Vitamin Z | Medical School Podcast

Dr. Mike Natter, MD is an artist and physician who just finished internal medicine residency in New York City. He speaks about his experience as an intern, imparts valuable advice for new doctors, and how he's used his artwork as an outlet to express the struggles and triumphs of being a physician-in-training.

Dr. Saud Siddiqui, MD is a co-founder of Sketchy Medical and emergency medicine physician. He sits down for a conversation about physician entrepreneurship, how he and his fellow medical students created the venture, ethical considerations of the medical test prep industry, and his ideas for the future of the company.

In the first ever Vitamin Z double-header, we start with a conversation with a PGY-0, one of dozens of medical trainees across the country who took the hippocratic oath historically early to be on the frontlines of a pandemic. Next, we hear audio narratives from different medical students who helped spearhead creative initiatives to help their communities cope with COVID: PPE2NYC (Mericien Venzon), GW Reaching Out (Julie Merriam), and DC Covid Sitters (Lawren Wooten and Libby Wetterer).

Dr. Jay Pandya, MD, is a PGY-1 intern in emergency medicine at SUNY Downstate, working at Kings County Hospital. He talks about his experiences on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. 

Fourth year medical student Braedon Murdock returns to discuss how to best prepare for the USMLE Step 2 CS exam.

Two fourth year medical students give their advice on how to prepare for USMLE Step 2 CK. 

Dr. Katherine Chretien and fourth year medical student Kate Curley discuss balancing motherhood and a demanding career in medicine.

Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician, public health leader, and a passionate advocate for patient-centered healthcare reform. She is the former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore and former President of Planned Parenthood. She talks about her career in physician advocacy and health policy and lends advice to medical students interested in advocacy. 

We break down how to do well on USMLE Step 1, from the preclinical curriculum, dedicated study time, and test day. I am joined by my classmate David Strum, a fourth year medical student at George Washington University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Matthew Mintz, MD, is a board certified internal medicine physician who is a licensed medical marijuana provider in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been in academic medicine for twenty years before starting his own private practice. We have an evidence-based discussion about medical marijuana.