial and ethnic groups in IMRT use in the US.
• The Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC)

Podcast art generously donated by Dr. Danielle Cunningham. Intro and Outro music generously donated by Emmy-award winning artist Lucas Cantor Santiago.