BONUS Episode: Lessons We Didn't Learn in Medical School
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Kara Wada, MD: Hey everyone, welcome to this special episode of Becoming Immune Confident that's actually a teaser sneak peek episode of something that is truly amazing coming soon to wherever you join us, on YouTube, on Apple, on Spotify. You know, I've been thinking a lot lately that we need to talk more about healthcare and not just the medical stuff, but the human aspects of it.
We're all on this journey together and it's time to get real about all those things that I certainly didn't learn in medical school. So I'm launching a podcast with my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Beth Vukin. It's called, 'Lessons We Didn't Learn in Medical School.' We are so excited to share it with you.
You're going to get a little teaser of what is in store, but essentially we are both physicians. We are both invisible illness patients. We both have autoimmune diseases. We have walked the walk and talked the talk on both sides of the exam room as we faced our own health challenges and tried to help our patients as they have dealt with their health challenges as well.
We both recognize the irony and, you know, all the other feelings of how challenging it was for us to navigate a complex healthcare system. And how incredible it is to reflect on our privilege, all the things that we have at our fingertips from colleagues' phone numbers and insurance and supportive partners and the medical knowledge, the ability to speak English as a first language. And we had trouble.
So what does that mean if you don't have all of those things on your side? And that is what we are really hoping to bring. Realizing that in community, if we bring the challenges and the lessons we've learned out of those challenges, we don't have to go through it alone, that we can come together, we can be honest, find those moments of absurdity and laughter and hope and tears and all of those things along the way.
We know that you've got a lot to share. And we have a lot to share with you from navigating insurance battles to those Dr. Google moments to finding those moments of strength and connection.
So before I give it all away, listen now to this little sneak peek from Dr. Beth and I from "Lessons We Didn't Learn in Medical School."
Beth Vukin, MD: Hi everyone, my name is Dr. Beth Vukin and I am here with my friend and colleague Dr. Kara Wada and we are launching a brand new podcast. It is called Lessons We Didn't Learn in Medical School.
Kara Wada, MD: We are thrilled to be coming together both as physicians, which we'll share a little bit about ourselves, but also as autoimmune and chronic illness patients.
Beth Vukin, MD: And bringing together those two amazing communities that we identify as a part of the medical professional community and the chronic illness community, realizing that there is such a need to have these two groups working together to be the solution for all the issues that we have seen and experienced from both sides of the exam room. I sent Kara one of my very favorite songs, which is called Flower in the Gun. It's by an artist named Michael Franti. His music is very uplifting. And so if you need an uplifting, um, song for the day, the song Flower in the Gun. The verse that is said on refrain is we can be the healing. And I think that's where Kara and I are at, you know, we have seen a lot as physicians, we've seen a lot as patients and we want to be the healing.
We want to have that catalyzed changes in healthcare that need to happen. Particularly for women, particularly for people with chronic illness. And particularly for rare diagnoses, for diagnoses that are difficult to make, there's a large population out there that our healthcare system is just not structured to service.
Our healthcare system as it is right now, it's very much, single disease, single problem focused. Like if you have a broken arm, that we can do, we will fix it and you will be on your merry way. Okay. Um, but if you have complex illness, yeah, you can see it. I mean, you can see it.
Kara Wada, MD: It's this paradigm of the invisible illness that shows up time and time again.
Beth Vukin, MD: And who are, you know, who are we talking about? So we're talking about people with chronic illness. And so that's anything that kind of lasts more than a couple of months, right? So if you've been diagnosed with something, anything that's a lifelong condition, that's a chronic illness.
Complex illness, meaning it involves more than one organ system which, let's face it, like your body is all connected to each other and things involve more than one organ system often, but our medical system is now fragmented into different organ systems. So, you know, if there's something wrong with your heart, you see a cardiologist. If there's something wrong with your nervous system, you see a neurologist, but we're the whole person and medicine has lost sight of that.
And especially as patients, you feel like you are broken up. But I'm this one person and this is my life and these are my symptoms, but now I have to go to a bunch of different specialists and they all have a different part of my care, but I'm not sure I have anyone who is pulling it all together. And I think Kara and I, especially as physicians, are like, if this is this hard for me, and I am a physician with the knowledge, the training, the background, and I even know the system. I have the means things like transportation and speaking English as a first language and having health insurance.
And despite all of those things, I really, really struggle. Well, what is anyone who's missing any of those aspects to do if this is how hard it is for us? And we are here to share our stories, share the stories of other women, other physicians, other people with chronic illness, so that we can all learn to make the system better from the inside out.
Kara Wada, MD: I think it's so powerful from that experience too, of sharing those struggles that we've had. And finding some way to turn that pain into purpose and that in itself can be so healing for many of us. I know it certainly has been for me. And so, you know, selfishly, I'm hoping, you know, it's all, this all really has this win, win, win that we are helping our fellow chronic invisible illness community that we're helping our colleagues.
And that we might experience some healing along the way too.
Beth Vukin, MD: Yeah. Gosh, I think like the most healing things for me in my illness, Has been talking with other people with illness. It's, it's not been my doctor's visits. It's not been my meds. It's been, I'm gonna talk to other people who have the same things and to have us both go,
"You too?
Me too!"
And that has been the most amazing part. I think particularly for invisible illness, because it's invisible, people don't see it. And because people don't see it, we don't talk about it. And so there's a lot of suffering and silence of thinking,
"Wow, is this the way my life is? Or, am I making my symptoms up? No one seems to be able to find something wrong with me. And maybe they're right. Maybe it's in my head. Maybe it's I'm, I am just tired or stressed"
but really there's, there's a whole host of things. And then I think that that leads to people not believing themselves. And also it leads to some mistrust of the healthcare system and the healthcare system is built on individuals.
And so, it's like you've met one doctor, you've met one doctor, you know, and trying to encourage people believe yourself and also get more opinions. Talk to other people. You've seen one person, you've seen one person. I always make the joke that my husband gets like three estimates for anything we need fixed around the house.
Like, you know, like,
"We need a plumber."
We're like, "Oh, we got to talk to at least three people. I'm like, really three? Can we do like two?"
Or he's like,
"Did you feel, Oh, we did one. Did you feel good about that?"
"Well, I did feel good about that one",
"But I feel like we need to talk to someone else".
I'm like, "Oh man, really?
It's just the sink." But when it comes to your own health, yeah. You want people not only, you know, I've I sadly have heard people say like
"It feels like I have to choose the doctor with bedside manner or the doctor with smarts."
I've heard that so many times mostly from peers who have chronic illness and I'm a pediatrician so friends talking to me about doctors for their kids and just feeling like "Ah, you know that person seemed like they knew what they were doing. But man, did not jive with that person" or "Gosh, I felt like they really listened, but didn't have anything to offer."
And it is hard because that is the way healthcare is sometimes it's like, "Well, you, you kind of need different things from different people, but how do we all bring it together?"
and, and I think we can all bring it together through community with others. So others who are like us and that's how we can be the healing and be the flower in the gun of you know, we're going to make this better. And that's how I've gotten through most things in my life of saying like, all right, well, this was, this is terrible. My experience as a patient has been terrible. What can I take from that to make it better? And so it's better for the next person.
Because if one person hears something on this podcast that makes them go to see another doctor and they get a diagnosis earlier than they would have. I think our job is done, you know, not done, but it's like, that's, that's our goal. Our goal is for, if one person listens to this and says, "Me too, or has tears in their eyes of saying, I'm not alone, other people have done this too, then Kara and I are serving our mission of being the healing out there that needs to happen."
Kara Wada, MD: People can be seen, be heard and believed.
Beth Vukin, MD: Yeah.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah.
Beth Vukin, MD: Yeah. I think for so long we wanted to be seen, right? People have said, "I want to be seen. I want to feel like enough." And now we're being seen and now we want to be heard. We want for people not only to hear us, but then to believe the words that we're saying. And when I say that I have symptoms, when I say that I have pain, when I say that I have fatigue, and, and the tests don't show it, that doesn't mean that I don't feel it, or that there isn't something wrong. It's that we haven't figured it out yet.
So we are inviting people on to our show to share their stories. And it's centered around the lesson.
So it's called lessons we didn't learn in medical school. And we want all of the people who come on to have what, what would I call a speaker statement.
I help people blank by talking about blank.
Some of the topics that we want to talk about. So for me personally, some of the things that I really feel passionate about sharing my lesson, I really want to help people, patients and physicians deal with uncertainty by talking about times that I've experienced uncertainty as a patient and how was that best handled, how I dealt with uncertainty as a physician and what words did I use? What really, you know, in my 20 years of being in medicine, what words seem to actually move the process forward, move the diagnosis process forward rather than shutting off the conversation and telling a story, telling my story, telling a story about an interaction and then coming up with life lessons for people.
Okay, like well to deal with uncertainty. Well, my life lesson is when I'm uncertain myself, I'm going to believe myself. Above all, I'm going to believe myself because I'm the one who feels what I feel. As a doctor, I'm going to believe my patient, and even if I don't know, I'm not going to let them be alone.
This is not a "Not my problem, go see someone else sort of situation." Even if I don't know, and even if it's not my specialty, I'm here. Please, tell me, I will listen. And sometimes all I have to offer is that shoulder to cry on but that can be the most helpful thing and it can be what we all need to heal.
And that's what I hope to offer you with this podcast.
Kara Wada, MD: We are so excited to really kick this off and see this as a rallying cry for us as patients and healthcare professionals so that we can reclaim our voices and work towards a healthcare system that works with us and for us, that partners with us, both as patients, as physicians, as humans, and we would love your help.
So we need your help getting the word out. We are gathering a team to help us launch this incredible mission. And if you want to find more information, just click, scroll down on the , click on the link on the the show notes and we will get you involved. We are so thankful for your time, your energy, your vulnerability, and we can't wait to hear from you and have these conversations with you.
Over the next few months are going to be sharing our own stories and the powerful stories of our guests.
Beth Vukin, MD: So we are asking you to help us build our community. If you have a story that you want to share with us and a lesson that you want to share with us, it doesn't matter if you're a patient, if you're a physician, if you're neither, but you feel like there's a great lesson that
people could use in medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school, anything, you know, where you're like, "Gosh, you know what people who are taking care of people should really learn this lesson". Please reach out to us.
We'll link the ways to contact us in our notes. And we look forward to sharing and learning and growing our community of healing and hope for our future patients and our future clinicians.
Kara Wada, MD: Thank you so much for tuning in to this teaser bonus episode of the brand new lessons we didn't learn in medical school. Because community is crucial on this Becoming Immune Confident journey, I am putting together a super special launch team to help this podcast soar so we can reach as many patients, as many physicians, as many medical students in training, nurses, as physical therapist, pharmacist, everyone.
I want you to be a part of the excitement. As a launch team member, you'll get early access to the episodes. You'll get exclusive behind the scenes content and the chance to win some awesome prizes too. And here's the best part. We're not only working to support one another but we're building together stronger as a community.
So if you are ready to join the Lessons We Didn't Learn in Medical School movement and become immune confident with us too, sign up for our launch team today, just click the link in the bio. It's that easy. Thanks for listening and we'll see you soon on the other side.
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