Lessons We Didn't Learn in Med School
Lessons We Didn't Learn in Med School uses the power of story telling and conversation to be the HEALING that is so needed in medicine. Join us, Drs. Beth Vukin and Kara Wada, two physicians turned patients, navigating our own chronic illness journeys.
We talk about the hard things and also the joyful things as well as the ridiculous. Along with our guests, we hope that having real talk about what it is like to be a patient as well as what it is like to be a medical professional, sheds light on things that are often in the dark. We celebrate science, resilience of the human spirit and the power of community.
"Lessons We Didn't Learn in Med School" isn't just a podcast; it's a rallying cry for patients and health professionals alike to reclaim their voices and demand a healthcare system that listens and partners with patients. Together, we seek to end the stigma and loneliness of illness, foster compassion and connection and offer knowledge with practical advice for those living with and caring for people with chronic illness.
Lessons We Didn't Learn in Med School
Episode 10. My MD advocate. Dr. Susan Baumgaertel, M.D. , internal medicine physician and rheumatoid arthritis patient gives us lessons for navigating autoimmune disease
In this episode, we are joined by Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD. Dr. Baumgaertel is an internal medicine physician with over 30 years of experience. She is also a patient and has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 24 years.
In her clinical practice, she often recognized that patients needed assistance with navigating the increasingly challenging medical arena. She stepped away from direct patient care in 2021 and founded MyMDadvocate.com in early 2022. Dr. Baumgaertel now serves as a physician consultant, healthcare navigator, personal coach and medical advocate.
As a patient and as a physician, she has a lesson to share with us. She tells us, “I help people navigate medical systems by speaking about ways to work effectively with their healthcare team and advocating for individualized care.”
Her three takeaway life lessons:
1. Making an autoimmune diagnosis is typically a marathon, not a sprint.
2. Autoimmune disease validation comes in many, often surprising, forms.
3. Diagnoses can morph over time, and the “moving target” scenario can be fatiguing.
We hope that when you listen to this podcast you will feel like you are not alone, you are validated in your symptoms, and you can take a breath and try to gain patience with the medical process of diagnosis.