Behind the Retractor Behind the Retractor

Everyone's path into medicine is different. While many of us go directly into medical school after undergrad, many more are now taking gap years for self-development and preparing for the increasingly competitive application to medical school. Co-hosts AJ Chowdhury and Camilla Koczara learn about Dr. Jennifer Hrabe's non-traditional career in technical writing before she became a colorectal surgeon at the University of Iowa.

Timestamps:

0:31 Dr. Hrabe's journey between college and medical school

3:43 The process of preparing an application for medical school as a non-traditional student

7:29 Personal growth during a gap year

8:59 Surgery as a job or calling

14:45 Being an effective teacher to rotating students

18:18 What do colorectal surgeons do?

21:14 Robotics in surgery

23:38 Population changes in colorectal cancer prevalence in recent decades

25:48 Similarities and differences between colorectal surgery and gastroenterology

28:08 Healthcare at the VA

33:18 Favorite surgery

36:18 Final words of wisdom

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Orthopedic surgery is known for being one of the most competitive surgical subspecialties to apply to residency in. Host AJ Chowdhury sits down with Dr. Robert Westermann, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa, to talk about the match process and whether all orthopods are jocks.

Timestamps:

1:30 What do sports medicine orthopedic surgeons do?

6:45 Do you have to be an athlete to do ortho?

9:05 What sports medicine does in orthopedics

11:53 What makes an orthopedic surgery program strong?

14:35 What Dr. Westermann does in his young adult hip preservation clinic

22:09 Why come back to Iowa after fellowship?

28:21 Work-life balance and self-care in medicine

32:01 Favorite surgery

34:32 Final words of wisdom

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/retractor_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindtheretractorpodcast/

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Making it through medical school is already a massive undertaking in its own right. Doing it while being an officer in the military and the student body president is another layer of badass. Co-hosts AJ Chowdhury and Camilla Koczara sit down with Dr. Sophia Williams-Perez and learn about her story as a Navy officer and medical student who learned their lifelong passion for heme-onc would find a new fire in general surgery.

Timestamps:

1:00 Matching to a residency without being in the city before

4:12 Meeting co-residents before starting residency in COVID times

6:16 Dr. Williams-Perez's path to medicine

13:21 Being a medical student between match day and start of intern year

16:05 Why Dr. Williams-Perez wanted to be a physician

17:53 Changing interests from internal medicine to surgery

22:02 Do med students actually only stay Behind The Retractor?

26:40 Case load and diversity of pathology at different institutions - what you should know about when making a math list

29:47 Civilian vs military match and residency

30:51 Military training during medical training

39:46 Networking with other military medical trainees

41:23 Transitioning out of med school and into residency

51:59 Final words of wisdom

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindtheretractorpodcast

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In trying to understand why medical students become surgeons, and the kind of people that people become surgeons, we learn more about the more human aspects of a surgeon's life.

Co-hosts AJ Chowdhury and Camilla Koczara sit down with Dr. Amy Pearlman, a urologist at the University of Iowa, to talk about how we define ourselves and keep our humanity while succeeding in medical training.

(We also talk a lot about urology)

Timestamps:

0:52 What is urology and what does a urologist do?

7:46 The training process for urology

14:03 How do I tell my mom I want to be a urologist?

17:18 Preparing a strong urology application

23:21 Growth in medical school

24:48 Non-research extracurriculars in medical school

32:12 Dr. Pearlman uses motivational interviewing on us to examine our own concerns about a career in medicine

34:00 Caring about what you do and battling burnout

41:12 Giving and receiving good, constructive feedback

46:12 Successfully juggling one's interests

48:46 Favorite surgery

54:41 Words of wisdom

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/retractor_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindtheretractorpodcast/

Follow Dr. Pearlman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyPearlman1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amypearlmanmd/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxOMxlqNtmzzjF7tdDr9V9w

The Scrub Club: https://www.instagram.com/the_scrub_club_/

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How do we get more minority medical students into ophthalmology?

Is mentorship really necessary to succeed in medical school and the residency match?

Why do ophthalmologists mostly wear glasses instead of contacts or get Lasik?

Co-hosts AJ Chowdhury and Camilla Koczara sit down with Drs. Sean Rodriguez (PGY-1), Aaron Dotson (PGY-1), and David Ramirez (PGY-3), residents of the Iowa Ophthalmology residency program to talk about the Minority Ophthalmology Mentorship program and what it's like to train in ophthalmology on this episode.

Timestamps:

3:53 Minority Ophthalmology Mentorship Program (MOM)

9:59 How they became interested in ophthalmology

18:33 Is the ROAD to happiness real?

21:27 Structure of the intern year in ophthalmology residency

27:31 AJ goes on a tangent about Anki

30:02 How the heck do you do the ophthalmoscope exam?

32:33 Favorite surgery or case

37:44 Why do ophthalmologists always wear glasses?

41:13 Words of wisdom

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindtheretractorpodcast/

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What are the implications of Step 1 going pass/fail for residency programs?

How do you keep up with your friends and family when you might need to do a heart transplant at any moment?

Want to teach and operate while pushing the boundaries of science?

Host AJ Chowdhury sits down with Dr. Sharon Beth Larson, DO, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Iowa, and the first female cardiothoracic surgeon in the state, to learn more about her work and how residency programs choose who to join their ranks.

Timestamps:

1:49 Are virtual Interviews here to stay?

13:28 Why did Dr. Larson become a surgeon?

16:29 Choosing a career in academic medicine

18:25 Balancing academics, research, and operation

19:57 Research in residency

21:25 Typical week for a cardiothoracic surgeon

23:53 Work-life balance

26:39 Being a female surgeon

31:09 Self-care as a surgeon

34:24 Favorite case?

37:25 Words of wisdom

Follow us!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/retractor_pod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindtheretractorpodcast/

Support Behind the Retractor by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/behind-the-retractor

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.