Prescribe or Pass: The PoP Pod
Prescribe or Pass: The PoP Pod is the clinician edition of Prescribe or Pass an evidence-based podcast for pharmacists, pharmacy students and other clinicians who work with medicines.
Hosted by Australian pharmacist, educator and science communicator Kate Thomas, each episode explores one medicine, one condition or one clinical concept, explaining not just what we do, but why we do it.
Expect practical pharmacology, clinical reasoning, patient counselling, common misconceptions, adverse effects, ethical reflection and the questions that arise in real-world practice.
Some episodes stand alone. Others form structured educational series, with reflective questions to support continuing professional development.
Clear, practical and independent, PoP Pod helps clinicians build confidence, challenge assumptions and communicate medicines information more effectively.
Episodes
21 episodes
Breathlessness in Palliative Care: Why Morphine Can Help When Oxygen Doesn’t
Why can someone feel profoundly breathless even when their oxygen levels are normal? And why might morphine help more than oxygen?In Episode 4 of our palliative care series, we unpack the difference between breathlessness and hypoxaemia,...
Opioids Without the Fear: Morphine, Oxycodone, Fentanyl and More
Opioids are some of the most important medicines in palliative care and some of the most misunderstood.In this episode, we take a practical deep dive into morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, buprenorphine and methadone, includi...
Pain in Palliative Care: It’s Not Just About Morphine
Pain in palliative care is rarely as simple as “give more morphine.”In this episode of Prescribe or Pass: The PoP Pod, we start with the most important step: working out what kind of pain the patient is actually experiencing.We ex...
Palliative Care Is Not Just End-of-Life Care
Palliative care is often misunderstood as the point where active treatment stops and “nothing more can be done.” But that is not what modern palliative care looks like.In this first episode of our new palliative care series, we unpack wh...
Beyond MHT: Supplements, Strength and What Actually Matters
In the final episode of our MHT series, we look beyond hormones and into the booming menopause wellness market.Do phytoestrogens, soy isoflavones, red clover, wild yam, black cohosh, magnesium, collagen and creatine actually help, and ho...
MHT Episode 7: MHT Risks, Contraindications & the WHI
MHT is often discussed as either “safe” or “dangerous” but the real clinical picture is far more nuanced.In Episode 7 of our menopause series, we unpack the major risks associated with menopausal hormone therapy, including breast cancer,...
Bonus Episode: Centanafadine: The New Triple Reuptake Inhibitor for ADHD
Just when we thought the ADHD series was finished, the FDA approved a brand-new ADHD medication.Centanafadine, FDA approved in the US as Simtriyo, is a once-daily triple reuptake inhibitor that affects dopamine, noradrenaline and seroton...
MHT Episode 6: Vaginal Oestrogen, Prasterone and Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, or GSM, is common, chronic and often under-recognised. In this episode, we look at how declining oestrogen affects the vulva, vagina, urethra and bladder and why symptoms can include much more than vaginal d...
MHT Episode 5: Testosterone in Menopause. Who Needs It, What It Does and What It Doesn’t
Testosterone has become one of the most talked-about hormones in menopause care, but its evidence-based role is more specific than the hype sometimes suggests.In Episode 5 of our MHT series, we look at what testosterone actually does in ...
MHT Episode 4: Progesterone, Progestogens and Protecting the Endometrium
Oestrogen may get most of the attention in menopausal hormone therapy, but if a uterus is present, progesterone, or another progestogen, has a crucial role to play.In Episode 4 of our MHT series, we look at why endometrial protection mat...
MHT Episode 3: Oestrogen: Patches, Gels and Tablets
Oestrogen is the headline act in menopausal hormone therapy, but the way it is delivered matters.In this episode, we explore the differences between oral and transdermal oestrogen, including patches, gels and tablets. We look at absorpti...
MHT Episode 2: What MHT Can, and Cannot, Treat
Menopausal hormone therapy can be transformative, but it is not a cure-all.In this episode, we look at the symptoms MHT treats most effectively, including hot flushes, night sweats and genitourinary symptoms, as well as the areas where t...
MHT Episode 1: Perimenopause, Menopause and What the Hormones Are Doing
What is actually happening to hormones during perimenopause, and why can symptoms feel so unpredictable?In the first episode of our new eight-part series on menopausal hormone therapy, pharmacist Kate Thomas explains the physiology behin...
Episode 8: ADHD Myths Every Clinician Should Know
ADHD is overdiagnosed. Everyone is a little ADHD. Stimulants are addictive. Medication changes personality. Children grow out of it. Sugar, phones, or even the gut microbiome, cause ADHD.In the final episode of this eight-part series, ph...
Episode 7: Managing ADHD Medicines in Real Life | Practical Counselling for Clinicians
What happens if a patient forgets their ADHD medicine?Should they take weekends off?Can they exercise? Drive? What about pregnancy, university, shift work, appetite, weight loss or the ongoing medicine shortages?In this pra...
Episode 6: Beyond Stimulants Understanding Atomoxetine, Guanfacine and Clonidine
Stimulant medicines like methylphenidate and Vyvanse often dominate conversations about ADHD, but they’re only part of the story.In this episode of Prescribe or Pass: The PoP Pod, we take a deep dive into the three main non-stimulant med...
Episode 5: Dexamphetamine & Vyvanse Explained | How They Work and Why They’re Different
If Vyvanse is converted into dexamphetamine… why do the two medicines feel so different?In Episode 5 of our ADHD medicines series, we unpack the science behind the amphetamine family and explain one of the most fascinating concepts in ph...
Ritalin, Ritalin LA and Concerta: Same Drug, Different Delivery
Ritalin, Ritalin LA and Concerta all contain methylphenidate but they are not interchangeable versions of the same medicine.In this episode, we compare immediate-release methylphenidate, Ritalin LA and Concerta, including how each formul...
Understanding Methylphenidate: How It Works, What to Expect and What to Monitor
Methylphenidate is one of the most commonly used medicines for ADHD, but understanding it requires more than knowing a list of brand names.In this episode of Prescribe or Pass: The PoP Pod, pharmacist Kate Thomas explains how methylpheni...
Ritalin vs Vyvanse: How Clinicians Choose ADHD Medications
Why is one patient prescribed Ritalin while another receives Vyvanse? Is one medication “stronger” than the other? Does it mean their ADHD is more severe?In this episode of PoP Pod, we explore the clinical reasoning behind ADHD medicatio...