Harvard Medical Labcast

Note: This interview was recorded in 2019. For updates on Sequist's work during the COVID-19 pandemic, read our new Q&A.Traveling between New York, Albuquerque and Taos Pueblo while growing up and transitioning from computer chip engineering at Intel to enrolling in medical school, Thomas Sequist has never quite followed a straightforward path.After training in primary care and health care policy, Sequist found his way toward pursuing a great passion: improving health care quality and equity for all patients, with a special focus on American Indian communities.Now, Sequist helps new generations of American Indian students find their own paths into medicine, biomedical research and health care policy. For his part, he's not sure where he's going next.Sequist is professor of health care policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also chief patient experience and equity officer at Partners HealthCare. Download the full transcript [PDF]. Episode guide:0:02 Introduction1:05 Growing up in New York, Albuquerque and Taos Pueblo3:15 A winding path from Intel to medical school8:50 Seeking impact in primary care and health care policy11:00 Research into practice: health care quality and equity17:20 Addressing health disparities in American Indian communities19:25 Helping American Indian college students find their paths into medicine24:45 Clinician partnerships with the Indian Health Service and Navajo Nation30:15 Looking back at 25 years of service32:05 Conclusion Related links:Co-author, Investing in the Health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (JAMA, March 2020)Director, Four Directions Summer Research ProgramMedical director, Brigham and Women's Physician Outreach Program with Indian Health Service Producer: Rick Groleau Music: "Get Up While We Can" by Epic Country via Extreme Music Subscribe to the Harvard Medical Labcast on SimpleCast or iTunes.

Note: This interview was recorded in 2019. For updates on Inouye's work during the coronavirus pandemic and the link between COVID-19 and delirium, read our new Q&A.Each year, more than 7 million hospitalized people in the U.S. slide into delirium: an acute state of confusion that raises risk of serious health complications and death.Only a few decades ago, medical professionals believed they couldn't do anything to prevent delirium. Then Sharon Inouye proved otherwise. Her programs, adopted by hundreds of hospitals, have helped reduce cases of the condition by an estimated 40 percent. Inouye is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Aging Brain Center in the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife.In this episode, Inouye shares the story of how she became interested in delirium, describes how caregivers and clinicians can identify and prevent it, and explores the connection between delirium and dementia. She also talks about the family roots of her interest in medicine, her forays into English literature and harpsichord in college, dipping her toe into health policy—and how she struggled to stop her own father, a physician who treated survivors of atomic bombings, from developing delirium.Download the full transcript [PDF].Episode guide:0:05 Introduction2:25 Father as role model6:45 Family roots of humanism in medicine9:15 Turned to English and harpsichord in college12:05 Early application to medical school on a dare15:20 What is delirium and why is it an important issue17:40 Discovery that delirium doesn't "just happen"23:00 Risks for delirium and what family members, clinicians and researchers can do to mitigate them26:55 Delirium prevention in health care settings29:35 Father's delirium and the importance of teams33:00 Turn to health policy35:00 Connection between delirium and dementia38:25 ConclusionRelated links:Principal investigator of SAGES, Successful AGing after Elective SurgeryHospital Elder Life Program (HELP) for delirium preventionConfusion Assessment Method, the most widely used checklist for delirium identification [PDF]Producer: Rick GroleauMusic: Bach, "English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806," via Pond5

Neal Baer is an award-winning television writer and producer—and a Harvard Medical School-trained pediatrician (MD ’96). Through his pioneering work on hit shows such as ER and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as his leadership in connecting media producers with doctors and scientists, Baer has helped shape public perceptions of medicine, illness and health disparities, with a special focus on issues that disproportionately affect LGBTQ communities. In this month’s podcast, Baer recounts his unconventional journey and explains how storytelling is central to being both a writer and a doctor. Along the way, he reveals how medical school inadvertently prepared him to be an executive producer. Baer is an adjunct professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a part-time lecturer on global health and social medicine at HMS.

Dentists take care of our mouths, and doctors take care of the rest of us—but it’s becoming increasingly clear that oral health and overall health are inextricably linked. In this month’s podcast, dentist and future physician Lisa Simon talks about the potential benefits and challenges of bringing dentistry and medicine back together after a 150-year separation. A graduate of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Simon is currently the HSDM Fellow in Oral Health and Medicine Integration and a medical student at Harvard Medical School.