54 episodes
The Doctor Paradox Dr Paddy Barrett - Paddy Barrett interviews Dr Eric Topol, Prof Barry Schwa
-
- Science
-
-
4.9 • 149 Ratings
-
The Doctor Paradox is about addressing why despite having incredibly meaningful jobs, doctors are increasingly unhappy in their work.
Quite simply, it is a tragedy that we have allowed this to happen. That intensely passionate, dynamic and altruistic individuals have lost their core passions and found themselves adrift in the world of healthcare is unacceptable.
The Doctor Paradox focuses on 4 key issues:
1. The factors that explain why doctors are dissatisfied with the world of healthcare.
But more importantly…
2. The physicians that have rediscovered their passions and carved new paths, both within and outside of traditional healthcare.
3. The experts who offer insight on topics related to the challenges faced and the mechanisms to address them such as sleep deprivation, burnout, career advice and philosophical perspectives.
4. The strategies to rediscover your passion, find a new course and pursue what is required to find fulfillment.
A primary responsibility of physicians is to add value and meaning to our patients lives and that of our own.
To fulfill only one of these criteria is not enough. Without value and meaning in our own lives it is almost impossible to provide it to that of our patients.
As physicians, we hold a most privileged position. We intersect with our patients lives, often in their darkest hour, with them asking for our help. For physicians to sustainably provide that help, they must first and foremost help themselves. Not to do so will ultimately degrade one of the most sacred of relationships: that of the patient in need and the doctor who can tend to that need.
The Doctor Paradox also serves to explore a ‘New Medicine’ where the traditional model of what it means to be a doctor has changed. That the doctor of the future will still be adding immense value and meaning to patients lives but may be doing so in ways not conventionally pursued before. The physicians of the future will help patients across a spectrum of care, from face to face clinical encounters to designing and developing novel technologies that will significantly impact the lives of patients. For a ‘New Medicine’ we need a ‘New Doctor’.
The future of medicine is bright but unless we begin a major course correction, physicians drift toward ever increasing uncertainty.
As the famous saying goes:
“Things always get worse…. before they get worse”.
It is up to us as physicians to effect the changes we wish to see in our own lives and in doing so, ultimately that of our patients.
Things are getting worse, let’s make them better.
We are ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, so it’s not that we ought to, it’s that we have to.
-
Surf Doctor - Dr Peter Acker On Global Emergency Care & Surf Medicine
Dr Peter Acker is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. In addition to his work in the ER, he is an active member of the Stanford Emergency Medicine International Team whose work it is to assist in the provision of emergency medical care around the world. Dr Acker is also a key member of the organization, 'Surfing Doctors' and gets to combine his love of surfing with his passion for medicine.
The topic of surf medicine has been requested multiple times by listeners. So finally, here it is.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Dr Peter Acker
Stanford Emergency Medicine International Team
Surfing Doctors
'Checklist Manifesto' by Atul Gawande
Email: peteacker@gmail.com
-
Alternative Careers In Medicine - Dr Abeyna Jones of Medic Footprints
Dr Abeyna Jones is an Occupational Medicine Registrar in London and is also the founder of Medic Footprints, a site dedicated to physician wellness and alternative careers in medicine. Dr Jones has travelled the world with her medical training and even spent time as a trauma surgeon in Africa in not exactly ideal conditions but garnered more satisfaction from that experience than her conventional surgical training in the UK at that time.
This is a fantastic conversation about the challenges of stepping outside the conventional frameworks of traditional medical practice and carving a path less travelled. Even if you have never considered an alternative career in medicine, this is a worthwhile discussion about why we choose what we do and where we derive satisfaction from our careers.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Dr Abeyna Jones
Medic Footprints
Med Net
Twitter: @DrAbeynaJones -
Rehumanizing Healthcare - Dr Robin Youngson of 'Hearts In Healthcare'
Dr Robin Youngson is a practicing anesthesiologist and international advocate for promoting compassion in healthcare. Dr Youngson has worked for many years on developing the concepts of rehumanizing healthcare at a clinical and leadership level. In addition to being the CoFounder of 'Hearts in Healthcare', a global social movement for physicians, he is also the author of several books, his most recent being the highly acclaimed 'Time To Care: How to love your patients and your job'.
This is a fantastic conversation on how we desperately need to bring humanity back to medicine and how we might go about doing so.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Dr Robin Youngson
Compassionate Happiness Inventory
Dr Pamela Wible - Ideal Medical Care
Hearts In Healthcare
The lost art of healing: Practicing Compassion in Medicine by Dr Bernard Lown
'Time to Care' by Dr Robin Youngson
Twitter: @HeartsInHealth -
The Dangers Of Sleep Deprivation - Prof Russell Foster, Oxford UK.
Prof Russell Foster is a circadian neuroscientist and heads the Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford, UK. He has spent his career exploring the issues of sleep, from why we sleep to what its relationship is with mood disorders and abnormal cognitive behavior.
This is a conversation I have wanted to have for quite some time and a topic I wanted to include on the show as sleep, or more accurately, its absence is an ever present concern for most physicians.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Prof Russell Foster - Circadian Neuroscientist
TED Talk - 'Why We Sleep'
Selected Publications - Prof Foster
The Oxford Online Program in Sleep Medicine - Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience
Twitter: @OxNeuro -
The Inevitability Of Physician Burnout - Dr Anthony Montgomery, Organizational Psychologist
Dr Anthony Montgomery is an organizational psychologist and an internationally recognized expert on burnout. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Work & Organizational Psychology at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. He has studied the individual and organizational elements of burnout for many years and his findings are fascinating.
I came across Dr Montgomery's work after reading an article he wrote entitled 'The Inevitability of Physician Burnout'. This is an enlightening conversation as to why we need to refocus the issue of burnout from the individual level to the ecosystem level.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Dr Anthony Montgomery
'The inevitability of physician burnout' by Dr Anthony Montgomery
Well Med Conference
'Mindset' by Carol Dweck
Areas Of Work Life Survey
-
Physicians As Agents For Change - Dr Stephen Beeson of Practicing Excellence
Dr Stephen Beeson is the founder of the Physician Effective Project at Practicing Excellence and a nationally recognized leader in physician and healthcare performance. Dr Beeson is a family medicine physician of 20 years and played a pivotal role in transforming the Sharp Rees-Stealy Healthcare group from a lowest tertile group to the highest, over several years. He is the author of 2 national best selling books on physician performance: Practicing Excellence and The Engaging Physician.
This episode is a fantastic conversation with someone who is deeply committed to improving the lives of physicians and transforming the world of healthcare today. I know that I will be coming back to this conversation again and again.
If you enjoyed this episode please Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
Enjoy!
Selected Show Notes:
Dr Stephen Beeson
Practicing Excellence
'Practicing Excellence' by Dr Stephen Beeson
'The Engaging Physician' by Dr Stephen Beeson
Twitter: @SBeesonMD
Email: stephen@practicingexcellence.com
Customer Reviews
Great Podcast for Clinicians!
I’m so glad someone is making a quality podcast about working in medicine. It’s great to learn from people who have overcome trial had had success in the field.
Great content, Poor audio quality
Very interesting podcast for anyone involved in medicine. The audio quality, particularly on phone interviews, is terrible though and makes listening difficult. The constant feedback and static can be hard to overcome.
Fantastic!!!
Great podcast for anyone working in medicine. Phenomenal insight and wonderful guests. Insightful topics. Can’t get enough!