Introducing The Open-Hearted MD

"The cultivation of compassion makes a better diagnostician as well as therapeutic practitioner, attuned to the needs of patient." In this episode, we journey into the realm of Tibetan Medicine with Dr. Tawni Tidwell and Dara Bramson. Dr. Tidwell is a trained practitioner of Tibetan Medicine, a biocultural anthropologist, and a researcher at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin. Here we explore how clinicians develop embodied knowledge and skills through observation and practiced attunement of our physical senses. Dr. Tidwell also shares how the generation of compassion is a core aspect of Tibetan Medicine and paramount to the therapeutic encounter.   For more, please visit https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/embodiment

"Many people are healed and never cured, and many people are cured and never healed, and these are different things... healing has to do with purpose and meaning and wholeness, and curing has to do with the physical body..." - Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen. This week, Dr. Rachel Remen and Lota Ofodile examine the place of healing in the practice of medicine. For more, please visit https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/healing

"Nature prescriptions aren't just for patients; they're for colleagues, friends, all of us." - Dr. Stacy Beller Stryer. This week, Dr. Beller Stryer and Amanda d'Almeida explore the intersection between the natural world and human health. For more, please visit https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/nature

"Improv has really helped me be more me...and to feel comfortable being a human in the room"— Dr. Belinda Fu This week, Dr. Belinda Fu and Dr. John Stevens join medical student Timothy Knowlton to explore how improv and humor build trust with patients. For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/improvisation-humor

"Resilience is being able to recover: when you get bent out of shape, it's the ability to get back into the shape you need to be, once again..." — Dr Jay Kaplan This week, emergency medicine physician Dr. Jay Kaplan speaks with medical student Rebecca Herbert about burnout. They engage with strategies for reducing and preventing burnout, and explore avenues to recovery in times of hardship.  For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/burnout-resilience

"Love is embracing the other, and recognizing that ultimately, the other is you. When you care for the other, you are actually caring for yourself." — Dr. James Doty  Dr. James Doty, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop, and medical student Erika Bennett explore the role that compassion plays in a life of meaning and mindfulness. Dr. Doty draws on his childhood, his neurosurgery training, and his deep understanding of the academic literature on compassion to make a compelling case for the importance of centering compassion in our work as healers. For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/compassion

"Dying is not just this taboo or dirty topic. We can make it so beautiful by doing simple things, by just being there, by having presence." —Dr. Sonia Malhotra Dr. Malhotra speaks with medical student Megan Snyder about the experience of death and dying. Their discussion moves from the need to center the lived experience of the individual within medical treatment to a consideration of the collective grief our communities, particularly our African-American communities, are facing due to COVID-19. What came up for you during this episode? Share your thoughts here. 

"Gratitude is a state of being, a good friend, a home to return to [...] Gratitude lets you keep coming back to hard times while seeing the beauty next to the challenge." —Dr. Tanmeet Sethi Dr. Tanmeet Sethi speaks with medical student Scott Berman about how gratitude can be part of a healing practice for both patients and clinicians, and shares tips on how to incorporate gratitude into our everyday lives   What came up for you during this episode? Share your thoughts with us here   For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/gratitude  

"Mindfulness is a purposeful attentiveness to one's inner life in order to achieve some sense of clarity, compassion, and wellbeing." —Dr. Ronald Epstein Dr. Epstein speaks with medical student Dean Tran about how mindfulness can help us to understand our emotions, listen more deeply to our patients, and reduce implicit bias. What came up for you during this episode? Share your thoughts with us here For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/mindfulness

Think of a physician who has made you feel really at ease. Now ask yourself: what qualities did this person embody? Presence, deep-listening, compassion? These are the qualities of an open heart. We invite you to join us in dialogues exploring open-heartedness in medicine, featuring a rotating student and guest mentor. Episodes are hosted by Dr. Rebekah Byrne and feature original music written and performed by Timothy Knowlton.  What came up for you during this episode? Share your thoughts with us here   For more, please visit: https://www.openheartedmd.com/episodes/introduction