“Maybe we think we’re just students and we’re just learning, but you can have an impact as a medical student,” says Dr. Desiree Franco Lugo, who has acted on that insight throughout her recently completed journey at Anáhuac University, Mexico and during her participation in the Osmosis Medical Education Fellowship, where she has served as a Regional Lead for the past two years. Des, as we’ve come to know her, has happily embraced one of the most important roles Regional Leads play: being a mentor to fellow med students. “I love talking to them and seeing how they develop and follow their own dreams. I literally feel like a proud mom with them,” she tells host Hillary Acer. Speaking of which, Hillary, as leader of the OMEF program, has the same pride in all that Des has done to support her peers through hosting events, writing blogs, conducting research and so much more. Beyond Osmosis, Des has developed a global footprint in medical education through internships and being selected to participate in prestigious international conferences. All of those experiences have stoked a previously unknown passion for medical education, and given her confidence to pursue other passions for entrepreneurship and leadership. This is an invigorating conversation in our NextGen Journeys series that underscores what can come from jumping at opportunities, or as Des puts it, having an attitude of ‘less fear and more go for it.’Mentioned in this episode: Osmosis Health Leadership Initiative https://www.osmosis.org/community

Promising research, a growing respect for the patient voice and innovative ways of using technology to support patients might be adding up to a new reality of Alzheimer’s and other dementias being experienced as chronic diseases like some cancers are now considered to be. We’re going to learn about that trend and other positive developments in the space on this special episode of Raise the Line with the leaders of CaringKind - one of the nation’s premier organizations focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving - who took time out from preparing for its annual gala on June 3 for an in-depth discussion of what’s new, what’s coming and what’s most important for the individuals and families affected by dementia. One welcome theme is that the voices of those with lived experience are being given more weight. “We're going to see more grassroots-driven change where people living with dementia are not just participants in research, but they are partners in research, and they’re actually pushing policy change," says Chief Innovation Officer Stephani Shivers. Tune in as host Michael Carrese explores advancements in diagnostics and research with CaringKind adviser Dr. Anne Kenney; gets briefed on a new Medicare pilot program from Stephani; and learns about the “Forget-Me-Not” gala -- which includes dancing robots -- from CEO Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh. “For the gala, we're really excited about weaving in the work that we're diving into in the next couple of years to ‘connect to living’ -- to culture and music, people, science and services. Being able to utilize technology to bring joy and socialization back to your life is part of that.” This is a revealing look at the current and future state of caregiving for diseases that are affecting a rapidly growing number of Americans and their families. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.caringkindnyc.org/gala/

“There is a revolution at hand in which, after years of struggling to locate a new source of organs, there may finally be an answer and to everyone's surprise it is animal organs. Pigs may save the day,” says Dr. Andrew Cameron, chief of the Division of Transplantation at Johns Hopkins Medicine. While he’s encouraged by recent progress in using genetically-modified pig organs in humans, Cameron points to other ways of addressing this chronic shortage which include creative use of social media to raise awareness of the need, and even compensating people for donations. But, as you’ll learn on this episode of Raise the Line with host Shiv Gaglani, running the transplant program is just one of the hats Cameron wears. As director of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief, he has a hand in overseeing all surgical subspecialties, so Shiv also explores his thoughts on the role of robotics and other technologies in both performing operations and in training surgeons. And in what is perhaps an unexpected turn, Cameron expresses his excitement about non-surgical developments to improve health such as the new class of weight loss drugs. “We're not here for me to do fancy surgeries. We're here to take care of sick people, so if there is a non-operative solution that’s better for the patient, we're all in on that, too.” It’s an expansive and fascinating conversation you won’t want to miss.Mentioned in this episode:Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery: www.hopkinsmedicine.org/surgeryDONOR App: www.thedonorapp.comTEDx Talk on Xenotransplantation

Today’s Raise the Line guest has a simple but powerful message for medical providers, born of a mother’s heartbreak. “It's going to be rare in your career to meet a zebra but the impact you can have is phenomenal. An early diagnosis could make the difference between life and death for these children,” says Bethan Keall who lost her young daughter Matilda (Tilly) in 2022 to neuroblastoma, a rare cancer most commonly found in children. Because some symptoms of the disease can be easily attributed to other causes, early diagnosis is difficult, particularly if providers are not on the lookout for it. Tilly’s diagnosis of an aggressive form of neuroblastoma introduced Bethan and her husband to the unfortunate realities of a lack of funding and coordination in the UK around pediatric oncology. “For childhood cancer you really need as much collaboration among doctors as possible to understand how treatments can get better because there are relatively few cases,” she explains to host Lindsey Smith. In coping with Tilly’s tragic death at the age of four, her parents have dedicated themselves to Neuroblastoma UK to support research efforts and have benefitted from the emotional and social support provided by a charity called Jak’s Den, founded by the family of a victim of childhood cancer. This is a wrenching, illuminating episode in our Year of the Zebra series offering important insights from a parent’s perspective for providers and policymakers alike. Mentioned in this episode: Jak’s Den https://www.teamjak.org.uk/Neuroblastoma UK https://www.neuroblastoma.org.uk/ 

Today, we're continuing our close look at clerkships and residency programs and what students can do to be successful in them with Dr. Sharon Bord and Dr. Amelia Pousson, who are both physicians and assistant professors in emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where, as most listeners know, Osmosis co-founder and Raise the Line host Shiv Gaglani is pursuing his third year of medical school. “I think one of the things that students really feel when they rotate in the ED is the team-based atmosphere. Emergency medicine providers help each other be the best versions of ourselves that we can in medicine. That is really unique,” explains Dr. Bord, who serves as the emergency medicine clerkship and sub-internship director. For her part, Dr. Pousson wants students to realize there are many paths to becoming a wonderful emergency physician. “There's lots of ways to sort of peel the orange and get it just right even if the path there looks a little bit different for each person,” she says.  Both agree that among the keys for success are rigorous honesty and self-reflection about your goals and limitations, and whether the specialty is a good fit. Tune in for an expansive conversation that provides valuable wisdom and fascinating insights into one of the most vital and challenging of medical specialties. Mentioned in this episode: Johns Hopkins Core Clerkship in Emergency Medicine

Medical school is so demanding that it’s always impressive to meet students who make time for other activities, and doubly impressive when what they devote their precious free time to is intended to improve healthcare.  That’s why we’re delighted to welcome Drs. Lawsen Parker, Rebecca Wolff and Stephanie Koplitz to Raise the Line today.  As they were wrapping up their terms as leaders of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association this Spring, they joined host Hillary Acer for an inspiring conversation about medical education, the role of students as advocates, and the future of healthcare. Lawsen, Rebecca and Stephanie also reflect on what being a medical student in the COVID era has been like and how it has shaped their perspectives on healthcare and leadership. Perhaps Lawsen sums it up best by telling Hillary that after his experience in SOMA, “I can’t imagine my career without being a leader, and an advocate for my colleagues, my patients and myself.” Don’t miss this opportunity to hear what is on the minds of these future leaders in healthcare. Mentioned in this episode: https://studentdo.org/

Today’s guest is a trailblazing surgeon who performed the first successful nerve allograft, among other important achievements, but that’s actually not what host Shiv Gaglani wanted to focus on in this interview with Dr. Susan Mackinnon. After seeing her speak recently at a Johns Hopkins Grand Rounds presentation, Shiv immediately asked her to be a guest on Raise the Line because of her passion to change the culture and climate in the medical profession, partly by reconnecting it with its core mission. “We need to get it to a point where you can take the Hippocratic oath, which says if I don't agree to look after the care for prince and slave alike, I should die. We need to get back to that.”  Mackinnon candidly details her own journey to being able to recognize and regulate her energy state so that she can perform at the highest level of creativity with colleagues and rise above the counterproductive “I win, you lose” mindset that often prevails in medicine. This free-flowing conversation is packed with insights gathered over a long career and offers much food for thought about how to find happiness and spur innovation at work, and the importance of self-care for providers. There’s also more book recommendations than in any other Raise the Line episode!Mentioned in this episode: Energy Leadership by Bruce SchneiderTaking the Leap by Pema ChodronWhere Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson

There are more than 2,600 colleges and universities with nursing degree programs in the United States, offering a mix of options from associate-level degrees to doctorates. Ensuring that those programs deliver high-quality education is the focus of today's guest, Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, the CEO of the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, also known as ACEN. “We have this regulatory compliance function as an accreditor, but at the end of the day, it's about high-quality education for nurses. We want their students to excel so it's really our job to be their support and partner in understanding and meeting the standards,” Chappell tells host Hillary Acer. The veteran clinician and educator says ACEN is also assuming the role of partner in the broader cause of addressing the nursing shortage by using its influence to support the expansion of education programs, which she thinks should be a national priority. “I would consider it to be a public health crisis. I really do. I think it's as critical as the COVID pandemic.” This is a great scan of nursing education that includes a discussion of international accreditation, interprofessional education and the challenges nursing programs face in preparing students for a very demanding profession. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.acenursing.org/

When Raise the Line host and third year medical student Shiv Gaglani witnessed the creation of a “heart song” at the bedside of a terminal patient during his recent neurology clerkship, he immediately wanted to know more about the clinical applications of music therapy and realized the Osmosis audience would want to as well.  That’s why we’re happy to bring you this fascinating episode featuring Shiv’s interview with Kerry Devlin, MMT, a senior music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine. “I like to describe music therapy as a relational therapeutic encounter. Music is both the tool that I'm using as a music therapist, but it's also the medium that we're working in. And we're using that tool and that therapeutic medium to travel together to work towards someone's individualized healthcare goals,” Devlin says. In the case of dying patients, she creates music that incorporates recordings of their heartbeat and breath sounds with their favorite song and gives the result to the family as a keepsake. For other patients, she adapts her work to suit their clinical situation such as taking a rhythmic approach with people dealing with movement disorders or singing with someone with Parkinson’s disease to help them maintain articulation. As you’ll learn, the applications are wide ranging and include group work as well as one-on-one sessions. This is a meaningful and memorable episode you won’t want to miss about a powerful therapeutic tool whose use is growing. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/center-for-music-and-medicine

We've had the pleasure of speaking to nursing leaders at a variety of health systems and at nursing schools on past episodes of Raise the Line, but today we're going to zoom out for a big picture perspective on the profession and its current and future challenges and opportunities with Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, MBA, president of the American Nurses Association, which advocates for the nation's 5.5 million RNs. In a frank assessment, Mensik Kennedy says nursing is actually not in need of new ideas to solve the problems it faces. “We've known about the solutions for decades, but yet we for some reason or another have not put those solutions into play,” she explains to host Hillary Acer. Mensik Kennedy thinks the slow pace of progress on issues such as staffing challenges, workplace violence, DEI, burnout and wellbeing can be attributed in part to the fact that only 5% of hospitals have a nurse on the board of directors. “When decisions need to be made, nurses' voices often are not heard or at that table to make needed changes.” Don’t miss this chance to hear a wealth of insight on the true value of nurses from a leader recognized nationally as one of the 100 most influential people in healthcare, and be sure to stay tuned to learn about an innovative “tribrid” model of delivering care.Mentioned in this episode: https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/