What happens when a nurse becomes the patient and catches a medication error at her own bedside? Krista Parsons, a former surgical nurse and author from Grande Prairie, Alberta, joins Dr. David Spiro on HuMed to share what she saw from the other side of the curtain.

Krista became a nurse in her late twenties, raising five young children, after watching her father's long struggle with diabetes and dialysis. A few years into her career, a distracted driver rear-ended her on the way to a shift. Back surgery followed, and her surgeon told her she could no longer return to bedside nursing. Then, recovering on the very floor where she once worked, she watched a colleague about to hang the wrong antibiotic and had to take the syringe out of her hand. Krista talks about how fast patient trust can disappear, waiting years for a chronic pain clinic, an allergy her chart didn't catch, writing her book, When the Healer Breaks, and why patients mostly want to be seen and heard.

In this episode:
– Why she became a nurse: her father's illness
– A rear-end collision, back surgery, and "you can't go back to bedside nursing"
– When your job becomes your identity
– Hours waiting for pain medication after surgery
– Catching the wrong antibiotic: ceftriaxone instead of Ancef
– Why an apology wasn't enough
– Opioids, chronic pain and a two-year wait list
– "Waiting becomes its own form of suffering"
– Healthcare in Canada and the US
– Writing a book and building a community for people after life-altering illness
– Look at the patient, not the screen
– "That human touch"

Chapters
00:00 "You're not giving me that medication"
00:21 Meet Krista Parsons
03:11 Why she became a nurse
03:58 Nursing school with five small children
04:36 The car accident on the way to work
06:05 "I can't clear you to go back to work"
07:01 When nursing is your identity
09:45 "It was a really rough day"
11:12 A medical error, seen as a patient
12:19 The wrong room and no post-op equipment
14:10 Hours waiting for pain medication
15:37 "That is not the right antibiotic"
17:42 "How do I put morphine in a minibag?"
18:28 "As a patient, it is terrifying"
19:15 How quickly trust disappears
19:53 Disclosing errors, and an apology that fell short
21:49 Opioids and treating pain
24:47 Pushed toward narcotics, not answers
25:24 A two-year wait for a chronic pain clinic
26:31 "Waiting becomes its own form of suffering"
29:15 Chronic pain, waiting and addiction
29:45 The other side of the curtain
30:35 Why she wrote her book
31:44 Hashimoto's and thyroid cancer
33:13 Building a community to feel seen and heard
35:18 Advice to her younger self: advocate early
36:34 Advice for clinicians: look at the patient
37:54 Listening to families in the ER
40:16 Technology at the bedside
42:11 Communication is the essence of healthcare
43:49 When the chart missed her contrast allergy
45:58 "That human touch"
46:19 Closing

Krista's book, When the Healer Breaks: https://whenthehealerbreaks.com
The AND STILL… Movement: https://andstillmovement.com

This episode is education and storytelling, not individual medical advice.

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD.

New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show.

About 30 years ago, pediatric emergency physician Dr. David Spiro examined a smiling, well-appearing child with a fever and a rash that looked like chickenpox, and sent the child home. Hours later, the family called: the child was ill and had purple spots on their body. In this special Saturday solo episode of HuMed, David tells the story of a case he felt he had missed, and what it taught him about shame, medical error and the human side of medicine.

It was meningococcemia, a fast-moving and potentially deadly bacterial infection. David met the family in the emergency department, where the child needed fluids, medicine to support blood pressure and a transfer to a larger children's hospital, and the child survived. Still, for weeks and months David replayed the case, felt shame and doubted himself. He explains why meningococcemia can look like an ordinary viral rash early on, Dr. Albert Wu's idea of the clinician as the "second victim" of medical error, why a colleague asking "Do you remember that kid?" still drops his stomach, and what happened when he finally saw the family again. Now a section chief in a pediatric emergency department, supporting a team of about 35 to 40 people, he shares the lesson he wants every young clinician to hear: talk about your cases, and build a community you can lean on.

In this episode:
– A fever, a rash, and a child who looked well
– Hours later: a phone call about purple spots
– Why meningococcemia is so hard to catch early
– Shame, self-doubt and replaying the case
– The "second victim" of medical error
– "Do you remember that kid?"
– Facing the family again
– Why every clinician needs a community

Chapters
00:00 "This case humbled me to my knees"
00:11 A special Saturday episode of HuMed
00:31 A child with a fever and a rash
01:19 Hours later: purple spots
01:53 Meningococcemia in the emergency department
02:47 Why it's so hard to diagnose early
03:28 Shame, replaying the case, doubting myself
03:54 The "second victim" of medical error
04:25 What he teaches as a section chief
05:26 "Do you remember that kid?"
06:01 Facing the family again
07:23 His message to young clinicians
08:10 Community, happiness and longevity
08:54 Closing reflections

This episode is for education and storytelling purposes, not individual medical advice. A fever with purple or red spots that don't fade when pressed needs emergency care right away.

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD.

New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show.

At 14, Josh Belfer was working for a radio star: Philadelphia talk-radio host Michael Smerconish. Today he is a pediatric emergency medicine attending at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Penn, and he joins Dr. David Spiro on HuMed to tell how that mentorship shaped the physician he is today.

It started on a 45-minute bus ride to school in 2004, when his dad suggested he switch his Discman to AM talk radio. One visit to the studio led to news tips, then research for a book chapter, then a one-line email, "This is fantastic. Great work.", and years as an intern and researcher, including an elevator interview with Jose Canseco. Josh explains how the pace of live radio taught him to turn on a dime in the ER, and why he feels what his patients' families feel more now that he is a father himself. He and David also talk about surviving overnights, noticing when a colleague isn't OK, hot and cold debriefs after hard cases, and the mentors he watched lead through COVID during his chief residency year. It's a warm conversation about mentorship, resilience, and the human side of pediatric emergency medicine.

In this episode:
– A Discman, AM radio, and a 14-year-old's first studio visit
– The one-line email that launched years as a researcher
– An elevator interview with Jose Canseco
– How live radio trains you to turn on a dime
– "I feel what my patients feel more now that I'm a father"
– "If it was your child, what would you do?"
– Overnights, sleep, and a two-physician household
– Who notices when a colleague isn't OK?
– Hot and cold debriefs, and letting residents step away
– Mentorship, grit, and working like you could get cut

Chapters
00:00 "The parents are hearing that noise"
00:16 Meet Dr. Josh Belfer
01:39 The story he chose to tell
02:39 2004: a freshman on a 45-minute bus ride
04:12 A Discman, his dad, and Philly talk radio
05:58 Election night and an invitation to the studio
06:49 First morning in a shoebox studio
08:47 Research for a book chapter at 14
09:41 "This is fantastic. Great work."
10:52 Reporting from the field
12:11 An elevator interview with Jose Canseco
14:56 Radio's pace, and the road to the ER
15:15 Breaking news at 6:45 a.m.
16:44 No script in the pediatric ER
18:09 Focus, hard work, and staying humble
20:21 Fatherhood and a career at CHOP
22:38 "I feel what my patients feel"
23:35 "Is this something to be worried about?"
24:45 Overnights, sleep, and emotional reserve
26:30 How he gets through overnights
29:13 Who notices when a colleague isn't OK?
30:47 "Weren't you just here yesterday?"
31:34 Starting over as a new attending
35:02 When residents see something hard
35:54 Hot and cold debriefs, explained
37:20 Letting a resident step away
39:18 The check-in, days later
40:24 The power of "Are you okay?"
41:16 Grit, resilience, and working like you could get cut
43:56 Mentors, then and now
45:05 Chief resident when COVID hit Long Island
46:31 Rapid fire: Sixers or Knicks?
47:35 HipPEMcrates and the PEM Podcast
49:20 Closing reflections

Josh earned his BA at the University of Pennsylvania and his MD at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, completed pediatric residency and a chief residency year at Cohen Children's Medical Center, and trained in pediatric emergency medicine at Columbia University. He created HipPEMcrates, a pediatric emergency medicine education blog (hippemcrates.com), and works behind the scenes on the PEM Podcast with his father, Dr. Robert Belfer.

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD.

New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show.

What if your cholesterol looks normal, your 10-year risk score is just 2.3%, and you're still a ticking time bomb? Josh Wageman, PhD, DPT, a clinical lipid specialist, physician assistant and author of The Home Security System and the Lipid Neighborhood, joins Dr. David Spiro on HuMed to tell the story of a fit, running friend whose Lp(a) and coronary artery calcium score revealed heart disease his routine labs had missed.

His friend's family history was riddled with heart attacks, yet his blood pressure, blood sugar and LDL were all normal. One conversation on a 5:30 a.m. run led to two extra tests: an Lp(a) of 128 mg/dL and a calcium score of 2,814. He needed a five-vessel bypass, and a year later he finished a half Ironman. Dr. Wageman explains why he calls Lp(a) "the felon of the lipid neighborhood," what a low-dose coronary calcium (CAC) scan shows and what it costs, and how statins, ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors work, told through his mailman metaphor. It's a warm, often funny conversation about prevention, friendship, and using what you know to help the people you love.

In this episode:
– Normal cholesterol, a 2.3% risk score, and a calcium score of 2,814
– "Got plaque? Get a CAC": what a coronary calcium scan shows
– Why Lp(a) is "the felon of the lipid neighborhood"
– A five-vessel bypass, then a half Ironman a year later
– The four pillars of your heart's home security system
– Why Lp(a) is worth checking at least once in a lifetime
– Menopause, statins and rising Lp(a)
– Statins, ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors, explained with mailmen
– "Prioritize protein and eat real food"

Chapters
00:00 "He was a ticking time bomb"
00:18 Meet Josh Wageman, clinical lipid specialist
01:38 Why stories stick better than textbooks
02:13 "Beyond the 10-year risk calculator"
02:41 A runner friend with a worrying family history
03:40 "Got plaque? Get a CAC"
04:01 Normal labs and a 2.3% risk score
05:05 "He picked the wrong parents": an Lp(a) of 128
05:35 A coronary calcium score of 2,814
06:20 A ticking time bomb and a five-vessel bypass
07:08 A half Ironman one year after surgery
07:57 What a calcium scan is, and what it costs
09:28 From reactive to preventive medicine
10:01 Does a calcium score show narrowing?
11:07 "You're fine till you're not"
11:58 The four pillars of your home security system
12:58 Lp(a): the felons of the lipid neighborhood
14:18 The genetic piece: one in five people
16:06 Checking Lp(a) at least once in a lifetime
17:10 Menopause, statins and rising Lp(a)
18:02 The patient whose Lp(a) jumped on a statin
19:02 Statins, plaque and the art of medicine
21:30 Beyond "HDL good, LDL bad": the mailman metaphor
22:34 Statins, ezetimibe and PCSK9, in plain English
24:18 Why metaphors and stories matter
25:30 Ultra-processed food and the fat-free era
26:28 "Prioritize protein and eat real food"
28:05 What "real food" means, and what about eggs?
30:18 Glucose "dollar bills" and your fat "savings account"
32:36 Where to find his book
33:23 Closing reflections

Josh's book, The Home Security System and the Lipid Neighborhood, is on Amazon, with links at lifelovelipids.com.

This episode is education and storytelling, not individual medical advice. Talk with your own clinician about testing and treatment.

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD.

New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show.

What happens when a rural doctor opens a scan report in the middle of his ER shift, and it's his own? Dr. Peter Crane — a board-certified family physician in full-time rural practice in Idaho and host of the podcast Doctors Making a Difference — joins Dr. David Spiro on HuMed to talk about the night he read "26 centimeter, likely sarcoma" with patients still waiting, and the long road from radiation and major surgery back to full-time practice.

Dr. Crane took over the practice of the doctor who delivered him, in the town where he grew up, caring for patients "from the cradle to the grave." He describes finding the mass himself at 4 a.m., finishing his shift after reading the report, and feeling almost ashamed to be sick. He talks about the surgeon, his own medical school preceptor, who made him promise six weeks off, the two residency friends who took over his entire practice, and the moment of clarity that convinced him he would choose medicine all over again. It's a candid, hopeful conversation about compartmentalization, burnout, life without anonymity in a small town, and being the kind of doctor you'd want for your own family.

In this episode:
– Reading his own "likely sarcoma" report mid-shift
– Compartmentalization: survival skill or harm?
– The surgeon who made him promise six weeks off
– Two friends who took over his whole practice
– What really matters, and why he'd still choose medicine
– No anonymity: doctoring in a small town
– How a rural family doctor stays current in everything
– Fixing burnout with sleep, staffing, and better schedules
– "I don't trust doctors, but I trust you": trust and misinformation

Chapters
00:00 "26 centimeter, likely sarcoma"
00:17 Meet Dr. Peter Crane
01:54 Taking over for the doctor who delivered him
02:50 Jet-lagged at 4 a.m.: a mass in his own abdomen
04:09 When your practice partner is your doctor
06:41 What a doctor feels when it's his own mass
08:20 Reading his own CT report mid-ER shift
09:42 Is compartmentalization healthy?
11:56 Warning signs he missed, and feeling ashamed to be sick
13:07 Biopsy, waiting, and a rare diagnosis
14:41 His surgeon: his own medical school preceptor
15:43 What really matters in life
16:42 "If I got to do it again, I'd be a doctor"
18:36 How being a patient changed the way he practices
19:17 Nerve damage and the long road back
20:49 Doctor and patient in the same small hospital
21:55 A rash check on aisle 13: life without anonymity
23:29 Why every doctor should practice rural for a while
26:16 How a rural family doctor stays current in everything
28:02 Six weeks off, and the friends who covered his practice
30:36 "I just do everything every day"
31:31 When helicopters can't fly: tele-critical care
33:45 Burnout before the tumor, and what fixed it
36:58 Misinformation and vaccine hesitancy
38:19 "I don't trust doctors, but I trust you"
39:19 Why we need more doctors making content
40:36 Closing reflections

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine, hosted by Dr. David Spiro, MD.

New episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — please follow and leave a rating, it helps other listeners find the show.

He looked fit, ate well, exercised, and had a calcium score of zero six months earlier. Then, at 34, Dr. Stephen Hussey had a widowmaker heart attack.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age nine, Dr. Hussey, a doctor of chiropractic with a master's in functional medicine and author of Understanding the Heart, spent his adult life trying to do everything right. In this episode, pediatric ER physician Dr. David Spiro talks with him about the heart attack he suffered alone during COVID, the frustration of feeling unheard in the hospital and being labeled noncompliant, his decision to depart from the standard medication plan, and the stress he believes set the stage for it all. David also presses him on the hard question: how can he know what actually drove his recovery? The episode ends with what nearly dying at 34 changed about his life and purpose.

CHAPTERS

0:00 "I had a widowmaker heart attack at 34"

0:16 Meet Dr. Stephen Hussey

1:39 Asthma, allergies and type 1 diabetes at age nine

2:53 "I felt like a pincushion" and the nurse with the magic kit

4:19 Giving bad news to children and families

7:25 From patient to health practitioner

9:17 What "avoiding toxins" means to him

10:33 Sauna, sweat and microplastics

14:13 A heart attack despite a zero calcium score

17:53 What a widowmaker heart attack felt like

21:28 Alone in the hospital during COVID

23:30 Labeled "noncompliant"

25:23 Why he declined the standard medications

27:00 A new blockage in his leg

29:04 Light, sauna and circadian rhythm

33:58 Semmelweis and challenging medical dogma

35:17 How does he know what worked?

37:43 Stress and the nervous system

41:38 The 36 hours before the heart attack

43:28 Heart attacks without blocked arteries

45:44 "Stay in your lane": answering his critics

47:55 Heart disease, obesity and insulin resistance

51:43 What nearly dying at 34 changed

54:44 Closing

Watch the full video on YouTube: HuMed with David Spiro, MD

Follow HuMed on Instagram: @humedpod

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine through real stories from clinicians. Guests share their personal experiences and views, which are their own. This episode is for storytelling and education, not medical advice. Talk with your own doctor before changing any treatment.

After years in emergency medicine, Dr. Vassily Eliopoulos (Dr. Vass) coded a man in a rural Wyoming ER who was his age, had no other risk factors, and looked exactly like him. That night pushed him from the ER toward longevity medicine and cardiovascular prevention.

In this episode of HuMed, pediatric ER physician Dr. David Spiro talks with Dr. Vass about why doctors neglect their own health, the "golden handcuffs" that kept him stuck, how therapy and CBT-I helped him heal from years of night shifts, and why he believes disease care and true health care are two different systems. He also walks through his longevity pyramid, built on community, purpose and sleep, not supplements and saunas.

CHAPTERS

0:00 He coded a man who looked exactly like him

0:28 Meet Dr. Vass: ER doctor turned longevity physician

2:05 The code in Rock Springs, Wyoming

4:48 Why doctors neglect their own health

8:13 The lost art of healing

11:03 "We're training technicians, not physicians"

15:07 Trapped in a broken system

18:18 The golden handcuffs

20:44 Healing from decades of night shifts

28:30 Disease care vs. true health care

35:37 Why no one told Dr. James Wittig he was sick

39:04 Advice to his younger self: don't let fear decide

42:32 Dr. Vass's longevity pyramid

44:55 What dying patients talk about

47:51 Purpose: the old dog and the rabbit

51:21 A quarterly "board meeting" with his kids

53:16 Fasting, thermal springs and community

57:54 Closing thoughts

Watch the full video on YouTube: HuMed with David Spiro, MD

Follow HuMed on Instagram: @humedpod

humedpod.com

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine through real stories from physicians. This episode is for education and storytelling, not individual medical advice.

"I did healing for myself first, so I could become a better healer."

Before Dr. Melissa Mondala treated patients with lifestyle medicine, she needed it herself. She lived with IBS and reflux from her teens, and during her training at Loma Linda she was diagnosed with an atypical breast cancer. Changing how she ate, moved, slept and handled stress changed her health, and her husband's, and it reshaped how she practices medicine.

On this episode of HuMed, Dr. David Spiro talks with Dr. Mondala, a double-boarded family and lifestyle medicine physician, fellowship-trained in integrative psychiatry and integrative medicine, about the patients who shaped her: a young single mother of three with pancreatic cancer who kept running for her kids, and a fashion designer with an autoimmune disease who got her life back layer by layer.

They also discuss:

• Lifestyle medicine vs. integrative medicine, and where they overlap
• Why ferritin matters even when hemoglobin looks normal
• Her approach to adult behavior change: one habit, SMART goals and habit stacking
• What medical training leaves out about nutrition and sleep
• Advice for frustrated, burned-out physicians who feel stuck practicing reactive medicine

Dr. Mondala earned her MD at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. She is co-founder of the Doctor Lifestyle Clinic, a direct care practice, and author of Embody Lifestyle Medicine: How to Build a Successful Direct Care Startup.

HuMed unveils the human side of medicine through honest conversations with physicians. Follow the show so you never miss an episode.

Chapters

00:00 Cold open

00:22 Introducing Dr. Melissa Mondala

02:25 Her own health story: IBS, reflux and food as poison

04:21 Loma Linda and the Blue Zones

05:30 A breast cancer diagnosis during training

07:00 The pillars of lifestyle medicine and her husband's autoimmune disease

08:49 The young mother with pancreatic cancer

13:53 Lifestyle medicine vs. integrative medicine

18:50 A patient with autoimmune disease and a difficult cycle

27:36 Why ferritin matters

31:45 What standard medical training leaves out

36:48 Night shifts, sleep and processed food

40:09 How to change adult behavior

44:12 Accountability, SMART goals and habit stacking

47:05 Lifestyle medicine and autism spectrum disorder

50:54 Advice for frustrated, burned-out physicians

53:31 Closing