AMA Journal of Ethics Podcast

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Cynthia Tsay, MPhil, a second-year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine, interviewed Robert Levine, MD, about changes in clinical research guidelines, problems with IRB documentation, and the top ethical challenges facing clinical researchers today. Dr. Levine is a professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and a Hastings Center fellow.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics editor-in-chief Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Wendy Levinson, MD, about the efforts of the Choosing Wisely initiative to foster cultural change in medicine cross-nationally by stimulating dialogue about overuse of tests and treatments. Dr. Levinson is professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and leads Choosing Wisely Canada and International.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Nikhil A. Patel, MS, a fourth-year medical student at the Mayo Medical School, interviewed Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH, about Partners In Health’s mission to strengthen low-income countries’ health care systems and lessons learned from the Ebola crisis. Dr. Mukherjee is the chief medical officer of Partners In Health and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor W. Miller Johnstone III, MD, PhD, a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Buffalo, interviewed Kate M. Lally, MD, about patient-centered management of end-of-life care, the unique care needs of women with advanced gynecologic cancers, and how to prepare medical students and residents to hold difficult conversations with patients. Dr. Lally is the director of palliative care for Care New England Health System and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics editor-in-chief Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Peter A. Ubel, MD, about factors contributing to the high cost of health care, how to bend the cost curve, and the compatibility of cost containment and profit seeking. Dr. Ubel is the Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Amanda Xi, MD, a transitional year resident at Henry Ford Hospital, interviewed Donald M. Berwick, MD, shortly before the Supreme Court’s decision in King versus Burwell. Dr. Berwick discussed progress in meeting the health care goals of the ACA and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and next steps for improving patient care. A former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Berwick is a senior fellow and president emeritus at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor, Gaurav Jay Dhiman, a third-year medical student at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, interviewed Jonathan D. Moreno, PhD, on the role of bioethicists in military research and ethical issues in research on people with disabilities. Dr. Moreno is the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor, Nadi N. Kaonga, a medical student and predoctoral candidate at Tufts University in Boston, interviewed Gordon D. Schiff, MD, on reframing professional boundaries in the patient-physician relationship. Dr. Schiff, author of "Crossing Boundaries—Violation or Obligation?," is a primary care physician and activist and a safety and quality improvement researcher at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Kathleen K. Miller, MD, a first-year resident in pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, interviewed Deborah R. Barnbaum, PhD, on the theory of mind and its implications for treatment of people with autism. Dr. Barnbaum is chair of the Department of Philosophy at Kent State University and coordinator of the department’s Health Care Ethics program.

AMA Journal of Ethics editor Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Kenneth Sands, MD, about harms to patient dignity caused by unintentional disrespect and about initiatives for measuring, tracking, and correcting such harms. Dr. Sands is chief quality officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Matthew Edwards, a third-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, interviewed Douglas R. Bacon, MD, MA, on the development of anesthesiology and the "balanced anesthesia" approach. Dr. Bacon is chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

AMA Journal of Ethics editor Audiey Kao, MD, PhD, interviewed Richard Pan, MD, MPH, about how, as a physician and legislator, he seeks to protect public health in light of recurrent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Dr. Pan is a pediatrician and California state senator who has contributed to community development and increasing oversight of government health programs.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Marta Michalska-Smith, a second-year medical student at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, interviewed Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, and Marc G. Kuczewski, PhD, about Stritch’s admissions policy welcoming applications from students of DACA status and the challenges and promise of implementing this strategy. Dr. Brubaker is dean of the Stritch School of Medicine and Dr. Kuczewski is director of the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy and chair of the Department of Medical Education at the Stritch School of Medicine.

This month, Virtual Mentor theme editor Jordan P. Amadio, MD, MBA, a senior neurosurgery resident at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, interviewed Paul Root Wolpe, PhD, about the ethical import of new technologies and the practical import of the White House Brain Initiative for neurosurgeons and neurosurgeons in training. Dr. Wolpe is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Bioethics and the director of the Center for Bioethics at Emory University and serves as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience.

This month, Virtual Mentor theme editor Vinod Nambudiri, MD, MBA, a resident in internal medicine and dermatology in the Harvard Combined Medicine-Dermatology Residency Training Program, interviewed Naomi Fried, PhD, about telemedicine’s regulatory challenges and the opportunities it presents for innovation in health care delivery and medical education. Dr. Fried is chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and a board member of the American Telemedicine Association.