What is the hidden curriculum of medicine and why don’t we talk about it? Join us and hidden curriculum veteran Professor Fred Hafferty in exploring the informal norms and invisible forces shaping medical training. We talk about students as sheep vs. cats, the possible rise of altruistic zombies, and why the question “Will this be on the exam?” reflects more than it seems. Fred shares bold ideas for a utopian future curriculum - one that values meaning over metrics and co-creation over compliance. It’s a deeper, longer listen that just might change how you see medical education.

Are you familiar with reflective zombies? They follow every reflection step. They write the reports. They check the boxes. But nothing real happens.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Anne de la Croix, Assistant Professor at Amsterdam UMC and humanities expert, about how reflection in medical education has lost its soul. We unpack the concept of skillification - the reduction of rich, complex human qualities like reflection and empathy into simplistic, assessable behaviours. And we ask what true reflection could look like if we dared to leave space for discomfort, uncertainty when at an impasse (aporia), and real honest learning.

Join us for this powerful plea for letting humans show themselves. For real. And maybe, just maybe… avoiding the next zombie apocalypse.

Burnout isn't just about an individual being tired - it's about systems that forget you're human. In this episode of Curing the Curriculum, we talk with Dr. Dan Shapiro: clinical psychologist, burnout researcher, and former consultant for Grey’s Anatomy. From missed meals to midnight lectures, we unpack how medical training sometimes breaks the very people it aims to build. Dan shares what leadership and listening should look like and how the Dutch healthcare system might just be getting things right. Oh - and why pizza nights aren’t enough.

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