The Doctor's Art

Pamela Kunz, MD is the Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Yale Medicine. For 19 years, she was at Stanford University, most recently serving as Director of the Stanford Neuroendocrine Tumor Program. But in 2020, Dr. Kunz announced her departure, citing years of gender discrimination, microaggressions, and harassment. In this episode, Dr. Kunz opens up about the challenges she faced, how she overcame them, and how she now taps into a clear-eyed awareness of her values to lead health care settings that empower underrepresented individuals and to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic medicine.In this episode, you will hear about: How Dr. Kunz’s science-filled childhood led her to a career in medicine, and why she took on the daunting task of treating cancer patients - 2:21What it is like to build relationships with patients who have life-limiting cancer diagnoses - 7:25Dr. Kunz’s past struggles working in a toxic environment due to constant disrespect and denigration based on her gender - 12:18How leadership coach Rebecca Merrill (our guest on Episode 7) helped Dr. Kunz realize why she was so unhappy in her work and what she could do about it - 16:15The development of Dr. Kunz as an advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic medicine - 18:48Dr. Kunz’s advice for women and other underrepresented individuals going into medicine on preparing against potential hostility in their chosen careers, and how to create a “tapestry” of mentors - 22:01How Dr. Kunz addresses her own burnout, and how seeing oneself as an advocate can be a tool to self-empowerment - 32:25 The advice Dr. Kunz would give to her past self if she could go back in time - 41:02Dr. Kunz mentions the book “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown as being especially transformational in her journey to overcome challenges in the workplace.Follow Dr. Kunz on Twitter @PamelaKunzMDVisit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

A former dean of Stanford Medical School and past leader at the National Cancer Institute, Phil Pizzo, MD is as renowned for his groundbreaking research on childhood cancers and immunodeficiency as he is for his promotion of medical education. He is also a tireless scholar who continues pursuing knowledge and purpose deep into what many would consider the retirement years. In this episode, Dr. Pizzo shares what caring for children with some of the most harrowing diseases has taught him about courage, and how his creation of Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute epitomizes his vision for longevity and philosophy of lifelong learning.In this episode, you will hear about: How Dr. Pizzo’s love of learning and objection to the Vietnam War led him to a career in medicine - 2:00Teddy, a “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for and who profoundly shaped Dr. Pizzo’s career and life philosophy - 5:54Leaning into the work of treating severe diseases, despite the realities of the deep suffering involved - 14:46The guiding principles behind Dr. Pizzo’s time in leadership at the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford Medical School - 20:01How Dr. Pizzo manages to maintain tranquility of mind and buoyancy of spirit over his long career, and why he created the Distinguished Careers Institute - 22:51The surprising next step in Dr. Pizzo’s scholarly journey - 30:42Dr. Pizzo’s advice to young people about the value of a habit of lifelong learning - 34:40Read more about Teddy DeVita, the “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for, in this Washington Post article.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

Abraham Verghese, MD is a prolific writer and revered physician who has deeply contemplated the philosophical underpinnings of the practice of medicine. He is renowned as an advocate for the importance of bedside examination and physical diagnosis, and his best-selling books probe the intricacies of human connection in the context of healthcare. In this episode, Dr. Verghese discusses how maintaining a literary life has impacted his approach to doctoring, why the human touch still matters for healing in our increasingly digital age, and his vision of the future of medicine.In this episode, you will hear about: How Dr. Verghese’s love of literature influenced his decision to enter medicine  - 2:39Reflections on the challenges of contemporary medicine - 7:51How physical exams can be seen as a ritual for “reading the body like a book” - 10:07Dr. Verghese’s perspective on the future of doctor-patient relationships given the rise of telemedicine and other technologies - 20:36Balancing the need to connect with each patient for their treatment, while being responsible for so many at once - 26:23How the craft of writing relates to medicine for Dr. Verghese - 31:50The counterintuitive diagnostic efficiency of taking the time and care to meet patients where they are at - 35:45Dr. Verghese is the author of three books:My Own Country (1994) - traces the story of young Dr. Verghese in the mid-1980s in Johnson City, Tennessee, who began to treat patients with a then unknown disease, HIV.The Tennis Partner (1999) - Dr. Verghese writes of his experience moving to El Paso in the midst of an unraveling marriage. There, he meets and becomes a mentor to David Smith, a medical resident at the hospital and a brilliant tennis player recovering from drug addiction.Cutting for Stone (2009) - a novel about twin brothers, orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and forsaken by their father.The book that Dr. Verghese credits as having inspired him to pursue medicine is Of Human Bondage (1915), by William Somerset Maugham - Available for free Follow Dr. Verghese on Twitter @cuttingforstone and visit his website AbrahamVerghese.org.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Dean Winslow, MD has led an extraordinarily multifaceted career as an infectious disease specialist and former US Air Force colonel. In his pioneering work at the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, he headed one of the first HIV clinics in the country and created HIV treatments and diagnostics still used today. During his multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq as a flight surgeon, he commanded field hospitals that treated military personnel and local civilians alike. As a long-time professor of medicine at Stanford, he has been a popular mentor to hundreds of medical professionals. In this episode, with his trademark cheerful and humble demeanor, Dr. Winslow shares the colorful, poignant, and amusing stories he has collected over his decades of service.In this episode, you will hear about: Dr. Winslow’s personal path that led him to medicine and his initial work during the early days of the AIDS epidemic - 2:51How Dr. Winslow manages the emotional burden that comes with treating seriously ill patients with HIV - 20:24Dr. Winslow’s experiences in military medicine and how they have shaped his medical career - 25:31A humorous story on solving a tough infectious disease case through medical detective work - 32:09Dr. Winslow’s advice to medical trainees who may be struggling with burnout, and what improvements should be made to the healthcare system to take pressure off medical professionals - 36:51A narrative essay by Dr. Winslow about his military medical career: Treating the Enemy.Follow Dr. Winslow’s work at StanfordHealthcare.orgVisit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

Ira Byock, MD is a leading figure in hospice and palliative medicine, having developed many practices and tools that now define the specialty. For him, this profession is a continual pursuit of balancing the scientific and human aspects of medical care, to address patient well-being in a way that transcends conventional concepts of disease and illness. In this episode, Dr. Byock joins us to discuss how palliative medicine developed into what it is today, how viewing death as a normal part of human living can allow patients to create meaning at the end of life, and what all clinicians can learn from palliative care about good doctoring.In this episode, you will hear about: Dr. Byock’s early work in family and rural medicine and the moral crisis that awakened him to the need for palliative medicine - 1:51Dr. Byock’s experiences in pioneering the nascent field of palliative medicine - 7:53Combating the prevailing notion that medicine is only about treating injuries and curing illnesses - 11:16A story about a dying patient and the extra mile Dr. Byock went for her, which solidified his belief in the power of palliative care - 17:05Reimagining our relationship to death, both from the clinician’s and patient’s perspectives - 24:10The Four Things that Matter Most - 31:19Lessons learned from patients experiencing the end of their lives - 35:52Dr. Byock’s advice to young medical professionals and students - 39:31Connect with Dr. Byock on Twitter @IraByock.Dr. Byock is the author of several books: Dying Well The Four Things that Matter MostThe Best Care PossibleVisit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

Adjoa Boateng, MD has always felt drawn to helping those at the margins of society. An intensivist and physician-writer at Stanford, Dr. Boateng has found language to be a crucial part of not only her clinical work, but of her art as well. In a medical specialty that can often be mired in technical jargon and dehumanizing shorthand, she champions an even greater importance on the choice of words physicians use as a critical aspect of care.In this episode, you will hear about: Dr. Boateng’s career in helping individuals from marginalized populations - 1:51How she maintains a connection to the spiritual dimensions of medicine despite working in what can often be the most impersonal of medical settings, the ICU - 4:45Her reflection on a particularly transcendent moment with a patient approaching death - 7:21Making space for the sacred, even in the antiseptic rooms of a hospital - 9:57How she discovered her passion for narrative medicine and writing poetry - 15:40The importance of humanizing language, especially when talking to patients - 17:37The concept of “miracles” in medicine - 22:26The difficulties Dr. Boateng experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a new attending and new mother - 26:17The intense scrutiny she has experienced as a black woman working in medicine - 30:39A poem Dr. Boateng has been writing for her son about his birth - 35:23Connect with Dr. Boateng on Twitter @BoatengMD.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

A crisis of burnout is rippling through the medical community; physicians are experiencing ever-increasing mental, physical, and social strain while the healthcare system offers little assistance with that burden. For leadership coach Rebecca Merrill, this crisis is a calling. For years, she has been coaching senior leaders in healthcare to help them reconnect with what brought them to medicine in the first place. In this episode, we speak with Merrill about how she helps clinicians lead a purposeful life and how healthcare institutions can better safeguard against workforce attrition.In this episode, you will hear about: What coaching is, how it compares to therapy, and how it can help doctors -  2:20What makes physicians unique when it comes to coaching them - 10:40How Merrill responds to skepticism of coaching - 14:44The primary causes causes of physician burnout - 16:32How healthcare administrators can balance patient satisfaction with physician well-being - 24:32 Merrill’s advice to medical professionals around self-care 38:06Merrill’s advice to healthcare leaders and administrators who want to better support and protect their staff from burnout - 40:28Merrill's website can be found at MerrillLeadership.com.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

As a college student, Samuel Brown, MD never believed he would work in medicine. Yet today, he is not only an accomplished intensivist at Intermountain Healthcare and a professor of medicine at the University of Utah, but also an acclaimed writer, theologian, and religious historian. For Dr. Brown, this career is truly a spiritual calling. In this heartfelt and frequently humorous episode, we meet with him to discuss his unusual journey to medicine and to understand how his personal philosophy helps him connect with the sick and dying.In this episode, you will hear about: Dr. Brown’s personal history of religiosity and his initial resistance to a career in medicine – 2:43How Dr. Brown’s belief in the divinity of each human informs his work as a physician – 11:16The changing social, cultural, and medical contexts of death and dying in America, and the development of the modern ICU, as explored in his book Through the Valley of Shadows - 15:09The depersonalization of patients in the ICU and how spirituality helps foster the doctor-patient relationship – 21:36Finding meaning in tragedy, especially one as massive and widespread as the COVID-19 pandemic – 28:33Dr. Brown’s advice for all students and new medical professionals on maintaining a healthy outlook in an often-harrowing world – 33:29Dr. Brown’s most recent book is Through the Valley of Shadows: Living Wills, Intensive Care, and Making Medicine Human.Connect with Dr. Brown on Twitter @DrSamuelBrown.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

The practice of medicine has a rich legacy, sharing common themes yet manifesting in myriad forms around the world. For Cesar Padilla, MD, an obstetric anesthesiologist and clinical assistant professor at Stanford, this historical and cultural thread is vivid and alive, informing care and connection with his patients and students. In this episode, we ask Dr. Padilla to reflect on his personal history and that of the wider medical field to gain insights on best practices for care across cultures.In this episode, you will hear about: Dr. Padilla’s childhood summers residing in a Catholic hospital in Mexico and how that ignited his passion for medicine - 3:45Why Dr. Padilla believes the "art" of medicine resides in human connection - 6:18The educational inequities & challenges Dr. Padilla faced as a first generation immigrant - 10:12 How Dr. Padilla draws on the history of medicine to provide quality care - 16:24How clinicians can better connect with patients when differing cultural backgrounds are involved - 26:06The one piece of advice Dr. Padilla wants all medical trainees to remember - 35:19Dr. Padilla writes extensively about the history of medicine. Here are articles mentioned in the episode: The Best Argument for Medicare for All - Our Nation’s First Hospital, Co-founded by Benjamin Franklin, Provided Free Care for the PoorFrom an ICU Doctor - What We Really Think About Death and Dying A partial list of Dr. Padilla’s other writings: https://medium.com/@cesarraudelpadillaConnect with Dr. Padilla on Twitter @TheMillennialMDVisit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022

Few people have a more well-rounded understanding of our healthcare system than Lloyd Minor, MD, Dean of Stanford Medical School. With diverse experiences in research, surgery, healthcare education, clinical care, and institutional leadership, Dean Minor has cultivated a unique bird’s-eye view of the obstacles that face our increasingly complex medical system. In this episode, we ask him to share insights on how to create robust support systems for both patients and medical staff alike, in order to address difficult institutional challenges such as burnout, work-life balance for healthcare staff, and racial inequities in care. In this episode, you will hear about: How Dean Minor’s early interests in math and science shaped his career as a physician scientist - 2:13Dean Minor’s belief that earning trust and respect as a leader is paramount to making a shared vision come to life - 8:57His challenges with work/life balance during his years of training - 10:23Stanford’s commitment to precision health initiatives - 13:23Racial disparities in our healthcare system, and what we can do to create better outcomes - 27:18 The importance of teaching leadership skills to medical trainees - 32:26Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2022