HuMed with David Spiro, MD

David Spiro, MD | Doctor Podcast Network
  • 4.2 (17)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

HuMed goes beyond diagnoses and procedures to explore the profound human experiences of medical professionals. Join Dr. Spiro as he engages in deep, candid conversations with fellow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They share the often-unseen realities of their work in the demanding hospital environment – the challenging cases, the emotional toll, and the ethical dilemmas they navigate daily.

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Neuro-Ophthalmologist Dr. Kim Blankshain: "What Is Happening?" Her Husband's Brain Surgery

    A Monday morning, 6:45. Dr. Kim Blankshain is changing her infant son when she hears a crash in the next room. Her husband is sitting on the edge of the bed, bleeding from a gash in his forehead. She expects a few stitches. Hours later an ER physician says the CT scan came back and he is being sent downtown to see neurosurgery right away. "What is happening?" Dr. Blankshain is a neuro-ophthalmologist in the Chicago suburbs, a specialist in vision problems that begin in the brain and nervous system. She was in fellowship, trained to read MRIs and CTs, when the scan on the screen was her husband's: an epidermoid cyst pressing on his brainstem, and brain surgery set for the next morning. She joins Dr. David Spiro to talk about being the doctor in the waiting room, and how it changed the way she delivers bad news to her own patients. In this episode: - Why knowing the medicine made it harder, and the moment the neurosurgeon asked, "What do you do for a living?" - The waiting-room buzzer three hours into a four-to-six-hour surgery: "That can't be good" - Receiving bad news as a physician: "I wasn't really hearing what he was saying" - How she gives hard news now: slow down, say it more than once, and sit in the silence - Going back to work the day after her husband came home, with her time off for the year already used on six weeks of maternity leave - Parental leave in medical training, and why she calls the culture "cruel" - Working-mom guilt and the "have it all" lie: "Something has to give on any given day" - Marriage after a baby: feeling like roommates, a year of couples therapy, and TV-free Thursdays - What she tells pre-med students: "It's still just a job" Dr. Spiro also shares how he gives bad news to families in the pediatric ER. Chapters 00:00:00 "What is happening?" 00:00:20 Meet Dr. Kim Blankshain 00:01:50 What a neuro-ophthalmologist does 00:02:22 A crash in the next room 00:04:10 The ER and the CT scan 00:06:08 Rush University: the MRI and the neurosurgeon 00:07:27 "What do you do for a living?" 00:08:14 Brain surgery, tomorrow 00:08:53 The waiting room: "That can't be good" 00:09:43 Six weeks of recovery 00:10:13 How it changed the way she sees patients 00:11:45 On the other side of bad news 00:13:04 Slow down, repeat it, sit in silence 00:14:17 Dr. Spiro: bad news in the pediatric ER 00:15:25 "You are so lucky that you came to me" 00:16:36 Back to work the next day 00:19:41 Parental leave in medical training 00:22:43 Balance with a five-year-old 00:23:58 The "have it all" lie 00:24:39 On call on the Fourth of July 00:26:37 "It's still just a job" 00:27:50 Marriage after a baby 00:29:23 Couples therapy and TV-free Thursdays 00:32:33 Why she believes in therapy for physicians 00:33:44 "Nobody says that to a mechanic" 00:34:08 Why she reached out to HuMed 00:35:31 Closing Check out the Inside HuMed Newsletter: https://www.humedpod.com/inside-humed This episode is one physician's personal story and is not medical advice. If this episode meant something to you, follow HuMed on Apple Podcasts and send it to one colleague who needs to hear it.

    Neuro-Ophthalmologist Dr. Kim Blankshain: "What Is Happening?" Her Husband's Brain Surgery

  2. 5d ago ·  Video

    Kidney Transplant Physician Dr. Aditya Pawar: "It Started From a Mistake"

    A resident on night call writes one word in a chart to describe his patient's husband, a man in his 90s: "senile." He thinks it means "very old." The note gets corrected, but the word stays in the edit trail, and a few days later the record shows the patient has read it. Every instinct tells him to leave it alone. He calls the family to apologize anyway. Dr. Aditya Pawar is a transplant nephrologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. That phone call became "Safe Space," his essay in The New England Journal of Medicine. He joins Dr. David Spiro to talk about what the couple said to him on that call, why it took him years to understand it, and who a clinician's "safe space" really protects. In this episode: - The apology he almost didn't make, and why he says it would be just as hard tomorrow - Why "safe space" in medicine often protects the doctor, and what a "brave space" with patients looks like - Telling a patient you don't yet know the best approach - Practicing in India versus the U.S.: five-minute visits that never really end, and seeing your patients at the grocery store - Why he calls paternalism "a protective mechanism" - What he says to kidney patients who won't let their own child donate - What he tells first-year medical students about the 20-minute visit that needs an hour and twenty - His uncle's lesson from Sunday evenings seeing patients in a village in India: "As a physician, we've always lost" - Six hugs from a grieving family after one of his first codes Dr. Spiro also shares what it was like to lead his team's debrief after a child died in his pediatric ER. Read the essay: "Safe Space," N Engl J Med 2026;395:840-843. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2518528 Chapters 00:00:00 "As a physician, we've always lost" 00:00:20 Meet Dr. Aditya Pawar 00:02:03 "It started from a mistake" 00:02:33 Night call, a couple in their 90s, and one word 00:04:27 The phone call he almost didn't make 00:05:11 What the couple meant by "safe space" 00:06:37 Parents in the room during a resuscitation 00:08:20 Who is the safe space for? 00:10:03 From safe spaces to brave spaces 00:12:55 Medicine in India versus the U.S. 00:15:11 Sharp boundaries, and crossing the line 00:17:43 "Every single cell of my body is telling me don't do it" 00:21:14 What safe space meant as a child in India 00:23:10 Family, elder care, and what gets lost 00:28:16 Organ donation: "Do not take away that decision from me" 00:30:00 Teaching first-year medical students 00:34:26 Dr. Spiro: the debrief after a child dies 00:38:06 His uncle, Dr. S.S. Jamwal 00:39:49 One of his first codes as a resident 00:41:11 "This concept of death, you have to get comfortable with it" 00:42:11 Six hugs from a grieving family 00:42:44 Closing If this episode meant something to you, follow HuMed on Apple Podcasts and send it to one colleague who needs to hear it.

    Kidney Transplant Physician Dr. Aditya Pawar: "It Started From a Mistake"

  3. Oct 3 ·  Video

    Cancer Surgeon Dr. James Wittig: "I Was Hanging On by a Thread"

    Dr. James Wittig built his career saving children's limbs from cancer. Then a heart scan he asked for himself led to a catheterization that found a 99% blockage in his left anterior descending artery. "I was hanging on by a thread." Dr. Wittig is an orthopedic oncologist and sarcoma surgeon with more than 25 years in limb-sparing surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors in children and adults. In this conversation with Dr. David Spiro, he traces his path from Paterson, New Jersey, where his father was a police officer and his mother a hairdresser, to the mentor who drew him into limb-sparing surgery for childhood bone cancer. He describes chairing a department of 120 orthopedic surgeons while starting a residency program, sleeping about five hours a night for 30 years, and the blood pressure and cholesterol numbers that kept getting explained away. He talks about the stretch of roughly 180 hours of surgery in two weeks that ended in kidney failure, his decision to resign, the chest pain on the treadmill, and the procedure where he went into ventricular tachycardia before three stents opened the artery. He also shares what he would tell his younger self, why doctors treating doctors can be a trap, how he rebuilt his sleep, and why he is now studying hypnosis and mind-body medicine for cancer patients. (00:00) Cold Open: "Hanging On by a Thread" (00:18) Welcome & Meet Dr. James Wittig (02:03) Growing Up in Paterson, New Jersey (04:28) The Mentor Behind Limb-Sparing Surgery (06:01) From Amputation to Saving the Limb (08:53) Why Bone Cancer in Kids Gets Missed (10:22) The Heart Scan He Asked For (11:48) 80-Hour Weeks and Five Hours of Sleep (14:11) A 70% Blockage (15:06) 180 Hours of Surgery, Then Kidney Failure (16:30) Chest Pain on the Treadmill (18:28) 99% Blocked (19:25) V-Tach on the Table and Three Stents (20:53) What He'd Tell Himself 20 Years Ago (23:48) Solo Practice, On Call 24/7 (25:40) Purpose, Prayer, and Learning to Say No (27:34) Why Nobody Said "This Is Too Much" (29:27) The Trap of Doctors Treating Doctors (31:47) Finding a Mentor Who Advocates for You (32:42) "It Wasn't Human" (33:40) Life After the OR: Hypnosis and Mind-Body Medicine (37:00) How He Rebuilt His Sleep (42:10) Getting the Phone Out of the Bedroom (44:09) His Advice for Physicians in Their 50s (45:08) New York vs. New Jersey & Goodbye Contact Dr. Wittig: JamesCWittigMD.com TumorSurgery.org MandalaMedicalGroup.com Check out the Inside HuMed Newsletter: https://www.humedpod.com/inside-humed This episode is one physician's personal story and is not medical advice. It is also available on video on Apple Podcasts. Follow HuMed so you never miss an episode.

    Cancer Surgeon Dr. James Wittig: "I Was Hanging On by a Thread"

  4. Sep 29 ·  Video

    Allergist Dr. Lauren Fine: "Stop Asking for Permission"

    Dr. Lauren Fine had a thriving allergy practice, a faculty position and patients lined up at the door, and she still felt she needed someone's permission to change. Her answer now: "Stop asking other people for permission." Dr. Fine is an allergist and immunologist, a teacher, a clinician at the VA in the Fort Lauderdale area, and a life coach. In this conversation with Dr. David Spiro, she tells the story of a patient who casually asked her to check a biopsy result that wasn't hers to deliver, and what happened when she opened his chart. She talks about why she prefers shared decision-making to "doctor knows best," how she delivers bad news by letting patients say it first, and why, for her, burnout comes down to losing connection with patients. She also explains why reinventing yourself is "like erasing a chalkboard," what a life coach actually does (hint: it isn't giving advice), and why nobody hands out awards for answering a portal message at 9 p.m. She closes with her view on rising food allergies, how she introduced peanuts to her own kids early, and why community matters more than balance. (00:00) Cold Open: "My Heart Just Sunk" (00:27) Welcome & Meet Dr. Lauren Fine (02:13) The Biopsy Result She Wasn't Supposed to Read (05:00) A Road Trip Across America (05:50) Paternalism vs. Shared Decision-Making (09:31) Why She Chose to Tell Him (10:34) How She Delivers Bad News (13:38) Getting to Know Patients as People (16:10) Burnout Is About Connection (18:04) Why Life Coaching? (19:23) Stop Asking for Permission (20:30) Reinvention Is Like Erasing a Chalkboard (23:07) What a Life Coach Actually Does (26:40) Why We All Need to Slow Down (29:03) Phones, Boundaries, and the 9 PM Email (33:49) Diet, Processed Food, and Disease (36:22) Are Food Allergies Really Rising? (39:03) Peanuts and Early Introduction (41:55) Allergist, Teacher, Coach, Mom: How She Does It (43:59) Community and Giving and Receiving Love (46:18) Closing Thoughts This episode is also available on video on Apple Podcasts. Follow HuMed so you never miss an episode.

    Allergist Dr. Lauren Fine: "Stop Asking for Permission"

  5. Sep 25 ·  Video

    ER Physician Dr. Mark Pappadakis: "Medical School Rejected Me Three Times"

    Rejected from medical school. Failed anatomy. Failed his emergency medicine boards by two points, then by one. Today Dr. Mark Pappadakis teaches at the medical school that turned him down three times. Emergency physician Dr. Mark Pappadakis joins Dr. David Spiro, MD for an honest conversation about failure, resilience, and the human side of medicine. He shares: - Why he applied to only three medical schools, and what failing a post-bacc year taught him - How five years as an ER tech made him fall in love with emergency medicine - Getting off a waitlist three weeks before classes started - Failing his boards twice by a total of three points, and passing on the third try - Why he tells patients "I don't know," and why a bounce-back can be a success - A mentor's line that stayed with him: "All of us carry a graveyard" - Imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and being the doctor to his own parents during COVID - Why he started his own podcast to fight medical misinformation Dr. Pappadakis trained at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, where he served as chief resident. He is a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine, serves on the board of the Bucks County Medical Society, and hosts the JAFERD Cast podcast. Chapters 0:00 The school that rejected him three times 1:47 A story about failure 3:55 The post-bacc year and failing anatomy 5:50 Five years as an ER tech 10:15 Off the waitlist three weeks before classes 16:21 Failing the boards by two points, then one 18:28 Passing the boards and going full circle 20:09 MD vs DO and the Caribbean option 24:16 How failure made him a better doctor 29:06 Telling patients "I don't know" 33:54 "All of us carry a graveyard" 42:40 Failure, marriage, and family 46:04 Imposter syndrome and self-doubt 47:15 Why he started the JAFERD Cast If this episode meant something to you, follow HuMed here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a rating. It helps other clinicians find the show.

    ER Physician Dr. Mark Pappadakis: "Medical School Rejected Me Three Times"

  6. Sep 22 ·  Video

    Cardiologist Dr. Jaya Mallidi: "The Trust I Had With the Universe Lay Broken"

    "How can a child be taken away from the mother?" When cardiologist Dr. Jaya Mallidi lost her daughter, Saachi, at 19 weeks, the trust she'd always had with the universe "lay broken like a vase in an empty room." In this deeply honest conversation, Dr. Jaya Mallidi joins host Dr. David Spiro to explore the human side of medicine from the other side of the bed. She shares surviving a rare, life-threatening hemothorax from thoracic endometriosis, leaving the interventional cardiology she loved, enduring nine cycles of IVF, and grieving a pregnancy loss while a profession built on duty pulled her back to work a week later. She also shares how she slowly rebuilt her faith — through the Japanese image of Jizo, a practice of "forgiving the universe," and a hard-won belief that in medicine, presence matters more than any prescription. A conversation about grief, resilience, womanhood in medicine, and learning that it's okay to take up space. Dr. Jaya Mallidi is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and cardiologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she serves as Director of Clinical Cardiology and Site Director for the UCSF Cardiology Fellowship. Her JAMA "A Piece of My Mind" essay reflects on the loss of her daughter and how medicine and society recognize — or fail to recognize — the grief of pregnancy loss. In this episode: 00:00 "My trust with the universe lay broken" 03:40 Becoming the patient: a rare, dangerous hemothorax 06:10 Thoracic endometriosis and two lung surgeries 08:54 Leaving interventional cardiology and finding new purpose 11:11 Losing Saachi at 19 weeks 16:09 Why doctors return to work too soon 19:14 Medicine's missing backup system 22:24 The IVF journey: hope, failure, and nine cycles 28:36 When social media makes grief worse 30:48 A spiritual reckoning: finding a mental model 37:03 Jizo: the image that finally gave her peace 39:00 "Forgiving the universe" 41:09 How grief changed her as a teacher and clinician 45:07 A marathon, not a sprint 47:47 Presence over prescriptions in the age of AI HuMed unveils the human side of medicine — new conversations every week. If this episode moved you, share it with a colleague, and please follow and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other clinicians find the show.

    Cardiologist Dr. Jaya Mallidi: "The Trust I Had With the Universe Lay Broken"

  7. Sep 19 ·  Video

    Psychiatrist Dr. Paniz Johari: When a Patient Dies — Grief, Guilt & Radical Acceptance

    "One of our social workers knocked on the door and said, so-and-so killed himself. I was just in shock." What do you do with the rest of your day after that? Psychiatrist Dr. Paniz Johari joins Dr. David Spiro to talk about one of the least-discussed parts of medicine — losing a patient, and carrying it afterward. Dr. Johari, an attending psychiatrist at Mather Hospital / Northwell Health, wrote a JAMA "A Piece of My Mind" essay called "On Losing a Patient" that moved David enough to reach out. Together they trace its thread: the shock and disbelief, replaying an encounter that felt "ordinary," the guilt of wondering what you missed, and the long work of separating confidence from certainty — what she calls "radical acceptance," and why accepting the limits of our control "is not surrendering." They also get into how psychiatrists weigh whether a patient is safe to go home, why she chose the field, what's happened to mental health since COVID, the roles of sleep, exercise, and diet, and the stigma that still surrounds psychiatric care. ▶ Follow HuMed on Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode — it's the single best way to support the show. Chapters: 0:00 Intro — Dr. Paniz Johari and her essay 1:37 Losing a patient: the story 3:12 Writing as catharsis 4:36 Hearing the news 7:41 Assessing who's safe to go home 11:09 "How ordinary it felt" 14:34 Why she chose psychiatry 17:25 Mental health since COVID 21:13 Sleep, wearables, and mood 25:58 The stigma around psychiatric care 27:49 Therapy, exercise, and self-care 34:04 "Accepting is not surrendering" If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 — the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7 in the US. HuMed with David Spiro, MD — unveiling the human side of medicine. New episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. podscan_rLPAXfcJVELgUhwcd66rLVyErpUcGFTV

    Psychiatrist Dr. Paniz Johari: When a Patient Dies — Grief, Guilt & Radical Acceptance

  8. Sep 15 ·  Video

    Dr. Lois Lee: Protecting Kids from Gun Violence, and the Fight for Their Health

    What if the biggest threats to a child's life are also the most preventable? Dr. Lois Lee — pediatric emergency medicine physician and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital, professor of clinical pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and a candidate for AAP president-elect — joins Dr. David Spiro on HuMed to talk about the work of keeping kids safe: from gun violence and injury prevention to vaccines, Medicaid, and the advocacy that changes policy. Dr. Lee opens with the residency moment that shaped her career — a family forced to choose between buying food and their child's asthma inhaler — and traces how that experience led to decades of research and legislation. She explains why she frames firearm safety the way pediatricians approach drowning prevention, why most firearm deaths are suicides rather than homicides, the "agree to agree" approach to finding common ground, and what worries her most about children's health today. It's a candid, hopeful conversation about how one physician decided to change the system — and how anyone can start. In this episode: – The story that started it all: "food or medicine" – How universal child health insurance changed outcomes – Passing booster-seat and ATV-safety laws – Firearm safety framed as injury and suicide prevention – Why local data changes the conversation on guns – Medicaid, CHIP, and the fallout she fears from HR1 – Vaccines and the return of preventable disease – Advice for physicians who want to make change Chapters 00:00 "Food or medicine": the moment that shaped a career 00:23 Meet Dr. Lois Lee 01:44 A family forced to choose between food and medicine 03:33 How universal child health insurance changed outcomes 06:13 The mentor, airbags, and kids in the front seat 07:35 Passing booster-seat and ATV laws in Massachusetts 09:35 Did the ATV law actually reduce injuries? 10:42 Staying human: balance and boundaries 12:07 Music, and returning to the piano at Emory 15:15 How music makes a better physician and leader 16:27 Firearms: the #1 cause of death for U.S. children 17:16 Is it uncomfortable to talk about gun violence? 18:41 Firearm safety framed like drowning prevention 20:06 "Agree to agree": finding common ground 21:14 Secure storage and hunting culture 22:56 Advice for doctors who want to change the system 25:09 Why most firearm deaths are suicides, not homicides 26:33 Mental health in the pediatric ER 27:14 What keeps her up at night: Medicaid, CHIP & HR1 30:04 Vaccines and the return of preventable disease 30:49 Telling the truth in an age of misinformation 33:56 Should the ER discuss vaccines? Teachable moments 36:16 Closing reflections & why she still loves the work HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD. New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.).

    Dr. Lois Lee: Protecting Kids from Gun Violence, and the Fight for Their Health
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About

HuMed goes beyond diagnoses and procedures to explore the profound human experiences of medical professionals. Join Dr. Spiro as he engages in deep, candid conversations with fellow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They share the often-unseen realities of their work in the demanding hospital environment – the challenging cases, the emotional toll, and the ethical dilemmas they navigate daily.

Information

  • Creator
    David Spiro, MD | Doctor Podcast Network
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 David Spiro, MD | Doctor Podcast Network
  • Show Website
    HuMed with David Spiro, MD

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