Moms of Medicine Alison Trainor
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- Health & Fitness
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Stories from the women physicians who have paved the way and those who are in the thick of it now. Hosted by Dr. Alison Trainor
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Achieving the most joy out of life with Dr. Polly van den Berg
This episode is with Dr. Polly van den Berg, an Infectious Disease physician in Philadelphia.
We talk about:
- Timing of having a child in the context of her husband's brain cancer diagnosis
- Post-partum anxiety
- and so much more!
Connect with Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram @moms_of_medicine
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com -
Humanism and Making Time in the Margins with Dr. Laura Vater
This episode is with Dr. Laura Vater, a GI oncologist in Indiana who focuses her non-clinical time on humanism, writing and well-being
We talk about:
- Writing her first novel and working on getting it published
- Having her daughter in medical school
- Breastfeeding her daughter for 2.5 years while being an internal medicine resident
- The inspiration and motivation behind creating the life support community to support people in medicine
- Her family's decision to have her husband quit his job and be home full time
- Her presence on social media and what it means to her
- How she creates habits to incorporate wellbeing into her life
- Choosing the buckets of what matters to you
- Knowing when to say yes, no, or later
- Prioritizing time with her family in the summer
Connect with Laura Vater:
- Life Support Community: patreon.com/DocLauraVater
- Instagram @doclauravater
Connect with Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram @moms_of_medicine
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com -
Forging your own path with Dr. Marci Snodgrass
"I was super present with my kids when I was home. I didn't pull out phones, there weren't cell phones way back then that were so distracting. I would try not to be on the computer and making phone calls and things like that. I remember it that way of just being as present as possible. My kids still remember I was getting up at 6 in the morning and making them pancakes before they had to go to school and I had to go to work. So I really sacrificed sleep a lot because when they went to bed I would get the computer back out and do what needed to be done."
This episode is with Dr. Marci Snodgrass, who did medicine as a second career, worked as a full time family medicine physician in Davis, CA , and now works part-time for an FQHC.
- Going to medical school while in her 30s and her motivation behind doing so
- Being 8 months pregnant while interviewing for medical school
- Working as a family physician on call 24/7 for her OB patients
- Her current part-time role where she covers inboxes for people who are away, and how this setup allows her to travel along with her daughter's job to help care for her granddaughter
- What her one regret is
- Her reflections on how she raised two successful kids while being dedicated to her job
- Her adult kids' reflections on having a busy mom physician
- Words of wisdom for how to be an amazing mom and exceptional physician
Follow Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram
Contact:
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com -
Fibroids and heme/onc fellowship with Dr. Mwanasha Merrill
"After week 17 I think, I was worried about him. I knew that with my fibroids I would have pain. I was like it will be worse than what I had with my periods, but, well I can handle pain. I didn't factor in the emotional aspect of that. Like worrying about losing someone. So that to me was the hardest part."
This episode is with Dr. Mwanasha Merril, a hematology and oncology fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute
We talk about:
- Having fibroids and how that impacted her pregnancy
- The challenge of having significant pain in her pregnancy and how that impacted her personally as well as her fellowship training
- Bringing her baby to meet her family in Malawi
- What life looks like for her now as she finishes up fellowship with a 13 month old baby
Follow Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram
Contact:
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com -
Twins in GI Fellowship with Dr. Gila Hoffman
"Just before I turned 34 weeks I was doing my fellows clinic from my hospital room. I had a sign on the door like 'Do Not Disturb, I'm in clinic', and they were like we have to get your vitals at some point during this. So they came and took my blood pressure and it was like 170/100. The resident was pushing IV labetalol while I was precepting with my attending, and finally I was just like 'Ok, I think I'm done with clinic'. I had a few more patients left in the day and I was just like 'I'm done. I can't do this'."
This episode is with Dr. Gila Hoffman, a gastroenterologist in St. Louis who specializes in inflammatory bowel disease.
We talk about:
- Finding out she was having twins
- Doing telehealth fellows clinic from her hospital bed
- Having a miscarriage in residency
- Missing out on the beginning of GI fellowship on maternity leave and having to catch up
- The differences between having a baby as a fellow vs an attending
Follow Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram
Contact:
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com -
Late pregnancy loss and long distance parenting with Dr. Liliana Camison
"Within the span of an hour and a half our lives had gone from I'll be back in 90 minutes to go in and do my surgeries and move on, to we're having a girl let's celebrate, and then we're holding hands just with our hearts in our throat"
This episode is with Dr. Liliana Camison, a plastic surgeon and craniofacial surgery fellow at NYU
We talk about:
- Late pregnancy loss and deciding on termination
- Having her rainbow baby
- Fellowhsip interviews with an 8 week old baby and her mom in tow
- She and her husband making the decision to do a year apart so that she could do fellowship
- Living in NYC with her parents and her baby while her husband lives in Pittsburgh
and so much more!
Follow Liliana:
-instagram @lilianacamison
Follow Moms of Medicine:
- Instagram
Contact:
- Momsofmedicine@gmail.com
Customer Reviews
Amazing!
This podcast is so informative and helpful. Love hearing the stories from moms who’ve navigated the challenges of both motherhood and being physicians.
Outstanding
As a fellow physician mom this podcast is relatable, educational, and helps normalize so many of our struggles. It fills a desperately needed hole and I loved listening to every episode.
So much wisdom!
Ali’s podcast is absolutely worth a listen for anybody in medicine who chooses to have children or knows anyone in medicine who has children. The conversations she has provide so much shared knowledge about what it’s like to be a mom in medicine - knowledge that can sometimes feel too personal or taboo within the field of medicine to ask about. Her guests are so open about their own experiences and really validate the concerns that many women in medicine have about this topic. Thanks Ali!