The Our Stories Podcast

How fortunate we are to have a chance to hear from one of our newer faculty members, Dr Sani Gandhi, who has joined our neuro-oncology team! In this episode you will get to hear about how Dr Gandhi's great aunt and uncle influenced his decision to go into medicine as well as his wish to honor them in the care he provides patients and families. His focus in clinical work is whole person care with attention to compassion as well as patient empowerment in treatment planning. Outside of clinic, Dr Gandhi cares for his own wellbeing by spending time with family, including Momo the cat, and checking out ATL's food and music scenes. We are so fortunate Dr Ghandhi has found his way from NY, NJ and lovely southern CA to GA and wish him great success at Winship!

The good energy of our APPs at Winship shines bright in one of our lead APPs, Andrea K. Huffman, PA-C. In this podcast you will get to hear about how Andrea decided to become an APP (thank you all PE teachers!) as well as her experiences in inpatient critical care before coming to work at Winship. Excellent APP mentorship was instrumental in Andrea finding her way to a leadership position in oncology at SJH and JC. By putting time and energy into building relationships with her team members, and regularly modeling willingness to do whatever work needs to get done, Andrea has found herself with coworkers who support each other and "get it" in terms of being a caregiver both professionally and personally. Appreciating simple pleasures (time in the yard, hanging with family) and limiting social media helps protect Andrea's sense of wellbeing and keeps her invigorated for the day ahead.

HMO Wellness is excited to share this episode of the Our Stories Podcast, an upbeat conversation with one of our nurse leaders, Emily Engstrom, Assistant Director of Patient Care Services for Regional Oncology Clinics. In this episode Emily describes growing up in a family of care providers (nurses, pharmacists, doctors dating back multiple generations) and training at St Jude's hospital in Memphis. Supporting a classmate with stage IV breast cancer was a formative experience that led Emily into oncology nursing. Love for patient care, attention to patients' resilience, use of humor, and talking with family all help Emily maintain her sense of wellbeing. Given her dedication to people with cancer, we are so fortunate that Emily works @Winship!

The HMO Wellness program is pleased to present a conversation with Dr. Lindsay Hannan. In this podcast Dr Hannan shares her experiences in college (econ major!) and master's program (epidemiologist!) that led to data work at the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society. While the data was "fun to play with," her interest in the human experience of cancer was motivation enough to go to medical school. Thankfully her family was close to Georgetown School of Medicine, so she got to enjoy home cooked meals while in med school. After time in DC, Dr Hannan lived in Seattle where she got to enjoy the beauty of the Puget Sound. Since coming to Winship, Dr. Hannan has appreciated the encouraging environment of colleagues who have so many interesting ideas about cancer care and research. Listening to her story, both her excitement about research and care for people in clinic, will be a mood boost for us all!

With great pleasure, HMO Wellness presents this must listen episode from Manali Bhave, MD who shares her journey into medicine and breast oncology. Finding a career that provided the opportunity to help others and improve lives was the initial motivation for going into medicine. Oncology offered a space to know patients longitudinally while continuously staying curious about how to help them optimize their health. Her tendency to see similarities with patients was a strength in caring for them but also created a challenge in figuring out how to protect her own energy while providing top notch care for others. Exercise, reading and hobbies as well as thoughtful consideration of her own personal goals has been helpful in keeping her academic medical career on track. May this story being encouraging, even nurturing, to your own wellbeing knowing that we have such a lovely colleague in HMO!

HMO Wellness is proud to present a conversation with Christine Kempton, MD, MSc, professor of hematology and bleeding disorders. In this episode you will hear about Dr Kempton's journey from ballerina to physician, a journey that was influenced by several very supportive mentors at Mayo Clinic and Oregon Health Sciences. While in training in Chapel Hill a professor questioned Dr Kempton's decision to pursue hematology only. With a resolve to make decisions that suited her best, Dr Kempton went ahead with hematology career which has now benefited so many patients and families over her 20+ years of service at Emory. Making time and space for self-reflection, including meditation and journaling ("slow down to speed up"), has helped Dr Kempton stay aligned with her own sense of self and kept her professional energies high. Take a listen to her story so that your story may benefit from the wisdom shared here!

HMO Wellness is excited to share a conversation with Anisha Patel NP-C, the lead APP site coordinator for Johns Creek. In this episode you will get to hear about Anisha's journey from solid organ transplant to cancer care which included learning a whole new language, working closely with experienced oncologists and nurses who were "phenomenal," and managing emotions that come with wanting to provide the best possible care for her patients. Through the challenging COVID years Anisha took up a breathing exercise recommended by an energetic aunt, and this daily breathing with a mediation practice has served her well ever since. Disconnecting and minimizing doom scrolling has helped Anisha and her family stay connected ("phones down" time at dinner). We are living in AI times, but Anisha believes that thoughtfulness about staying up to date with guidelines and making meaningful connections with patients will help us guide patients towards most appropriate treatments. HMO Wellness is sure grateful for colleagues like Anisha Patel, and WCI is lucky to have her!

The HMO Wellness program is delighted that two of Emory's most impactful Wellness Champions have joined us for this episode of the Our Stories podcast. In this episode you will get to hear from both Krystyna Morgan, MPH, NBC-HWC who serves as Director of the Emory WHSC Office of Well-Being (EmWELL) and Evan Thoman, PhD, PMP, CWP the former Chief Well-Being Officer for Emory Healthcare. Krystyna describes her journey through business, law, and project management into healthcare wellness and lifestyle medicine. Being with people and connecting people with healthy resources is fulfilling work for Krystyna, who is not only knowledgeable about best practices for wellbeing but also personally very dedicated to activities that "add life to the years, not only years to the life."

Evan started his wellness practices as a conditioning coach in West VA before he transitioned to corporate wellness which included work with NASA (he has worn the space suit and held the moon rock). Finding fun at work, connecting people with peers and knowing how to "refill" his energies outside of work keep Evan going with complex task of providing Wellness offerings to thousands of Emory Healthcare employees. We are all benefiting from the Wellness culture EmWell is creating! Take a listen and learn more about the wonderful work our colleagues are doing for us!

Jesse Handler, MD, PhD is our special guest for this episode of the Our Stories podcast series! In this episode Dr Handler shares his inspiration for going into medicine, oncology, and cancer research. His intrigue with cancer biology started way back in high school with a guest lecturer, who later would become Dr Handler's first lab mentor when he was an undergraduate. When not in the lab or clinic, Dr Handler enjoys a good meal, time outside and time with family. We are so fortunate that Dr Handler has joined us in Atlanta, especially given his affection for NYC's big energy and diverse food scene. Be sure to take a listen to get to know one of our newest clinical researchers!

HMO Wellness is so very pleased to bring this feel good episode with Dr Udhay Grewal to you! Dr Udhay Grewal has joined the NET group on the GI team after training in Iowa where he "caught the bug" for this type of work. Expert mentors in Iowa helped him develop a passion for the unique science of NETs as well as the opportunity for comprehensive patient care in oncology. Outside of oncology, Dr Grewal enjoys music, spends time with family and friends and practices mediation to preserve his positive energy. Remembering his "why" for going into medicine helps keep him grounded and on track during challenging times. Take a listen to hear about the "why" and more!