Real MD

Caroline and Ivan are second year medical students at Eastern Virginia Medical School and St. Louis University School of Medicine. On today's episode, guest hosts Elise and Poi talk about their unexpected journey to medicine. Getting rejected from medical school forced them to navigate through self-doubt and reflection. They share with us their tips on how to move through rejection and leave the other side with a greater sense of self. We'll discover how they carried themselves through rejection and found their place in medicine.

We have a special episode of the RealMD podcast based on an event we do for our incoming students, significant others, family, friends, parents, and siblings called Support Your Support Night (SYSN). I am joined by Keena Memmott who plans this event which happens the night before the White Coat Ceremony when families and friends are in town. It is a special night where we get to acknowledge the people who will be supporting their medical student on their journey. In this context, we also wanted to bring voices who are a little further ahead supporting their people. In this episode we are joined by physicians, Robert and Tiffany Glasgow. Dr. Robert Glasgow is a general surgeon and Dr. Tiffany Glasgow is a pediatric hospitalist. They have two kids who are physicians in training. We are also joined by two medical students. Third year, Olivia Nielsen, and a second year, Emily Zang. I hope this episode offers helpful perspectives about supporting each other in medicine.

Greg Memmott (Pediatrics) is a second year medical student who is already matched into pediatrics as part of an early match program called EPAC at the University of Utah. Greg and I have worked together in RealMD over the past two years and presented at conferences about how to start leadership programs during medical school. Like everyone else, Greg’s journey includes unexpected twists and turns. Holding onto values instead of specific titles outcomes or activities is a central lesson from our conversation. Wisdom like this comes out of his struggles with health and specialty exploration process. Often, we can get defensive in the fight with external forces, life circumstance, and forget to listen to the inner voice. Asking yourself questions like, What is it that I really want out of my life and career?, Do my pursuits match my values? After talking with Greg, I am reminded that it is helpful to frame identity formation into a process of letting go of rigidly held professional expectations, being more open to the journey, and connected to internal values.

In this episode the tables have turned and I had the privilege to be interviewed by second year students and RealMD facilitators, Elise Vandamme and Poi Gilmore. We talk about my journey into academic medicine and how RealMD and the RISE conference came to be. A central message about knowing yourself being the foundation of leadership development came through. I wasn’t expecting to see such a strong theme run throughout my non-linear career path. This episode serves as a reminder of the value of talking through your experiences and learning more about who you are with trusted colleagues. Knowing yourself will help you lead.

With Mother’s Day happening this month we wanted to do something special. In this episode, I am joined by guest host, Dr. Jenn Handrop. As a mother who just finished her doctorate, Jenn’s research hits very close to home. At our medical school we have more mothers and parents almost 30% compared to the national average of about 6%. Dr. Handrop takes a closer look at how mothers are navigating medical school, what the challenges are, what support looks like, and how we as a school (and medical schools in general) can do a better job supporting mothers. We are joined by three amazing medical student mothers, two second years and one third year. They are all in clinical training and fighting the good fight to have families and also pursue their dreams of becoming physicians. They also hold leadership positions in a group called WEWILL. I will let them introduce themselves. I want to thank this amazing group for taking the time to have this important conversation. The bottom line is we have work to do, we can do more to support mothers in medicine!

Brooke Johnston is a pediatric palliative care physician. She also serves as a house director for little wild horse and a Faculty Co-Director of Coaching in PIF (Professional Identity Formation). Brooke also plays the banjo, writes songs and loves doing improv. In this episode, we reflect on her journey into academic medicine, living by her values, and her passion for helping people develop. For Brooke, her path started by literally building houses and she’s still doing the work of serving others and creating strong communities.

Dr. Mary Murphy started out in Emergency Medicine and is now practicing Hospice and Palliative Care. Her professional journey involves threading life’s experiences together in unexpected ways. In this episode, we talk about how her husband started medical school as she started residency and how their lives turned upside down when they lost their daughter. During their most dire moments, a caring team of colleagues brought her back to herself. In medicine, we will capture and recapture our reasons for practicing throughout our career. Ultimately, Dr. Murphy has found that showing up for people in their most difficult moments has given her a career she loves.