Presence Beyond Language: A Medical Student’s First Day in Clinic
Release Date: 12/15/2025
Scholarship at Night: Building a Successful Career as an Academic Nocturnist
Academic Medicine Podcast
Discussing the unique role of the nocturnist, or the night shift clinician, in academic medicine, are Jessica Chambers, MD, MPH, Alex Rittenberg, MD, and John George, MD. They offer opportunities for pursuing scholarship related to night medicine and challenges to doing so as a nocturnist. And they emphasize the importance of collaborative, inclusive, and flexible professional development for building a successful academic career. Read the article discussed and access the episode transcript at .
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The Severance of a Thread
Academic Medicine Podcast
We do not always rage against the dying of the light. Sometimes, we allow the light to fade gently, with grace, in the presence of love. Nezienwa Ezenwa reflects on a patient who demonstrated that medicine is not just about defying death. It is about honoring life. This essay placed first in the 2025 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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The Heart of Hope
Academic Medicine Podcast
Something shifted after that conversation. It wasn’t a dramatic overnight change, but it was there—the slightest flicker of fight in him again. He started pushing himself a little more, engaging in physical therapy instead of just going through the motions. He cracked a joke with the nurses. Roz Agheli reflects on a patient who was kept alive by medicine but kept fighting because of hope. This essay placed first in the 2025 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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The Responsible Use of AI for Peer Review
Academic Medicine Podcast
Discussing Academic Medicine’s and MedEdPORTAL’s new policy guiding the use of AI tools in the peer review process are editors-in-chief Laura Roberts, MD, MA, and Lauren Maggio, PhD, MS(LIS), Academic Medicine associate editor Krisztina Fischer, MD, PhD, MMSc, and AAMC director of journals Mary Beth DeVilbiss. They provide an overview of the journals’ new policy and use a series of common peer review scenarios to explore what’s appropriate, what’s not, and what you should think about before using AI as a reviewer. Check out the resources discussed, including the journals' AI...
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More Than a Stethoscope
Academic Medicine Podcast
Mrs. Jones didn’t need a cure. She needed a witness to her grief—someone to sit with her in the silence, to validate the love she had for her husband and the life they built. She needed to be heard. Christine Dianne Nepomuceno reflects on a patient who taught her that healing is not always about medicine. Sometimes it is about holding space for someone in their most vulnerable moments. This essay placed second in the 2025 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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No Estás Sola
Academic Medicine Podcast
Dora taught me that care is not just found in grand gestures or lifesaving procedures. It is in the quiet moments when someone chooses to listen, to sit beside another in their suffering, and to act when no one else will. Maria Jose Gomez reflects on a patient who taught her that compassion does not require a title, a degree, or authority. This essay placed second in the 2025 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Listening Beyond the Monitors: A Lesson from Joe
Academic Medicine Podcast
In the fast-paced world of health care, it’s easy to focus on numbers, treatments, and protocols. But humanism requires us to pause, to listen, to acknowledge the fears, hopes, and humanity of our patients. Vonnie Cesar reflects on learning that listening is not just a skill—it is a form of healing. This essay placed third in the 2025 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the October 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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Being Intentional: How Space, Place, and Pace Influence Equity in Workplace-Based Assessment
Academic Medicine Podcast
Discussing new research into how the physical and social context of the clinical learning environment shape power dynamics and influence equity in assessment for residents are author Hannah Kakara Anderson, PhD, MBA, Research in Medical Education Committee member Binbin Zheng, PhD, MEd, and AAMC MedEdSCHOLAR Nicole Findlay, MD, MPH. Empowering clinician educators to actively address the forces of space, place, and pace, they argue, can help promote a more equitable learning and assessment environment. Read the article discussed and access the episode transcript at .
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A Big Deal
Academic Medicine Podcast
Our stories make us human and shape the doctors we become. Yet, we rarely let our pasts show from beneath our white coats. Sydney Katz reflects on how little trainees and attendings know about one another outside of the hospital. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2025 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.
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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.
info_outlineAlthough 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.