Exploring Osteopathic Medicine

This episode, which aired on September 12, 2010, is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

What’s the difference between a physician holding the allopathic M.D. degree versus the osteopathic D.O. degree? Nowadays, the line between the two is much more indistinct than it once was, but the history and philosophy of the two approaches to medicine differ somewhat. In this episode, we explore the history, meaning, and importance of osteopathic medicine.

Featured in this episode are Dr. Stephen Shannon (President of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine) and Dr. Walter Hartwig (Department Chair of Anatomy at Touro University-San Francisco and author of Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring)

Again, as always, the free-to-download podcast of this episode (and all past episodes) can be found on our iTunes page!

No Letter, Now What?

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

Supply and Demand. It’s a principle that underlies even medical school admissions. Each year, there are invariably many very qualified applicants who are not admitted to medical school, and it’s not because they are not deserving of a position. At the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine — which houses the medical students who produce Radio Rounds — the annual acceptance rate is approximately 7%, meaning that 93 out of every 100 applicants are not accepted to the school.

So for students who don’t receive a letter, what can they do to improve their application for the following year? In this special episode, we ask that question (and many more) to three medical school admissions directors:

  • Dr. Stephen ManuelAssistant Dean of Admissions, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
  • Dr. Steve PetersonAssociate Dean of Admissions, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
  • Debra E. StalkMPH Director of Admissions & Associate Director, MBS Program, The Commonwealth Medical College

As always, the free-to-download podcast of this episode (and all past episodes) can be found on our iTunes page!

Climbing the Decision Tree

This episode, which aired on September 5, 2010, is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

Featured in this episode is Thomas Goetz (left)author of The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine and executive editor of Wired Magazine. Goetz examines how physicians can encourage patients to take ownership of their own health and understand the very real and personal consequences of their lifestyle choices.

In our conversation, Goetz discusses how a “decision tree” can allow patients to be more engaged in their own health care process. The importance of this, he suggests, is immeasurable for the future of the medical profession.

As always, the free-to-download podcast of this episode (and all past episodes) can be found on our iTunes page!

Resilience – Life After Loss

This episode, which aired on August 22, 2010, is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

Featured in this episode is Dr. George Bonanno (left), Professor of Clinical Psychology and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College. He is the author of The Other Side of Sadness: What The New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After a Loss, and his work has been featured on CNN and 20/20, as well as in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

Dr. Bonnano discusses the sophisticated process of mourning and concepts such as “psychological resilience” and inborn emotions. He also describes his own process of grieving following his father’s death, and how his reflections on that process shaped the writing of his book, The Other Side of Sadness.

In this episode, hosts Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy also discuss their recent experience with learning to deliver bad news to a patient and the complex role that grief plays in the physician/patient relationship.

As always, the free-to-download podcast of this episode (and all past episodes) can be found on our iTunes page!

White Coats, Long Roads & Dreams

This episode, which aired on August 15, 2010, is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

Through the voices of newly-minted medical students and their proud families, this episode of Radio Rounds explores the significance of the white coat — the universally recognized symbol of the medical profession. The ‘Rounds’ crew discusses the meaning of the white coat and its representation of the purity of healing, the art of medicine, and the dawn of a new era of physicians.

Joining hosts Avash Kalra and John Corker were first year medical students Teresa Lee and Doug Bias, who discussed the memorable feeling of recently being cloaked with the white coat for the first time, and second year medical student Casey McCluskey, who offered her perspective on switching from wearing a white coat to donning a patient gown during her recent bout with breast cancer.

In addition, this episode features live field reports — including interviews with students and proud parents — recorded at the Boonshoft School of Medicine Class of 2014 White Coat Ceremony.

As always, the free-to-download podcast of this episode (and all past episodes) can be found on our iTunes page!

Out of this World – NASA’s Physician in Space

The podcast of our Season 4 premiere is now available as a free download on our iTunes page!

On Sunday August 8, Season 4 of Radio Rounds kicked off with, indeed, an “out of this world” episode, featuring special guest Dr. Michael Barratt, a mission specialist with the NASA Space Shuttle Program.

We enjoyed speaking with Dr. Barratt, who took us behind-the-scenes of a space shuttle mission, describing — among other things — the medical emergencies that arise in space. Dr. Barratt began working for NASA in 1991. Since then, he has spent time working as a NASA Flight Surgeon, and in 2009, he completed 199 days in space on board the Russian Soyuz Rocket and the International Space Station. He is currently one of the five crew members assigned to the STS-133 mission, the next planned mission of the Space Shuttle Program, scheduled for launch on the Discovery shuttle to the International Space Station on November 1, 2010.

This episode features Avash Kalra, John Corker, Shamie Das, and Lakshman Swamy as hosts, with special guest appearances by Casey McCluskey and Teresa Lee. All six are medical students at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. They discussed their varied experiences over the summer — from taking the USMLE Step 1 Exam to beginning classes in a Masters in Public Health program.

We encourage you to listen to the free-to-download podcast of the show on our iTunes page!

Rounding on the Hill

This episode aired as a Special Report in April 2010 and is now available on iTunes!

This edition of Radio Rounds features an exclusive interview with American Medical Association (AMA) President Dr. James Rohack and medical students who participated in the recent AMA Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.

Dr. Rohack discusses the AMA’s perspective on health care reform, stressing the importance of always keeping the patients’ best interests in mind. In addition, ‘Rounds’ co-host John Corker shares field reports from his recent visit to Washington D.C., where he spoke to medical students about health policy, the U.S. health care system, and the importance of a medical student voice in the reform process.

Moving Mountains – An Inspired Effort to Eradicate Disease

This episode — the SEASON THREE FINALE — aired on March 7, 2010 and is now available on iTunes!

This episode closes Season Three in style, featuring perspectives on medicine from two ends of the medical career spectrum — a physician who has devoted his work to public health efforts abroad, and medical students working to effect change on Capitol Hill.

First, joining the program is Dr. Jon Andrus, Deputy Director for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), part of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2000, he received the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award of the United States Public Health Service, for his leadership in working to eradicate polio in the Americas and Southeast Asia. Dr. Andrus discusses the importance of global health work, as well as his own experiences — the obstacles he has faced abroad, the unimaginable challenge of serving as the sole physician for a district of 210,000 people in Africa, and his inspired leadership in eradicating a disease on two continents.

We also feature a field report from Washington D.C., where Radio Rounds lead correspondent John Corker interviews a fellow medical student in the midst of the American Medical Association’s ‘Lobby Day’ event. We hear about the importance of medical student involvement and advocacy in health care reform.

Finally, the weekly residency segment in this episode features valuable career advice from Dr. Alex Macario, the Director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program at Stanford University.

On behalf of Avash Kalra, Lakshman Swamy, Shamie Das, and John Corker, thanks for listening to Season 3. Feel free to contact the Radio Rounds team by email, contact@radiorounds.org .

Black History Month – Advancing Health & Wellness

This episode, which aired on February 28, 2010, is now available on iTunes!

In this episode, Radio Rounds recognizes Black History Month with an all-star lineup of guests who discuss the impact of minority physicians, particularly African American physicians — as well as the intricacies of the health care process as it relates to predominantly urban environments. Among many other topics, we discuss the impact of violence on young African American males, the NAACP’s involvement on Capitol Hill, and the role of student minority advocates in the Student National Medical Association (SNMA).

Guests in this episode include:

  • Dr. John Rich, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men. Dr. Rich is a leader in the field of public health, and his work has focused on serving one of the nation’s most ignored and underserved populations — African-American men in urban settings. He currently serves as Chair of Health Management and Policy at the Drexel University School of Public Health, in Philadelphia.
  • Shavon Arline, Health Care Program Director for the NAACP.
  • Travelle Franklin-Ford, National President of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and MD/PhD student at the University of Wisconsin. Established in 1964, SNMA is the oldest and largest medical student organization dedicated to serving the needs of underrepresented minority students who wish to pursue careers in the field of medicine.
  • Dr. Kevin Watt, Opthalmologist; Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

In all, 13 voices appear on this special Radio Rounds episode — setting an all-time record at the time of the broadcast! Among them are SNMA members at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine — Alyson Grant, Randy Wallace, Khalil Sharif, and Lorena Rodriguez.

Facing the Skeptics

This episode, which aired on February 21, 2010, is now available on iTunes!

This episode features Dr. Steven Novella, Director of Neurology at Yale University and host of The Skeptics Guide to the Universe — a wildly popular podcast that explores the myths that pervade science and medicine. Dr. Novella discusses the anti-vaccination movement and what it means for the current practice of medicine, and he also shares his thoughts on complementary/alternative medicine.

This episode’s ‘Residency Insights’ segment showcases a pair of physicians sharing stories from their careers, with each highlighting personal interactions that they have had with patients and that they carry with them as a reminder of the incredible human side of medicine.  Dr. Tim Pritts (Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at the University of Cincinnati) and Dr. Steven Reichert (Director of Cornell University’s Internal Medicine Residency Program at New York Hospital Queens) appear on the program.