Residency: the rite of passage every doctor must survive before practicing on their own. But is the system built to train (or to break) young physicians?

In this episode of Unstable Vitals, Dr. Laura Zibners and Dr. Adam Brown sit down with Dr. Jared Dashevsky, a resident physician at Mount Sinai and founder of Healthcare Huddle, to unpack the realities of residency and what it reveals about the larger instability in U.S. healthcare.

From 80-hour work weeks and six-figure medical school debt to the high-stakes “Match” process and the infamous July 1st turnover, we dive into the pressures that shape doctors before they even become attendings. Jared shares his perspective as a third-year resident, new father, and healthcare communicator, offering an unfiltered look at the sacrifices, frustrations, and occasional absurdities of residency life.

Along the way, we ask:

• Is the residency system outdated?
• How do pay disparities and debt burden destabilize medicine?
• What changes could make training more sustainable for doctors and the patients they serve?

Whether you’re in medicine, thinking about it, or just want to understand what’s behind the curtain, this conversation exposes the cracks in the system and why they matter for all of us.

In this episode of Unstable Vitals, we dive into a staggering truth: women make 80% of healthcare decisions, yet only 4% of R&D dollars focus on women’s health.

Dr. Marina Gerner, award-winning journalist, author of The Vagina Business, and professional myth-buster, joins Dr. Lara Zibners and Dr. Adam Brown to unpack why the system is built on male-centric research, why funding for women’s health innovations still lags behind, and how centuries of normalized female pain have kept progress stalled.

From the under-research of PMS compared to erectile dysfunction to the under-researched effects of blockbuster drugs like Ozempic, we pull back the curtain on the biases, blind spots, and investment taboos that keep women’s health unstable.

Can we really Make America Healthy Again?

In this dynamic and slightly unconventional episode, our hosts Dr. Adam Brown and Dr. Lara Zibners combine a spin class with a candid conversation on the fragility of the American public health system. As they pedal through pop hits and resistance levels, they dig into the recent political shifts shaking up healthcare leadership, namely the appointment of RFK Jr. and others with controversial public health views. They challenge the legitimacy of decisions like dismantling vaccine review boards and appointing science skeptics to positions of power, all while reinforcing the importance of evidence-based healthcare policy.

Beyond politics, the conversation expands into the broader social determinants of health, including how infrastructure, socioeconomic status, and nutrition access influence America's wellbeing. They contrast Europe’s walkable cities and food transparency with the U.S.’s car dependency and ultra-processed diets.

Whether you're on a bike or a walk, this episode will get your heart rate up.