The Interesting MD Podcast

In Part 1 of this three-part conversation, Dr. Rob Beck sits down with Dr. Sarah Mauthe, a Canadian-born physician who spent roughly 15 years training and practicing medicine in the United States before returning to Canada.

Sarah talks about her experiences in Alabama, Nevada, and California, from the rewarding early years of hospital medicine to the growing pressures of understaffing, administrative demands, and physician burnout. She also shares how her employer allegedly delayed her green card paperwork, leaving her feeling trapped in a job where she once worked 24 consecutive days and saw as many as 60 patients a day.

It's a conversation about the realities of American medicine, the challenges immigrant physicians can face, and what happens when a career you love starts taking more than it gives.

In Part 2, Sarah shares more about her decision to leave the U.S. and rediscover her passion for medicine.

Special thanks to Physician Financing for supporting this episode. Learn more at https://physicianfinancing.ca/

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

How much are Americans and Canadians actually paying for healthcare?

In this solo episode of The Interesting MD Podcast, Dr. Rob Beck breaks down healthcare spending on both sides of the border, looking beyond the usual argument that Canadians pay through taxes while Americans rely on private insurance.

Dr. Beck examines taxes, Medicare and Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, premiums, deductibles, co-pays, employer contributions, and other costs that often get left out of the conversation. He also compares what healthcare can cost a family in British Columbia versus Washington State and explores research estimating what could happen if the U.S. moved toward a single-payer system.

This isn't about pretending either system is perfect. It's about asking a more useful question: When you count every dollar going toward healthcare, what are you actually paying?

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

Pay attention. Wake up. This is not the country you were born into.

In Part 2 of this two-part interview, Cassandra Marra continues her family's story of speaking out, standing firm, and searching for safety.

In this episode: This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Dr. Rob Beck continues his conversation with Cassandra Marra, whose wife, Dr. Janelle Marra, has served for nearly two decades as a physician in the U.S. Navy. Part 1 covered what happened after Dr. Marra became the subject of a widely circulated social media post, her removal from leadership positions, and the early safety concerns that followed for their family. Part 2 picks up where that conversation left off and looks more closely at the impact these events have had on their family.

Cassandra discusses the illegal removal of promotions from service members across the military, the silence of elected officials in Massachusetts and California when contacted for support, and her fear over losing rights that were previously protected, including concerns for the future of gay marriage. She also describes what it felt like for her family to become a target after her wife's story spread online, the toll of threats made against their children, and an emotional account of feeling safe for the first time during a visit to British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Beck shares reflections from his own visit to Dachau and the importance of speaking up rather than staying silent, and Cassandra closes with an update on her wife's promotion and her pride in her wife's decision to speak out despite the cost.

This is the final part of a two-part series with Cassandra Marra, if you haven't heard Part 1, start there for the full story.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In Part 1 of this two-part interview, Dr. Rob Beck sits down with Cassandra Marra, whose wife, Dr. Janelle Marra, has served for nearly two decades as a physician in the U.S. Navy.

Cassandra shares her family’s account of what happened after her wife became the subject of a widely circulated social media post related to her involvement in transgender healthcare. She describes Dr. Marra’s subsequent removal from leadership positions, the threatening comments that appeared online, and the safety concerns that followed for their family.

The conversation also explores Dr. Marra’s career in military medicine and Cassandra’s perspective on what it means to speak up when doing so may carry professional and personal consequences.

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Cassandra Marra. Part 2 continues the story and looks more closely at the impact these events have had on their family.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In Part 2 and the final episode of this two-part series, Dr. Rob Beck continues his conversation with Dr. Peter Shin, breaking down the process of moving from the United States to Canada as a physician.

Dr. Shin walks through the practical steps he took, including finding a job, verifying his medical credentials, applying for provincial licensing, obtaining CMPA malpractice coverage and a billing number, and navigating work permits and permanent residency.

He also shares practical advice for physicians moving with a family, including spousal work permits, schooling for children, healthcare coverage, background checks, moving household goods, importing a vehicle, and preparing financially for the transition.

If you're a U.S. physician seriously considering practicing in Canada, this episode serves as a practical checklist from someone who recently completed the process himself.

This is Part 2 and the final episode of our two-part series with Dr. Peter Shin.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In this episode of The Interesting MD Podcast, Dr. Rob Beck speaks with Dr. Peter Shin, an internist who recently moved from Chicago to British Columbia with his wife and four children.

Dr. Shin shares his experiences practicing medicine across the United States and in New Zealand, why he had been considering leaving the U.S. for years, and how changes to Canadian physician licensing helped make the move to British Columbia possible.

They discuss the differences between the U.S., Canadian, and New Zealand healthcare systems, the tradeoffs he has experienced practicing in Canada, and the warm reception his family has received since arriving. Dr. Shin also shares how the move has affected his stress, work-life balance, and life outside of medicine.

This is Part 1 of Dr. Peter Shin’s conversation. In Part 2, he breaks down the immigration and licensing process for healthcare professionals interested in making the move to Canada.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In the third and final part of this three-part interview, Dr. Rob Beck continues his conversation with Dr. Alona Sukhina, a pediatrician who relocated from Arizona to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dr. Sukhina shares why she ultimately decided to leave the U.S., the emotional difficulty of making that decision, and why she has no regrets about the move. She also walks through the practical side of relocating, including finding a job, physician licensing, immigration, and resources that can help U.S.-trained doctors interested in practicing in Canada.

They also discuss what life has been like since the move, from working fewer hours and experiencing less stress to Vancouver’s public transportation, community resources, and family-friendly lifestyle.

For physicians seriously considering Canada, this final episode offers both practical guidance and an honest look at what life can be like on the other side of the transition.

This is Part 3 and the final episode featuring Dr. Alona Sukhina.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In Part 2 of this three-part interview series, Dr. Rob Beck continues his conversation with Dr. Alona Sukhina, a pediatrician who moved from the United States to Canada.

Dr. Sukhina shares what practicing pediatrics in Canada actually looks like compared with her experience in the U.S. She discusses simpler billing and documentation, fewer patients per day, longer appointments, greater autonomy in ordering tests, virtual care, and the reduced administrative burden she has experienced since making the move.

After previously seeing as many as 25 patients a day, Dr. Sukhina explains how having more time with each patient has allowed her to practice more comprehensive medicine and spend less time navigating administrative barriers.

For physicians considering Canada, this episode offers a practical look at how changing healthcare systems can affect not only paperwork and billing, but the everyday experience of being a doctor.

This is Part 2 of 3 featuring Dr. Alona Sukhina. Stay tuned for the third and final episode.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

This is Part 1 of a three-part interview with Dr. Alona Sukhina, a board-trained pediatrician who recently relocated from Tucson, Arizona, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

In this episode of The Interesting MD Podcast, Dr. Rob Beck speaks with Dr. Sukhina about her experience caring for refugee, immigrant, and underserved communities in the United States. She explains the important role Federally Qualified Health Centers play in supporting vulnerable patients and how policy changes, funding pressures, and systemic barriers increasingly affected her ability to provide the care she believed her patients deserved.

Dr. Sukhina also opens up about the ethical and emotional challenges that ultimately contributed to her decision to leave the United States for Canada—including the difficult feeling of leaving patients and colleagues behind.

This first installment explores medicine, ethics, healthcare access, and what happens when a physician begins questioning whether the system they work within still aligns with their values.

This is Part 1 of 3. Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of Dr. Alona Sukhina’s conversation with Dr. Rob Beck.

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me:

In this episode of The Interesting MD Podcast, Dr. Rob Beck continues his conversation with Dr. Fraser Mackay of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) about the systemic causes of emergency department overcrowding in Canada.

They discuss hospital patient flow, Alternate Level of Care patients, the need for more transparent public reporting, and why short-term initiatives often fail to address the underlying causes of long emergency department waits.

Dr. Mackay also explains why meaningful healthcare reform requires public engagement, political accountability, and evidence-based policy. Rather than directing frustration toward frontline doctors and nurses, he encourages patients and healthcare professionals to use their voices, join advocacy organizations, communicate with political representatives, and push for long-term systemic improvements.

A timely conversation about accountability, advocacy, and what it will take to build a Canadian healthcare system capable of serving a growing and aging population.

Follow Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caep_docs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAEP01/

Podcast Link: The Interesting MD Podcast 

Contact me: