Academic Medicine Podcast

Academic Medicine's editors--Bridget O'Brien, PhD, Jonathan Amiel, MD​, Megan Brown, MBBS(H), PhD, and Laura Hirshfield, PhD--join host Toni Gallo to share practical guidance for designing and reporting qualitative research. They make recommendations for getting started, choosing a methodology, and effectively using published guidelines. Then they dispel common myths around writing up and publishing qualitative research. While the advice in this episode comes from the editors of Academic Medicine, much of it also applies to designing and reporting qualitative research for other journals and publications.

A transcript of this episode and links to the resources mentioned are available at academicmedicineblog.org.

As I enter my final year of medical school reflecting on how I plan to care for patients, I will remember the importance of seeing the patient as a whole person just as my preceptor did that day. In doing so, I hope that my future relationships with patients can flourish because they are based on trust rather than transaction.

Jill Stachowski reflects on her experience praying with a patient and learning that faith and spirituality can be a meaningful part of the physician-patient relationship.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the June 2024 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Claim your free CME credit for listening to this podcast. Visit academicmedicineblog.org/cme, listen to the episodes listed, then follow the instructions to claim your credit.

"Sick versus not sick. Discerning this is a skill I first heard about long ago as a third-year medical student, then honed during my acting internship, residency, and 2 decades as an attending. ... And still, in this moment, I questioned whether I was making the right decision. Impostor syndrome reared its head."

Dr. Terry Kind describes the useful purpose self-doubt can play throughout a physician's career. It helped her to think critically and make better decisions in caring for a 2-day old infant.

This essay was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the April 2020 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

What if I had not been at an academic institution, with a learner and a supervising teacher? Whose steadying hand would have been on my leg? I needed that hand.

Katherine C. Chretien reflects on undergoing a procedure that taught her that together, teachers and learners bring value to patient care encounters.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the December 2023 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

"I turned around to perform a different kind of survey—one that had no checklist because it was never really complete. ... For the first time, I appreciated his life, not his illness or the data we tracked along with it."

Dr. Spencer Keil remembers a mentor who reminded him that caring for patients is about more than checking boxes. It's about getting to know a patient as a person outside a diagnosis.

This essay was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the June 2020 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.