Let Doctors Be Doctors With Jay Shah, MD

After completing medical school and residency, Vivek Rao, MD, did something he thought he’d never do – he returned to his hometown of Odessa, to start his own medical practice. “As I got older, I realized how much the community has to offer. This is a good place to raise a family, and it's a place where you can really give back,” he said in a conversation with TMA’s Immediate Past President Jayesh...

Bernard Harris Jr., MD,’s professional journey took an unconventional turn. After becoming a physician, he set his eyes on the skies to pursue his childhood dream of being an astronaut. On a spacewalk during a 1995 mission, he became the first African American to do so. In a new episode of the Let Doctors Be Doctors podcast with TMA’s Immediate Past President Jayesh “Jay” Shah, MD, Dr. Harris talk...

For Myphuong Theresa Phan, MD, the journey to medical school was a testament to perseverance. The Houston family and sports medicine physician said it took her six attempts to get accepted into medical school, but she never gave up. “I knew I wanted to be a doctor, so that dream never wavered, even if it got cloudy at times because of how difficult it was,” said Dr. Phan in a conversation with TMA...

Bradford Holland, MD, installed as the Texas Medical Association’s new president in April 2026, is focused on ensuring physicians are prominently involved in finding solutions to Texans’ health care needs. “The public expects if we're going to have a health care solution, it should come from physicians. It shouldn't come from the government … [nor] from executives or bankers or insurers,” said Dr....

Bradford Holland, MD, was installed as the 161st president of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in April 2026. The Waco otolaryngologist grew up in Colorado but made Texas home after relocating for medical school. Dr. Holland brings a unique perspective to his medical practice – as both a physician and patient. Years ago he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and had to undergo surgery and chem...

Rodney Young, MD, a family physician in Amarillo and TMA’s Board of Trustees member likes to wear many hats: He cares for patients, teaches aspiring doctors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine (TTUHSC) in Amarillo and is active in organized medicine. “Variety is the spice of life and it's also the spice of my career interests,” said Dr. Young in a new episode of the...

Over decades of service to public health, David Lakey, MD, has seen everything from the Ebola outbreak in Dallas to natural disasters like Hurricane Ike. In a new episode of the Let Doctors Be Doctors podcast, Dr. Lakey – who served as commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services – tells TMA President Jayesh “Jay Shah, MD, about his experiences handling public health emergencies a...

For more than a decade, Robert Rogers, MD, an allergist in Fort Worth, has been volunteering as a reading tutor for children. It all started when he joined a mentoring program 15 years ago and found many fifth graders were reading at a kindergarten level. “I realized that if these kids were going to have a hope of a better future, it was going to be because they were intentionally taught to read,”...

Amanda Mohammed-Strait, MD, still remembers the boy with no shoes walking to get medicine for his mother, a vision that changed her life’s path. Traveling with her family as a youth and volunteering in other parts of the world and witnessing people suffer from lack of medical care helped inspire the Dallas family physician to choose medicine as her profession. Those experiences also have shaped he...

Grace Farris, MD, is an internist and hospitalist physician in Austin. When she is not seeing patients, she is an artist, trying to portray complex topics like informed consent, the life of a medical student, and motherhood, through illustrations. She has published three graphic novels – books featuring cartoon panel illustrations. In this podcast, discussing her path to becoming an artist, Dr. Fa...

Fifty years ago, internist Jayaram Naidu, MD, left his homeland of India to cross the globe in search of opportunity. He eventually arrived in Odessa, Texas to start his medical practice. Would the community welcome the new doctor? In a new episode of the Let Doctors Be Doctors podcast, Dr. Naidu acknowledges his early concerns. “Starting your own practice, I was very anxious and nervous at that t...

For Nayeli Fuentes, MD, a family medicine resident in Tyler, Texas, the path to becoming a physician was a tough one. Her father worked three or four jobs so her family could make ends meet. They depended on the local food bank and their church for food and clothes. She said the struggles her parents went through motivated her to work hard toward her goal of becoming a physician. “I remember my pa...

In a new episode of the Let Doctors Be Doctors podcast, McAllen internist Lenore DePagter, DO, shares a deeply personal story about her son who was diagnosed with autism and his journey to graduate high school. Dr. DePagter tells TMA President Jayesh Shah, MD, her experiences guide her interactions with patients. She says when she cares for a child with complex medical needs, she draws from – and...

Fort Worth obstetrician-gynecologist Shanna Combs, MD, a chose a unique career before becoming a physician: She started as a professional ballet dancer after earning an undergraduate degree in the art. “When I was getting ready to apply for college, I said to myself, ‘I'm going to study science for the rest of my life. So why don't I study something that I know I can't do forever?’” says Dr. Combs...

In a new episode of the Let Doctors be Doctors podcast, Roxanne Tyroch, MD, member, TMA Independent Physician Practice committee describes her journey from caring for patients in a hospital to academic medicine to private practice. She says there came a time in her career when she no longer wanted to have a “transient relationship” with her patients. “I wanted to have long-standing relationships w...

Eddie Patton Jr., MD, a neurologist in Houston, spent a lot of time after work typing notes from his patient’’ visits, especially when the cases were complex. He is now using artificial intelligence (AI) to help speed up this process. He said AI can help with tasks that have little impact on patient care but could be done more efficiently. He discusses his interest in AI and how it has helped him...

In a new episode of the Let Doctors Be Doctors Podcast, TMA President Jayesh “Jay” Shah, MD, speaks with Amy Townsend, MD, a Bridge City family physician. Dr. Townsend recalls her experience working in an administrative role at a hospital. She describes how the number of patients that physicians were required to treat “grew exponentially,” but the physicians lacked the resources needed to manage t...

Dealing with prior authorization delays is a struggle for many patients and physicians says Elisabeth Potter, MD, who specializes in breast reconstruction and plastic surgery. She has shared her frustrations with media and on social media, and is now sharing her experience with TMA President Jayesh “Jay” Shah, MD, on his podcast, Let Doctors Be Doctors.   Notice By accessing this Podcast, I acknow...

Kimberly Monday, MD, a Houston neurologist and chair of TMA’s Board of Trustees, has important advice for physicians – reach out for help if you are struggling with a mental health challenge. “You would not tell a patient that had diabetes or hypertension not to get help. It's the same thing if you have a clinical depression,” said Dr. Monday in a conversation with TMA president Jayesh “Jay” Shah,...

Passionate about advocating for mental health, Grayson Jackson is pursuing his medical degree at the UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine at Galveston. He is also pursuing a PhD in bioethics and health humanities at the UTMB School of Public and Population Health. He is serving a one-year term as the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Medical Student Section representative to the TMA Board of Trustees....

Getting laid off from work can cause a lot of anxiety and stress. But when Brandi Ring, MD, was faced with that situation, she decided to use it as an opportunity to reset and travel. “I did something a little wild,” said Dr. Ring. “In a late-night, probably a little impulsive decision, I booked a couple of bucket list trips to amazing places in the world.” Listen to a new episode of the Let Docto...

Aruna Venkatesh, MD, an endocrinologist in San Antonio, says physicians deal with a lot of paperwork including documentation and electronic health records, often beyond their work hours. This leaves them exhausted and reduces the time they spend with patients. “Since the onset of electronic medical records, physicians spend 27% of their total time with patients and 49% of their time on electronic...

A flash flood during the July 4 weekend devastated Kerrville and the surrounding areas. More than 90 people lost their lives and hundreds are missing. To help her community during this tragedy, Indira Maharaj-Mikiel, MD, a local family physician, jumped into action by volunteering at her church. “I just had to do something. I couldn't sit back and just watch my community in pain,” she said in a ne...

Kelly Green, MD, a Marble Falls ophthalmologist, speaks about the joys of practicing medicine in the Texas Hill Country, away from the busy cities of Austin and San Antonio. Dr. Green says she has a healthy work-life balance where she can care for her patients and spend time with her children. “I don't have to spend an hour on a highway to get home, ever…I get home in 12 minutes, and I can cook th...

Roger Moczygemba, MD, found he was doing more paperwork for insurance companies than spending time with his patients when practicing traditional primary care. This led him to feel burned out. In a new episode of Let Doctors be Doctors With Jay Shah, MD, Dr. Moczygemba says he started a direct primary care practice to tackle the problem. “It's refreshing. We get to spend time with our patients. We...