Shadow Me Next!

You can study medicine for years and still feel unprepared for the moment you deliver news that changes someone’s life, then immediately have to walk into the next room and do it all again. That emotional handoff is one of the most invisible skills in healthcare, and it’s exactly what we unpack with Michelle Nesky, The Posh PA, who has spent more than 20 years as a physician assistant in oncology.

We get practical about wh...

Not knowing is not the problem. Hiding it is.

Jordan Kessler works as a critical care PA in a neuro ICU, where the alarms are loud, the decisions are fast, and uncertainty is constant. We talk about the skill nobody grades you on in PA school or pre-med tracks: how to communicate clearly when you are not sure yet. That single habit shapes patient safety, team trust, and how quickly you grow from “new grad” to steady clinic...

You can do everything “right” in healthcare and still feel like you’re missing the point. That’s the tension we discuss with Dr John Oberg, a clinician, entrepreneur, and behavioral science thinker who has worked across medicine, business, and AI. We talk about the trap of chasing knowledge and productivity without building the skills that matter: clear thinking, real connection, and the ability to meet people where they are.
<...

A 16-year-old with lupus asked an honest question: “How does my diet affect my disease? and it chamged everything for Kerry Jenkins. She discusses being a seasoned derm PA who traded 15-minute appointment slots and quick fixes for a slower, systems-based approach that treats skin as a mirror of the gut, immune system, liver, hormones, and stress. The story isn’t a takedown of conventional care; it’s a blueprint for pairing acute-ca...

What are we still missing when service members come home “intact” on paper but feel amputated in spirit? We sit down with Rachel Howard, a 14‑year Army National Guard combat medic, purple heart recipient, VA program developer, and now U.S. Senate candidate, to trace a path from convoy medicine and CBRN readiness to building one of the first VA post‑deployment respiratory clinics, where patients had real symptoms and “normal” tests....

What if AI could run every clinical protocol and you (the clinician) still felt more essential than ever? We sit down with Dr. Chris Seitz (board-certified in emergency medicine, licensed in all 50 states, and now CEO of Guardian Medical Direction) to rethink how modern care is built, supervised, and scaled. From trauma bays to telehealth, Chris shares why the “medicine is the medicine,” and how a functional, personalized mindset c...

What does it really take to last in medicine?

In this episode of Shadow Me Next, I sit down with Johnnie Gilpen, a veteran, first responder, and pediatric emergency medicine PA whose path into medicine was anything but linear. Told multiple times that he would never get into PA school, Johnnie shares how resilience, relationships, and reflection shaped a decades-long journey that ultimately led him into leadership, education, and se...

What if the moment that wrecked your plan ended up shaping your purpose?

Follow Dr. Shanea Clancy along the real (and difficult) road to forensic nursing, starting with a fatal EMS tragedy, two jobs, an accelerated program, and the choice to keep going when quitting felt easier. This isn’t a glossy success story. It’s grit, structure, and a deep belief that no one can take your education away.

We learn about forensic nursing beyond T...

What if heart attacks weren’t a surprise? Dr. Jeffrey Boone of Boone Heart Institute shows how imaging plus modern meds can make heart disease optional. Bold claim, big data. Listen and tell us: would you get scanned before symptoms?

Connect with Dr. Boone 

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BooneHeartInstitute
• Instagram: @booneheartinstitute  
• TikTok: @booneheart 
• LinkedIn: Boone Heart Institute
• Website https://www.booneheart.com/

What if medicine chooses you before you choose it? 

In this episode of Shadow Me Next, I sit down with Roberts Essex, a seasoned physician assistant who chose to speak under a pen name so he could tell his story honestly. He is a veteran PA with decades across emergency medicine, hospital medicine, and public health, to unpack a life shaped by faith, service, and the quiet power of human connection. Writing under a pen name to prote...

Sleepless nights rarely start in the bedroom. They usually begin with a racing mind, a tender story, or a belief we’re afraid to say out loud. We sit down with Dr. Benjamin Long, a dual board certified sleep medicine physician and pediatrician, military doctor, and author, to explore how real rest happens when data meets dignity and treatment meets presence.

We trace Dr. Long's journey from a 12-year-old who dreamed o...

The quietest lifesaving moments often happen between a slammed door and a deep breath. We sit down with crisis mental health clinician and SWAT negotiator Jessi Beyer to unpack what it really takes to bring a volatile scene down, earn trust in minutes, and move someone from danger toward safety. Jessie works nights alongside law enforcement on 911 calls involving suicidal ideation, psychosis, and severe substance use, and she opens...

What happens when the humanity of oncology collides with the creative engine of biotech? We sit down with Dr. Satya (Nanu) Das, a former gastrointestinal oncologist who left a thriving academic career to build the next generation of cancer therapies. He walks us through his turning points:  carrying patients’ stories home, confronting the limits of “approved” treatments, and realizing that trial design (who gets included, what’s me...

What if your hardest seasons became the fuel for your life’s most meaningful work? We sit down with Dr. Oluwole Babatunde, a physician who turned early loss, cross-continental training, and relentless study into a compassionate career in psychiatry. From medical school and public health in Nigeria to a PhD in epidemiology and psychiatry residency in the United States, his story shows how purpose and discipline can shape resilience ...

A 97% pulse ox can lull anyone into a false sense of safety, until ventilation fails and the patient quietly slips into danger. That tension between what looks stable and what is actually happening runs through our conversation with Dr. Julie Siemers, whose 46 years in nursing span ICU, trauma, helicopter medicine, academia, and leadership. We explore the moments that forged her commitment to advocacy (like the 90‑year‑old man with...

We start with a simple question: what is your why? 

Today we sit down with Dr. Ken Botelho, a seasoned primary care PA and the founding director behind a new Doctor of Medical Science program, to explore how purpose, presence, and mentorship shape better clinicians and healthier teams. From the first lab review of the morning to the final patient call, he shows how showing up as a human can stabilize more than symptoms.

We ...

Curiosity is a skill, and it can carry a medical career farther than raw talent. We sit down with interventional gastroenterologist Dr. Doug Adler to unpack 30 years of change in training, technology, and the mindset it takes to serve patients well. From the rise of gap years and research-heavy applications to the moment you realize you’re responsible for another human life, Doug brings candid advice and memorable stories that cut ...

Connect with Dr. Duffy at: aimeeduffymd.com

Feeling “fine” on paper but worn out in real life? We sit down to virtually shadow Dr. Amiee Duffy, a board-certified family physician and founder of Carolina Integrative Medicine. Dr. Duffy traded seven-minute visits for two-hour conversations and a root-cause approach that helps patients actually feel well. Her journey from delivering babies and teaching residents to building an integrat...

To learn more about Dr. Aaron Hartman, visit: aaronhartmanmd.com

Dr. Aaron Hartman—triple board certified in family, integrative, and functional medicine—walks us through his path from military rounds and high-volume private practice to a more deliberate, patient-first model. 

We unpack how evidence-based medicine lost two of its three legs, why publication bias distorts what we read, and how overlooked data from neuromodulation, nut...