Episode 125: The Human Side of Medicine: Living with Chronic Illness in Medical School with Stephanie Moss

Have you ever been told your pain is "just medical student anxiety?" Or faced a diagnosis during a stressful time like medical school? This week, we're diving into the experience of medical student and advocate, Stephanie Moss, and how she navigated chronic illness, medical gaslighting, and even a leave of absence from her medical education.

In this episode, Dr. Kara Wada sits down with Stephanie Moss, a fourth-year medical student and advocate, to discuss her journey with chronic illness, navigating medical school with a diagnosis, and how she found strength and confidence in her resilience. Stephanie shares her experience with medical gaslighting, the importance of finding support and advocating for yourself, and how her leave of absence from medical school, while challenging, ultimately empowered her to develop valuable tools and strategies for managing chronic pain.

EPISODE IN A GLANCE
00:39 Meet Stephanie Moss: Trauma-informed Advocate and Activist
03:01 Stephanie's Chronic Illness Diagnosis and Perspective Shift
04:55 Medical Gaslighting and Power Dynamics in Healthcare
08:20 The Power of the Placebo Effect and Human Connection
09:20 Failing a Major Exam and Advocating for Accommodations
13:30 Taking a Leave of Absence and Overcoming Challenges
18:29 Tools for Managing Chronic Pain
20:42 Reframing Exercise as a Practice of Love and Kindness
22:56 Advice for Students Facing Similar Challenges
25:00 Becoming Immune Confident: Building Confidence in Body and Resilience
26:59 Connect with Stephanie Moss

ABOUT STEPHANIE MOSS, MD
Stephanie Moss is a trauma-informed advocate, health disparities activist, Endometriosis and Infertility warrior, and a 4th year Medical Student pursuing her Medical Doctorate (M.D.) at Rush Medical College in Chicago. Through her lifelong dedication to diversity, health equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) she has striven to be a voice for marginalized communities. She is a part of the Family Medicine Leadership Program (FMLP), TightLipped medical team, is on the Infertility Committee at American Medical Women's association (AMWA), and serves on the International Society of Study of Women's Sexual Medicine (ISSWSM) Advocacy committee. During COVID she co-founded the Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE).

Stephanie shares her experiences through her narrative medicine writing and public speaking, with her work being featured on notable platforms such as MedPageTody, The Endometriosis Foundation, KevinMD, Doximity, and American Medical Women's Association (AMWA).

CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE MOSS, MD

Website → https://medpsycmoss.com/ 
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-e-moss/ 
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/medpsycmoss 
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ypzlapvju3XZ-8rgjF8Vw 
Twitter → https://x.com/medpsycmoss 

ABOUT DR KARA WADA
Quadruple board-certified pediatric and adult allergy immunology & lifestyle medicine physician, Sjogren’s patient and life coach shares her recipe for success combining anti-inflammatory lifestyle, trusting therapeutic relationships, modern medicine & our minds to harness our body’s ability to heal.

CONNECT WITH DR WADA

Website → https://www.drkarawada.com/ 
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/karawadamd/ 
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/immuneconfidentmd/ 
Podcast Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/becomingimmuneconfident/ 
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/KaraWadaMD 
Twitter → https://twitter.com/CrunchyAllergy 
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@immuneconfident 

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER →
https://www.drkarawada.com/newsletter 
Get Dr. Kara’s weekly dose of a naturally-minded and scientifically-grounded approach to immune system health.