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 refugee camps, community suicides, and translating mental health concepts across cultures. Together they explore cultural humility, somatic symptoms of trauma, and community resilience amid political turmoil—urging clinicians to advocate beyond medicine and foster trust through genuine care.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• Cultural Humility Over Competency: No clinician can master every culture; success lies in humility, curiosity, and building trust over time—especially when language or worldview gaps persist.
• Trauma Hides in the Body: Refugees often present with unexplained pain (headaches, abdominal pain) rooted in stress and displacement; ruling out physical causes while gently addressing psychological roots requires patience and cultural sensitivity.
• Community as Medicine: Tight-knit immigrant networks provide food, support, and hope during crises (e.g., food stamp cuts); clinicians succeed by connecting patients to these lifelines and advocating for housing, education, and safety.

About the Guests:

Dr. Naghmeh Rowhani, is an academic faculty in Pediatrics at UC San Diego, developing an immigrant/refugee health clinic with a federally qualified health center. With an MPH from Harvard focused on child protection, she previously worked with global orphans and near-border Mexican communities.

LinkedIn : linkedin.com/in/naghmeh-rowhani-md-mph

Ashok Gurung, a Bhutanese refugee orphaned young, survived refugee camps and now pursues his MD at AdventHealth/University of Chicago. A community leader addressing Bhutanese mental health crises and suicides, he bridges cultural concepts of trauma for better care.

Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship.

"Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul."

Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being.

He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients.

🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a

📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen

📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle

The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

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 humanism, gratitude, and balance in education. Dr. Golding offers practical advice for educators to model joy, set boundaries, and prioritize relationships, inspiring trainees to see medicine as a privilege.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• Evolution of Medical Education: Traditional training emphasized hierarchy and patient-first altruism but often led to burnout; modern approaches like simulation and work-hour limits aim to foster humanism and balance.
• Finding Joy in Medicine: Cultivate gratitude for patient interactions, set boundaries, and pursue non-clinical activities to sustain a fulfilling career and model this for trainees.
• Gratitude and Closure: End visits with thanks and clear guidance, viewing patient care as a privilege to build meaningful connections and prevent burnout.

About the Guest:

Dr. Jeremy Golding is a professor of family medicine at UMass Chan Medical School and practices at Clark University’s student health center in Worcester, Massachusetts. A dedicated medical educator, he has shaped generations of physicians through his teaching and as an associate editor of the Five Minute Clinical Consult (5MCC). Trained at Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Golding emphasizes humanism, gratitude, and work-life balance in medicine, drawing from his experiences in obstetrics, pediatrics, and primary care to inspire joy and purpose in clinical practice.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Jeremy Golding:

🌐 UMass Chan Medical School

📘 Five Minute Clinical Consult

Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship.

"Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul."

Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being.

He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients.

🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a

📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen

📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle

The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

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 humility and patience can create meaningful patient connections. Shelley offers practical ways to see patients as “holy souls,” fostering healing through curiosity and compassion.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• Barriers to Spirituality: Clinicians often lack training and personal spiritual awareness, fearing ethical or competency issues when addressing patients’ spiritual needs.
• Mussar in Practice: The Jewish practice of Mussar helps clinicians balance traits like humility and patience, transforming interactions by fostering curiosity over judgment.
• Healing Through Connection: Seeing patients as “holy souls” encourages clinicians to build authentic relationships, prioritizing patients’ values and meaning over technical fixes.

About the Guest:

Shelley Karrel is a registered clinical counselor in Vancouver, BC, with a Master’s in Counseling from City University of Seattle and a PhD candidate at Yorkville University, researching barriers to integrating spirituality in psychotherapy. With 30 years of counseling experience and 20 years practicing Mussar, she helps clients balance character traits to align with their soul’s purpose.

🔗 Connect with Shelley Karrel:

🌐 Website: Karrelcounselling.com

📘 Blog: “Your Spiritual Curriculum is Calling” on Karrelcounselling.com

📚 Recommended Reading: Everyday Holiness and With Heart in Mind by Alan Morinis

Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship.

"Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul."

Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being.

He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients.

🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a

📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen

📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle

The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.