The Underside of Medicine | Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD

Feb 21, 2023

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While this podcast has largely featured clinicians sharing the joy they have found in medicine, in this episode—breaking with tradition—we speak with a physician left disenchanted by her experiences working in medicine. Our guest is Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD, a minimally-invasive and bariatric surgeon who conducts research on gender equity and implicit bias in medicine. At Stanford Hospital, she advises initiatives to promote physician well-being and diversity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her frontline experiences were featured in Newsweek, NBC, CBS, and other press outlets. Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Salles shares fiercely honest accounts about the difficulties she has faced as an immigrant, minority, and woman in medicine. Her stories are by turns saddening, shocking, and amusing, but ultimately invoke us to reflect on the part we can all play to create a more just and inclusive path for current and future physicians.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Salles’ path to medicine and her regrets along the way - 2:11
The social pressures within medicine to overlook the downsides and hardships of a medical career - 7:11
Why Dr. Salles chose surgery as a specialty - 11:02
How, upon accepting her first academic position , Dr. Salles found herself in an environment that did not adequately support her surgical practice and her research - 14:12
The systemic and cultural factors that led to the lack of support Dr. Salles faced - 23:03
Dr. Salles’ research on gender equity in medicine - 29:57
A discussion of the challenges of life as an academic physician - 32:13
How Dr. Salles made the decision to put herself over her career and leave her academic position - 36:47
Why it can sometimes seem that hospitals are exploiting physicians - 41:12
Advice on how institutions can better promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their culture - 47:32

Learn more about Dr. Salles’ work on her website and follow her on Twitter @Arghavan_Salles.

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