Running the Gauntlet: My Journey into Medicine with a Learning Disability

Stefan interviews co-host Saul about his experiences becoming a doctor with a learning disability.  This episode, first run in 2020, sets the stage for two that will follow – in August and September, with experts on the science of student learning assessment and its implications for the USMLE examinations. These will address questions such as: Does struggling with multiple-choice tests under time pressure predict anything about future performance in the clinical setting? Do time limits make tests more or less valid and reliable?  What are implications of denying so many students accommodations on the USMLE examinations?  And, most importantly, what can we do about the documented perverse effects of our current system of assessment on equity and inclusion and, ultimately on the quality and diversity of our physician workforce? 

Om Podcasten

Doctors and other health care professionals are too often socialized and pressured to become “efficient task completers” rather than healers, which leads to unengaged and unimaginative medical practice, burnout, and diminished quality of care. It doesn’t have to be that way. With a range of thoughtful guests, co-hosts Saul Weiner MD and Stefan Kertesz MD MS, interrogate the culture and context in which clinicians are trained and practice for their implications for patient care and clinician well-being. The podcast builds on Dr. Weiner’s 2020 book, On Becoming a Healer: The Journey from Patient Care to Caring about Your Patients (Johns Hopkins University Press).