PODCAST · health
HuMed with David Spiro, MD
by David Spiro
HuMed goes beyond diagnoses and procedures to explore the profound human experiences of medical professionals. Join Dr. Spiro as he engages in deep, candid conversations with fellow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They share the often-unseen realities of their work in the demanding hospital environment – the challenging cases, the emotional toll, and the ethical dilemmas they navigate daily.
Episodes
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Lifestyle Medicine Physician Dr. Melissa Mondala: "I Did Healing for Myself First"
"I did healing for myself first, so I could become a better healer." Before Dr. Melissa Mondala treated patients with lifestyle medicine, she needed it herself. She lived with IBS and reflux from her teens, and during her training at Loma Linda she was diagnosed with an atypical breast cancer....
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ER Physician Dr. Rick Pescatore: "Nobody Could Solve Her Mystery Illness"
Dr. Rick Pescatore was driving to Pittsburgh with a woman he had met on Hinge, describing a kind of patient he sees every ER shift: pain, nausea, vomiting, and tests that all come back normal. She said the person he was describing "sounds exactly like my mom." A few weeks later her mother was…
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Neuro-Ophthalmologist Dr. Kim Blankshain: "What Is Happening?" Her Husband's Brain Surgery
A Monday morning, 6:45. Dr. Kim Blankshain is changing her infant son when she hears a crash in the next room. Her husband is sitting on the edge of the bed, bleeding from a gash in his forehead. She expects a few stitches. Hours later an ER physician says the CT scan came back and he is being…
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Kidney Transplant Physician Dr. Aditya Pawar: "It Started From a Mistake"
A resident on night call writes one word in a chart to describe his patient's husband, a man in his 90s: "senile." He thinks it means "very old." The note gets corrected, but the word stays in the edit trail, and a few days later the record shows the patient has read it. Every instinct tells him…
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Cancer Surgeon Dr. James Wittig: "I Was Hanging On by a Thread"
Dr. James Wittig built his career saving children's limbs from cancer. Then a heart scan he asked for himself led to a catheterization that found a 99% blockage in his left anterior descending artery. "I was hanging on by a thread." Dr. Wittig is an orthopedic oncologist and sarcoma surgeon with...
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Allergist Dr. Lauren Fine: "Stop Asking for Permission"
Dr. Lauren Fine had a thriving allergy practice, a faculty position and patients lined up at the door, and she still felt she needed someone's permission to change. Her answer now: "Stop asking other people for permission." Dr. Fine is an allergist and immunologist, a teacher, a clinician at the…
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ER Physician Dr. Mark Pappadakis: "Medical School Rejected Me Three Times"
Rejected from medical school. Failed anatomy. Failed his emergency medicine boards by two points, then by one. Today Dr. Mark Pappadakis teaches at the medical school that turned him down three times. Emergency physician Dr. Mark Pappadakis joins Dr. David Spiro, MD for an honest conversation…
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Cardiologist Dr. Jaya Mallidi: "The Trust I Had With the Universe Lay Broken"
"How can a child be taken away from the mother?" When cardiologist Dr. Jaya Mallidi lost her daughter, Saachi, at 19 weeks, the trust she'd always had with the universe "lay broken like a vase in an empty room." In this deeply honest conversation, Dr. Jaya Mallidi joins host Dr. David Spiro to...
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Psychiatrist Dr. Paniz Johari: When a Patient Dies — Grief, Guilt & Radical Acceptance
"One of our social workers knocked on the door and said, so-and-so killed himself. I was just in shock." What do you do with the rest of your day after that? Psychiatrist Dr. Paniz Johari joins Dr. David Spiro to talk about one of the least-discussed parts of medicine — losing a patient, and...
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Dr. Lois Lee: Protecting Kids from Gun Violence, and the Fight for Their Health
What if the biggest threats to a child's life are also the most preventable? Dr. Lois Lee — pediatric emergency medicine physician and researcher at Boston Children's Hospital, professor of clinical pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and a candidate for AAP president-elect — joins Dr. David...
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Navy Anesthesiologist Dr. Zachary Meade: From Childhood Trauma to Becoming a Doctor
Dr. Zachary Meade watched his grandfather shoot his father to save his mother's life. He was a child. He thought it was normal. "Apparently it's not normal." Dr. Meade is a Navy anesthesiologist based in San Diego who took one of the least conventional roads into medicine you will ever hear.…
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Internist Dr. Robert Beck: "He Wasn't Worthy of the Care"
Two attending physicians declared medical futility on a man in his late 40s. He was awake. He was begging for the ICU. He was begging for his mother. And the only doctor at his bedside that night was an intern on his second call shift. Dr. Robert Beck has carried that night for nineteen years. In...
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Pediatric Oncologist Dr. Joana Mack: "I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss"
Dr. Joana Mack has been called "bossy" her whole career — in training, at work, even by her own mom. Now, she just says it back differently: "I'm not bossy, I'm the boss." Dr. Mack is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist, NIH-funded researcher, and mother of five daughters,...
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The Science of Stem Cells, Exosomes, and Healthy Aging with Dr. Mari Mitrani
Can regenerative medicine help us live healthier for longer? Physician-scientist and biotech entrepreneur Dr. Mari Mitrani joins Dr. David Spiro to explain the evolving science of stem cells and exosomes—including how these therapies work, where the evidence stands, and why responsible research…
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When the Doctor Becomes the Patient: Dr. Adam Bitterman On His Open-Heart Surgery
What happens when a surgeon suddenly finds himself on the other side of the patient–doctor relationship? Dr. Adam Bitterman—orthopedic surgeon, educator, and chair of orthopedic surgery at Huntington Hospital—joins Dr. David Spiro to discuss being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and undergoing...
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It’s Not Always Hemorrhoids: Anal Health with Dr. Talar Tejerian
Not every anal health problem is a hemorrhoid. Board-certified general surgeon Dr. Talar Tejerian joins Dr. David Spiro to explain the differences between hemorrhoids and anal fissures—and why persistent pain, bleeding, or other symptoms should not be dismissed. Dr. Tejerian is the founder of…
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Stop the Bleed: The Simple Skills That Could Save a Life | Dr. David Shapiro
What would you do if someone were bleeding severely—and help was miles away? In this episode of HuMED, Dr. David Spiro welcomes back surgeon and critical care physician Dr. David Shapiro for a powerful conversation about the moment that changed how he understood emergency preparedness. Years ago,...
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The Night Beirut Exploded: A Doctor’s Story
What happens when a physician suddenly finds himself responding to one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in modern history? In this episode of HuMED, Dr. David Spiro speaks with Dr. Khalil Diab, a pulmonologist, critical care physician, associate professor at the George Washington University...
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Muscle is Medicine
What if one of the most important tools for healthy aging isn’t another pill—but preserving your strength? Dr. David Spiro welcomes back Dr. Heather Hinshelwood, an emergency medicine physician whose work has expanded from treating acute medical crises to helping patients improve their long-term...
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When Will You “Grow Up”? Medicine’s Hidden Culture of Labels
Why do we ask physicians in their 30s, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with Emma Cooke, MD, an internal medicine physician, Med-Peds graduate, and author of a thought-provoking JAMA essay exploring how a simple question reveals deeper...
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The Patient I’ll Never Forget | Dr. Tommy Martin
What makes medicine worth the sacrifice? Dr. Tommy Martin—a pediatric hospitalist at Boston Children’s Hospital, physician, endurance athlete, and one of medicine’s most influential voices on social media—shares the patient encounter that changed his life forever. After a long residency shift,...
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He Taught Me to Be a Doctor, He was Not a Doctor
In this deeply moving episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro speaks with Dr. Julia Bruckner, a pediatric emergency physician, writer, and Director of Faculty Well-Being at the University of Colorado. Dr. Bruckner shares how her father — a minister, humanist, advocate, and witness to suffering — taught...
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From Patient To Daughter
What happens when a patient changes your life forever? In this unforgettable episode of HuMed, pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ron Turker shares the remarkable story of a one-month-old infant who arrived in the emergency department with multiple fractures and severe injuries—and ultimately…
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The 10-Year-Old Organ Donor a Transplant Surgeon Will Never Forget
What happens after a family says “yes” to organ donation? In this powerful episode of HuMed, transplant surgeon Dr. Charles Strom shares the story of a young organ donor whose life—and legacy—left a lasting impact on him during his first week of transplant fellowship. Dr. Strom takes us inside a...
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Am I Missing Anything?
Dr. Jay Pershad — PEM physician, professor at George Washington, and faculty at Children's National — joins Dr. David Spiro for an unflinching conversation about the moments that define a career in pediatric emergency medicine. Jay shares a story that still haunts him: a teenage girl brought in...
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Healthy Mama Doc Almost Lost Her Own Son
What happens when a high-risk OB can't diagnose her own son? Dr. Sarah Pachtman-Shetty is a double board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialist — a doctor trained to manage the most critical pregnancies imaginable. But when her two-year-old son Orion spiked a fever on a Caribbean vacation…
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Time Is Finite: Dr. Jenna Taglienti on the Physician's Illusion of Control and Shift in Priorities
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro is joined by Dr. Jenna Taglienti, a psychiatrist, residency program director, and assistant professor at the Zucker School of Medicine. Dr. Taglienti's recent JAMA essay, Time Is Finite, sparked widespread reflection across the medical field. Dr.…
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His Labs Were Normal. But He Was Crashing.
What happens when your labs are “normal” — but you know something is wrong? In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with Dr. Stephen Sanders, a board-certified family physician and men’s health expert, to talk about the moment his own health collapsed in his late 30s. On paper,...
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The Prevention Mindset That Could Save Millions
Dr. David Spiro speaks with physician-scientist and clinical trialist Dr. Barry Davis, author of The Preventioneers, about one of the most important questions in medicine and public health: Why do we so often know how to prevent harm—but fail to act until crisis arrives? Dr. Davis shares the...
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He Was the Doctor—Then He Found a Brain Tumor
What happens when the doctor becomes the patient? In this powerful episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with pediatric cardiologist Dr. Josh Daily to talk about the moment his life changed: unexplained fatigue, low testosterone, headaches, and eventually the discovery of a brain tumor deep...
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A Surgeon Used Slurs in My Residency Interview
What happens when a residency interview turns openly discriminatory? In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Shapiro shares the moment he walked out of a surgical residency interview after hearing hateful slurs—and how that experience shaped his advocacy for LGBTQ surgeons and allies. We also talk...
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Hospital-Acquired Deconditioning: Pooja Patel Explains the Crisis
In this insightful interview, Dr. Pooja Patel shares her journey into aging and healthcare, emphasizing the importance of advance care planning, the role of occupational therapy in end-of-life scenarios, and strategies to improve aging in place. Discover how education, proactive planning, and...
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The Night Shift Anxiety with Dr. Chi Oraedu
This episode of HuMED dives deep into the "dark side" of medicine—the life of the nocturnist. Dr. David Spiro sits down with Dr. Chi Oraedu, an academic hospitalist and founder of Yale Aura, to discuss why working against the biological grain is one of the greatest challenges in healthcare today....
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The Power of Listening: How Curiosity Transformed a Student's Life
summaryIn this episode, Hillary Mayberry, a physician assistant and educator at UAMS, shares her transformative experience with a student facing performance anxiety, emphasizing the importance of humility, curiosity, and listening in healthcare and education. The discussion explores mental health...
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Why This Doctor Left U.S. Medicine for Canada | Burnout, Mental Health & Starting Over
Dr. Rob Beck shares his deeply personal journey from burnout in the U.S. healthcare system to building a more fulfilling medical career in Canada. In this episode, we explore physician mental health, the differences between American and Canadian healthcare, and the courage it takes to completely...
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The Surprising Link Between Gut Microbiome and Hormones You Need to Know
Most women don’t realize that the pelvic changes from childbirth can impact their bladder and vagina in ways that often go unnoticed for years. Dr. Betsy Greenleaf, the first female board-certified urogynecologist in the U.S., reveals how understanding these shifts can drastically improve quality...
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The Tale of Two Sedations: A Lesson in Compassion and Competence
In this deeply moving episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with Dr. Ben Jackson, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Procedural Sedation at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Ben shares two pivotal patient encounters that serve as the "North and South" poles of his...
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The Protein Gap: Why Women Are Starving Their Muscles
Is your doctor telling you "everything is normal" while your hair falls out and your energy is non-existent? In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro talks with Dr. Ashley Dwyer, a licensed pharmacist turned health coach. Ashley shares her vulnerable story of pushing her body to the brink…
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ONE CHILD'S TRAGEDY SAVES MILLIONS
What do you do when the person responsible for your child’s death is you?In this unforgettable episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with Dr. Greg Gulbransen, a pediatrician whose life was irreparably altered 23 years ago by a tragic accident in his own driveway. Instead of succumbing to…
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The 40-Year Memory: Why Your Words Matter More Than Your Scalpel
For a surgeon, it’s another day at the office. For a family, it’s a day that will change their lives forever.In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro welcomes Dr. Greg Albert, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Arkansas Children’s. While Dr. Albert is a nationally recognized expert in complex...
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Pediatric Emergency Medicine: Handling Infant Trauma & Dog Bite Emergencies
Can a doctor ever truly prepare for the unthinkable? In this powerful episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro sits down with Pediatric Emergency Medicine specialist Dr. Patrick Ayers to discuss the "human side of medicine" through the lens of a devastating trauma case. Dr. Ayers shares the harrowing...
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Mind Over Matter: The Healing Power of Integrative Medicine
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro welcomes Dr. Zina Alhaddad, a board-certified pediatrician , pediatric emergency medicine physician and integrative medicine specialist, to discuss the profound stories that shape healthcare professionals. Dr. Alhaddad shares a transformative encounter…
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Inspiring Mentorship with Google's Resident Doctor Maya Roberts
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro welcomes Dr. Maya Roberts, a staff clinical lead at Google, to discuss her transformative journey from a physics major to a pediatrician and healthcare innovator. Maya shares her unique experiences in Nepal, where she observed the challenges of healthcare...
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Bystander Injuries | Special Episode
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro and Dr. David Shapiro discuss the emotional and moral realities of trauma in medicine. They explore the impact of bystander violence, the importance of trauma care, and the evolution of emergency response protocols. The conversation reflects on personal...
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The Doctor Who Sees Poetry in Surgery: Dr. Saman's Unique Approach
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro engages in a heartfelt conversation with Dr. Masoud Saman, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon. Dr. Saman shares his remarkable journey from a childhood in Iran, where he faced significant challenges, to becoming a prominent figure in…
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What Happens After a Patient Dies: Perspectives from a Bereavement Counselor
In the latest episode of HuMed, hosted by David Spiro, M.D., the featured guest is Greg Adams, LCSW, Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement, and Program Coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Staff Bereavement Support @ Arkansas Children's Hospital. He discusses and…
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Healing Through Pain: Dr. Malobski's Journey
In this episode of Humed, Dr. David Spiro interviews Dr. Michael Malobski, a pediatrician who shares his profound journey through chronic pain, emotional struggles, and the transformative decision to undergo amputation. Dr. Malobski discusses the impact of his experiences on his personal and...
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Adding Life to Years: Dr. Gupta's Transformative Insights
In this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro engages in a heartfelt conversation with Dr. Saurabh Gupta, exploring the emotional and human aspects of medicine. They discuss Dr. Gupta's journey in cardiology, the importance of balancing family life with a demanding medical career, and the profound...
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The Truth About Doctoring Nobody Discusses
In this episode, Dr. David Spiro interviews Dr. David Shapiro, exploring the profound experiences that shape a physician's journey. They discuss the importance of mentorship, the impact of trauma, and the emotional challenges faced in healthcare. Dr. Shapiro shares a life-changing incident from…
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The Caregiving Experience That Sparked Her Evolution
Summary In this conversation, Carey Roselee reflects on a pivotal moment in her caregiving journey that ignited a desire for deeper personal connections in medicine. She discusses the importance of trusting one's intuition in patient care and the evolution of her aspirations towards private...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
HuMed goes beyond diagnoses and procedures to explore the profound human experiences of medical professionals. Join Dr. Spiro as he engages in deep, candid conversations with fellow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They share the often-unseen realities of their work in the demanding hospital environment – the challenging cases, the emotional toll, and the ethical dilemmas they navigate daily.
HOSTED BY
David Spiro
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does HuMed with David Spiro, MD have?
HuMed with David Spiro, MD currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is HuMed with David Spiro, MD about?
HuMed goes beyond diagnoses and procedures to explore the profound human experiences of medical professionals. Join Dr. Spiro as he engages in deep, candid conversations with fellow doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They share the often-unseen realities of their work in the demanding...
How often does HuMed with David Spiro, MD release new episodes?
HuMed with David Spiro, MD has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to HuMed with David Spiro, MD?
You can listen to HuMed with David Spiro, MD 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 HuMed with David Spiro, MD?
HuMed with David Spiro, MD is created and hosted by David Spiro.
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