Presence Beyond Language: A Medical Student’s First Day in Clinic
Academic Medicine Podcast
Although discussions about language services like interpreters or translators, patient–provider concordance, and linguistic equity merit much greater consideration, I can offer one reflection: the human connection we all share is more important than the languages we do not. Akila V. Muthukumar reflects on building a connection with patients when using phone interpreter services to communicate. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Denatured
Academic Medicine Podcast
When I am in the hospital, there is at least a semblance of humanity. In a room with a patient, there is the possibility of the unexpected. Alone with my computer, there is only the ruthless pursuit of the correct, and the colorful pie chart of my inadequacy. Anna Dovre reflects on how studying for medical board exams feels like a process of denaturing. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Picturing Practice as a Medical Student
Academic Medicine Podcast
As I brought the blade to the patient, I tried to infer the right depth, weight, and speed by matching to my pictured recollection of all the other incisions I had seen—an act, perhaps, akin to Ansel Adams’s technique of photographic previsualization. Benjamin A. Freeman reflects on how studying photography can be beneficial to medical education. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the November 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Reflections After Testifying at an Asylum Hearing
Academic Medicine Podcast
My hope is that, by learning to recognize how physicians interface with injustice in systems early in their training, learners will be better prepared to navigate and, when necessary, defy these systems throughout their careers. Juliana E. Morris reflects on the importance of talking openly with students and involving them in decision-making while volunteering at a medical student-run asylum clinic. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Trust the Process
Academic Medicine Podcast
In the years since this experience ... I have sought to encourage trainees and students to reorient their focus from patient outcomes as a referendum on their competency and to focus instead on the process-based thinking preceding them and to try to make space for the mystery between. Benjamin W. Frush reflects on the perils of an outcome-focused culture in medicine. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the October 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Transitioning Identities: The Dual Identities of Medical Student Parents
Academic Medicine Podcast
Discussing a new study into how medical student parents navigate their dual identities as physicians-in-training and parents are author Emily Carroll, MD, MEHP, Research in Medical Education Committee member Gary Beck Dallaghan, PhD, and AAMC MedEdSCHOLAR Kiani Gardner, PhD. They also explore how medical schools can foster an inclusive learning environment for these learners. Read the article discussed and access the episode transcript at .
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The “Uninsured” Patient
Academic Medicine Podcast
I never saw Andrew after that night, but I think of him often. I hope that our interaction played a small part in getting him the care he needed. Sujal Manohar reflects on the importance of digging deeper into a patient’s social history by expanding past the typical questions. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the September 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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The Lure of Lore: How Medical Students Learn to Navigate Interprofessional Interactions
Academic Medicine Podcast
Discussing a new study that explores medical student learning during interprofessional interactions in clinical clerkships are author Kelsey Miller, MD, EdM, Research in Medical Education (RIME) Committee member Bonny Dickinson, PhD, MS-HPEd, and AAMC MedEdSCHOLAR Kelvin Pollard, MD. They explore the “lore” about working with other health professionals that medical students learn from their peers during clerkships and how interprofessional interactions shape students’ professional identity, autonomy and collaboration skills, and sense of their role on the health care team. Read the...
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The Anatomy of Gratitude
Academic Medicine Podcast
For the first time, we began to understand not just their bodies and illnesses but their lives as joyful parents, enthusiastic musicians, expert race car mechanics, and loving spouses. David Deshpande reflects on the Service of Gratitude and the lessons learned from anatomy donors and their families. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the September 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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This Academic Life
Academic Medicine Podcast
We are taught to think about what needs to be done in order for our patient to go home when we are on the wards, yet there is no care meeting, discharge coordinator, or bed huddle in academic medicine. Julia Meade reflects on the difficulty of knowing when to retire from academic medicine. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the August 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
info_outlineThe complicated positionality of a learner in medicine means that our fingerprints are always there, regardless of the role. And while it is never documented, our most profound contribution is how we accompany patients in need.
Daniel J. Olivieri reflects on his first death pronouncement and what he learned about communicating with patients and their families.
The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the July 2024 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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