This Medicine Life

What do feral cats, rolls of cash, elevator escapes, and a mouth abscess have in common? Listen to this tale of my recent trip to Egypt. It started well but it was a rough landing! We'll talk travel tips (including managing food allergies), lessons learned, why I lost a tooth in the process, and a reminder of why our profession is so special.
Topics:
- Background on the trip (1:40)
- Managing food allergies while traveling (3:05)
- I develop a mouth abscess overseas (5:27)
- The elevator escape (7:07)
- Lessons learned (10:22)
Links:
- UVA Infectious Disease and Travel Clinic
- Bilingual food allergy cards from Equal Eats (I do not have a financial relationship)
- What is Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) Travel Insurance?
- Follow Dr. Bell on Twitter

In this episode I follow up with Dr. Katarina Egressy, a Ukrainian-American pulmonary-critical care physician at UVA. In Episode 1 we discussed her upcoming trip to Ukraine to provide medical and humanitarian aid. She's now back and I sat down with her to discuss the trip, her reflections on returning to her homeland, and the role healthcare providers play in relieving suffering--both here and abroad.
Topics
- Dr. Egressy's thank you's (01:27)
- Overview of the trip (04:16)
- The one experience that stands out (08:25)
- Reflection on Dr. Egressy's cultural identity and connection to Ukraine (12:51)
- What is the role and duty of medicine in the world? (16:51)
- A love letter (21:56)
Links
- Episode 1 with Dr. Egressy: here
- Dr. Egressy's UVA Faculty Page: here
- Follow Dr. Bell on Twitter

In this episode I sit down with Brian Uthlaut, the Program Director for the UVA Internal Medicine Residency. We cover tips on how to work well with residents, the challenges of medical education, and even touch on some fun facts (pandemic chickens!).
Topics:
- How to give good resident feedback (4:00)
- Establishing good team dynamics with resident teams (7:00)
- DEI in the UVA IM Residency Program (10:00)
- Challenges facing medical education (13:00)
- Fun facts about Brian (15:00)
Links:
- UVA Internal Medicine Residency Program
- Follow Dr. Bell on Twitter

I'm going through my first promotion cycle and...wow. We need to talk about this.
In this episode I discuss promotion and tenure with Alan Dalkin, Vice Chair for Promotion and Tenure in the UVA Department of Medicine. We talk about what the P&T process entails (and why), key lessons from his experience ushering DOM candidates through P&T, and future directions we should move towards to make P&T more inclusive and reflective of the work we do.
Topics
- Overview of the P&T process at UVA (02:15)
- "Promotion" vs "Tenure" and the career tracks (03:38)
- How to get the most out of your annual review (06:35)
- Does tenure mean anything anymore? (11:33)
- The common hangups for faculty going through P&T (13:05)
- What should P&T look like going forward? (17:45)
Links:
- UVA School of Medicine P&T Resources
- Is it Time to Reimagine Academic Promotion and Tenure? JAMA 2020;1(2):e200164
- Follow Dr. Bell on Twitter

In this episode I play my remarks to the UVA Graduating Class of 2022. I share a bit of my life story and how I've learned to use ICU physiology as an approach to conceptualizing and solving problems in my life and career.
The core concept is that Flow is akin to making progress.
- Flow depends on two variables: Pressure and Resistance.
- Mathematically, Flow is equal to Pressure / Resistance.
- Meaningful impact requires having the right amount of pressure and resistance.
Topics
- Establishing flow as progress in life and career (01:13)
- How does flow happen? (03:00)
- How pressure works (04:37)
- How resistance works (10:07)
- The power of diversity (14:45)
- The unmeasured variable: The power of belief (17:03)
Links
- Video link and text for Dr. Bell's Commencement Speech
- Follow Dr. Bell on Twitter