The Doctor's Art Henry Bair and Tyler Johnson

In spring of 2020, Cornelia Griggs, MD was finishing her nearly decade-long training to become a pediatric surgeon in New York City, when COVID-19 struck and life fell apart. The hospital was flooded with mysteriously sick patients for whom no known treatments existed, basic supplies disappeared from shelves, and each day at work took on an existential burden as she wondered if this would be the day she caught the deadly disease herself. 


Dr. Griggs describes these dramatic stories from the early days of the pandemic in her 2024 memoir, The Sky Was Falling. Today, she is a triple board-certified pediatric surgeon, having completed medical school and pediatric surgery fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center, and her adult general surgery residency and surgical critical care fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she currently practices. 


Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Griggs describes the course of her challenging training in medicine, why it takes “a little crazy” to succeed as a surgeon, harrowing moments that defined heroism amid the throes of the pandemic, how she continued working even when giving up was the easy option, and more.


In this episode, you’ll hear about: 


2:26 - What initially drew Dr. Griggs into the field of medicine and to the speciality of pediatric surgery 


14:35 - Why the operating room is a “safe space” for Dr. Griggs


19:36 - The sense of alarm that Dr. Griggs experienced in the early days of the pandemic that drove her to write her viral New York Times op-ed, The Sky is Falling 


28:26 - How Dr. Griggs fell into an “investigative reporter” headspace as the pandemic raged around her in New York City 


30:26 - The sense of fear that enveloped both patients and the medical community during the first months of the pandemic 


40:27 - A moment during the early pandemic when Dr. Griggs seriously considered leaving the city and her post in the hospital


46:30 - How ICU nurses brought dignity and humanity when tending to seriously ill COVID-19 patients


51:16 - The hopefulness Dr. Griggs carries in seeing the large number of people who have entered medicine since the pandemic



Dr. Cornelia Griggs can be found on Twitter/X at @CorneliaLG.


Dr. Griggs is the author of The Sky Was Falling (2024).


Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.



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To many health economists, the growing aging population is the greatest public health challenge facing America. The current fragmented and costly healthcare system is simply incapable of dealing with the complex medical and socioeconomic needs of this population, especially in an equitable way.


Our guest on this episode, Linda Fried, MD, MPH, has dedicated her life to rethinking how we can create better health futures for older adults. Her pioneering research has expanded our notions of aging and longevity in the 21st century. Dr. Fried, a geriatrician and epidemiologist, is Dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Senior Vice President of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and former Founding Director of the Center on Aging and Health at Johns Hopkins University. 


Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Fried shares how her early experiences as a caseworker drove her to study medicine, surprising lessons from the martial arts aikido, what frailty means in the context of caring for older adults, why America is one of the most age segregated societies in the world, the flaws of over medicalizing health issues, redefining the roles of older adults in society, the importance of meaning and community in sustaining happiness in life, and more.


In this episode, you’ll hear about: 


2:30 - What Dr. Fried’s early experiences in social work taught her about justice, social inequity, and taking care of another person


11:47 - How an awareness of the social determinants of health shaped Dr. Fried as a clinician 


16:46 - Why physicians need to stop “medicalizing” all aspects of a patient’s life


25:00 - How Dr. Fried came to be interested in geriatrics 


28:19 - Dr. Fried’s dedication to extending “healthspan” as well as “lifespan” in our society 


31:08 - The clinical definition of “frailty”


34:15 - The value that an older population could bring to our society


38:49 - The United States’ unique culture of age segregation and how it contributes to poor health outcomes for the elderly


45:38 - What the healthcare system and society at large can do to better serve elderly populations 


50:55 - Dr. Fried’s advice for keeping true to your purpose as a medical professional 


Dr. Linda Fried can be found on LinkedIn.
Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.



Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

The history of cardiac surgery is filled with tales of intrepid surgeons with larger-than-life personalities who pushed the limits of the human body and the bounds of what were then considered acceptable medical practices. The result? Heart transplants, pacemakers, artificial heart valves, heart-lung machines, and other once-unthinkable and experimental procedures that have now saved millions of lives. 
Our guest in this episode, Gerald Imber, MD, charts these remarkable developments in his 2024 book Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery. While not writing books on the history of medicine, Dr. Imber is a practicing plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Imber talks about the challenging yet rewarding training he underwent as a surgery resident, what it means to have an “eye for aesthetics,” why he decided to write a book on the history of heart surgery, stories of daring surgeons from this history, how he reconciles the drive to push the frontiers of medicine with a regard for patient safety, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:


2:15 - What drew Dr. Imber to a career in surgery 
7:55 - Dr. Imber’s grueling experiences as a general surgery resident
11:52 - Dr. Imber’s transition into plastic surgery and the aesthetic sensibilities necessary for this speciality 
22:46 - What Dr. Imber’s current plastic surgery practice looks like 
24:28 - How Dr. Imber finds fulfillment and meaning in his work 
25:21 - What motivated Dr. Imber to write Cardiac Cowboys, a book about the history of open heart surgery 
30:47 - Balancing risks to patient lives with medical and surgical experimentation
34:25 - A brief history of open heart surgery
40:02 - Key milestones in the development of open heart surgery 
45:24 - What Dr. Imber hopes readers take away from Cardiac Cowboys 


Dr. Gerald Imber is the author of Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery (2024) and Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted (2010).
Dr. Imber can be found on Instagram at @geraldimbermd.
Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.
Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

Rotavirus, a highly contagious virus that causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, used to kill more than half a million children annually. But the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine has slashed that number dramatically, saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year. 


Joining us in this episode is Paul Offit, MD, a co-inventor of one of the two most widely used rotavirus vaccines worldwide. Dr. Offit is a professor of pediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. A leading world expert on vaccines, he served on the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is the author of more than 15 books, most recently Tell Me When It's Over: An Insider's Guide to Deciphering Covid Myths and Navigating our Post-Pandemic World (2024). 


Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Offit shares what drew him to pediatrics, how he developed a vaccine that now saves hundreds of kids every day, the stringent process by which new medications are approved, the origins of vaccine hesitancy. Why public health communication failed during the COVID-19 pandemic, what we can do to restore public trust in medicine, and more.


In this episode, you’ll hear about: 


2:24 - The harrowing experience Dr. Offit endured as a young child that inspired him to a seek a career in pediatrics


6:40 - How Dr. Offit’s research led to a successful rotavirus vaccine in 2006 


10:46 - A brief history of vaccines


16:40 - Why Dr. Offit chose to become a public advocate for vaccines 


20:14 - Why vaccines have garnered such intense backlash from large proportions of the public 


26:44 - Factors that have led to an erosion of trust in public health over the past four years


33:01 - What Dr. Offit means when he talks about “following the science”


40:35 - How public health officials can speak about scientific knowledge in a way that acknowledges uncertainty


47:37 - The future of vaccines mandates in our society 


54:16 - Dr. Offit’s advice for building trust with skeptical parents 



Dr. Paul Offit is the author of 13 books, including Tell Me When It's Over: An Insider's Guide to Deciphering Covid Myths and Navigating our Post-Pandemic World (2024).


Dr. Offit can be found on Twitter/X at @DrPaulOffit.



Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.



Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

Soon after finishing his first semester of college, Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD excitedly told his father that he'd dedicate his life to starting a social justice movement. In response, his father sternly reprimanded him, saying that the only career he'd support was one in medicine. Dr. Kim acquiesced, but over the subsequent decades would hold on to this passion for social justice and become one of the most influential individuals working in global health, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.


He co-founded Partners in Health, today a renowned medical humanitarian organization that operates in the poorest areas of developing countries. From there, he served as advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization and as Director of its HIV/Aids Department. He would then serve as the 17th President of Dartmouth College, before being selected as President of the World Bank, a position he would hold for seven years. 


In this episode, Dr. Kim joins us to discuss his unique training combining medicine with anthropology, the cultural factors that shaped his understanding of international development, how he spearheaded radical efforts to treat millions of HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients around the world, the inner mechanisms of the World Bank, the moral philosophy that drives his work, and more.



In this episode, we discuss: 



2:32 - Dr Kim’s motivation for pursuing both medicine and anthropology 


8:04 - How Dr. Kim paired his clinical training with his passion for social justice 


16:46 - How Dr. Kim stayed true to his moral convictions as he faced challenges in managing global crises such as the HIV epidemic in Africa 


26:29 - The story of PEPFAR, one of the most ambitious initiatives to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic pandemic


30:45 - How committing to moral justice can help people think outside of the box to meet the economic needs of a situation 


33:36 - The history and goals of the World Bank 


38:11 - How Dr. Kim prepared for his role at the World Bank, an organization that operates in many sectors in addition to global health 


43:28 - How Dr. Kim maintains a sense of purpose and fulfillment throughout his career



Dr. Jim Yong Kim can be found on Twitter/X at @jim_yong12.
Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.



Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

It's a cliche to say health care is broken. However, the extent to which it is unnecessarily convoluted, inefficient, and fragmented frustrates even the most experienced clinicians each time they are forced to deal with its consequences. Medical records disappear when a patient switches doctors. Critical details of life-saving treatment plans are buried deep within thousands of pages worth of electronic charts. 
In this episode, Stanford oncologist and journalist Ilana Yurkiewicz, MD explores all the ways that modern medicine is riddled with gaps and the incredible strain this puts on providers, patients, and caregivers alike. She is the author of the 2023 book Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care. In the first half of our conversation, Dr. Yurkiewicz shares how she connects with patients and helps them through the worst moments of their lives—often taking place after a cancer has been treated. In the second half, we discuss why electronic medical records are failing doctors and patients, how clinicians can strive to retain a sense of autonomy, and how she manages the uncertainty that this broken system frequently imposes upon her.


In this episode, you’ll hear about: 


2:53 - Dr. Yurkiewicz’s day job as a primary care physician specializing in cancer patients and survivors
5:49 - The benefits that cancer patients and survivors receive in seeing a primary care provider with additional training in oncology
10:34 - What initially drew Dr. Yurkiewicz to oncology 
15:00 - Why helping people through times of suffering is meaningful to Dr. Yurkiewicz
18:30 - How Dr. Yurkiewicz became adept at dealing with the diverse emotional psychosocial of cancer survivors 
22:45 - What “fragmentation of the healthcare system” means to Dr. Yurkiewicz 
24:24 - How patients expect the medical system to work versus how it actually works 
34:30 - The challenges physicians face in piecing together a patient’s story through medical charts
39:12 - The consequences of fragmented medical records
46:26 - How electronic medical records can be improved
50:44 - How Dr. Yurkiewicz retains a sense of autonomy amid a fragmented system 
58:11 - Dr. Yurkiewicz’s approach to having difficult and high-stakes conversations with patients 

Dr. Ilana Yurkiewicz is the author of Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care (2023).
Dr. Yurkiewicz can be found on Instagram at @iyurkiewiczmd.


In this episode, we discuss Danielle Ofri’s 2019 New York Times Op Ed The Business of Healthcare is Built on Exploiting Healthcare Workers.


Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.


Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024