The WISER Podcast

Dr. Caprice Greenberg is a renowned surgeon scientist and a true visionary in the world of health services research. In this episode, we make reference to two powerful talks of hers that made waves in the world of surgery. The first talk, called “Sticky Floors and Glass Ceilings”, was her 2017 Association for Academic Surgery Presidential Address. Her 2018 follow-up talk, which she gave at the Mic...

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are excited to be joined by Dr. Stephanie Drew, an incredible Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon and breast cancer survivor. Dr. Drew shares her cancer journey, the coincidence that led to her diagnosis, insights gained from being a physician-patient, and her experience living as a cancer survivor. We also talk about the gender inequality in OMFS and...

It’s that time of year when newly minted graduates of surgical training programs start their first attending jobs! It’s an exciting time, but do you really know what to expect? And how do you go from years of pre-scripted training to finding the right first job?  Left to right: Drs. Maggie Diller, Vivian Wang, and Priya Rajdev So, for our first episode of season 4, we decided to reunite with some...

This mother-daughter special features Dr. Patricia Bortoluzzi, a craniofacial plastic surgeon in Montreal, and her daughter, Alex Speak, who just so happens to be our Producer here at WISER. In this episode, they discuss their roots in surgery, their mother-daughter dynamic, and the struggles in their respective journeys. Dr. Bortoluzzi, a first-generation Canadian of Italian descent, is past-Prog...

Before COVID times, one of our #beWISER events was on pregnancy and parenthood during surgical residency. Dr. Rima Rindler (Emory neurosurgery resident) and Dr. Emily Barrow (then Emory ENT resident, now faculty), came up with the idea of sharing their experiences and the many things they both wished they knew about having kids during residency. With Mother’s Day this month, and the inability to g...

Dr. Shipra Arya is seriously impressive – she graduated from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one of the most prestigious medical schools in India (think: 60,000 applicants for 35 spots a year!), and at that time, was the only female student pursuing surgery. Early on, she knew that she wanted to come to the US for residency training and beyond, and she shares insights into the difficult j...

Today, we are delighted to be presenting an interview with Dr. Leigh Neumayer. She visited Emory University last year to deliver General Surgery grand rounds, and we caught some of her valuable time to talk to her one-on-one. At this time, she was the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where she became their first female Chair of Surgery in 2014. Now she is the Chair of Surgery at Universi...

Dr. Velazquez is the Vascular Fellowship Director and a faculty member at Wake Forest Health. She graduated from Universidad de Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, then completed a general surgery residency at Emory University and a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Florida. Throughout her journey to becoming a vascular surgeon, Dr. Velazquez has demonstrated extraordinary resilienc...

The path to become a practicing surgeon is long and arduous. At the same time, it is also fairly regimented: 4+ years in medical school, 5+ years in residency, and then possibly a couple more in fellowship. Each step comes with a standardized process and timeline that we are used to pressing through. After you are finally done with that training, how do you go about obtaining your first job? It’s...

In today’s episode, we hear from some Buckeyes! Our WISER co-founder, Vivian Wang (she/her/hers) is joined by JC Chen (they/them/theirs), a PGY2 from The Ohio State University, as they interview Dr. Courtney Collins (she/her/hers). In our conversation, we start to scratch the surface on the topic of LGBTQ+ in surgery. Dr. Collins is originally from a small town in Washington state. From there, her...

For our first episode of Season 3, we are sharing an insightful conversation with a Burns Boss, Dr. Juvonda Hodge. She is currently the Assistant Medical Director at the Grady Memorial Hospital Burn Center. Dr. Hodge sat down with us to discuss her unexpected path to becoming a burn surgeon, the continued need for mentorship throughout her career, and assimilating versus adapting in academia.  She...

For our final episode of Season 2, we are excited to share our conversation with Dr. Maria (Marti) Russell, a surgical oncologist at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital. She delves into her unique (though often challenging) practice, as she operates both at Emory Midtown Hospital and at Grady Memorial Hospital.  Dr. Russell shares a lot of practical advice in this episode, especially when...

Jane Hallman is an OR scrub tech who has been working at Emory for over two decades. She was born in Carrolton, GA, and initially became interested in the health field through her grandparents, who started a hospital. She ended up following her mother’s path and became a teacher. Jane taught preschool for many years before transitioning to being a scrub tech. She has now been at Emory for 23 years...

Dr. Shaneeta Johnson is a leader in all circles that she occupies. She is an Associate Professor of Surgery, Director of the Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Program, and the Residency Associate Program Director at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Johnson’s penchant for leadership is both natural and cultivated. In this episode, she talks about her origins from a family of educators, as w...

Dr. Victoria Teodorescu (Dr. T) grew up in New Jersey, but really claims Nebraska as her home. Her summers as a child in Nebraska were spent chasing after cows, swimming in the irrigation ditches, and finding snakes in the backyard. Dr. T’s road to medicine definitely wasn’t straight. She knew she loved science and math, but Dr. T remembers that “the girls in my high school hadn’t been expected to...

This is the final episode of our mini-series on Ohio State University’s 4th Annual Women in Surgery Symposium ! We hope you have enjoyed this series as much as we have – if so, we encourage you to join in person for their 5th Annual Symposium this fall. Dr. Kevin Pei , Director of Surgical Critical Care (Texas A&M), talks about bullying and microaggressions, and asks some difficult questions to a...

This is episode 4 of 5 featuring the Ohio State University’s 4th Annual Women in Surgery Symposium , #HeforShe and #SheforShe: Redefining Surgical Culture. This panel, led by Dr. Anghela Paredes , a PGY2 general surgery resident, addresses obstacles in career transitions, from medical school to residency, to fellowship, and to your first job as junior faculty.  Our panelists sharing stories are: D...

This is episode 3 of 5 featuring the Ohio State University’s 4th Annual Women in Surgery Symposium , #HeforShe and #SheforShe: Redefining Surgical Culture. Dr. Andrew Bernard , Chief of Trauma and Acute Surgery at University of Kentucky, speaks about equity, diversity, and inclusion in surgery. Do we still need this? Listen in to hear him give a fantastic summary of current literature, and then po...

This is episode 2 of 5 in our mini-series on Ohio State University’s 4th Annual Women in Surgery Symposium, #HeforShe and #SheforShe: Redefining Surgical Culture. Led by Dr. Chelsea Horwood , a PGY4 general surgery resident at OSU, this episode features panelists who are surgical leaders in their fields: Dr. Gail Besner , Chief of Pediatric Surgery (Nationwide Children’s Hospital) Dr. Ginny Bumgar...

This episode is part 1 of 5 in a special mini-series featuring the Ohio State University’s 4th Annual Women in Surgery Symposium ! Held in the fall of 2019, Dr. Sabrena Noria (OSU), the founder and director of the symposium, chose the theme of “#HeforShe and #SheforShe: Redefining Surgical Culture.” This episode is an overview of the symposium, with highlights from fantastic talks: “HerStory in th...

Rachel Medbery, MD, and her husband Duane McLain, RN, share their story about flipping gender norms not only in their careers, but also within their marriage. The couple also discusses working relationships between nurses and doctors, and gives insight on how they respond to stereotypes and implicit biases from patients and coworkers. Dr. Medbery is a recent Emory cardiothoracic surgery graduate a...

Tune into this episode of the WISER podcast to hear Dr. Amy Chen, otolaryngologist at Emory University, share her journey into medicine and how she juggles being a leader and innovator of the field of ENT while also being a mentor and supporter both inside and outside of the hospital. Residency Match: The 7 most competitive medical specialties:  https://www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/specialt...

Dr. Gabriele Miotto (IG: @drgabrielemiotto) shares her journey through plastic surgery, including an intercontinental move, a masters in education, and a humbling yet rewarding recertification process. She also shares budget-conscious beauty and skin care tips and products–this is an episode that you won’t want to miss! The post S2E3: Dr. Miotto: From Attending to Intern to Attending Again first a...

Listen in to hear the self-dubbed “Trauma Mama” Dr. Randi Smith discuss the psychiatric impact of retained bullets, how trauma surgeons are at the frontlines of gun violence, and even a love story from Grady’s Trauma Bay One. The post S2E2: The Trauma Mama, Dr. Randi Smith first appeared on WISER Podcast .

For our first episode of Season 2, we are excited to have our first guest from outside of the Emory network, Dr. Rebecca Minter.  She is the current Chair of the Dept. of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin and and is renowned in the worlds of HPB surgery and surgical education. We interviewed Dr. Minter when she visited Emory in April 2019 to deliver a Grand Rounds called, “ ‘Why do I trust yo...