Surviving the ‘Initiation’

The free podcast of this episode is available on our iTunes page!

This episode of Radio Rounds kicked off a special three-week series featuring best-selling physician-authors who have written well-known memoirs about their experiences during residency.

To kick off our series, Radio Rounds spoke with Dr. Sandeep Jauhar (left) author of a book entitled Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation. “Intern” is the term traditionally used to refer to a first-year medical resident (i.e. a physician in the year after graduating from medical school), and the book describes Dr. Jauhar’s disillusionment upon entering the medical profession — a sentiment which he explained in our conversation with him in this episode. The first year of residency is a famously brutal experience for young physicians, and in this episode, Dr. Jauhar eloquently discusses his journey through that year and beyond.

Today, Dr. Jauhar is the Director of the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and an Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Needless to say, he survived his initiation and lived to talk — and write — about it!

Rounds Goes Genetic

The free podcast of this episode is available on our iTunes page!

This episode of Radio Rounds features a dynamic and truly eye-opening interview with pediatrician and author Dr. Robert Marion, whose new book — Genetic Rounds: A Doctor’s Life in the Field that Revolutionized Medicine — is a poignant description of his daily work in the cutting-edge field of clinical genetics.

Dr. Marion (left) speaks candidly with ‘Rounds’ hosts Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy about a variety of topics — including his experiences during residency during the early 1980s, which are described in his bestseller The Intern Blues. He tells stories that highlight what can happen to physicians when they are pushed to their physical and mental limits. And he offers advice regarding how aspiring physicians can survive.

For more information, check out Dr. Marion’s website here!

Med School Rx

This episode, which aired on January 10, 2010, is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

This episode features Dr. Walter Hartwig, Professor and Department Chair of Anatomy at Touro University in California. He is the author of the recently released book entitled Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring.

Dr. Hartwig eloquently discusses his views regarding the meaning of being a physician, and he provides advice for both pre-medical students and medical students to get the most out of their journeys through the medical profession. Among the topics discussed: Dr. Hartwig’s views on the difference between motivation and inspiration, his advice for pre-medical students applying to medical schools, and his thoughts regarding the continued dedication that doctors should naturally have– to be “in [the patient’s] moment” and “to be able to rise in the morning to be as excted about something that you’ve already mastered, as if it were the first time you’re seeking to master it.”

This episode also features the debut of the weekly Residency segment, featured throughout Season 3 of Radio Rounds, during which we hear from a residency program director from somewhere around the country. This episode features Dr. Michael Leitman, Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at New York City’s Beth Israel Medical Center. Dr. Leitman discusses how he compares medical students who are applying to his residency program, and he also shares his thoughts regarding residency interviews.