See, Hear, Feel

This is a very important conversation on failure, what it can mean (and what it should not mean), and how it can be liberating to lean into it. Dr. Olayemi (Yemi) Sokumbi, MD is a dermatologist and dermatopathologist who is currently working at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida where she also serves as Medical Director for Business Development. Additionally, she is involved with medical student and resident education in addition...

I think we all had dreams as teenagers (or younger selves) - do you remember what yours were? Are your dreams the same now? Do you remember who you were vs. who you are now? This part of my conversation with Dr. Yemi Sokumbi touches on questions like these - the dreams she had an immigrant teen from Nigeria, the pressure she used to put on herself due to stereotype threat, and how it has been important for her to separate her ident...

"Don't get furious, get curious!" is where we end up at - listen in to hear about whittling, making meaning, and avoiding burnout.  This is Part 2 with Dr. Dean Gianakos where we focus more on the medical humanities. Dr. Dean Gianakos MD, FACP is currently Chief Academic Officer at Centra Health, a Central Virginia regional healthcare system. Wellness is important to him, and he has been chairman of Centra’s Physicia...

It's so easy to forget to be self-aware! especially when I am stressed, busy, or sick. I had a busy last 6 months with one child finishing junior year, one child finishing 8th grade, and work-related responsibilities that were maybe a little bit too much on top of everything else. But I got through, and putting this together was a chance to reflect on the last couple of months. I do think it is good to remember (in no particul...

Dr. Dean Gianakos has been practicing medicine for almost 3 decades. He has many interests, including leadership skills, communication, and medical humanitis. In this first episode with Dr. Gianakos, we cover the DiSC assessment of leadership styles and how emotional intelligence is key to good leadership. He also touches on difficult conversations and how we can get better at them. Dr. Dean Gianakos MD, FACP is currently Chief Aca...

= Therefore, let us rejoice! This is a poem by Dr. John Stone, and every time I read it, I am reminded of some of the essential parts of doctoring, both good and bad. It's graduation season (schools as well as training programs) - please share with your graduates, particularly those in healthcare. Dr. Benjamin Doolitle (who was on episode 97) shared this poem with me and my department at our recent annual departmental retreat....

What kind of life do you really want to be living? What kind of life has meaning for you? And if you have children, and even, like me, have ones thinkinga about college, what kind of life should they be thinking about? This was a true privilege to speak with William Deresiewicz and hear his thoughts on these questions. William Deresiewicz is an American author and essayist who has written the New York Times bestseller Excellent She...

Dr. Art Papier believes we are focusing on the wrong questions in medicine, and for the best care of patients, we need augmented intelligence. Dr. Art Papier, MD is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of VisualDx. He is a dermatologist, medical informatics expert, and Associate Professor of Dermatology and Medical Informatics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Papier graduated from Wesleyan Univ...

I didn't really know chemo brain is "real" until just recently. Dr. Todd Horowitz has done research on "chemo brain" - with the better term being "cancer-related cognitive impairments", or CRCI. CRCI is real, find out how it manifests, and what can help. (Spoiler alert: it is mental and physical exercise!) Todd Horowitz, PhD, is a prominent cognitive psychologist with a keen interest in understand...

There is so much that we don't know in medicine, plus there is human error, and it would be great if AI could help. Dr. Todd Horowitz is an expert in attention and research on medical image perception. We talk about what you can see in a quick glance, how computer algorithms can fail, and how best to figure out how AI can help us. Dr. Todd Horowitz, PhD, is a prominent cognitive psychologist with a keen interest in understandi...

I've always thought that (a) book(s) can change the world. Books have definitely changed me. Picture books are a format that I got more familiar with as an adult reading to my children, and as a genre, I think they are hugely important. Dr. Krista Aronson is a psychologist whose work bridges my interest in picture books with my attempts to more fully see, hear, and feel the world around me. Dr. Krista M. Aronson, PhD is Profes...

360 degree leadership evaluations are common in the corporate world. Really thinking about the meta-skills of leadership (and learning them) is not something that I typically do in my position as a dermatologist/dermatopathologist without a formal leadership role in. my academic department. Through this conversation with my sister, whose job is to evaluate leadership skills, I more fully understand how I can improve in informal lea...

Dr. Duje Tadin studies visual perception, and his take on what we see is that it is messy. I enjoyed hearing his thoughts on System 1 and System 2 as they relate to what we see in different domains. Dr. Duje Tadin, PhD is a neuroscientist renowned for his groundbreaking research in the field of visual perception. He is currently Professor and Chair, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and the Director of Training, Center for Visual Scien...

I am still turning this over in my head, that Dr. Ricardo Nuila says the purpose of Arts and Humanities is...beauty. I have not thought of it in that way before, and he has really made me think about the role of beauty in my life, in my work, in small and big spaces of good and bad. I think this is a must listen! Dr. Ricardo Nuila, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and sees patients at Ben Taub ...

Emily Dickinson was one of the first poets that I was introduced to when I was younger, and Dr. Ricardo Nuila refers to one of her lines, Tell the truth but tell it slant. We talk about this, about nuance and context, and how that relates to algorithmania. It comes back to metacognition, gestalt vs algorithmic thinking. Dr. Ricardo Nuila, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and sees patients at Be...

I love talking about metacognition, in hopes of improving how I think, how I diagnose, and how I learn. Dr. Smoller loves to teach and is interested in learning theory, and he has active research experience in learning/teaching visual recognition through pattern recognition, fast thinking. And yet, algorithmic thinking (slow thinking) is important, too. Our conversation is based on a lecture he gave at the recent March, 2024 Intern...

Three magic words to help conquer fear, that may also be a secret to having a long and productive career. I really enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Bruce Smoller, a giant in the field of dermatopathology and pathology. Also tune in next week for Part 2! Dr. Bruce Smoller MD trained in anatomic and clinical pathology at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital and in dermatopathology with Dr. Scott McNutt at Cornell Medical School/ New...

I am always curious about how others continually improve, and Dr. Thomas Brenn gives good insights on this. Learning in whatever way works for you, getting exposure to new things in ways that you can remember, discovering true mentorship...it's definitely a fun journey. Dr. Thomas Brenn MD PhD received both his doctorate degrees in Germany. He completed postdoctoral fellowships  in Genetics and Pathology at Stanford University...

I love to talk to people who are honest and confident in their honesty! Dr. Richard Carr is an internationally known expert in dermatopathology and pathology, and he speaks honestly about emotional intelligence as a muscle, recognizing our own weaknesses, and tailoring emotional intelligence to the individual. Being hypercritical can be a strength in that you think deeply about things, and it is worth hearing how he deals with hype...