In today's world, the idea of “identifying your values” is so ubiquitous, appearing from corporate mission statements to self-help books, that it can seem trivialized to the point of meaninglessness. But in this episode, Ira Bedzow, PhD reminds us it does not have to be this way—explorations of personal values can be an inspiring, holistic, and thought provoking process that transforms everything that we do, from finding joy in work to building fulfilling relationships.

Bedzow is the executive director of the Emory Purpose Project, an initiative at Emory University that provides opportunities for students to develop a capacity for reflection on purpose and meaning. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, a core faculty member of Emory's Center for Ethics, a senior fellow in Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion, and an Orthodox rabbi.

Over the course of our conversation, Bedzow discusses how he helps people discover their life purpose, how he teaches moral leadership, how he wrestles with questions of moral relativism, the connection between a loss of purpose and burnout, how he counsels clinicians on resolving ethical quandaries, and more.

In this episode, you will hear about:

2:21 - The varied roles that make up Dr. Bedzow’s current career

8:06 - What “values” mean

15:53 - The principles Dr. Bedzow employs when counseling students on their career and life aspirations

19:07 - Applying ethical thinking to medical scenarios

27:36 - How Dr. Bedzow counsels leadership at an organizational level

31:02 - The connection between a loss of sense of purpose and burnout

39:01 - How organizations and individuals can proactively foster a sense of mission

42:05 - The deep meaning that Dr. Bedzow finds in his religion

45:23 - Truths that Judaism can offer the world

Ira Bedzow is the author of the essay How Purpose and Employee Empowerment Can Stop Burnout.

Ira Bedzow can be found on Twitter/X at @ijbedzow.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

Terminal lucidity is a mysterious yet well-documented phenomenon in which someone at the end of life—including those who have suffered strokes or other brain injuries, or those afflicted by dementia—suddenly returns with mental clarity and is able to recognize loved ones and engage in meaningful and emotionally rich conversations. It challenges our fundamental understanding and assumptions about the nature of consciousness, brain function in the context of severe illness, and personhood.

In this episode, Alexander Batthyány, PhD, a cognitive scientist and the Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute, offers insights on terminal lucidity from his years of study on this phenomenon from a philosophical, ethical, neurological, and psychological perspective. He is the author of the 2023 book Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death.

Over the course of our conversation, he shares how witnessing terminal lucidity in his grandmother has shaped his life purpose, why he chooses to use the word “soul” in his academic research, the role of spirituality and religion in making sense of terminal lucidity, the limits of our scientific and materialistic understanding of the brain, what terminal lucidity reveals about the dignity and unpredictability inherent in the human condition, and what it ultimately teaches us about kindness and compassion.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

2:31 - The personal experience that drew Dr. Batthyány to study terminal lucidity

6:34 - An exploration of human dignity

12:26 - The importance of talking and thinking about the human “soul”

18:26 - Definition and phenomenology of terminal lucidity

23:57 - What is known about brain functioning during episodes of terminal lucidity

31:44 - Advice for caregivers, family members, and clinicians if a patient experiences terminal lucidity

36:55 - The prevalence of terminal lucidity

40:14 - Whether individuals who experience terminal lucidity have insight into their condition

42:15 - Why phenomena like terminal lucidity matter

Dr. Alexander Batthyány is the author of Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death (2023).

Dr. Batthyány can be found in Twitter/X at @Alxdr_Batthyany.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) plays a crucial role in health care. As the organization that oversees medical education and thus the pipeline of future medical professionals in the United States, its critical duties include administering the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), managing the residency application service, drafting guidelines for faculty members and departments at medical schools and academic hospitals, disseminating data on medical education and workforce trends that shape policymaking at medical schools and government bodies, and promoting diversity in health care.

Leading this organization is David Skorton, MD, a cardiologist and pioneer of cardiac imaging and computer processing techniques, who also previously served as the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and as President of Cornell University and of the University of Iowa. In this episode, Dr. Skorton shares with us how his family's immigrant past has shaped him, how he went from struggling during his own medical school application process more than 50 years ago to now leading an organization that represents all medical schools and teaching hospitals, why the arts and humanities matter to him, how he thinks about medical education given the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, what great mentors look like, how effective leadership often means learning from everyone around you, and more.

In this episode, you will hear about:

2:42 - Dr. Skorton’s unexpected path from jazz musician to President of the AAMC

7:42 - Why current medical admissions aim to be “holistic”

12:09 - The lessons Dr. Skorton learned through mentorship and why the arts and humanities can create better doctors

17:32 - How Dr. Skorton has been able to “see past himself” enough to receive challenging criticism from mentors

28:01 - The core tenets of Dr. Skorton’s leadership philosophy

31:35 - How the AAMC views the future of medical education especially in light of advances in artificial intelligence

38:47 - The importance of diverse healthcare teams

46:32 - Issues that Dr. Skorton addresses through his role at the AAMC

Dr. David Skorton can be found on Twitter/X at @DavidJSkorton.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024