Radio Rounds
Encyclopedia
Radio Rounds is a medical radio talk show produced and hosted entirely by medical students.
With an official tagline stating "Today's Stories / Tomorrow's Doctors" and targeting an audience that includes the general public, medical students, and physicians, Radio Rounds is the first radio program in the United States produced entirely by medical students.
Created in 2008 by medical student Avash Kalra and founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by Kalra, Lakshman Swamy, and Shamie Das, Radio Rounds premiered on April 12, 2009. Since that time, Radio Rounds has featured over 100 guests, including Pulitzer Prize winners, decorated global health workers, and even a former U.S presidential candidate. By hosting guests such as world-renowned physician and author Rachel Naomi Remen and NBA Team Physician of the Year Brian Cole (Chicago Bulls
), the show has focused on showcasing qualities of medicine such as humanism and empathy and has created a dialogue about the practice of medicine from different perspectives.
Radio Rounds airs every Sunday afternoon from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, via live streaming audio on the program's website, on National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate station WYSO 91.3FM, and on the Wright State University radio station WWSU 106.9 FM, based in Dayton, Ohio
. Free podcasts of each episode are also available on iTunes, and those can be accessed via the show's website, www.radiorounds.org, or by searching the iTunes store for "Radio Rounds."
With medical students Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy as the original hosts, the premiere episode broke the all-time WWSU record for online listenership, and the show was subsequently featured in a front page story of the following week's The Guardian
, Wright State University's student newspaper. A transcribed interview with Kalra and Swamy was later published in the Spring/Summer 2009 edition of Vital Signs, a magazine produced for the Boonshoft School of Medicine. In it, Kalra explained his motivation for wanting to create the show, saying,
Added Swamy,
Season Two of Radio Rounds premiered on August 9, 2009. The second season of Radio Rounds, which featured a lineup of accomplished physician-authors, concluded on December 6, 2009 with a special interview with Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder
. Another Season Two highlight was a unique live-audience talk show at a regional American Medical Students Association conference, in which Kalra, Swamy, and Das interviewed U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
.
Season Three of Radio Rounds consisted of 13 episodes in the late winter and early spring of 2010. The third season of the show also marked the debut of host John Corker, a medical student at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.
Season Four of the program premiered in August 2010 and included several landmark moments, including the celebration of the show's 50th episode. In addition, the cast of hosts expanded to include medical students Teresa Lee, Adam Deardorff, John Mark Mclain, and Casey McCluskey. In addition, Yojan Patel joined the Radio Rounds team as a producer of the show.
Seasons Five and Six aired in 2011, and Season Seven is scheduled to premiere in January 2012.
Beginning with Episode 412 (i.e. the 12th episode of Season Four), the show began opening with a short "teaser clip" of the episode's featured guest. The structure of the program has evolved over time but traditionally features three segments: a short "intro," the featured interview, and an "outro" in which the hosts discuss topics related to the interview.
Beginning with its 11th episode, which aired on August 23, 2009, Radio Rounds began opening with a new theme song, entitled "Rounding on the Radio." The song is performed by Robert Mikan, Meera Menon, Cole Budinsky and Kevin Gulley—all medical students at the Boonshoft School of Medicine.
An additional feature that was included during Season Three episodes was a weekly "Residency Insights" segment, featuring short interview clips with residency program directors from around the country. This feature was added by the show's production team in order to give medical students additional exposure to future career possibilities.
Other interactive features of the show have included a mystery diagnosis "case of the week," medical headlines, live listener emails, website polls, and a song of the week.
With an official tagline stating "Today's Stories / Tomorrow's Doctors" and targeting an audience that includes the general public, medical students, and physicians, Radio Rounds is the first radio program in the United States produced entirely by medical students.
Created in 2008 by medical student Avash Kalra and founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by Kalra, Lakshman Swamy, and Shamie Das, Radio Rounds premiered on April 12, 2009. Since that time, Radio Rounds has featured over 100 guests, including Pulitzer Prize winners, decorated global health workers, and even a former U.S presidential candidate. By hosting guests such as world-renowned physician and author Rachel Naomi Remen and NBA Team Physician of the Year Brian Cole (Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
), the show has focused on showcasing qualities of medicine such as humanism and empathy and has created a dialogue about the practice of medicine from different perspectives.
Radio Rounds airs every Sunday afternoon from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, via live streaming audio on the program's website, on National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate station WYSO 91.3FM, and on the Wright State University radio station WWSU 106.9 FM, based in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. Free podcasts of each episode are also available on iTunes, and those can be accessed via the show's website, www.radiorounds.org, or by searching the iTunes store for "Radio Rounds."
History
Radio Rounds was founded in 2008, and after several months of preparation and marketing, the program premiered on April 12, 2009.With medical students Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy as the original hosts, the premiere episode broke the all-time WWSU record for online listenership, and the show was subsequently featured in a front page story of the following week's The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Wright State University's student newspaper. A transcribed interview with Kalra and Swamy was later published in the Spring/Summer 2009 edition of Vital Signs, a magazine produced for the Boonshoft School of Medicine. In it, Kalra explained his motivation for wanting to create the show, saying,
"Part of the culture of medicine involves medical students listening to and learning from mentors. So, we thought, why not do something like that on a weekly basis, but in a fun and engaging way?"
Added Swamy,
"Doctors seem to appreciate the idea of talking about medicine, creating a dialog about what makes the practice of health care so unique. This idea is one of the core visions of the project—to create a forum for the discussion of physicianhood
itself."
Season Two of Radio Rounds premiered on August 9, 2009. The second season of Radio Rounds, which featured a lineup of accomplished physician-authors, concluded on December 6, 2009 with a special interview with Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder
John Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
. Another Season Two highlight was a unique live-audience talk show at a regional American Medical Students Association conference, in which Kalra, Swamy, and Das interviewed U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
Jan Schakowsky
Janice D. "Jan" Schakowsky is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes many of Chicago's northern suburbs, including Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Rosemont...
.
Season Three of Radio Rounds consisted of 13 episodes in the late winter and early spring of 2010. The third season of the show also marked the debut of host John Corker, a medical student at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.
Season Four of the program premiered in August 2010 and included several landmark moments, including the celebration of the show's 50th episode. In addition, the cast of hosts expanded to include medical students Teresa Lee, Adam Deardorff, John Mark Mclain, and Casey McCluskey. In addition, Yojan Patel joined the Radio Rounds team as a producer of the show.
Seasons Five and Six aired in 2011, and Season Seven is scheduled to premiere in January 2012.
Format
Each episode of the show is 30 minutes and features an interview with at least one special guest, either live in the studio or via telephone. Guests include physicians, medical school admissions directors, students in different stages of their medical education, and other health care leaders.Beginning with Episode 412 (i.e. the 12th episode of Season Four), the show began opening with a short "teaser clip" of the episode's featured guest. The structure of the program has evolved over time but traditionally features three segments: a short "intro," the featured interview, and an "outro" in which the hosts discuss topics related to the interview.
Beginning with its 11th episode, which aired on August 23, 2009, Radio Rounds began opening with a new theme song, entitled "Rounding on the Radio." The song is performed by Robert Mikan, Meera Menon, Cole Budinsky and Kevin Gulley—all medical students at the Boonshoft School of Medicine.
An additional feature that was included during Season Three episodes was a weekly "Residency Insights" segment, featuring short interview clips with residency program directors from around the country. This feature was added by the show's production team in order to give medical students additional exposure to future career possibilities.
Other interactive features of the show have included a mystery diagnosis "case of the week," medical headlines, live listener emails, website polls, and a song of the week.
Guests
Guests during the first six seasons of the show have included:- Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, New York Times bestseller of Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal
- Dr. Elissa Ely: Psychiatrist, Op-Ed Columnist for The New York Times and The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, Former National Public Radio Contributor
- Tracy KidderTracy KidderJohn Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
: Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning American author of Mountains Beyond MountainsMountains Beyond MountainsMountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World and his latest book Strength In What Remains
- Dr. Martin Makary: Chair of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Outcomes Research. Dr. Makary serves in leadership roles for the United Nations World Health Organization and is a regular medical guest on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
- Dr. Stephen Bergman (a.k.a. Samuel ShemSamuel ShemSamuel Shem is the pen-name of the American psychiatrist Stephen Joseph Bergman . His main works are The House of God and Mount Misery, both fictional but close-to-real first-hand descriptions of the training of doctors in the United States.Bergman was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford in...
): Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and author of The House of GodThe House of GodThe House of God is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem , published in 1978. It portrays the psychological harm done to medical interns during the course of medical internship in the early 1970s.-Storyline:...
- Dr. Sandeep Jauhar: Director of the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He writes regularly for The New York Times and The New England Journal of Medicine and is the author of Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation.
- Dr. Evan Lyon: Internist, Editor of the Journal of Health and Human Rights, Physician for Partners in HealthPartners In HealthPartners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
organization.
- Dr. Robert Marion: Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gyneclogy at the Albert Einstein College of MedicineAlbert Einstein College of MedicineAlbert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
in the Bronx, New York, Author of six published books, including The Intern Blues and Learning to Play God: The Coming of Age of a Young Doctor.
- Dr. Michael Collins: Practicing orthopedic surgeon in Illinois, Author of Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs and Hot Lights, Cold Steel
- Dr. Harlan Selesnick: Team physician for the NBA's Miami HeatMiami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
and the physician for the 2000 Gold Medalist U.S Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in Sydney, Australia
- Dr. Walter Hartwig: author of "Med School Rx: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting On with Doctoring"
- Dr. Christine Montross: a psychiatrist at Brown University and author of the 2007 book entitled "Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab"
- Dr. Kevin Pho: the creator and author of KevinMD.com, the web’s leading physician blog with over 21,000 RSS subscribers and 16,000 Twitter followers
- Dr. Steven Novella: Director of Neurology at Yale University and host of The Skeptics' Guide to the UniverseThe Skeptics' Guide to the UniverseThe Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is a weekly, 80 minute podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, and a panel of "skeptical rogues". It is the official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, and is produced in conjunction with the James Randi Educational Foundation...
- Dr. Jon Andrus: Deputy Director for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), part of the World Health OrganizationWorld Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO)
- Dr. James Rohack: American Medical Association (AMA) Past-President
- Governor Howard DeanHoward DeanHoward Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, M.D.: Family physician by training, former Governor of Vermont, and 2004 U.S. Presidential candidate
- Margaret Edson: Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright of WitWitWit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
- Dr. Michael Barratt: Mission specialist with the NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Space Shuttle Program
- Thomas Goetz: Author of The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine and executive editor of Wired Magazine
- Travis Roy: Spinal cord injury survivor and founder of the Travis Roy Foundation
- Dr. Peggy Wilmoth: 2009-10 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow on assignment with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
; Nursing professor at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte; Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve
- Dr. Robert Hicks (Director) and Anna Dhody (Curator), from the Mutter MuseumMütter MuseumThe Mütter Museum is a medical museum located in the Center City area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It contains a collection of medical oddities, anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment. The museum is part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The...
at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Dr. Meena Seshamani, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Policy Analysis
- Dr. Lisa Sanders, New York Times columnist, Technical Advisor for HouseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University
- Dr. Chris Coppola, Author of Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq
- Dr. Robert Arceci, Director of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins University and Creator of the Emmy-Award winning documentary A Lion in the House
- Dr. Harley Liker, Medical Technical Advisor for the television program HouseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
- Dr. Michelle Au, an anesthesiologist and acclaimed author of "This Won’t Hurt a Bit (And Other White Lies)" and the blog "The Underwear Drawer"