This is the story of a patient fleeing Nazi Germany by boat as a young girl, her family left alone because they already had passports stamped to leave. Before she passed away from chronic kidney disease, I asked if I could share her story. This is my tribute to her on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, a memory of breakfast with my Oma (grandma) as …

Just a few days after giving birth, this family medicine resident doctor reads her letter to her daughter out loud. They walked protests together -- with baby still in her belly. This is about 2020 not just as the pandemic, but also as protests for black lives and against police brutality.This episode was produced in a partnership with Jefferson Co…

This storyteller's spleen ruptured when he was skiing, and he had to get down the mountain for emergency surgery. He prides himself that it wasn't from a fall. He looks up to his cousin, a chef. Lately, he's cooking more than the meals he grew up helping his mom with.Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https:…

This occupational therapist in Philadelphia teaches students and works at a holistic housing and supportive center for people struggling with homelessness. She recounts her most recent Father's Day with her dad and admits she has a favorite "kid."Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativecommons.org…

An internal medicine resident originally from Ghana has just a few minutes to eat her yogurt before going back to work. She talks about resolutions and her Christmas and New Years at the hospital. Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Apple - https://podcasts.apple…

When the last time you played 20 Questions? On a long road trip? This laboratory scientist, with magnets of his favorite cells nearby, hasn't played since...ever. Laboratory scientists and technicians run the the lab tests for patients. It's not all robots, even if robots running in the background.Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier…

A nurse practitioner has usually had rescue dogs but couldn't help herself when she wanted a pure basset hound. Which one steals the socks?Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Subscribe at Apple Podcasts and anywhere podcasts are found. Apple - https://podcasts.ap…

Can you imagine spending coronavirus shutdown with your girlfriend's or boyfriend's family? This medical student did just that. Then his Step 1 exam, an 8-hour SAT on steroids, got postponed indefinitely. The test is hundreds of dollars, looming over students all year to potentially decide their specialty. While waiting, he helped his hospital conn…

In the search for a COVID-19 vaccine, there is much to learn behind the scenes. A veterinarian reflects on the credit they will deserve, and when animals need to be involved. "We would do this any other way. But sometimes this is the right way to get the answers we so desperately need. And for that reason, we’re here to take care of those animals."…

Even for a clinical social worker who uses mindfulness with her patients, it can be tempting to just sink into the couch after work. After her first career, she moved around the country to teach yoga and help get rid of what she called her "golden handcuffs."Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativ…

Grandma "Lolly", who's also a pharmacy professor, tells why there's nothing like the moment the nurse put her first grandchild in her arms. "There is a deep void. Just want to hug her. Aching For my granddaughter."This episode was produced in a partnership with Jefferson Covid Stories and Humans of Jefferson. None of the works represent the Jeffers…

With birds singing outside his window, a pharmacist in Michigan reflects why classic rock still speaks to him more than any other genre. Try comparing notes: he has quite a list of live concerts he's attended. "The art itself, it drew you in and it still does."Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creat…

"When you have five people and only three doors, people end up in the closet or the bathroom on calls." A medical writer shares a haiku about the COVID-19 quarantine. She has her daughters at home in Philadelphia, but her son is in Nashville-- near his old neighborhood hit by a tornado the year before, and married to a surgical recovery unit nurse.…

Two medical assistants brainstorm their own -isms, the token phrases we use a lot. One of their mottos is on the paper folder they use.Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Subscribe at Apple Podcasts and anywhere podcasts are found. Apple - https://podcasts.apple.…

Happy Nurse's Week! This surgical ICU nurse had lots of plans in 2020: become a nurse practitioner, get married, and move. COVID-19 turned that upside down a bit. This was produced in a partnership with Jefferson Covid Stories and Humans of Jefferson. None of the works represent the Jefferson Health System. You can find the stories at www.Jefferson…

"If I had a superpower it would be..... Because we do pretty much everything. I wish I could run fast or fly from here to Denver to go visit my mom when it's her birthday." A mom and supervisor of a hospital cafe just moved to Texas. She enjoys helping tense customers in the only actual cafe in that building, but she misses her family in Colorado. …

This storyteller is a floor cleaning technician. He was a national athlete in South America who found soccer easier than boxing. But soccer wasn't forever. "I stopped playing because...I gotta take care of the family." Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Javier SuarezCreative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/Availabl…

A head and neck surgeon was pregnant-- and then coronavirus became a pandemic. She's fine, but her visits and fears have changed. This was produced in a partnership with Jefferson Covid Stories and Humans of Jefferson. None of the works represent the Jefferson Health System. You can find the stories and haikus at www.JeffersonCOVIDStories.com.Credi…

A new Mom brings levity into a hospital and offers a glimpse into bonding with Dad: why they love their city, Houston. They're two people who grew up across the world from each other, so can you guess the reasons? Can you guess her lie in a classic icebreaker game? [Part 2, Mom's turn.] Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and wherever podcasts are found.Cr…

Remember the icebreaker game "Two Truths and a Lie"? A new pair of parents play, and the dad has some wild stories to choose from. They came to their hospital in Houston with their 5-month-old baby. Don't worry, nobody is sick. It's just for a parenting class. In Part 1, can you pick out the dad's lie?Credits:Produced by Ben MeyersOutro Music by Ja…