Well, 2020 has been a year. And it is finally coming to an end! Our host Dr. Neda Frayha knew the last podcast episode of the year had to be a heart-to-heart with her good friends, Dr. Elizabeth Lamos and Dr. John Allen. Together they reflect back on 2020 and share their honest thoughts, frustrations, fears, and hopes for 2021 and beyond. 

Remember the #MedBikini saga? No? Well, we’ve got you covered, not just about the social media movement itself but the larger lessons it illuminates on power structures, social media etiquette, what counts as “professional” behavior, and why the word “political” is used to diminish discussions about social justice. Our all-star panel for the episode includes Dr. Kimberly Lumpkins, Dr. Shana Ntiri, and MS3 Leslie Galloud. 

References:

https://www.jvascsurg.org/article/S0741-5214(19)32587-X/fulltext 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/us/women-doctors-medbikini-professional-gender-bias.html 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninashapiro/2020/07/25/viral-medbikini-response-to-controversial-manuscript-leads-editor-to-retract-article/#71038f681f47

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/25/cnn10/medbikini-backlash-and-apologies-trnd/index.html 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-doctors-are-posing-in-swimwear-on-social-media/ 

https://retractionwatch.com/2020/07/25/journal-to-retract-paper-that-spawned-medbikini/ 

To continue our conversations on Race and Medicine, Dr. Neda Frayha and her Hippo Education colleague Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen sit down with noted health disparities researcher Dr. Utibe Essien, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Core Investigator for the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. They explore reasons for disparities in the health care outcomes of our patients, disparities in the diversity of our medical profession, and the crucial bridge that connects these two. They close with three concrete steps we all can take to improve our clinical practice and reduce health disparities in our patient communities. This conversation originally aired on Hippo Education. 

References:  

1. Youmans Q, Essien U, Capers Q. A Test of Diversity — What USMLE Pass/Fail Scoring Means for Medicine. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382:2393-95.
   
   
2. Gross CP, Essien UR, Pasha S, Gross JR, Wang SY, Nunez-Smith M. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Population-Level Covid-19 Mortality [published online ahead of print, 2020 Aug 4]. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;1-3. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06081-w
   
   
3. Essien UR, Eneanya ND, Crews DC. Prioritizing Equity in a Time of Scarcity: The COVID-19 Pandemic [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 30]. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;1-3. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-05976-y
   
   
4. Egbert A, et al. The Color of Coronavirus: Covid-19 deaths by race and ethnicity in the U.S. Published 5 August 2020. Accessed: 7 August 2020. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race 

We have covered the residency application process before, but never from the perspective of a residency program director. In this episode, we learn all about Dr. Erin Giudice, PD of the Pediatrics residency program at the University of Maryland: her career path, leadership philosophy, how she measures success, and what she really looks for in applicants. 

In this very special back-to-school episode, Dr. Frayha interviews one of her long-time primary care patients on his recent 88-day hospital stay, his particular experience as a patient, and what it takes for a doctor to feel like a family member. All of our school, training, and hard work ultimately lead up to this - the patient-doctor relationship. 

These are exciting times at the School of Medicine! We are back for part 2 of our conversation on the new Renaissance Curriculum at the UMSOM, this time with Dr. Nirav Shah. 

In case you haven't heard, the UMSOM is launching a brand new Renaissance Curriculum this year! In this first of two episodes on the Renaissance Curriculum, fourth-year student Christopher Parrino shares his views on the process behind the change, what will look different, and what he's most excited about. 

We know that racism is a public health crisis. And to tide us over until future recordings with SOM leaders (both students and faculty) on anti-racism in medical education, we are bringing you a conversation on Race and Medicine between Dr. Frayha and Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen, a Family Medicine physician in Minnesota and host of the Millennial Health podcast. They explore the definition & types of racism, the past & present of racism in medicine, & strategies for us all to become true allies. This is the first of an ongoing series, and originally aired on the Hippo Education podcasts.

References

1. LeRoy, G. AAFP Condemns All Forms of Racism. AAFP, May 2020. https://www.aafp.org/media-center/releases-statements/all/2020/aafp-condemns-all-forms-of-racism.html Accessed 11 June 2020.
   
   
2. African American Physicians and Organized Medicine: Acknowledging our Painful Legacy. The Institute for Ethics at the AMA. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/ama-history/history-african-americans-and-organized-medicine Accessed 11 June 2020.
   
   
3. Ehrenfeld, J, Harris, P. Police Brutality Must Stop. AMA, May 2020. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/police-brutality-must-stop Accessed 11 June 2020.
   
   
4. Gantzer, H. Internists “Gravely Concerned” About Discrimination and Violence by Public Authorities and Others. ACPOnline, May 2020. https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/internists-gravely-concerned-about-discrimination-and-violence-by-public-authorities-and-others Accessed 11 June 2020.
   
   
5. Jones CP. Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale. American Journal of Public Health, 2000; (90)8: 1212-1215. Accessed 11 June 2020. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.90.8.1212
   
   
6. Morse M, Loscalzo J. Perspective Creating Real Change at Academic Medical Centers — How Social Movements Can Be Timely Catalysts. The New England Journal of Medicine. June 2020. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2002502?query=featured_home Accessed 11 June 2020.
   
   
7. Hardeman R, Medina E, Boyd R. Perspective Stolen Breaths. The New England Journal of Medicine. June 2020. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2021072?query=featured_home#author_affiliations Accessed 11 June 2020.
8. Evans M, Rosenbaum L, Malina D, Morrissey S, Rubin E. Diagnosing and Treating Systemic Racism. The New England Journal of Medicine. June 2020. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2021693?query=featured_home Accessed 11 June 2020.
   

We are taking a bit of a covid break and sharing our 2nd student-led episode! This is a conversation we recorded earlier with Dr. Jennifer Woodard, class of 2020, and Dr. Mangla Gulati on Quality Improvement - what it is, why we should all care about it, and how we can each do a better job at quality improvement and patient safety in our own lives. 

Times are weird. In the first week of April 2020, Drs. Kimberly Lumpkins and Neda Frayha had a conversation about what is going on in the world, how they're coping, and some healthier approaches moving forward. 

These strange, scary days of the covid-19 pandemic are filled with uncertainty. In this special episode, we give space to your worries, answer some questions, and share guidance from experts on topics ranging from curriculum requirements to volunteer opportunities to finding room for hope. 

Resources:

https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/important-guidance-medical-students-clinical-rotations-during-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health-during-a-pandemic#Unique-challenges-of-working-from-home

https://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/guide-to-mental-health-resources 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/03/18/theres-a-shortage-of-ventilators-for-coronavirus-patients-so-this-international-group-invented-an-open-source-alternative-thats-being-tested-next-week/#27fbf2e93ba0

https://www.instagram.com/covidup2date/ 

It's that time of year when 4th year students are just waiting for Match Day. In 2018, the residency match didn't go the way that Dr. Vibha Rao had hoped. Here she shares so much warmth, wisdom, and honesty about not matching the first time around, how it felt, what she did, and how she's doing now. (Spoiler alert: she's doing wonderfully and thriving in a residency program she loves.) Her story is about so much more than the match: it's about overcoming obstacles, leaning on support structures, and finding joy in surprising places.

We wrap up this mini-series of advice column episodes with Dr. Kimberly Lumpkins by looking ahead - to choosing a career, finding a job, and leading a purpose-driven life. 

Happy new year! We kick off 2020 with part 2 of an ongoing series with Dr. Kimberly Lumpkins in which we ask her your advice questions. In this episode, we tackle surviving the preclinical years, what to do if your grades and scores are not where you hoped they might be, and whether or not all specialties are created equal.