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Academic Medicine Podcast

May 4, 2026

The candles ignited my pants that evening. But the real culprit was my anxiety over making a good first impression: in an effort to avoid the approaching dean, I unwittingly backpedaled into an open flame.

Matthew R. Klein reflects on an embarrassing incident in medical school and the importance of sharing...


Jan 5, 2026

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...


Dec 15, 2025

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...


Dec 8, 2025

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...


Dec 1, 2025

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...