PODCAST · education
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered
by Dr. Philip Tisdall
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered is a candid podcast about how doctors actually learn, think, and reason. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Dr. Philip Tisdall breaks down medicine through applied reasoning and pathophysiology—not memorization. This show explores anxiety in training, why traditional medical education often fails learners, and how to organize medical knowledge so it actually sticks. No dogma. No fluff. Just clear thinking in real medicine.
Episodes
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Why Studying Isn’t the Same as Learning Medicine | Dr. Philip Tisdall
Are you learning medicine—or becoming comfortable with material you still can’t explain? In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I draw on my experience as a pathologist and medical educator to explain why hours of lectures, highlighting, and strong exam scores don’t necessarily translate into...
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Medical School Admissions: What Makes a Good Doctor?
Can a medical school interview really predict who will become a good doctor? In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I draw on my decades as a physician, medical educator, and former admissions committee chair to question what medical schools are selecting students for—and why applicants feel...
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Stop Memorizing Everything: How Medical Students Should Actually Learn
Medical students are asked to learn an extraordinary amount of information—but how much of it actually matters when you are standing in front of a patient? In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I take on one of the biggest problems in medical education: the “data dump.” Too often, students…
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How to Study Medicine Without Memorizing Everything: Clinical Reasoning, Exams & Anki
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I’m sharing a crossover conversation with the Do It Right Podcast, where I sit down with Joshua Leake, co-president of the podcast, along with his classmates Elena and Patricia from William Carey College of Osteopathic Medicine. They bring me the…
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She Went Blind During the MCAT | Shrena Punj on Vasculitis, Medical School & Learning Medicine
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with first-year MD student Shrena Punj to talk about medical school, clinical reasoning, and what it means to study medicine while living with serious chronic illness. Shrena has been diagnosed with both GPA vasculitis and Takayasu arteritis,...
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Testing Teaches Pathophysiology: Why Medical Tests Matter
If you understand why a medical test works, you understand something fundamental about the disease you’re testing for. In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I explore one of the most useful ways I know to learn medicine: using diagnostic testing to teach pathophysiology. Rather than…
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Why Learning Medicine Feels So Hard and How to Study the Right Way
Why does learning medicine feel so hard, even when you are intelligent, motivated, and putting in hours of work? In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I explain why there are no tricks, shortcuts, or “high-yield” gimmicks that can replace a strong foundation in the basic medical sciences—and...
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How to Learn Medicine: A Framework for Medical School and Clinical Reasoning | Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered
The way you learned before medical school may not be the way you need to learn medicine. In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I break down what I believe medical students need to change when they enter medical school—and why the goal can no longer simply be passing the next exam. You are...
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Why Medical Students Struggle (And How I'd Redesign Medical School) | Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered
One of the most common questions I'm asked is why so many capable medical students struggle despite studying harder than ever. In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I share my perspective after decades of teaching pathophysiology and clinical reasoning. We explore why memorization alone…
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Can AI Replace Medical Educators? Clinical Reasoning, Medical School, and the Future of Learning Medicine
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I discuss one of the biggest questions facing medical education today: can artificial intelligence actually help medical students learn medicine, or does it risk making superficial learning even easier? I’m Dr. Philip Tisdall, a physician, pathologist,...
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Why Smart Medical Students Struggle (And How Doctors Actually Think)
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down to discuss one of the biggest problems in modern medical education: why so many intelligent, hardworking medical students continue to struggle despite putting in enormous amounts of time and effort. As a pathologist, medical educator, and…
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Why Medical Students Feel Lost | Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered
I’m building out our community where I will be teaching live online. For more information, head over to drphiliptisdall.com In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down to discuss one of the biggest problems in modern medical education: why so many intelligent, hardworking medical...
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Everything in Medicine Is NOT Equally Important | Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered
Most medical students are overwhelmed because they’re trying to learn medicine as if every fact carries the same weight. In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I break down why that approach fails and explain how I teach students to organize medicine in a clinically meaningful way. I discuss...
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From Step 1 Failure to Emergency Medicine Residency | Dr. Alyssa Makowski on Clinical Reasoning, Aphantasia, and Medical School
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with Dr. Alyssa Makowski, a newly matched emergency medicine resident whose journey through medical school was anything but straightforward. Alyssa was one of the strongest students I had ever worked with, yet she repeatedly struggled to cross...
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Why Medical Students Struggle: Clinical Reasoning vs Memorization (with Dr. Nancy Selfridge & Dr. Eric Neilson)
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with Dr. Nancy Selfridge and Dr. Eric Neilson to have an honest conversation about what’s really happening in medical education—and why so many capable students struggle when it comes time to apply what they’ve learned. Together, Dr.…
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The Student Who Couldn’t Visualize: Rethinking How We Learn Medicine
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I explore one of the most important insights I’ve had in decades of teaching medicine: there is no single “right” way to learn clinical reasoning. I’m joined in conversation with my producer and collaborator, Ali Tisdall, as we unpack a powerful…
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Where Diagnosis Begins: Rethinking Clinical Reasoning with Dr. Eric Nielson
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with Dr. Eric Nielson—an experienced medical educator and simulation specialist I’ve worked closely with over the years—to explore a fundamental shift in how medicine should be learned and practiced. Together, we break down why true clinical...
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Why Medical Students Struggle With Clinical Reasoning | Dr. Nancy Selfridge on Learning to Think Like a Doctor
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with returning guest Dr. Nancy Selfridge for a thoughtful discussion about how physicians actually learn to think clinically. Too often in medical education, students are pushed toward memorization of facts and algorithms rather than…
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Why Pathoma & Robbins Aren’t Enough: Rethinking How We Learn Pathology in Medical School
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for a candid conversation about one of the biggest problems in medical education today: the way pathology is taught—and the way students are studying it. I discuss why relying solely on popular resources like Pathoma and Robbins can leave...
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How to Use My Textbook to Think Like a Doctor | Chief Complaints & Clinical Reasoning
In this solo episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I explain exactly how to use my textbook the way it was designed to be used — not as a passive reading exercise, but as a structured system for developing real clinical reasoning. I walk through why medical students struggle when they learn anatomy…
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How Medical Education Lost Its Way — And How Doctors Should Actually Learn
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for an in-depth conversation about what modern medical education gets wrong—and what it should be doing instead. This is a thoughtful discussion on why content overload isn’t the real problem in medicine, how clinical reasoning has been…
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What You Don’t Have to Know for Medical Exams
In this episode, I unpack one of the most damaging myths in medical education: the idea that success on exams requires memorizing everything. I’m Dr. Philip Tisdall, a medical educator with decades of experience as a practicing pathologist and teaching students how to think clinically rather than...
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Why Anxiety Breaks Medical Exam Thinking (And How to Fix It)
In this episode of Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for a candid conversation about one of the most misunderstood problems in medical education: anxiety. Not anxiety as an emotion, but anxiety as a cognitive failure that disrupts clinical reasoning, blocks pattern recognition, and causes…
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Why Memorization Fails in Medical Training — and How the CPC Method Changes Everything
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for a solo podcast to unpack one of the biggest problems in modern medical education: the false belief that memorization leads to mastery. I explore why today’s medical students feel overwhelmed, anxious, and frustrated despite studying harder...
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Why Learning Medicine Hurts (And Why That’s a Good Thing)
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for a candid conversation about one of the most misunderstood parts of medical education: why learning medicine feels so uncomfortable. Many students assume that anxiety, embarrassment, or frustration means they’re doing something wrong. In...
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Why Medical Testing Fails—and What Real Mastery in Medicine Looks Like
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I take a direct look at one of the most persistent problems in modern medical education: how we test future physicians. I break down the three types of testing commonly used in medicine—motivational testing, mastery testing, and ranking—and explain why…
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Why Medical Education Struggles to Teach Clinical Thinking | Dr Tisdall Unfiltered
In this episode of Dr Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down for a candid conversation about the structural problems facing modern medical education—and why teaching clinical thinking at scale remains one of the system’s greatest challenges. Rather than focusing on study tactics or exam tricks, this...
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How Medical Students Really Learn: A Deep Conversation with Dr. Nancy Selfridge
In this episode, I’m joined by Nancy Selfridge, a physician, educator, and longtime leader in medical education, for an in-depth discussion on how medical students actually learn—and why so many struggle despite working hard. Drawing from decades of experience in both clinical practice and…
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How to Rise in Medicine Without a Perfect Start | Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered
In this interview-style episode of the Dr. Tisdall Unfiltered, I sit down with Dr. Anthony Colón, a board-certified plastic surgeon whose career path challenges one of the most persistent myths in medicine: that you must start at the “right” school, with the “right” grades, or the “right” story…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered is a candid podcast about how doctors actually learn, think, and reason. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Dr. Philip Tisdall breaks down medicine through applied reasoning and pathophysiology—not memorization. This show explores anxiety in training, why traditional medical education often fails learners, and how to organize medical knowledge so it actually sticks. No dogma. No fluff. Just clear thinking in real medicine.
HOSTED BY
Dr. Philip Tisdall
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Dr Tisdall Unfiltered have?
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered currently has 29 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Dr Tisdall Unfiltered about?
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered is a candid podcast about how doctors actually learn, think, and reason. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Dr. Philip Tisdall breaks down medicine through applied reasoning and pathophysiology—not memorization. This show explores anxiety in training, why traditional...
How often does Dr Tisdall Unfiltered release new episodes?
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered has 29 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Dr Tisdall Unfiltered?
You can listen to Dr Tisdall Unfiltered on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Dr Tisdall Unfiltered?
Dr Tisdall Unfiltered is created and hosted by Dr. Philip Tisdall.
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