Healing People, Not Patients

This episode is sponsored by NURP NURP helps busy physicians grow their wealth through AI-powered algorithmic trading designed for demanding careers. No day trading, no guesswork, and no constant market watching required.  Ready to put your money to work? Visit start.nurp.com/doctors  to learn more.  Trading involves risk, and results may vary. This is not financial advice. —----------------------...

This episode is sponsored by NURP NURP helps busy physicians grow their wealth through AI-powered algorithmic trading designed for demanding careers. No day trading, no guesswork, and no constant market watching required.  Ready to put your money to work? Visit start.nurp.com/doctors  to learn more.  Trading involves risk, and results may vary. This is not financial advice. -----------------------...

What if prescribing medication meant more than following an algorithm,  it meant walking alongside patients in their stories? In Episode 15 of Healing People, Not Patients , Dr. Warren Kinghorn and Dr. Abraham Nussbaum discuss their co-authored book Prescribing Together: A Relational Guide to Psychopharmacology . Drawing on the Hasidic story of the Turkey Prince, they challenge the dominant “vendi...

Can healthcare professionals remain compassionate while working inside systems that often undermine compassion itself? In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle continues his discussion with therapist, researcher, and author Dr. Brian C. Miller about sustaining meaning and emotional wellbeing in the helping professions. Together, they tackle the difficult reality many clinician...

Is burnout really caused by caring too much? In part one of this two-part episode  of Healing People, Not Patients, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle welcomes Dr. Brian C. Miller for a powerful conversation that challenges conventional wisdom around burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion in healthcare. Drawing from his book Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in t...

Can we sing songs of joy when our world feels broken? In this special pre-Passover episode, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle delivers a powerful live session from the Conference on Medicine and Religion. Starting with Psalm 137 (“By the rivers of Babylon”), he weaves together biblical texts, Jewish history, the trauma of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and live musical performances to show how music beco...

What happens when medicine says "I don't know" and chaplains step in to hold the unknown? In Episode 11 of Healing People, Not Patients, Rabbi Kara Tav shares her experience starting as a palliative care chaplain at NYU Langone Brooklyn just weeks before the world recognized COVID-19 as a pandemic. She describes transforming hospital units, supporting weeping doctors who couldn't admit uncertainty...

Can patient advocacy and persistence lead to "bonus days" in chronic illness? In Episode 10 of Healing People, Not Patients , Abbe Feitelberg, a healthcare leader and Crohn's disease advocate, discusses her 10-year path to diagnosis, the loneliness of navigating healthcare alone, and her work with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Drawing from her professional role training clinicians in leadershi...

What happens when work breaks the body and spirit? In Episode 9 of Healing People, Not Patients, Jonathan Clemens, a PA specializing in occupational medicine, shares insights from his work with long-term injured workers. With over 20 years of experience transitioning from IT to medicine, he discusses the challenges of balancing patient care with insurance, employers, and ethical dilemmas like mali...

How can ancient storytelling techniques illuminate modern illness experiences? In Episode 8 of Healing People, Not Patients , Aviva Rosenberg, CEO of the Gaucher Community Alliance, and Caryn, an occupational therapist living with Gaucher, share powerful narratives inspired by the Exodus story. Using the "First Fruits Declaration" as a framework, a four-line summary of enslavement to freedom. They...

How can healthcare become more human, more responsive, and more compassionate? In Episode 7 of Healing People, Not Patients , Dr. Jonathan Weinkle speaks with six University of Pittsburgh students about creative, patient-centered projects they developed to address real gaps in medical care. Sophia Smallwood and Thai-Hy Lam, propose an AI-driven support platform to help patients with iron deficienc...

How can religious obligations adapt to illness without compromising faith or well-being? In Episode 6 of Healing People, Not Patients, Rabbanit Miriam Fenster, a Halacha advisor, discusses navigating Jewish observance amid mental and physical health challenges. Drawing from her work with the Maaglei Nefesh program and decades of advising, she addresses conflicts like fasting during Yom Kippur for...

How do we welcome the stranger in today’s clinics? In Episode 5 of Healing People, Not Patients , Dr. Naghmeh Rowhani, and Ashok Gurung, join Dr. Jonathan Weinkle to discuss refugee and immigrant health. Dr. Rowhani, building a new pediatric immigrant clinic in San Diego, shares barriers like language gaps and fear of ICE. Ashok, a Bhutanese refugee now in medical school, recounts surviving refuge...

What happened to the soul of medical education, and can we reclaim it? In Episode 4 of Healing People, Not Patients , Dr. Jeremy Golding, a family medicine professor at UMass Chan Medical School, reflects on the shift from hierarchical, patient-centered training to today's high-pressure environment. Drawing from his career and the Five Minute Clinical Consult, he shares insights on fostering human...

Can spirituality bring the soul back to mental healthcare? In Episode 3 of Healing People, Not Patients , Shelley Karrel, discusses integrating spirituality into mental health practice. Drawing from her doctoral research and 20 years of Mussar practice, she explores barriers clinicians face—lack of training, fear of boundaries, and ethical concerns—and how Mussar’s focus on character traits like h...

How can healthcare providers become allies in addiction recovery? In this episode of Healing People, Not Patients , Rabbi Joshua Corber, explores addiction as a response to life’s unmanageable stresses, not just substance misuse. Drawing from his recovery journey and the 12-step program, he highlights the transformative role of a sponsor and the importance of addressing psychoemotional pain. Rabbi...

What if medicine has become a religion, and what does that mean for physicians and patients? In the premiere episode of Healing People, Not Patients , Dr. Elisha Waldman, joins Dr. Jonathan Weinkle to discuss how medicine mirrors religious systems with its temples, hierarchies, and rituals. Drawing from his book This Narrow Space and his diverse experiences in the US, Israel, and the UK, Dr. Waldm...

Medicine was never supposed to be just about diagnoses, lab values, or billing codes. For Dr. Jonathan Weinkle, it began with a deep belief: every human being is created in the image of God. In this opening teaser, Dr. Weinkle shares his story—from the joy of healing relationships to the heartbreak of burnout—and why he created Healing People, Not Patients . He explains how the show will use the f...