Medical students often find themselves juggling a demanding workload while striving to stay informed and inspired. Podcasts offer a unique way to learn, unwind and gain perspective during commutes, workouts or study breaks.
To help navigate the vast ocean of medical podcast options, it helps to get recommendations from your colleagues in medicine. Fortunately, the physicians who take part in the AMA’s “Shadow Me” Specialty Series—which offers advice directly from physicians about life in their specialties—also offer up thoughtful recommendations on podcasts worth seeking out. From practical clinical advice to thought-provoking discussions on the art of medicine, these podcasts are a must-listen for aspiring doctors looking to enhance their education and personal growth.
You can also hear from physicians, scientists and other leading voices on emerging issues and new innovations in health care with original podcasts from the AMA. All AMA podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Simplecast and many other listening services.
Here, in alphabetical order by title, is a list of podcast recommendations for medical students from physicians who participated in the “Shadow Me” Specialty Series. Each of these doctors is from an organization that is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
“American Family Physician Podcast”
- Sumi Makkar Sexton, MD, a family medicine physician with Privia Health, is a “big podcast fan” and this is one podcast she highly recommends.
“Behind the Knife”
- Colon and rectal surgeon Vlad (Val) Simianu, MD, MPH, of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, said that “this surgery-focused podcast covers all different types of surgical specialties and has some great content on colorectal surgery.”
- Boris Cehajic, MD, a general surgeon at Hattiesburg Clinic, also recommends this podcast because it “is a great resource for residents learning to navigate residency, oral board preparations, career planning and more.”
“Conversations From the World of Allergy”
- Allergist and immunologist Burcin Fraser, MD, of Privia Health, said medical students should listen to this podcast because it “gives you updates on the latest and greatest in allergy.”
“EntreMD”
- Dr. Fraser also recommends this podcast. She said it “helps you learn about running a business, because they don’t teach you that in medical school.”
“Peds Ortho”
- “This is a podcast put together by a group of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons who did their fellowships together” in San Diego, said Heather Kowalski, MD, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at University of Iowa Health Care.
- “Every month, they interview an author from the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, and it is extremely educational and entertaining,” Dr. Kowalski said. “You get to learn about their research and also their insight into other articles published in that issue.”
“Talking Sleep”
- This podcast is put together by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and “discusses the latest advances in our field. It is quite easy to listen to and has great information,” said Virginia Skiba, MD, a sleep medicine physician at Henry Ford Health.
“The Curbsiders”
- L. Wesley Aldred, MD, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Hattiesburg Clinic, said this podcast “does a wonderful job of explaining the formation of differential diagnoses.”
- Lexie Graham, MD, an internist with Confluence Health, also recommends this podcast. “This is a great podcast where they talk about internal medicine topics in a fun and digestible way that is really helpful for brushing up on a variety of topics,” she said.
"The Internet Book of Critical Care Podcast”
- “This is perhaps a bit too critical care-focused, but it is my favorite medical podcast to listen to while biking or hiking,” said Clyde J. (C.J.) Pierce, MD, a hospitalist at Confluence Health.
The AMA Specialty Guide simplifies medical students’ specialty selection process, highlights major specialties, details training information, and provides access to related association information. It is produced by FREIDA™, the AMA Residency & Fellowship Database®.
