Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career

Scott Weingart, influential physician, discusses his five fears in medical practice. Topics include the distinction between carrying fear and being afraid, the importance of embracing the seriousness of sick patients, fear of lawyers, fear of complications in medical procedures, and the fear of rushing decisions. The podcast explores concepts like external calibration, self-doubt, and Monday morning quarterbacking.

Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to how and when we listen to podcasts. But like most of life, an intentional approach can reap benefits. In this episode, Josh Russell walks us through: strategies for maximizing retention, listening based on brain state, new data on listening while driving, the value of silence.Guest Bio:  Joshua Russell, MD is clinician, writer, and educator.  Since completing residency training in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Russell has had a varied career including supervising PAs and NPs as a medical director for a regional Urgent Care network, contributing to various Hippo Education podcasts, and serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM). Most recently, he has completed fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.This episode is in support of the I AM ALS. I AM ALS was founded by Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra shortly after his diagnosis at the age of 37. He was given 6 months to live, and now 4 years later he is leading a revolution to find a cure. People often refer to ALS as rare, which is not really so. The lifetime risk is around 1 in 300. Since Lou Gehrig was diagnosed 80 years ago, available treatments have been shown to extend life a mere 3 months. I AM ALS supports research, legislation to fast track therapies, and provides critical resources to patients and caregivers. ALS is relentless, and so are they. The question is no longer if we'll find a cure for ALS, but when. This is an underfunded disease and every little bit makes a difference. We will match donations to I AM ALS up to $5000 -- get started here on our Stimulus Donation Page. And for your daily dose of positivity, follow Brian on Twitter.Awake + Aware | Our 2026 RetreatJoin us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.Learn More Here🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website We discuss:   Strategies for maximizing retention of podcast content [04:20]; How your working memory is like the RAM of your brain [08:40]; Why Josh prefers to listen to podcasts in the morning as this is when he is best able to focus [10:20]; The importance of using your brain for tasks that are appropriate for the state that it’s in [12:45]; Not every interstitial moment needs to be occupied by something educational or entertaining [15:55]; How Rob consumes podcasts [17:10]; A recent study which evaluated the knowledge gained from listening to podcasts while driving compared to that gained from undistracted listening [20:40]; The value of silence [24:10]; A functional MRI study which shows that listening to a story-based podcast lights up huge areas of the brain [28:35];     A study in mice which found that 2 hours of silence per day led to neurogenesis whereas background or white noise didn't [29:00]; And more.

UK based pediatric surgeon Ross Fisher, creator of p cubed presentations, discusses techniques for excellent presentations including ending a talk effectively, handling audience questions, using scripts in lecture preparation, presenting data, and the importance of message repetition. Fisher highlights the importance of feedback in a safe environment and positive coaching. He also emphasizes the significance of properly signaling the end of a presentation and the role of the message in a presentation compared to storytelling.

Investigative journalist and bestselling author Scott Carney is our guest as we discuss: what it means to be human, going deep in the Wim Hof method, benefits of cold exposure, climbing Kilimanjaro without a shirt, using The Wedge to change conversations with your limbic system, kettlebell throwing, and why you might want to embrace failure.Guest Bio: Scott Carney is an anthropologist, investigative journalist, author, and a seeker of both the fringes of human experience and the core of what makes us human. Scott has written four books to date, including The Enlightenment Trap, The Red Market, and What Doesn't Kill Us.  Most recently, he authored The Wedge, which dives deeply into understanding the space between stimulus and response. Scott's work has been featured in many different magazines -- Wired, Mother Jones, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Men's Journal, National Public Radio. He has won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and is a multi-finalist for the Livingston Award for International Journalism.This episode is in support of the Altruism in Medicine Institute, an organization founded by Barry Kerzin, a physician, teacher, author, and Tibetan Buddhist monk. The mission is to increase compassion and resilience among health care professionals and their patients. Compassion fatigue is a very real thing, especially in health care. Building your compassion muscle is one of the most potent tools not only for avoiding burnout, but for finding joy in what you do.Awake + Aware | Our 2026 RetreatJoin us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.Learn More Here🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe discuss:   The common theme of Scott’s books -- what does it mean to be human? [05:00]; Who is “The Iceman” Wim Hof and and why might cold water immersion lead to general resilience [09:10]; The three elements of the Wim Hof method and how they relate to the wedge [15:10]; An advantage of the Wim Hof method vs. other mind-body connection practices (like Tuomo) -- it’s fast and you can learn it in about 3 days [20:00]; Scott’s weekly cold water immersion practice with benefits that last 4-5 days [22:20]; Why ‘gritting it out’ is not an effective strategy for prolonged cold exposure [27:30]; Climbing up to Gilman’s Point on Kilimanjaro shirtless and without oxygen [30:15]; Scott’s sauna routine and the value of giving his body contrasts to adapt to new environments [33:25]; His latest book, The Wedge, and how the wedge is activating something within yourself in order to thrive in a difficult moment [36:25]; Using a library as a metaphor for the limbic system [39:20]; The philosophical question -- do we experience a shared reality? [44:20]; Applying the wedge in the emergency department when your heart is racing and you’re profusely sweating because you’re having difficulty with a critical procedure[49:25]; The solution (or wedge) for the mental irritation that often comes with reading opinions on social media [58:30]; And more.

Explore the physiological connection between sex and nasal function, comparing it to nasal decongestion spray. Discover the immediate improvement in nasal airflow after sex and the differences in duration and strength compared to using a nasal spray. Discuss the potential effectiveness of sexual therapy for nasal obstruction and the need for further research.

Guest Joshua Russell, clinician, writer, and educator, discusses skill decay in emergency medicine. Regardless of experience, skill decay sets in quickly after an absence. The challenges of medical practice and cognitive overload contribute to skill decay. Strategies to combat skill decay include returning to a proctor position and using visualizations for preparation.

The podcast discusses strategies for managing stressful events, protective strategies during and after traumatic events, the physiology of PTSD, specific techniques to downregulate the nervous system, and finding equanimity. The guest, Ryan Cheney, shares insights on self-care during mass casualty events and exercises for processing difficult cases. They explore the emotional range of individuals involved in the Las Vegas mass casualty event and the importance of training, resilience, breath work, mindfulness, relationships, and playtime in building resilience.

The August 4, 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon is thought to be one of the most powerful artificial, non-nuclear explosions ever, causing over 200 deaths and 7500 injuries. In today’s episode, we walk through a firsthand account of what happened during this mass casualty event from the lens of an emergency physician who was there.Guest Bio: Sarah Abdul-Nabi, MD is an emergency medicine resident at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.  She is the author of Airway Breathing Circulation: An Emergency Medicine Resident's Experience of the Beirut Explosion.Awake + Aware | Our 2026 RetreatJoin us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.Learn More Here🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast websiteWe discuss:The moment of the Beirut explosion, when the ceiling started to fall in, the room started to shake, and then everything went dark [04:40];Sarah’s first patient, and then the deluge that arrived within 2 minutes [07:10];The initial chaos of managing a mass casualty with minimal light, no electricity, and a damaged ED [11:10];Being unable to stop chest compressions on a young woman with a brain hemorrhage, even after your attending tells you it’s futile [16:15];What it was like to go back to work 2 days later and why Sarah needed to take a couple weeks off to recover emotionally [21:10];The catharsis of debriefing, staring at nature, and journaling [23:30];The unbearable fear and self-doubt that were part of her recovery [29:00];Reflective solitude vs. isolation [31:30];And more.

Frederik Imbo, founder of Imboorling, shares insights on how to not take things personally, achieving sustainable happiness, dealing with patient reviews in healthcare, and the joy of giving without expectations. He emphasizes self-awareness and self-restoration, as well as the importance of direct communication and self-love for personal growth.

Jim Adams, MD is direct, transparent, and unapologetic in his ‘tough love’ management strategy. In this episode, Jim breaks down: how setting expectations early helps to manage complaints later, managing those who degrade social capital, redirecting conflict to mutual benefit, and how understanding what motivates others’ behavior keeps you from taking things personally. Guest Bio:  Jim Adams, MD  is professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is also the senior vice president and chief medical officer at Northwestern Medicine. Awake + Aware | Our 2026 RetreatJoin us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.Learn More Here🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website We discuss:   Zen and the art of scheduling [05:30]; Why you might not want to be a complainer [07:05]; The benefit of assuming people are unreasonable and crazy [08:10]; A strategy for handling people who degrade social capital [10:30]; Blend and redirect, a technique for negotiation and collaboration that’ll make you much happier than combat [14:00]; “People are not against you. They're just for themselves.” [16:15].