He Taught Me to Be a Doctor, He was Not a Doctor

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 her lessons about healing that medicine alone often cannot teach. Together, they explore what it means to give devastating news, sit with suffering, care for families in crisis, support physicians after trauma, and bring humanity back into medicine. This conversation moves through grief, cancer, hospice, physician wellness, pediatric emergency medicine, and the quiet power of presence. At its heart is a simple message from Dr. Bruckner’s father: because the world will die without it, go with love. Topics include: humanizing medicine, physician wellness, giving bad news, hospice, grief, narrative medicine, pediatric emergency care, burnout, compassion, and love as a form of healing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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 became his daughter.   Dr. Turker reflects on child abuse, foster care, adoption, trauma, attachment, fatherhood, and the profound lessons he learned raising a child whose life began with extraordinary adversity. He also discusses physician empathy, judgment, chronic pain, healthcare reform, physician burnout, mental health, social media, community, and why human connection remains at the heart of healing.   This is a conversation about medicine, family, resilience, second chances, and the patient who changed everything. Topics Discussed • Child abuse and child advocacy • Foster care and adoption • Parenting and attachment • Pediatric orthopedic surgery • Chronic pain in children • Physician burnout and moral injury • Mental health and social media • Healthcare reform • Human connection and healing • The human side of medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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 world most people never see: the moment of honor before organ recovery, the emotional family statements read in the operating room, the realities of brain death and cardiac death donation, and the profound responsibility of helping one donor save multiple lives. We discuss: * The donor story Dr. Strom will never forget * How one organ donor can save up to eight lives * Common misconceptions about organ donation * The ethics and realities of transplantation * Why some healthcare professionals still misunderstand the donation process * The emotional impact of caring for donor families * Balancing medicine, family, and personal sacrifice * New innovations that are dramatically increasing organ utilization One of the most moving moments comes when Dr. Strom realizes the donor being honored was the same age as his own son. This conversation is about grief, hope, generosity, and the extraordinary gift of life.  Join The HuMed Weekly Newsletter: https://humed.kit.com/newsletter [https://humed.kit.com/newsletter]  Subscribe for more conversations exploring the human side of medicine. #HuMed #OrganDonation #TransplantSurgery #Medicine #HealthcareStories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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 after a suspected overdose, a resuscitation that ends in death, and a family that spoke only Spanish — connected to him through a video interpreter that kept disconnecting. What followed was one of the most human, painful moments in his 30+ year career. They also talk about: Teaching learners how to deliver bad news at the bedside Family presence during resuscitation — and why the data changed everything What keeps seasoned physicians showing up at 6am after three decades Aging in emergency medicine, night shifts, and knowing when to step back. Why "family first" isn't just a slogan — it's the thing that outlasts the career HUMED is the podcast where healthcare professionals share the stories they never forget — the emotional, moral, and human realities of medicine. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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 and his O2 sat dropped into the 70s, all that training couldn't stop her from feeling like a helpless mom. In this raw and unforgettable episode of HuMed, Sarah shares the terrifying night she called 911 on a St. Martin island, fought for a chest X-ray in a foreign ER at 2am, and watched a jack-of-all-trades surgeon prepare to place a chest tube in her toddler — with no pediatric ventilator in sight. This is the human side of medicine no one talks about.  Dr. Sarah Pachtman-Shetty | Maternal-Fetal Medicine | @HealthyMamaDoc   Virtual consultations: Uma Health In this episode: * The vacation that became a medical nightmare * Why even expert physicians miss signs in their own children * Practicing medicine in maternity care deserts * How a near-tragedy reordered her entire life  Subscribe for more stories from the human side of medicine   Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts #HuMed #MaternalFetalMedicine #HighRiskPregnancy #PhysicianLife #DoctorStories #MomLife #MedicalPodcast #WomensHealth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]