25 podcast episodes every family physician should listen to

- Marselle Bredemeyer

As an associate editor in the AFP editorial offices in Leawood, KS, I work alongside our authors and other non-physician staff to help craft each issue of the journal. We use checklists, stylebooks, and calculators to prepare articles for press, guided by our readers and their needs throughout the process. More than merely gauging the readability of a sentence, this means visualizing the big picture: the information we provide being used at the point of care, as research material, or for continuing education. This picture comes together over time, by staying tuned in to comments we receive on the website, phone, through e-mail, and via social media (Twitter and Facebook), where I love to see replies and messages about the content I am sharing.

My sketch of the family medicine specialty has largely been shaped by these experiences, but the voice that sticks in my mind as I work comes from a podcast, an early episode of Slate’s “Working” that featured a family physician from Washington, D.C. Whether you’re new to podcasts or a long-time listener, the format’s storytelling power and lasting impact are what make it stand out.

As the number of podcasts continues to grow, so has an emphasis on the deep-listening strategies that can improve patient care in the office setting. Shared decision making is often a central part of care, from screening practices to end-of-life planning. Hearing what patients are saying and communicating with them in a way that meets their needs can transform their health, even at routine visits.

With that in mind, podcasts, and their ability to make us engage with others’ stories, might be useful to physicians as they look for ways to take in new information, and above all, try to stay tuned in to the underlying messages their patients are sharing. Want to start listening or add new favorites to your queue? With the help of AFP Podcast hosts Steve Brown, MD, Jake Anderson, DO, and Luke Peterson, DO, the four of us have come up with a family medicine podcast playlist that features a variety of shows talking about medicine, public health, and patient relationships. If the tweet might help medical students learn better note-taking, the podcast might help us all be better listeners.

What are you listening to? Share this post and add your own favorite episodes when you do!

AFP Podcast
Bonus Episode with J. Lloyd Michener, MD

Only Human
Doctor Stories: The Patient I’ll Never Forget
How to Stop an Outbreak

This American Life
Something Only I Can See

Embedded
The House
The Hospital

Questioning Medicine
The Dexa Scam

Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Syphilis
Heroes of Patent Medicine

Invisibilia
The Secret History of Thoughts
The Problem with the Solution

Best Science Medicine
Televised Medical Talk Shows (paid subscription required; listen to new episodes for free on iTunes)

Radiolab
The Cathedral
Staph Retreat
Patient Zero: Updated
Elements
Birthstory

A Gobbet o’ Pus 810
Occam and Fallacies

99% Invisible
Fountain Drinks

Planet Money
The Experiment Experiment
Black Market Pharmacies
Your Organs Please
Clipping Coupons for Health Care

Freakonomics
How to Become Great at Just About Anything
How Many Doctors Does It Take to Start a Healthcare Revolution?