This Anamnesis episode follows Michelle Jobes, PhD, CIP, a clinical research specialist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland, as she recounts the experiences of five patients she’s worked alongside to help overcome substance use.

Bittersweet Holidays (8:57)
When Perseverance Pays Off (10:40)
Inspiring Others Through Art (12:47)
The ‘Mayor’ (14:32)
An Unexpected Package (16:24)
Never Forgotten (18:00)

Episode produced by Brendan Murphy
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

One Addiction Clinic, Five Stories of Perseverance

Over the holidays, a nurse in recovery from opioid use disorder struggled to keep her addiction in check. She was caring for coronavirus patients on the front lines in an ICU outside Seattle. She asked her hospital for more support, and received little. She reached out to her family, but that just made things worse. On Sunday, January 3, 2021, Tiffany Swedeen relapsed.

Tiffany's story highlights the fact that when it comes to substance use disorders, our healthcare system has one standard for patients and another for nurses. And while nurses have responsibilities not only to themselves, but to the public, it's worth remembering that substance use disorder is still a chronic but treatable brain disease, and not a moral failing.
This episode of Anamnesis features discussions of drug abuse and suicide that may be disturbing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.

Chapter 1. Blacked Out on Fentanyl for a Day (2:40) -- A nurse in recovery shares one of her loneliest moments.

Chapter 2. Job, License, and Livelihood on the Line (11:09) -- After diverting drugs, the foundation begins to crack for this nurse.

Chapter 3. Nurses Are Not Unbreakable (26:20) -- We as a society need to serve nurses better.

Episode produced by Shannon Firth
Special thanks to Crystal Phend
Sound engineering by Emily Hutto
Theme music by Palomar

A Nurse. A Pandemic. An Addiction.

Our theme this month is "Scar Tissue."

And I don’t mean the surgical scar tissue, the ones from the fall we took ice skating when we were 6, or the ones we give patients when we take out their appendixes or sew up their lacerations — this is about the emotional vulnerability that we all have in clinical practice — and that accepting what we feel is the first step in healing.

Now, this is a hard one for us as clinicians. We all fancy ourselves healers — but don’t always like to acknowledge that in the process, we need healing ourselves. Because the burdens we elicit from our patients, we often shoulder ourselves — whether subconsciously, or in empathy — and those burdens can chip at us, like they do any human.

But that’s what we are — human.

Chapter 1. I Can't Do This Again (3:28) -- A physician reaches his limit. Story by Taison Bell, MD.

Chapter 2. When the Patient Becomes the Healer (16:17) -- A doctor finds hope from an unexpected place. Story by Ashanda Saint Jean, MD.

Chapter 3. It Is Not a Sin to Cry (29:09) -- How being a good doctor is being human. Story by Hannah Brooks, MD.

Episode produced by Genevieve Friedman
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

Scar Tissue: Emotional Vulnerability in Clinical Practice

What happens when you become the patient? That's what we're here to explore today -- with this episode's theme: Heal Thyself.

Think about it. We diagnose and often intervene with medicines, surgeries, treatments. These interventions generally temporize and support the body, so that the body can heal itself.

The concept of "healing" thyself, then, really does often have to accept that modern medicine can't do the healing. Sometimes we have to do it ourselves.

And sometimes that's more mind than matter.

Today, we have three incredible stories for you -- by three different doctors, of three different specialties, who all share a story of how they "Healed Thyself" of a disease in their very area of expertise.

Chapter 1. Researcher Turned COVID Long-Hauler (3:04) -- A story of knowledge and recovery. Story by Paul Garner, MD.

Chapter 2. I'm a Neurologist With Alzheimer's (15:52) -- How knowledge helped one doctor's uncertainty. Story by Daniel Gibbs, MD, PhD.

Chapter 3. Prayer's Place in Treatment (25:50) -- "Dr. Hope" credits his remission, in part, to tens of thousands of strangers. Story by Gary Onik, MD.

Episode produced by Judy George
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

Heal Thyself: When Work Hits Home

Resilience is a core necessity in medicine. Resilience is toughness. Resilience is tenacity. Resilience is recovering and coming back for more.

You need resilience to survive the long education and training for nearly every role in medicine. And as a patient, you need resilience to just make it through not only your acute care but the often weeks, months, or years of healing that happen afterward.

Day in and day out, we call on our own resilience to get through difficult situations, tragic experiences, and more — so that we can keep doing what we do best.

Resilience is a core necessity in medicine. Resilience is toughness. Resilience is tenacity. Resilience is recovering and coming back for more.

You need resilience to survive the long education and training for nearly every role in medicine. And as a patient, you need resilience to just make it through not only your acute care but the often weeks, months, or years of healing that happen afterward.

Day in and day out, we call on our own resilience to get through difficult situations, tragic experiences, and more — so that we can keep doing what we do best.

Chapter 1. From Tragedy to Advocacy (3:00) — When the worst happened to his son, one father took the opportunity to help others. Story by Martin McNair.

Chapter 2. Balancing Medicine and Country Music Stardom (17:00) — How one doctor’s story of following a passion turned out a few hits. Story by James Robert Webb, MD.

Chapter 3. The Power of Social Media (32:22) — This doctor discovered a better way to communicate health information. Story by Austin Chiang, MD, MPH.

Episode produced by Ryan Basen
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

Resilience: Being Tough in Tough Times

This has been a bit of a tough summer for everyone in healthcare. Our worlds have been a bit topsy-turvy, to say the least.

That makes this all the more important of a time to remember to celebrate wins, of all sizes. Times are tough, remember every day of our lives is still riddled with victories.
Some are small — a patient who listened to your advice, a colleague who thought you were right, even the warm blanket you brought to a patient that cheered up their day a little bit. Some are big — a literal life saved, a life changed, sometimes even an entire community improved.
Our impact as healthcare professionals is incredible, now more than ever. We influence our patients, our families, our communities and get an amazing opportunity to be listened to and respected so that we can expand our impact even more.

Chapter 1. Early in COVID: A Win and a White House Call (2:47) -- Years of work led to wins during a difficult time. Story by Brian Garibaldi, MD.

Chapter 2. Breaking Down Patients' Barriers (16:04) -- A doctor helps a reluctant patient thrive. Story by Fred Pelzman, MD.

Chapter 3. A Victory for Cancer Prevention (27:21) -- A tale of engaging, educating, and advocating for patients. Story by Len Lichtenfeld, MD.

Winning in Medicine: Victories Large and Small

There are few things more core to the pillars of medicine than the concept of "empathy." Now empathy is something we hear about from day one in medical school, nursing school, or PA school. Hey, it's even something we hear in pre-med! It's probably something we even wrote about in our admissions essays. And that's because empathy is a critical part of care. You cannot care for a patient if you cannot relate, commiserate, and feel with them. In this episode, three storytellers have their own stories of empathy, all with a different spin on how it came out to them.

Chapter 1. 'Can You Explain Why You're Sending Me to the ICU?' (2:57): Doctor-turned-patient reflects on empathy in medicine after the harrowing birth of her child. Story by Lauren Rissman, MD.
Chapter 2. It Isn't the Dead Child Who Haunts Me (21:31): A doctor is reminded of an intern's reaction often. Story by Maryanne Chrisant, MD.
Chapter 3. Treating Cancer Patients 'Like Cattle About to Be Slaughtered' (42:33): What "heartless" oncology in Russia taught this doctor. Story by Vadim Gushchin, MD.
Episode produced by Amanda D'Ambrosio
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

Empathy: The Most Critical Skill in Medicine

This Anamnesis episode is called “Eureka.” In medicine, a "eureka moment" usually comes for us through special patients. As much as we teach patients, they teach us so much more.

Chapter 1. The Death of One Little Girl Helped Millions (4:28): A case more than 35 years ago has spurred discoveries ever since. Story by Kevin Tracey, MD.

Chapter 2. Screaming Patient, No Restraints (16:00): A story about empathy in emergency psychiatry. Story by Scott Zeller, MD.

Chapter 3. Diagnosing the Mind of a Special Patient (26:40): This patient proved that rare isn't always rare. Story by Deborah Serani, PsyD.

Episode produced by Crystal Phend

Hosted by Amy Ho, MD

Sound engineering by Greg Laub

Theme music by Palomar

Eureka: The Moment When It All Clicks

This episode on "Abandoned" is about what happens when you are out there all alone -- whether it's because you're physically sequestered, or feeling like it's you versus the establishment, or you versus the world. Those are trying times, but learning ones for everyone involved.

Chapter 1. People Died. The Establishment Played Games (3:10): Here's what it took, and how disgracefully long it took, for a simple COVID research project. Story by Martin Makary, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief, MedPage Today, and Johns Hopkins professor.

Chapter 2. The System Failed Us (15:26): Seeking help for her husband, a nurse finds tunnel vision is rampant in medicine. Story by Donna Cardillo, RN.

Chapter 3. Patients in Pain Left Out and Left Behind (25:50): Top-down policies lead to tragedy. Story by Beth Darnall, PhD.

Episode produced by Nicole Lou

Hosted by Amy Ho, MD

Sound engineering by Greg Laub

Theme music by Palomar

Abandoned: When You're All Alone

This Anamnesis episode is called "At a Loss." And that can mean a lot of things -- at a loss for words, at a loss for any certainty, and for us in healthcare, it often means a loss of a patient.

Chapter 1. Growing Close Then Saying Goodbye (3:00): How helping a sick colleague became a friendship. Story by Debashish Bose, MD, PhD.
Chapter 2. A Broken System Killed My Young Patient (12:15): We've made improvements, but would anyone say it can't still happen? Story by Gregg Miller, MD.
Chapter 3. What Could I Have Done Differently? (25:30): Almost a year later, COVID deaths still haunt this doctor. Story by Venus Oliva, DO.

Episode produced by Kristen Monaco
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

At a Loss: The Hardest Part of Medicine

“Taboo” is a really complex concept in medicine. As healthcare workers treating patients, we are, in a way, stewards of secrets — secrets for patients, for our peers, and for our specialties.

Chapter One,  I Was Pregnant and Swallowed a Handfuls of Pills : (3:23): She wanted to end her life, now she wants to end the stigma surrounding depression. Story by Kara Zivin, PhD, MS, MA.
Chapter Two, You’re Never Prepared for the Screams : (13:50): Telling people a loved one died is never easy. Story by Matthew K. Tobin, MD, PhD.
Chapter Three, So Pro-Life That They Almost Killed a Pregnant Woman : (23:42): A pro-life doctor who did a pro-death thing. Story by Chavi Eve Karkowsky, 
Episode produced by Kristina Fiore
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Audio mixing/engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

#13 Taboo: Pregnant and Swallowed a Handfuls of Pills;  Never Prepared for the Screams; 'Pro-Life' Doc Almost Killed a Pregnant Woman

Research presented at the virtual IDWeek conference touched on how COVID-19 has affected a wide swath of issues in infectious diseases, from HIV infections to antibiotic stewardship. Even broader public health issues, such as treating opioid use disorder, were not immune to the pandemic's effects.

In this "in-between-isode" of MedPage Today's podcast series, Anamnesis, one of our reporters discusses some of the research spotlighted at the meeting.
Episode produced by Molly Walker
Hosted and sound engineering by Greg Laub

IDWeek 2020: Bare-Budget Contact Tracing; COVID-19 Fog Over HIV and Opioids

Our infectious disease reporter Molly Walker interviews Anthony Fauci, MD, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director. They discuss a promising line of attack on COVID-19 that has flown under media attention compared with vaccines, convalescent plasma, or hydroxychloroquine.
Episode produced by MedPage Staff
Hosted and sound engineering by Greg Laub

Inbetweenisode: Fauci Dishes on COVID-19 Antibody Therapies

You're joining us on Anamnesis, a podcast about medicine ... but the things about medicine that aren't drugs and protocols and studies, the things about medicine that are hard to articulate, that make us come back for more, that keep us engaged in this crazy, mixed-up world we get to participate in, called "caring." Caring for patients, caring for the health of our nation, and caring about our fellow man/woman in healthcare. Care has been more important than ever with everything going on. 

On Anamnesis, we strive to give you relief, context, and insight into our field, which is more important now than ever. Our theme is super appropriate, as are our guests in this episode titled "Infectious."

Chapter One,  How COVID Killed My Colleague-Patient : (2:08): He was watching soccer, then days later he was dead. Story by Suraj Saggar, DO.
Chapter Two,  I Was Right : (12:10): How one doctor learned the importance of an infectious message for advocacy. Story by Brita Lundberg, MD.
Chapter Three, Attacked by Anti-Vaxxers : (27:25): What happens when information goes viral ... the wrong way. Story by Todd Wolynn, MD.
Episode produced by Amanda D'Ambrosio
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Audio mixing/engineering by Greg Laub

#12 Infectious: How COVID Killed My Colleague-Patient; Attacked by Anti-Vaxxers; I Was Right

Today, we’re covering the theme Stolen Identity. Because right now, more than ever, with racism on our minds and protests across the country, identity is all about who we are as a country and as healers.
Because in medicine, we interact with all walks of life – all types of ethnicities, of race, of socioeconomic classes. We see cops and prisoners. We see black and white and every color in between. We see rich, we see poor.
And in a way, our patients reflect back parts of ourselves, of our own identities.

Chapter One,  Black Sniper, Black Doctor: (2:30) A physician’s collision course with racism and gun violence. Story by Brian Williams, MD.
Chapter Two,  I Had to Move to Africa to Find My Place in Medicine:(15:37) How one doctor disappointed her parents at first but grew into her whole life. Story by Meena Srivastava, DO, MPH.
Chapter Three,  From Another Dead Child to Gun Store: (30:05) A high-achieving doctor considers taking his life. Story by Adam B. Hill, MD.
Episode produced by Shannon Firth
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

#11 Stolen Identity: Black Sniper, Black Doctor; From Dead Child to Gun Store; Africa Saved Me

Undoubtedly these are hard times from the world — and particularly medicine. Like many of you, I’m a front-liner as an ER doctor. And we’re all in the same boat. Some of you may be quarantined, some may be sick, some of you may have your work shut down, while others are overwhelmed.
These are scary and uncertain times for all and this couldn’t be a better time for this episode of Anamnesis with the theme Unbroken. Because yes, these are trying times, but like you’ve done through trying periods before, you’ll ultimately be Unbroken.

Chapter One, I Was Going to Die: (2:30) An emergency physician is saved — barely — from drowning in a surfing accident. Story by Matthew Wetschler, MD, MPH.

Chapter Two,  On the Edge of a Cliff : (13:35)  A resident gets comfortable taking the plunge. Story by Tolu Kehinde, MD.

Chapter Three, They Called Me Houdini: (23:55)  A nurse falls into a coma after developing what she thought was a stroke. Story by April Braker, RN.
Episode produced by Elizabeth Hlavinka
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

#10 Unbroken: I Was Going to Die; On the Edge of a Cliff; They Called Me Houdini

Women burned by 'quick fix' for heavy periods — For many, 5-minute fix is anything but. In this "in-between-isode" of our podcast Anamnesis, MedPage Today's Editor-in-Chief Marty Makary, MD, MPH, interviews Ali Ghomi, MD, a gynecologic surgeon in Buffalo, New York. Ghomi says a quarter of the hysterectomies he performs each year are to treat post-ablation syndrome.
Episode produced by MedPage Staff
Hosted and sound engineering by Greg Laub

Inbetweenisode: Women Burned by Quick Fix for Heavy Periods

We’re not talking about weapons like scalpels or the other pointy things we wield all of the time. We’re talking Weaponized like violence against physicians, safety in healthcare, and our interactions with crime and the penal system we encounter through our patients.
Unfortunately, you don’t have to look far to find stories of violence in our practices.

Chapter One, Mom Who Killed Kids Made Me a Better Physician: (3:20) A woman who killed her children made an impression on this young doctor. Story by Ronil Shah, MD.

Chapter Two, Body Armor Under White Coat: (16:52) After a patient makes credible physical threats, a doctor decides to buy a Kevlar vest. Was he overreacting? Story by David Kim, MD.

Chapter Three, My Patient Gone Wild and Violent: (25:30) The police didn’t help when this osteopath was dealing with a violent patient. Story by Faith Quenzer, DO.

Episode produced by Nicole Lou
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

#9 Weaponized: What Killer Mom Taught Me; Body Armor Under White Coat; Patient Gone Wild and Violent

So, you think the FDA is closely regulating all those generic drugs? Think again. Can you handle the truth? In this “in-between-isode” MedPage's new Editor-in-Chief Marty Makary, MD, MPH, interviews author Katherine Eban about her recently published book, Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom.
Episode produced by MedPage Staff
Hosted and sound engineering by Greg Laub

Inbetweenisode, Bottle of Lies: Is that a Centipede I See in My Capsule??

"I Quit," means many things in medicine. Sometimes it means literally why we quit medicine -- because sometimes we do.

It could mean why we quit something else to go into medicine -- because we have plenty of those as well. It could mean our patients saying "I quit" -- and us either supporting them in that or helping to show them the light. For me, I think I've personally cycled through all of those -- had moments where I wanted to quit, had moments where I did quit, and moments where I both helped patients quit or got them to not. And I’m sure you have too.

No matter how you take it, "Quitting isn't for quitters, or losers," as the old saying goes. Quitting is sometimes the right decision and sometimes just a part of life.

Chapter One. Dying for the Fifth Time: (2:10) David chases his own cure for a rare condition and ends up on a mission for many others. Story by David Fajgenbaum, MD.

Chapter Two. Why I Fled the Country: (13:55) When a hospital acquisition forces Joseph into an untenable position, he ends up having to leave the country. Story by Joseph Wiedermann, MD.

Chapter Three. My MD, My Baby, My Nightmare: (25:32) When Sapna, a new mother and fresh doctor, cuts herself and is exposed to HIV, she goes into emotional hiding. Story by Sapna Kudchadkar, MD.

Episode produced by Kristina Fiore
Hosted by Amy Ho, MD
Sound engineering by Greg Laub
Theme music by Palomar

Anamnesis: Medical Storytellers | from MedPage Today

Anamnesis: Medical Storytellers | from MedPage Today

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