Inspired to Act

Guest: Jaime Toro, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Are there lessons to be learned about the U.S. healthcare system — both in terms of patient care and medical education — from physicians practicing abroad? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss this and other topics is noted neurologist and educator Dr. Jaime Toro.

Guest: Denton Cooley, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD In April, 1969, the first artificial heart was implanted as a bridge until a human heart could be implanted. It was hailed as a milestone medical treatment, but the ethical implications were widely debated as well. The heart surgeon who performed this ground-breaking surgery, in addition to devising pioneering surgical treatments for infants and children and founding the Texas Heart Institute, Dr. Denton Cooley, is Dr. Martin Samuels' guest.

Guest: Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Are great medical leaders made or born? Can great leadership be developed? What is it about certain personalities that brings people to collaborate while other personalities foster dissension? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss these topics is the former dean of both the Harvard Medical school and the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Joseph B. Martin.

Host: Martin Samuels, MD Host Dr. Martin A. Samuels, neurologist-in-chief and chairman of the department of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, answers your questions about promising therapies for ALS, the role of exercise for Parkinson's disease patients, sleep apnea, and more. If you are a healthcare professional and have a question you want to ask the neurologist, email it to inspired@reachmd.com.

Guest: Donna Shalala, PhD Host: Martin Samuels, MD What skills does it take to run a large institution concerned with health and welfare? How does a leader nudge a big organization to greater efficiencies and accomplishments? Joining host Dr. Martin A. Samuels to discuss these and other related topics is Dr. Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Guest: Marcia Angell, MD, MACP Host: Martin Samuels, MD Dr. Marcia Angell moved into the field of medical journalism from a career in pathology. She was the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, and since leaving that post, has written frequently in professional journals and public press on a wide range of topics. Outspoken and frequently controversial, Dr. Angell joins host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss her career.

Guest: Steven Nissen, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD How can clinical trials be made above reproach? How can a healthcare professional best interpret the results of clinical trials? Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and past-president of the American College of Cardiology, joins Host Dr. Martin A. Samuels to discuss these and other topics

Guest: G. Timothy Johnson, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Communicating with our patients is one of the most crucial aspects of our work, and an area which is always evolving and we constantly work to improve. Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels in this conversation is Dr. Timothy Johnson, who, as medical editor and medical commentator on ABC News, arguably speaks to more patients per year than almost any other doctor in America.

Guest: Ira Byock, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Does discussion of end-of-life issue have to devolve into questions about physician-assisted suicide or so-called death panels? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Dr. Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcok Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. They discuss why this area of medicine is so important, how to better instruct medical students in the field, and the role of compassion in end-of-life care.

Guest: Sir Roger Bannister, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Does overcoming defeat and reversal in sports lead to success in career? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Sir Roger Bannister, who as a medical student in May, 1954, shattered a barrier in athletics that many believe stands as one of the greatest athletic accomplishments of the 20th century. But success did not come easily to Sir Roger. He and Dr. Samuels discuss breaking the record, and then choosing to retire as a running and begin his "real" career as a world class neurologist.

Guest: Michael Roizen, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD You get to control how well and long you live. That is the assertion of Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic. He discusses the topic of wellness with host Dr. Martin Samuels. They also discuss ways wellness re-invigorates primary care, how lifestyle re-education increases longevity, and how wellness and prevention need to be part of the future of medicine.

Guest: Thomas Starzl, MD, PhD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Now in his 80s, Dr. Thomas E. Starzl is actively pursing his latest research interests and gives no indication of slowing down. He is widely known as the father of transplantation. But what is not widely known is that his early work was in neurophysiology. What made him choose surgery? What was it like when he was doing his pioneering transplantation work? What is he researching now? Host Dr. Martin Samuels and Dr. Thomas Starzl discuss.

Host: Martin Samuels, MD Host Dr. Martin A. Samuels, neurologist-in-chief and chairman of the department of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, answers your questions about promising therapies for ALS, the role of exercise for Parkinson's disease patients, sleep apnea, and more. If you are a healthcare professional and have a question you want to ask the neurologist, email it to inspired@reachmd.com.

Guest: Kenneth Edelin, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD In 1974, one year after Roe v Wade, Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin, a young black doctor, was the chief resident in obstetrics at Boston City Hospital. Three months before completing his residency, Dr. Edelin was indicted for manslaughter after he surgically terminated a pregnancy. Convicted and sentenced to a one-year probation by a secret grand jury, before the decision was overturned by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts a year later, Dr. Edelin's case drew national attention. Dr. Edelin is emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine and author of the book, Broken Justice: A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom. He joins host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss his personal involvement in this landmark legal case and the issues it raised, which remain points of discussion in American society today.

Guest: Bernard Lown, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD How can a physician be an activist in his or her patient's healing? Can that same physician be an activist in society's healing? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Nobel Peace Prize recipient, noted cardiologist and author Dr. Bernard Lown. Among other topics, they discuss how time is critical in understanding the ailments of the patient, and individual physician's responsibility to society.

Guest: Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP Host: Martin Samuels, MD What does treating a patient with a stigmatized illness teach a physician about treating all illness? Dr. Abraham Verghese, professor for the theory and practice of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, joins host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss the effects of stigmatized medicine on the physician-patient relationship, and other topics.

Guest: Sanjiv Chopra, MD, FACP Host: Martin Samuels, MD How can American learning institutions effectively disseminate medical knowledge around the world? What are some of the attributes of Continuing Medical Education that make it improve patient outcomes? Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, dean for continuing medical education at Harvard Medical School, discusses these topics and others with host Dr. Martin Samuels.

Guest: Allan Ropper, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Do 'traditional values' still exist in the practice of medicine? Did they ever? Is medicine a calling? And what is the role of the individual physician in the greater profession? Dr. Allan Ropper, clinical neurologist, executive vice-chair of the department of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, joins host Dr. Martin Samuels, to discuss these and other topics.

Host: Martin Samuels, MD Host Dr. Martin A. Samuels, neurologist-in-chief and chairman of the department of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, answers listeners' emailed questions.

Guest: David Newman, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD What is the love/hate relationship that modern medicine has with science? Why are there disagreements among equally learned medical colleagues when confronting the same evidence? And why is the doctor-patient bond fraying? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Dr. David Newman, author of the recent book Hippocrates' Shadow: Secrets from the House of Medicine, to discuss these and other topics.

Guest: Patricia Donahoe, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD How does one go about crafting a pioneering medical career in practice as well as in research? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss these themes in her own career is Dr. Patricia Donahoe, director of Massachusetts General Hospital's pediatric surgical research laboratories and chief emerita of pediatric surgical services.

Guest: Thomas Swift, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Is there a way that neurologists view the world that is different from other MDs? Are there lessons for all doctors based on this perspective? Host Dr. Martin Samuels talks with Dr. Thomas R. Swift, past-president of the American Academy of Neurology, about these and other topics.

Guest: Thomas Lee, MD, MSc Host: Martin Samuels, MD What change can we realistically expect of the national healthcare delivery system, given the existing institutions and agendas, the economy and the current presidential administration? Will the practice of medicine fundamentally change? To discuss these and other topics, host Dr. Martin A. Samuels welcomes Dr. Thomas H. Lee. Dr. Lee is an internist, cardiologist, and CEO of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Guest: Thomas Barr Graboys, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Dr. Thomas B. Graboys is clinical professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and former attending cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Host Dr. Martin A. Samuels discusses with Dr. Graboys the view from both sides of the medical equation. Together they explore a career in medicine, as well as what happens when the physician becomes the patient.

Guest: Jerome Groopman, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Is there any way for clinicians to avoid misdiagnosis and other 'thinking errors'? Host Dr. Martin Samuels discusses this important topic with researcher, physician, and author Dr. Jerome Groopman. Dr. Groopman explores some of the unintended consequences of targeted medical research and 'the Christopher Reeve effect.'

Guest: Paul Farmer, MD, PhD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Aside from pure altruism, is there any reason that an American doctor should care about healthcare elsewhere, particularly in parts of the world remote as Russian jails? Joining host Dr. Martin Samuels is Dr. Paul Farmer, medical anthropologist and founding director of Partners in Health, an international health and social justice organization, to discuss this and other important topics.

Guest: Joseph Murray, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Nobel Prize winner Dr. Joseph E. Murray discusses performing the first successful human kidney transplant, the value of teamwork, the future of the physician-scientist, and the patient side of the equation, in this far-ranging conversation led by host Dr. Martin Samuels.

Guest: Faith Fitzgerald, MD Host: Martin Samuels, MD Do physicians have time to be clinicians, or has their role shifted to that of technician? This far-ranging conversation between Inspired to Act host Dr. Martin A. Samuels and Dr. Faith Fitzgerald, noted internist, distinguished professor, and associate dean of humanities and bioethics at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, covers this topic and others, including simulated patients, medical errors and pay-for-performance.