Dr. A Show 93: Swine Flu

Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time

On this week's Doctor Anonymous Show, we will be talking about Podcamp Ohio 2 which will be taking place on Saturday, June 20, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. In checking out their website, it looks like the registration has been going well. There are already about 130 registrants. In addition, the number of sessions is continuing to grow as well. I know what you're going to say. I haven't registered for either yet. Yeesh! I'll get around to it eventually - hehe. (Oh, by the way, did you see how close I am to 2000 twitter followers? Maybe you can help me go over the top lol)

Of course, the major medicine/health news story this week is the swine flu. I've heard a lot of questions at the office and around town about it. As I've been catching up on my blog reading, I've seen that our buddy KevinMD has been using a live blogging service to do a little Q&A on his site. And, people like Enoch Choi have also been doing some web based Q&A. What do you think of that? If there is time on the show, I'll talk about these topics as well.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Update: What a difference a few hours makes. In just the past few hours before show time, I received a lot of questions about my observations on the swine flu and the media response to this. So, in order to be responsive to you the Dr. A reader and listener to the podcast, I have changed the title of this evening's show. We'll still talk about Podcamp Ohio first, but then, I'll leave a lot more time to talk about the swine flu this evening. Hope you can join the show live!

Chicago Wrap-up

Just got home last night from the great city of Chicago. Officially, I was at the American College of Physician Executives for their Physicians in Management course. Maybe at some future Dr. A Show, I should really share some of the information that I learned there. It's no secret that docs don't get much (if any) formal business or management training in medical school or residency. And, I have definitely do have an interest in these type of issues. So, maybe at some future point, I'll share some of this info.


Above, there are a few links to the fun parts of my week in Chicago. First, check out the video post above from our buddy Kim who flew in from Seattle to hang out with our friends Annie and Burl. I also did two of my live internet radio shows from Chicago - specifically from the luxurious studios of Annie and Burl. In addition to the players above and below, you can download the shows as well for Dr. A Show 91 and the Night Shift show.


Now, that I'm thinking about it, maybe I should devote some time on a future Doctor Anonymous Show on my impressions of the business stuff and the fun stuff that happened in Chicago. That's a great idea. I'm a genius! Hehe - Hope you're having a great week!

Show 93 Preview

This week, The Doctor Anonymous Show welcomes back our friends from Podcamp Ohio which will be Saturday, June 20th, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. Especially if you are anywhere in the midwestern United States, I encourage you to consider attending this year's event. (Also check out the video post above which I recorded in downtown Chicago)

There are already 224 people registered for the event - Wow, that's amazing. And, as far as the last count, there are about 17 sessions that have been registered. Thinking about registering for the event or presenting a session, don't think about it anymore- just do it!

So, join us on Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio for the next exciting edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show. If there is time at the end of this week's show, I'll talk about my time in Chicago last week. See you for the show!

Dr. A Show 91: Chicago

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time

Join us this week for a very special Doctor Anonymous Show live from Chicago, Illinois. I'll be broadcasting from the fabulous Annie and Burl Live Studios - so if you watch/listen live, you'll definitely notice different surroundings from what you're accustomed to on the webcam.

I'm going to say this from the outset that this show will probably not be too medical. But, it will be a lot of fun! In addition to some current news stories, we'll be talking with Annie and Burl about their very popular show on BlogTalkRadio. I'll also be joined by our friend Kim from the blog As The Pump Turns. Kim flew in from Seattle to join the fun. How many people can that studio hold? Watch live and find out!

As you can see in the video above, I have been a part of a radio soap opera on the ABL show. I play a doctor on the soap - naturally. And, in this soap, you'll probably see a side of me that you haven't seen before - hopefully funny! The season finale of the soap opera will be Saturday night on the ABL show.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Show 91 Preview

Chicago week continues on The Doctor Anonymous blog with the announcement of this week's Doctor Anonymous Show. I will be broadcasting from the great city of Chicago, Illinois. And, I have been graciously invited by our friends at the Annie and Burl Live show to broadcast from their luxurious studios on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time.

What are we going to talk about? Well, I'm going to tell you right now that this show has a good chance of being not too medical. I'm going to be driving to Chicago - So, there will be at least one good story there. As you can see in the video above, our friend Kim from the blog As The Pump Turns will be flying in from Seattle to hang out. Air travel stories are always fun as well.

In addition, I will be talking with our gracious hosts, Annie and Burl, about their very successful live podcast on BlogTalkRadio. They are continually, week after week, one of the most popular comedy shows on the network. And, they are coming up on their two year anniversary of the show. So, maybe we'll talk about that a little bit as well.

Finally, I may regret this, but I will be extending the show for a full two hours this week. And, if all goes well, I plan to introduce a new segment to the show in the 2nd hour. What will it be? Well, you'll just have to tune in to find out what that is. Hehe. I'll be traveling on Wednesday, so keep track of my progress via my twitter account. See you all Thursday night!

Video: Chicago at 18: Part Deux

This is part two of the journey back to Chicago in the college days of Dr. A. As we learned yesterday, a friend of mine has relatives in the Chicagoland area and we decided to take a road trip out there. This video is our adventures in downtown which includes being in traffic, at some tourist sights, and running the car through the car wash before going home. Why wash the car while on vacation? Well, as I say near the end of the video, since I bought an "outrageous" price of gasoline, I got a free car wash. In today's world, $17 to fill a car is a bargain! Oh well, enjoy the video!

Video: Chicago at 18: Part 1

In honor of going back to Chicago later this week for a conference, I went back into the Dr. A video archives to find this gem of a video. This was from the beginning of college. A friend of mine has relatives in the Chicagoland area and thought it would be fun to take a road trip out there.

I can't believe that it's almost been 20 years since this original video was recorded. It was so much fun to put together! This is part one. Part two will be posted tomorrow. From the three hours of video that was recorded for this first part, this is the best 10 minutes - really. It's basically us on the road driving to Chicago. You'll notice the eclectic music collection that we had on cassette tapes (yes, that's right - cassettes). You can see more exclusive video clips at my Facebook Fan page. Enjoy!

Show 90 Wrap-up

Thanks so much to my good friend "Dr. M" for coming on Show 90 to talk about the sometimes misunderstood topics of palliative medicine and hospice care. We both trained as family physicians, but now he has found a calling to take up the specialty of palliative medicine. (You can listen to the show in the player above or download the show here Also check out the video post above)

Following our conversation, which included talking about his blog called "The Journey Learned," Dr. M and I talked about our med school days when we were on call during certain rotations and the obscure facts that we learned to look good on rounds. We also talked about how we come to find out that I played piano and how he liked to sing - definitely great stress relief - especially during those stress filled times of med school.

At the end of the show, our friend Kevin called in to share some thoughts on hospice care. He is a member of the "Warrior's Wish Foundation." You may remember Kevin calling in back on show 54 and show 59 to share how medblogger GruntDoc helped to make a difference in the life of a military family. Thanks Kevin for calling into the show.

Finally, I wrapped up the show by talking about how I will be in Chicago next week for a conference. My shows next week will be broadcast from the fabulous and luxurious "Annie and Burl Live" studios in Chicago. I'm really looking forward to that. Before I leave for Chicago, I will be posting some more old video of me at a younger age driving around Chicago. It's riveting video - hehe - at least it was fun to put together. Have a great weekend everybody!

Dr. A Show 90: End of Life Care

Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time (0100 UTC)

Join us this week for The Doctor Anonymous Show where our guest will be the blogger who calls himself "Dr. M" who is a good friend of mine and a prior classmate. Our topic will be hospice care and "End of Life" care where "Dr. M" has an interest. His blog is called The Journey Learned.

Following our interview about his blog and his work, Dr. M and I will be talking about "the good 'ol days" when we were in medical school. And, boy do we have stories that go back a long way. I'm really looking forward to this interview, and I hope that you are, too. Also, check out the video post above where Dr. M and I participated in our medical school talent show when we were 2nd year medical students.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Show 90 Preview

This week, The Doctor Anonymous Show will be talking about the sensitive subject of what is called "palliative care." There are a lot of definitions out there, but a common one is one I found on wikipedia and it follows below:

Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness.

In the US, palliative care is pseudonymous with the term "hospice care," or "end of life care," but that is not always the case. Our guest this week is a good friend of mine and med school classmate. His blog is called "The Journey Learned" and there he calls himself "Dr. M." Here is how he describes himself and his blog:

I am a family physician in a rural setting and also very involved with "End of Life Care". I am blessed daily by the people I am honored to treat and learn life's lessons from them constantly. I feel honored to be a physician as it is a great privilege.

So, I invite you to join us on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time for a special edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show on BlogTalkRadio. After our interview, we'll lighten things up a little bit and maybe reminisce about being back in med school "back in the day." Also check out the video post above. Hope you can join us for the show!

Show 89 Wrap-up: Medbloggers at 2009 BWE/NME

Thanks to Kim and Dr. Val for being guests on Dr. A Show 89 (You can listen on the player above. Or, you can download the show here and listen anytime. Also check out my video post above as well).

We talked with Kim first about how she got involved with this project. If you didn't already know, it was Kim's rant on her blog that caught the attention of Blog World Expo. At the 2008 BWE, there was a brainstorming session of possible topics for presentations. Kim put these topics on the blog and people voted on them. The final list is below:

*The State of the Health Blogosphere: We've Come A Long Way, Baby
*Staying On The Good Side of HIPAA: Safe and Ethical Blogging Practices
*Blogging For Change: How To Influence Healthcare Through Blogging
*The Value of Blogs To Hospitals, Industry, and News Organizations

Dr. Val has been contacting prospective panelists for these topics. And, she invited me not only to be a part of the panel, she asked me to moderate one of the panels, which I'm very excited about!

In the coming months, I hope to contact some of the panelists to possibly have them come on the show. I'm also hoping to have representatives from the sponsors of the medblogger programming track - Johnson & Johnson and MedPage Today - to come on the show as well.

Also to let you know, my skype connection cut out early in the interview. So, if you hear some silence in part of the podcast, that's what happened. I even extended the show a little bit - because we were having so much fun! In addition, I had a little post show party on my ustream site. So, thanks so much to those who hung out with me for almost three hours - WOW! Have a great weekend everybody!

Dr. A Show 89: Medblogger Meetup

Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time (0100 UTC)

Join us tonight for The Doctor Anonymous Show where we will talk about Blog World/New Media Expo and the first ever programming track for Medicine/Health bloggers. Our guest will be Kim from Emergiblog who has a unique perspective on how this medblogger track came about. Time permitting after the interview, I'll discuss the recent Doctors Diaries documentary from PBS, his recent appearance on The Guys Podcast, and his upcoming trip to Chicago.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Show 89 Preview

This week, The Doctor Anonymous Show will be talking about the HUGE medblogger meetup which will take place at the 2009 BlogWorld/NewMedia Expo which will take place October 15th in Las Vegas. I hope that you have already made plans to attend this historic event.

Our guest for the show will be the one and only Kim from the wildly popular Emergiblog - which is, in my opinion, one of the premiere blogs in all of the medical blogosphere - and I'm not kidding when I say this. In addition to all of Kim's other responsibilities, she is the keeper of "Change of Shift" which accumulates the best nursing blog posts around. If you're a nurse blogger, you're not anyone until you have posted and/or hosted an edition of "Change of Shift."

Anyway, Kim and I will be talking about the first ever programming track for Medicine/Health bloggers which will take place at BWE/NME this fall. I encourage you to check out her appearance on the "Blog World Expo" show last week where she goes into detail on how all of this came about (You can listen on the player above, or download the show here and listen anytime). Also joining Kim is our pal Dr. Gwenn on last week's BWE show.

So, join Kim and me on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time on The Doctor Anonymous Show. As I talked about on last week's show, I'm still trying to get my way on one of the panel presentations for the event. I'm thinking about maybe starting a petition campaign - maybe having some t-shirts made - maybe get some blog badges to be made - all in jest of course. Hope to see you for the show!

The Guys Podcast

Wonder what I'm like on another podcast? Well, here is your chance to find out. My first in person experience with The Guys Podcast was at Podcamp Ohio. You can see the highlights of their live podcast from Podcamp in the video above. Their podcast talks about tech news, sci-fi, video games, movie reviews, and whatever else comes up during the show.

They graciously asked me to sit in as a guest panelist on show number 58. You can listen to the podcast above in the player. Or, you can download the file here and listen anytime. As you will hear in the podcast, I was really unprepared (who does show prep?). I just tried to throw out some jokes and punchlines. You be the judge on how I was as a guest instead of the host.

I have to share with all of you that I really feel bad because I messed up in the recording of my audio portion of the podcast. I used "skype recorder" to record the audio. But apparently, they wanted me to only record my voice only - and skype recorder apparently can record all the audio streams. Brad (the awesome editor of the show) had to kind of put all the audio streams, which meant splicing my audio feed in between the other streams to make it sound great.

My explanation here probably did not make any sense but, I have to say sorry to the TGP guys for not following proper podcast etiquette - bummer. Thanks again to The Guys Podcast for giving me the opportunity to hang out with them! Don't forget to listen to the very end where the outtakes are!

Autism Awareness Show

In case you didn't know, organizations like the Autism Society of America have been observing National Autism Awareness Month. And, our friends over at the "Annie and Burl Live" show are going to have a special autism awareness show on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 beginning at 10pm Eastern Time.

I definitely want to support them in this endeavor, and encourage you to check out their show. According to the Autism Speaks website, "Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common that pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined."

In the video above, I share a commentary on United Nations World Autism Awareness Day which occurred on April 2, 2009. It was on Dr. A Show 87. Please help spread the word for this very important show. Thanks so much!

Doctors' Diaries on PBS

The year was 1987 and seven newly minted medical students started their journey to becoming a doctor. I was in high school when the first part of this documentary first aired. I remember it well. I was still unsure whether I wanted to even consider medicine as a career.

I mean, back then, my friends and I were just documenting our silly lives on old video tape. Remember this video I posted at Christmas? Anyway, the original airing of this PBS special really impacted me. And, in fact, I do remember thinking about what my first day of medical school would be like. I think I made a VHS recording of this show and played it back right before med school.

Anyway, a reunion show is going to take place tonight on PBS. Check out the Doctors' Diaries link on the NOVA website. Also check out the video above for a sneak peak preview of tonight's part one episode. Who knows? I may even share some of my own thoughts on this on The Doctor Anonymous Show this week.

Show 88 Wrap-up

Show Number 88 of The Doctor Anonymous Show was recorded over the weekend. As you'll see in the video above, it is a little behind the scenes look at the beginning of the show where I talk about the Final Episode of ER. (You can listen to the podcast in the player above. Or, you can download the show here and listen to it anytime).

My co-host Kat joins the show and shares an experience over the weekend that has changed her life for the better. We close the show talking about the past week including World Autism Awareness Day, Doctors Day, and my recent trip to our nation's capital. Thanks to those of you who listened to the show live and on the archives. I appreciate it. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Show 87 Wrap-up

Thanks again to Victoria from VP Medical for being a guest on Show 87 (You can listen to the show on the player here or even download the show by clicking here and listen to the show anytime). We had a great discussion on how she found medicine and a nursing career in the first place. And, then progression to her current work as a case manager and patient advocate. She takes on workers compensation cases and also cases of people who are in the assisted living setting. (also check out the video post above)

Following our discussion, I talked about the 2nd annual United Nations World Autism Awareness Day. There is still a lot of controversy about the possible causes and associations of autism with things like vaccinations. I talk about that during the last part of the show. I also reviewed the recent Doctors Day this week and my weekend trip to Washington DC. Thanks so much to Annette Jones, another BlogTalkRadio host, for asking a question during the autism segment.

Thanks also to Mother Jones, RN for trying to give me "guilt" for not visiting her when I was in DC. It was a funny exchange. You gotta take a listen to that. I also announced that I will be in Chicago later this month for a conference, and hope to broadcast from the famous "Annie and Burl Live" studios in the windy city. What do you think about this - "The Doctor Anonymous Snuggie Show." It could be a reality - hehe.

Join me and my co-host Kat for "The Night Shift" which will be Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio. One of the topics I'm going to cover is the ER Series Finale which aired last night. I have it recorded. So, I will have to watch it later. I was early in my medical school career when ER premiered. So, I'll share that story and much more with all of you. Have a great weekend everybody!

Update: Check out BlogWorldExpo Radio on BlogTalkRadio - The show on Friday, April 3rd at 3pm Eastern Time where they will be talking about the Med Track at BW/NME. Also, according to this tweet, it appears that Dr. Val and Kim will be on this show. So, check it out if you can!

Dr. A Show 87: VP Medical

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time (0100 UTC)

Join us tonight for The Doctor Anonymous Show where our guest will be Victoria from the blog/website "VP Medical." In addition to talking about her blog/website, we'll also be talking about the interesting topic of social media marketing as it relates to medicine.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Update: Also to let people know, following our interview this evening, I'll briefly discuss the topics of United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, the recent Doctors Day, my recent trip to Washington DC, and, also, I will have a BIG announcement about the Dr. A Show schedule for the month of April. You're not going to want to miss this. (Of course, as always, if you cannot catch it live, you can always listen/download the show later as a podcast).

Show 87 Preview

This week, The Doctor Anonymous Show welcomes Victoria from the blog/website "VP Medical" to the show. On her site, her bio describes her as "providing nursing education and consulting services for 14 years. Ms. Powell is a Registered Nurse and holds specialty certifications in Case Management, Legal Nurse Consulting, Life Care Planning and Ergonomic Assessments."

In a recent post called "I Am A Nurse," she describes her love of medicine and of nursing:

As a young girl, I first discovered my interest in the medical field after obtaining a microscope at the tender age of ten. I was a big fan of “Mad Magazine” back then. The inside back cover would regularly feature ads promising all sorts of great prizes by simply selling greeting cards and wrapping paper door to door.

I sent off for the information and shortly thereafter began my first sales job. I began collecting orders from my neighbors and friend’s parents. I earned several prizes over that summer, but my most prized possession was the microscope with the little mirror. It sat in my window and opened up a whole new world for me.

So, join us on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time for the next exciting edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show on BlogTalkRadio.

Did you know that you can stream the audio right from your iPhone or Blackberry? Just use the same link above for the show and you can listen to and archived show right now. If you are able to catch the show live, there is a chat room, you can call into the show, and you'll even get to see my shining face on the webcam. See you for the show!