Off The Charts

When Dr. Asif Ilyas talks to his patients prior to an orthopedic surgery, one of the things they discuss is whether the patient should be given anesthesia to keep them asleep during the procedure.

Many are surprised to learn that there are actually numerous benefits of staying awake and using only local anesthesia to numb the surgical site.

But "awake surgery" is not for everyone, and it has a profound effect on how surgeons and their teams must conduct themselves in the OR.

Dr. Ilyas, a hand, wrist, elbow and orthopaedic trauma surgeon at the Rothman Institute, talked with Andy about why this technique is becoming more popular—and why it's not as daunting as you might think.

Learn more: Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open - New York Times, March 25, 2017

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Med students don't treat patients until their third year in their program—they spend a lot of time in the classroom until that year. So it's no surprise that third- and fourth-year students have a lot of interesting stories from their first days on the front lines of medicine.

In this episode, Andy listens to two young storytellers: Tyler Rainer and Matthew Trifan, fourth-year med students at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Both share compelling stories from their Trauma Surgery rotations at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia.

They also talked with Andy about the pressures of medical school, why they've chosen to be doctors, and where they're headed next.

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"Reincorporating humanities into the curriculum is nothing more than going back to the future. Medicine is the most humanistic of all the sciences and clearly the most scientific of the humanities."

Dr. Salvatore Mangione's med students write plays, visit museums, and even learn to draw. But these humanities classes aren't extras—they're a vital part of how students at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University cultivate empathy, improve their observational skills, and avoid burnout.

Some of his students might think he's old school, but Mangione, an associate professor and physician with Jefferson Health, hopes these innovative courses are actually part of a new wave of medical education, one that imparts wisdom—not just knowledge—to new physicians.

In this episode, Andy and Dr. Mangione unpack why the future of medical education actually lies in its past.

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I find that sharing something personal can level the playing field—but whether people want that or not can be a little harder to say.

Lung specialist Dr. Alan Haber may not define himself as a storyteller, but he's certainly found a way of capturing some of the most poignant moments from his years as a physician.

He took second place in a storytelling competition hosted by the Annals of Internal Medicine, and he's published columns in prominent medical journals that explore his family history, personal triumphs and tragedies, and the quandary of sharing personal stories with patients.

Andy and Emily met with Dr. Haber at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, where he is the Chief of Pulmonary Medicine and the Director of the ICU.

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"All of us, no matter what we do, need things in our lives that are regenerative and restorative. You need to get your batteries recharged."

If you imagine Dr. Bennett Lorber walking the halls of Temple University Hospital in a white coat, you're not seeing the whole picture. Though he's one of the foremost authorities in the world on the listeriosis bacterial infection and he's spent 40 years as a professor and specialist in Infectious Diseases, medicine is just one aspect of his life.

When he's not seeing patients or teaching tomorrow's doctors, Dr. Lorber paints (professionally), plays the guitar, reads poetry, and enjoys time with family and friends. This balance between the scientific and the artistic is one of the keys to his success and longevity in a tough field of work.

Dr. Lorber met with Andy to discuss the expectations placed on today's med students, the role of observation in medicine, and the infectious disease that worries him the most (hint: it's not ebola).

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