Off The Charts

Dr. Neil Skolnik knew something had to change when he wound up out of breath while walking through an airport on his way lecture on—of all things—diabetes.Through diligent diet and exercise, Dr. Skolnik lost weight, started to exercise, and got a handle on his diet. What's more, the patients who hadn't truly heard his advice in the past really started to listen.

Andy talks with Alexa Drubay, an expert in laughter yoga, about its origins and health benefits.

Before Dr. Daniel Eun became chief of Robotic Surgery at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, he faced obstacles affording medical school and matching to a residency in his field. Andy and Dr. Eun discuss how he overcame these obstacles and what lies ahead in the field of robotic surgery.

After modifying her once-unhealthy diet, third-year medical student Sarayna Schock created a unique program, ProduceRx, that connects people who need good produce with people who grow it.

Plastic surgeon Allan Wulc explains how a beautiful human face is measured in millimeters and how he talks to patients about enhancing or restoring their beauty.

In an innovative class at Penn State College of Medicine, Dr. Michael Green's fourth-year med students create a comic/cartoon about a meaningful experience in medicine. Cartooning has also been shown to benefit patients and can even be a training tool for teaching interns/residents.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Asif Ilyas explains why "awake surgery" is becoming more popular—and why it's not as daunting as you might think.

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 prepared two moving stories from their Emergency Department rotations at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia.

The med students who work with Dr. Salvatore Mangione at Thomas Jefferson University do unusual things—like visit museums, write and perform in plays, and learn to draw. But it’s not playtime: they’re actually cultivating valuable that all doctors need. Dr. Mangione talks with Andy in this episode about why the future of medical education actually lies in its past: in the humanities.

Dr. Alan Haber has collected many stories in his career as a lung cancer specialist. In this episode he shares a few of them with Andy and discusses why it's tricky to do the same thing with patients.

When he's not treating patients or teaching, infectious disease specialist Bennett Lorber paints and plays the guitar—two pasttimes that have made him an even better physician.

Temple University Hospital's Trauma Outreach Coordinator, Scott Charles, works with at-risk people in Philadelphia in an effort to reduce violence throughout the city. In this episode, Scott shares his story of growing up in Sacramento and discusses how mass incarceration and lax gun laws perpetuate violence—despite the national decrease in gun violence.

Bruce Herdman explains what makes it challenging—and rewarding—to manage the healthcare for the thousands of inmates who pass though Philadelphia's prison system each year, and why it benefits everyone when we provide good care for this population.

Andy chats with nurse navigator Lillie Shockney, a two-time breast cancer survivor who directs Johns Hopkins' Breast Center and cancer survivorship program.

Andy spoke with Gift of Life CEO Howard Nathan about what makes organ procurement challenging and rewarding work and busted some stubborn myths about organ donation.

Andy and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mike Vitez discussed some of Mike's all-time favorite health-related stories, what makes a good story, and how narrative medicine will shape the future of healthcare.

Andy and Dr. David Jaslow discuss what medicine was like prior to the advent of emergency medicine, how doctors provide care to disaster victims, and why disaster specialists consider the response to Hurricane Katrina to be a major success, despite public perception.

Andy talks with Philly-area breast surgeon Jennifer Simmons about breast cancer's impact on her family, the public relations machine fueling breast cancer research, and the challenges of treating one of the most common cancers in existence.

Andy talks with orthopedic-surgeon-slash-comedian John Kelly about the role of humor in medicine, mindfulness, and the importance of finding joy in work and in life.

Andy talks with trauma surgeon Amy Goldberg about how people respond to tragedy, how gun violence impacts her work, and how she manages the stress of her job.