Vitally Stable: A Pre-Health Podcast

Ryan Rivard
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Medicine

Rated the 3rd Best Minnesota Education Podcast and 3rd Best Minnesota Medical Podcast of 2025 by FeedSpot.  Vitally Stable is an educational podcast specifically designed for the pre-health student and their future career in the medical field. It is hosted by Ryan Rivard, a Physician Assistant that graduated from Augsburg University and has a deep passion for supporting the pre-health community. While attempting to be the leader that he believed he needed during his challenging pre-health journey, Ryan's main missions through Vitally Stable are to educate pre-health students on the medical career options avialable to them, provide them with accessbile resources to pursue their chosen career path, and tackle the mental health crisis that exists within the pre-health world. Through a partnership with the University of Minnesota Emergency Medical Services (UMEMS) and co-hosts Kaydi and Katherine, Ryan is creating a platform of support for the pre-health community through the Vitally Stable Podcast. So, if you are considering a career in MD, DO, PA, Nursing, Public Health, or any of the other amazing medical careers, give Vitally Stable a listen today. If you are considering a career as a Physician Assistant specifically and would value from a Pre-PA mentorship group directly led by Ryan, then reach out to ryan@vitallystable.com to see if you can become a member of The PAck today!

  1. 07/24/2025

    (Episode 31) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 3)

    Have you ever wondered what rotations are actually like? Well, if you have, then you are not alone. As a mentor to many pre-health students, Ryan has always tried to offer the best advice he could, but he never felt like he had the perfect answer to this question. After a lot of research and searching of other pre-health content platforms with little result, Ryan realized that there was huge gap in resources discussing the day-to-day life of a rotational student. He believed the only way to actually know what rotations are like was to hear it from students actively going through it. This gave Ryan an incredibly ambitious idea: What if he recorded his own rotation experience? What if he sat down before and after nearly every shift of every day of his rotation and recorded himself discussing his mindset from the very start of PA school rotations to the very last day? After 1 year of hard work and dedication, this series on the Vitally Stable podcast is the culmination of that vision.   In Part 3 of this series, you will be hearing the recordings from Ryan’s 7th, 8th, and 9th rotations which were Internal Medicine, Elective 1 - Cardiology, and Elective 2 - Family Medicine. This series isn’t just a podcast series. It’s a recorded documentation of one of the most challenging, but rewarding, years of Ryan’s life. This series is special for us and we hope it can be special for you too!   If you found this episode helpful, please give us a rating/comment or reach out to us directly. We would like to pursue more long-form projects like this in the future if that is what the pre-health population needs right now. Everything we do is completely free and driven by a passion to help those in need so feedback is so incredibly appreciated. Let’s support as many pre-health students as we can so we can all have a less stressful journey! Timestamps: 2:48 - Internal Medicine Rotation 1:56:40 - Cardiology Rotation 4:03:38 - Family Medicine Rotation

    (Episode 31) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 3)

  2. 01/30/2025

    (Episode 30) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 2)

    Have you ever wondered what rotations are actually like? Well, if you have, then you are not alone. As a mentor to many pre-health students, Ryan has always tried to offer the best advice he could, but he never felt like he had the perfect answer to this question. After a lot of research and searching of other pre-health content platforms with little result, Ryan realized that there was huge gap in resources discussing the day-to-day life of a rotational student. He believed the only way to actually know what rotations are like was to hear it from students actively going through it. This gave Ryan an incredibly ambitious idea: What if he recorded his own rotation experience? What if he sat down before and after nearly every shift of every day of his rotation and recorded himself discussing his mindset from the very start of PA school rotations to the very last day? After 1 year of hard work and dedication, this series on the Vitally Stable podcast is the culmination of that vision.   In Part 2 of this series, you will be hearing the recordings from Ryan’s 4th, 5th, and 6th rotations which were Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN. This series isn’t just a podcast series. It’s a recorded documentation of one of the most challenging, but rewarding, years of Ryan’s life. This series is special for us and we hope it can be special for you too!   If you found this episode helpful, please give us a rating/comment or reach out to us directly. We would like to pursue more long-form projects like this in the future if that is what the pre-health population needs right now. Everything we do is completely free and driven by a passion to help those in need so feedback is so incredibly appreciated. Let’s support as many pre-health students as we can so we can all have a less stressful journey! Timestamps: 02:28 - Psychiatry Rotation 56:52 - Pediatrics Rotation 02:10:38 - OB/GYN Rotation

    (Episode 30) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 2)

  3. 11/08/2024

    (Episode 29) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 1)

    Have you ever wondered what rotations are actually like? Well, if you have, then you are not alone. As a mentor to many pre-health students, Ryan has always tried to offer the best advice he could, but he never felt like he had the perfect answer to this question. After a lot of research and searching of other pre-health content platforms with little result, Ryan realized that there was huge gap in resources discussing the day-to-day life of a rotational student. He believed the only way to actually know what rotations are like was to hear it from students actively going through it. This gave Ryan an incredibly ambitious idea: What if he recorded his own rotation experience? What if he sat down before and after nearly every shift of every day of his rotation and recorded himself discussing his mindset from the very start of PA school rotations to the very last day? After 1 year of hard work and dedication, this series on the Vitally Stable podcast is the culmination of that vision. In Part 1 of this series, you will be hearing the recordings from Ryan’s first 3 rotations which were Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, and Surgery. This series isn’t just a podcast series. It’s a recorded documentation of one of the most challenging, but rewarding, years of Ryan’s life. This series is special for us and we hope it can be special for you too!   If you found this episode helpful, please give us a rating/comment or reach out to us directly. We would like to pursue more long-form projects like this in the future if that is what the pre-health population needs right now. Everything we do is completely free and driven by a passion to help those in need so feedback is so incredibly appreciated. Let’s support as many pre-health students as we can so we can all have a less stressful journey! Timestamps: 05:42 - Emergency Medicine Rotation 46:14 - Family Medicine Rotation 1:16:19 - Surgery Rotation

    (Episode 29) BONUS - Ryan's Rotational Experience (Part 1)

  4. 08/26/2024

    (Episode 28) Let's Chat Series - Let's Chat Radiologic Technologist!

    In another addition to the Let's Chat Series, we are going to be discussing the Radiologic Technologist career with our amazing guest: Ben Hillebrand, who spent over 5 years working hard and excelling within this field before his decision to pursue the Physician Assistant program at Augsburg University in Minnesota. Ben is an active promotor of the "rad tech" profession and on top of his extensive knowledge of all the imaging careers, his pleasant personality combined with his insighful approach to his own journey made him an absolute joy to bring on to the podcast and a must-listen for all those pursuing any career in healthcare. We hope you enjoy the conversation and learn as much as we did! This episode was recorded on March 14th, 2023.

    (Episode 28) Let's Chat Series - Let's Chat Radiologic Technologist!

  5. 06/13/2024

    (Episode 27) Collaboration Corner - Ryan Speaks At NPHC!

    In this special addition to the Collaboration Corner series, you will get the opportunity to join Ryan as he was honored to participate in a PA Student Panel at this year's National Pre-Health Commiunity (NPHC) annual conference on May 19th alongside guest of Vitally Stable Episode 15: Madie Petry. This truly was an incredible experience for us! We hope you enjoy the audio recording of this session that was gratiously provided to us by NPHC. Vitally Stable would like to extend a huge thank you to NPHC, Pre-Health Pod, Alexia Childress, and Ting Ting Guo for allowing this episode to be possible as well as for their constant support of our growing Pre-Health platform. Check out the links to NPHC resources provided below! National Pre-Health Community Website: https://www.nationalprehealthconf.org YouTube Link For PA Student Panel Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r08PapbDuQo&t=244s Pre-Health Pod: Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pre-health-pod/id1693181847 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6DBMLprActvg4bHF8qmCyP?si=ef05c70ba45a4357

    (Episode 27) Collaboration Corner - Ryan Speaks At NPHC!

  6. 05/31/2024

    (Episode 26) Daily Vitalmins - How To Have Fun While Pursuing Your Career

    The Daily Vitalmins episode type is back! In this special episode, Ryan is joined by one of his longest and closest friends, Zach Farhat, where he gets the incredbile opportunity to dive deep into a topic that nearly every pre-health student struggles with today: How To Have Fun While Pursuing Your Career. Using Ryan's personally designed "Chill PILL" tool as a guide, Ryan and Zach partake in one of the deepest and most real conversations in Vitally Stable's history. This episode has already been deemed one of Ryan's all-time favorite recordings and we believe it's as close to a must-listen as you can get for any and every pre-health student. Not only do we hope you enjoy the conversation, but we also hope that the knowledge and life experiences shared in this episode can make a difference in your current journey and help you to find balance in a very challenging time in your life. You are so much more than just a pre-health student. Thank you for supporting Vitally Stable and please let us know if you would like more content like this! This episode was recorded on 5/25/2024. BackyardBoys YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZKMjWf5RHvZqfTG27vkkGQ Back With Your Boys Podcast: Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-with-your-boys/id1728159069, Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3IdUXL0HHew1ruWOKYC0Yr?si=fe5de5c53905438d NPHC PA Student Panel Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r08PapbDuQo&t=243s FeedSpot Ranking Article: Top Minnesota Education Podcast - https://podcasts.feedspot.com/minnesota_education_podcasts/?_src=search Top Minnesota Medical Podcast - https://podcasts.feedspot.com/minnesota_medical_podcasts/ Please reach out to us at ryan@vitallystable.com

    (Episode 26) Daily Vitalmins - How To Have Fun While Pursuing Your Career

  7. 04/10/2024

    (Episode 25) Let's Chat Series - Let's Chat Pharmacist!

    It's all about the drugs in this addition to the Let's Chat Series where we focus on the career of the Pharmacist with our wonderful guest: Jules Schlichting-Bader. With a journey into pharmacy that started as early as high school, Jules enlightens us on what it's like to grow up and succeed within the world of pharmacy while also offering us unique insight into the power of making a large career decision before undergrad. While her story is far from a perfect linear path, it is full of self-reflection, courage, and a true pursuit of passion which makes this episode a must-listen even if you aren't looking into the world of pharmacy. We hope you enjoy the conversation and that you never give up the pursuit of your dreams! This episode was recorded on 3/13/2023.

    (Episode 25) Let's Chat Series - Let's Chat Pharmacist!

  8. 02/24/2024

    (Episode 24) PArt of the PAck - Breakdown of Available PA Schools & How To Choose

    In this episode, you will gain exclusive audio access to the educational component of a recent PAck workshop where the focus was on the diversity of PA programs across the country and how an applicant should go about choosing which ones to apply to. Through the introduction and use of Ryan’s newly created SPAM Technique, our hope is that you will come away from this episode with a better understanding of the most important components of an effective PA school research as well as the ability to confidently choose which PA schools are the best fits for you. We hope you enjoy this episode with the PAck and please let us know if this tool was helpful to you and your pre-health journey! This episode was recorded on December 12th, 2023.

    (Episode 24) PArt of the PAck - Breakdown of Available PA Schools & How To Choose
See All (31)

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Rated the 3rd Best Minnesota Education Podcast and 3rd Best Minnesota Medical Podcast of 2025 by FeedSpot.  Vitally Stable is an educational podcast specifically designed for the pre-health student and their future career in the medical field. It is hosted by Ryan Rivard, a Physician Assistant that graduated from Augsburg University and has a deep passion for supporting the pre-health community. While attempting to be the leader that he believed he needed during his challenging pre-health journey, Ryan's main missions through Vitally Stable are to educate pre-health students on the medical career options avialable to them, provide them with accessbile resources to pursue their chosen career path, and tackle the mental health crisis that exists within the pre-health world. Through a partnership with the University of Minnesota Emergency Medical Services (UMEMS) and co-hosts Kaydi and Katherine, Ryan is creating a platform of support for the pre-health community through the Vitally Stable Podcast. So, if you are considering a career in MD, DO, PA, Nursing, Public Health, or any of the other amazing medical careers, give Vitally Stable a listen today. If you are considering a career as a Physician Assistant specifically and would value from a Pre-PA mentorship group directly led by Ryan, then reach out to ryan@vitallystable.com to see if you can become a member of The PAck today!

Information