MD Program

Understanding others begins with asking questions.

Happy Valentines Day! MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, and M1s Taryn O'Brien and Fallon Jung share how they navigate relationships amidst their hectic schedules.

“I honestly have had the most relaxing time I’ve had in forever, and for anybody who’s like, that’s ridiculous, just wait.” The most charitable definition of a hot take is a position taken in order to generate conversation. The more usual definition is a position taken to create controversy (and clicks).

“A nice re-imagining of how healthcare could be delivered.” It’s another sleeper specialty episode! This time we’re visiting with Andrea Weber, MD, MME. Herself a graduate of the Carver College of Medicine, she is now assistant director of Addiction Medicine and associate program director of the Internal Medicine and Psychiatry residency program.

Preventing disease and injury in life, the skies, and at work. It's another sleeper specialty episode! This time we're talking about a *really* low-key one: Preventive Medicine. M2 Jeff Goddard asked Dr. Silvia Caswell of Loma Linda University to join us to talk about her work in one aspect of prev med: lifestyle medicine. There are others under the prev-med umbrella, too, including occupational medicine and aerospace medicine.

In another in our series on "sleeper specialties," we visit with Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) doc Brittany Bettendorf. M1 Alex Nigg and M2 Madeline Ungs learn about this lesser known specialty that combines the detective work of internal medicine with a focus on kids with childhood diseases, including managing their transition to adult care. There aren't many residencies for med-peds, which alone makes it a sleeper! And Dr.

A common question new medical students have is whether they should get a pet. Will they feel neglected when I have to be at the hospital or the library? Will they be too expensive for a poor med student? Will they be too much work? The answer to those questions can be answered by realizing that PLENTY of us do own pets, and we all do just fine.

These might be very bad ideas…but we’ll talk about them anyway. Riley leads a discussion with Jeff, Levi, and Katie of unpopular opinions about medicine and medical education. Anki sucks! Gap years should be mandatory! All clerkships should be optional! 8th graders should review scientific papers! We don’t know about you, listeners, but the co-hosts enjoyed this discussion so much you can look for a part 2 in December!

M1 Hend invited David Kozishek, a chaplain at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, to talk with M3 AJ, M1 Jeff and new co-host M1 Ervina to talk about the role of chaplains on the healthcare team.

Short Coat co-hosts Brian Young (M1), Jeff Goddard (M2), and Fallon Jung (M1) discussed the challenges and experiences of medical school, including personal anecdotes about coping with stress, the demands of the curriculum, maintaining emotional well-being, the significance of peer support, and the importance of learning from both academic and personal experiences.