Powerful Perspectives – Casey’s Paralysis & Dr. Lyon’s Return from Haiti

This episode, which aired on February 14, 2010, is now available on iTunes!

Kicking off Episode 307 is an update from the Radio Rounds Haiti correspondent, Dr. Evan Lyon from Partners in Health (PIH). Dr. Lyon has been a volunteer physician with Partners in Health / Zanmi Lasante for over a decade, spending much of his time at clinics in Haiti. He was part of PIH’s initial efforts to respond to the earthquake on January 12, 2010, and appeared on Episode 303 while he was en route to Port-au-Prince. Now back in the United States, Dr. Lyon shares with the ‘Rounds’ team what he saw and experienced, while also offering his thoughts on the future of the relief efforts. Dr. Lyon eloquently conveys the images from Haiti that both haunt and motivate him.

Also featured in this episode is a powerful bedside interview with a patient at the Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center at Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio. We hear from Casey — a 13 year old boy who experienced back pain one day at school, visited the ER that evening, and was never able to walk out of the hospital after an apparent spinal cord injury resulted in paralysis. Nevertheless, Casey remains strong, showing perspective well beyond his years, and in this incredible segment, he and his mother choose to focus on all things positive. We learn that Casey is becoming a star sled hockey player (listen to the podcast if you want to know what sled hockey is!), and as he said himself, “Life’s not going to stop for you.”

Finally, in this episode’s residency segment, we hear from Dr. Lenny Feldman and Dr. Rosalyn Stewart, Co-Directors of the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency program at Johns Hopkins University.

Restoring Lives: A Plastic Surgeron, His Patient & A Story from Haiti

This episode, which aired on February 7, 2010, is now available on iTunes!

This jam-packed episode begins by featuring Indiana University sports medicine physician and faculty member Dr. Douglas McKeag, who recently visited Haiti to assist with the massive relief efforts that are ongoing following the recent earthquake. Dr. McKeag tells a powerful story of what he witnessed and experienced, and in one of the most moving pieces ever aired on Radio Rounds, he describes a heartbreaking story that you will not soon forget. Nevertheless, his description builds the foundation for the hope and the recovery that has begun and will continue thanks to the unprecedented support from all over the world.

This episode also features Dr. Steven Schmidt, a plastic surgeon in Dayton, Ohio, and Cynthia, an inspiring breast cancer survivor patient whose road to recovery involved extensive plastic surgery treatment. Dr. Schmidt discusses his extensive work abroad, where he has performed hundreds of surgeries for patients in the third world. One of his patients closer to home was Cynthia, who describes her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer — not once, but twice. She discusses the implications for herself, her personal life and family, and her life-altering surgeries performed by Dr. Schmidt himself. If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Schmidt and his work, visit his website at: http://www.legacyofhealing.org .

Our weekly Residency Segment features advice from Dr. Evan Waxman, Director of the Opthamology Residency Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Also featured on this episode is guest-host Telisha Ortiz, a second-year medical student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine who joins her classmates, hosts Avash Kalra and Shamie Das, for the program this week. Finally, Avash closes the show by offering his prediction for Super Bowl XLIV, which took place on the day this episode originally aired. Take a listen to find out if he correctly predicted the outcome!

Social Media’s Bedside Voice – KevinMD

This episode, which aired on January 31, 2010, is available on iTunes!

Featured in this edition of Radio Rounds is Dr. Kevin Pho, the creator and author of KevinMD.com, the web’s leading physician blog with over 21,000 RSS subscribers and 16,000 Twitter followers. The Wall Street Journal calls KevinMD.com a “punchy, prolific blog that chronicles America’s dysfunctional health care system through the prism of a primary care provider.”

Dr. Pho, an internal medicine physician in Nashua, New Hampshire, shares his thoughts on social media in modern medicine and the important role that social media plays for new physicians. The ability to interact with patients, he stresses, is only enhanced by physicians adapting to medicine’s growing online presence. Be sure to check out KevinMD.com and read more about Dr. Kevin Pho’s thoughts on his blog, as well as his occasional contributions to The New York Times.

In this episode, we also hear from Dr. Gerald Berke, as part of the Radio Rounds weekly residency series. Dr. Berke is the Director for the Otolaryngology (ENT) residency program at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Heroes Among Us – Hope for Haiti & Battling Childhood Cancer

This episode of Radio Rounds, featuring a pair of powerful and moving interviews, aired on January 17, 2010 and is available as a free-to-download podcast on our iTunes page!

First, we hear from Dr. Evan Lyon,  a physician for the Massachusetts-based organization ‘Partners in Health.’  For the past decade, Dr. Lyon has split his time between Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and seven Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante sites located in Haiti. With the devastating earthquake in Haiti just days before this episode, Dr. Lyon is on his way back to his clinics in Haiti. We were fortunate enough to speak to Dr. Lyon from his layover in Miami, FL. You can hear our interview with Dr. Lyon in its entirety by using the audio player below!

This episode also features special interview with a young patient named Brandon. In November 2009, ‘Rounds’ co-host Lakshman Swamy and a group of second year medical students from the Boonshoft School of Medicine visited the Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center at Akron Children’s Hospital, in Akron, Ohio. While at the Center, they met and spoke with numerous patients, families, and physicians. Among them — Brandon, who spoke with Lakshman & co. bedside, along with his mother and his physician. Brandon is 14 years old and has neuroblastoma. He describes — with inspiring perspective — his diagnosis and his life. This is the first of a pair of interviews featuring patients from the Haslinger Center — for more, see Episode 307.

Finally, in this episode’s Residency Program segment, we hear from Dr. Steven Reichert, the program director for the Cornell University Internal Medicine program at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, in New York City.

The First Patient

This episode, which aired on January 24, 2010, is available on iTunes!

This episode features Dr. Christine Montross, a psychiatrist at Brown University and author of the 2007 book entitled Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab. In her book, she describes her experience as a first year medical student learning anatomy from her human cadaver — her first patient, so to speak. In our interview, she told us about her inspiration behind writing the book and shares a terrific story about how she and her classmates came to name their cadaver “Eve.”

Dr. Montross eloquently humanizes the traditional medical student experience of human dissection. As she writes in Body of Work about her “bone box” that she was given to study, “This used to be a person. I am carrying parts of a person in this box, and no one knows it. When I reach the trunk [of my car], I hesitate for a minute and wonder if I should put the box on the seat beside me instead. ” Dr. Montross is one of the few physicians who also has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and her poetic nature is exemplified  in this episode.

Finally, in the weekly Residency segment, we hear from Dr. Gary Frishman, Director of the OB/GYN Residency Program at Brown University. This episode also features an update from Dr. Evan Lyon, a physician with Partners in Health who is in Haiti aiding with the massive relief efforts following the January 2010 earthquake. Dr. Lyon has appeared on numerous Radio Rounds episodes — Episodes 202, 303, 307, and 412.

Medical School Admissions

You can hear a clip from this episode on our BEST OF SEASON ONE file, available as a free podcast download on iTunes.

In this episode, we were joined by a fantastic panel of admissions experts — Dr. Stephen Peterson (pictured on the left; Asst. Dean of Admissions, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine), Dr. R. Stephen Manuel(Associate Dean of Admissions, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine), Ms. Lorna Kenyon (Director of Admissions, The Ohio State University College of Medicine), and Joshua Evans (second year medical student at Wright State who serves as a full admissions committee member and interviewer).

The show was certainly targeted towards pre-medical students, and in this special 90 minute episode, our guests discussed topics such as the important of the MCAT vs. extracurricular activities, the weight of the personal statement and the applicant interview, the intricacies of applying as a non-traditional applicant, the national push to increase medical school class sizes… and MUCH more!

Have a Heart

You can hear a clip from this episode on our BEST OF SEASON ONE file, available as a free podcast download on iTunes.

In this episode, we were joined by Dr. Franklin Handel (left), a cardiologist in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Handel discussed the changes he has seen in the field of cardiology during his 26 years of practice, while also offering insight regarding the future of the specialty. Dr. Handel also discussed the importance of humanism in medicine and shared stories from his own experiences caring for patients.

While live on the air, we learned that Dr. Handel was once the President of his medical school class, as a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. This was especially fitting because of our second guest for this episode, TJ Hufford — the President of the first year class at the Boonshoft School of Medicine. TJ discussed medical student involvement in the community and shared experiences that highlight the importance of medical students “having a heart.”

In addition, we featured the musical talents of Steve Zitelli and Matt Hensel, third year students who recently won the School of Medicine’s annual talent show. Here is the Youtube clip of Steve’s and Matt’s winning performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PL9yop9xQ

The Future of Medicine

You can hear a clip from this episode on our BEST OF SEASON ONE file, available as a free podcast download on iTunes.

In this flagship episode of Radio Rounds, we were honored to welcome Dr. Gary LeRoy, Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. Dr. LeRoy was recognized as one of America’s 50 Most Positive Physicians, as the Miami Valley Family Physician of the Year, and is listed in the National Registry of Who’s Who in America. He has received the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine award, among many other recognitions.

Conversation in this episode ranges from issues such as the future of primary care in the current political climate… to what it’s like to receive a “pie in the face.” Also featured are two current medical students — Susan Conrad, who discusses the recent Match Day ceremonies for fourth year students, and Stephen Zitelli, who describes the life of a third year medical student.

Women in Medicine

You can hear a clip from this episode on our BEST OF SEASON ONE file, available as a free podcast download on iTunes.

Thanks to the AMWA (American Medical Women’s Association) chapter at the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the Radio Rounds team hosted a Mother’s Day lunch event in the WWSU radio station!

Dr. Amy Reed is a vascular surgeon at the University of Cincinnati — one of less than 200 female vascular surgeons in the United States. She spoke to us about her decision to become a surgeon, her experience during her training, and her ability to balance her family with a demanding professional career. We were also joined by Dr. Sheela Barhan, an OB/GYN in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Barhan is also the Director of the Boonshoft School of Medicine’s “Women in Medicine” elective course, and she spoke to us about the benefits of that course.

Our other guests on this episode included Joanna Hurrell (accompanied by her mother; second year student and President of AMWA at Wright State), Michelle Kline and Nicole Majoras (first year students who took the aforementioned “Women in Medicine” elective course this year), and Laura Previll (a second year student who joined us on air and read a moving poem dedicated to her mother).

The Gift of Life

You can hear a clip from this episode on our BEST OF SEASON ONE file, available as a free podcast download on iTunes.

This week, we were joined in the studio by Dr. Thav Thambi-Pillai, a transplant surgeon, and Dr. John Donnelly, a family physician who received a life-changing pancreas transplant in 2004. Dr. Thambi-Pillai and Dr. Donnelly talked with us about organ donation, the transplant process, and the personal side to the field of organ transplantation.

Particularly memorable in this episode is Dr. Donnelly’s vivid recollection of the process he underwent many years ago in order to receive a life-saving pancreas transplant.