Heartline: Changemaking in Healthcare
Welcome to "Heartline," a podcast dedicated to exploring the inspiring journeys and impactful work of healthcare changemakers leading the charge in transforming healthcare. Despite the United States spending more on healthcare than any other developed nation, key quality outcomes like life expectancy and maternal mortality lag behind. With over half of American physicians experiencing burnout, the challenges within the system are clear. Join us as we delve into the stories of patients, medical professionals, and other experts who defy the status quo. We’ll uncover the unique characteristics and experiences that propel them to be effective changemakers and the organizational factors that support change. Dr. Austin, host of the podcast, is an emergency physician with real-world experience with the dysfunction in the system. Along with working in the emergency department, she is a medical educator focusing on healthcare worker well-being and how innovative approaches like simulation can improve healthcare. In addition, she researches how we can accelerate changemakers in healthcare. Dr. Austin also uses coaching-informed thinking to unlock the potential of healthcare changemakers, and she will guide you through these narratives with insightful commentary and expert analyses. Through in-depth interviews and real-world examples, this podcast aims to inspire and equip the next generation to drive meaningful change in healthcare. Whether you're a physician, a medical student, or simply passionate about the future of healthcare, "Heartline" will offer valuable perspectives and actionable ideas to help you thrive in a challenging environment and contribute to improving our healthcare system. Seasons 1-4 focused on gender bias in the medical system and shared the uplifting stories of women and allies who stay true to their values, boundaries, and priorities, improving their career fulfillment and increasing their impact on healthcare. Season 5 will expand the guests beyond physicians and tackle issues beyond gender bias that impact healthcare. Tune in to the "Hearline" for a deep dive into healthcare transformation and be inspired by the changemakers making a real difference.
Episodes
What draws someone with a big heart and endless curiosity into the narrowing path of medicine, and how do they reclaim their multifaceted self amid burnout and systemic challenges?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin talks with Dr. Amanda River about her unconventional journey in emergency medicine, from medical school friendships to leading a cannabis clinic and pursuing lifestyle medicine. Amanda reflects on her sister's Ewing...
In Part 2 of this two-part Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin and Dr. Mehrdad Soleimani picks up right where they left off: two emergency physicians who actually like coming to work, unpacking the systemic forces that are burning everyone else out.
Dr. Mehrdad explains why he co-founded NeoMd Spa. It started with one vial of Botox and a refusal to be a 60-year-old shift-worker, how physicians surrendered control of their profession ...
What does a man raised in a country where women are legally second-class citizens become one of the strongest male allies in American medicine?
In Part 1 of this two-part Echo Episode, Dr. Mehrdad Soleimani pulls back the curtain on his improbable journey: fleeing Iran at 16, putting himself through nursing school as a first-generation immigrant, defending his female nursing colleagues from an abusive surgeon and then deciding that...
What happens when your childhood calling collides with a system that limits your capacity to live it out?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Maria Sturchler shares her extraordinary journey from first-generation college student to educator to medical student, years after being told she “wouldn’t make it” in medicine. Now double board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Care, Maria reveals how serendipity, mentorship, and resilienc...
What happens when you combine a lifetime of service, leadership, and a deep desire to uplift others?
In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andrea Austin welcomes Paula Drivas, as she shares how her changemaking story started at age 13 as a candy striper in Queens and how a simple request to transfer to the emergency department shaped her life’s purpose. She walks listeners through an expansive 33-year career spanning emergency medicine, in...
What happens when compassion, strength, and military medicine collide?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin speaks with Dr. Kat Landa, a Navy emergency physician whose career has taken her from a nontraditional path in medical school to a groundbreaking role as the first female battalion doctor assigned to a Marine Corps artillery unit.
Kat recounts her childhood working in nursing homes, discovering medicine through geriatrics, a...
How do we solve one of healthcare’s biggest crises—the workforce shortage—while making opportunity more equitable?
In this enlightening episode, Dr. Andrea Austin interviews Van Ton-Quinlivan, founder and CEO of Futuro Health and a key voice in reimagining workforce development. Van shares her powerful personal story—from refugee beginnings to shaping California’s healthcare education strategy—and the values that fuel her changemaki...
What happens when a simple act of initiative in the OR sparks a lifelong pursuit of conflict resolution and systemic change in medicine?
In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andrea Austin chats with Dr. Lee Sharma about her path from private practice frustrations to earning a master's in conflict resolution amid burnout doubts. Lee recounts her "aha" moment assisting in a delayed C-section, realizing small actions foster teamwork and belo...
How can podcasting transform the way we deliver health information to patients and providers?
In this episode, Dr. Andrea Austin speaks with Dan Kendall, as he recounts his path from a sales career at Siemens to launching Digital Health Today in 2016, inspired by his family’s experience with multiple sclerosis and his daughter’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis. He discusses the power of podcasting to fill gaps in patient education, combat...
Can any physician pivot to open a ketamine clinic, and what does it take to do it safely?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin continues her conversation with Dr. Kim Chan Ko, about common questions on ketamine infusions for mood disorders and chronic pain. As an ophthalmologist turned creative director for her emergency physician husband's clinic, Kim shares insights on transitioning careers, required training, and ethical consi...
What happens when burnout pushes physicians toward innovative, autonomous careers?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin continues her conversation with Dr. Kim Chan Co, to speak about her journey from ophthalmology to launching Reset Ketamine in Palm Springs. Kim discusses supporting her husband Sam's shift from ER medicine to ketamine infusions, the clinic's focus on treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, and chronic pa...
What happens when the “perfect” medical specialty no longer fits, and you dare to forge a new path?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin sits down with Dr. Kim Chan Ko, a former academic ophthalmologist and co-founder of Ketamine Startup, to explore her transition from repairing eyes to building a ketamine infusion clinic and teaching other physicians to do the same. Kim opens up about the challenges of practicing at a high-press...
How can emergency physicians thrive in a broken system while staying true to themselves?
In part two of this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin and Dr. Leslie Crawford explores sustainable solutions for physician well-being and systemic change in healthcare. Leslie shares insights from her journey as an emergency physician, reflecting on the toll of circadian rhythm disruptions, the limitations of quick-fix administrative solutions, a...
How can emergency physicians thrive amidst chaos and stress?
In this Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin reconnects with Dr. Leslie Crawford, a fellow residency alum, board-certified emergency physician, and creator of the Stress Relief Survival Guide. Dr. Koenig shares her story of navigating COVID exposure, military service, and the demands of emergency medicine while raising a family. She discusses her transition to mindfulness, th...
What happens when insurance companies and emergency physicians clash over fair payment, leaving patients caught in the middle?
In this Echo Episode, part two of a two-part series, Dr. Andrea Austin talks with Dr. Jillian Schmitz about the pressing challenges in emergency medicine today.
Dr. Schmitz explains the intricacies of surprise billing, where out-of-network emergency care leads to unexpected patient costs, and the No Surprise...
What does it take to lead emergency medicine through unprecedented challenges like workforce shortages and systemic burnout?
In this Heartline Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin sits down with Dr. Gillian Schmitz to explore her career trajectory, from civilian roles in military medicine to becoming ACEP's past president. Gillian reflects on her path, inspired by her father's military service, and how she balanced family life with a dem...
What happens when the demands of academic emergency medicine collide with personal health and family priorities?
In this Heartline Echo Episode, Dr. Andrea Austin speaks with Dr. Shannon McNamara about her transition from simulation director and ED physician to urgent care provider amid burnout, moral injury, and the pandemic.
Shannon recounts her nomadic upbringing, love for emergency medicine's complexity, and challenges in dysfun...
What does it take to break free from financial stress and become a changemaker in healthcare?
In this episode, Dr. Andrea Austin connects with Michael Swartz, a fee-only financial planner and coach who specializes in guiding physicians from residency to retirement. Drawing from his work at Schwartz Financial Planning, and his Health and Wealthness podcast, Michael offers a roadmap for physicians to navigate financial challenges and...
What does it take to lead change in healthcare’s most challenging environments? In this episode, Dr. Andrea Austin connects with Stephen Berkeley, a healthcare administrator turned change facilitator, and Anne Boland, a coaching psychologist, to explore how leadership, self-awareness, and curiosity can reshape healthcare systems.
Stephen shares his 35-year journey in healthcare administration, from Australia to India, and how a shi...
Ever wonder why healthcare policy feels like a maze? Or how one doctor can spark systemic change? In this episode of Heartline: Changemaking in Healthcare, Dr. Andrea Austin talks with Dr. Scott Pasichow, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a passionate advocate for equity and reform.
Scott’s advocacy journey began with a personal realization: the inequities in family leave policies...
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