Real MD

About Real MD

What is your purpose? The RealMD podcast strives to create a space that helps medical students find and maintain their highest purpose in medicine. These episodes are the daily, weekly reminder you need to keep believing in your purpose.

Publisher

University of Utah School of Medicine

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Nov 2021

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

102 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   A Better Evaluation Starts With Reflection: Benefits for Students and Preceptors

   How can medical students help their preceptors provide more meaningful, specific evaluations? In this episode of the RealMD Podcast, guest host Rachel Bonnet, Director of the Office of Education Quality Improvement, Evaluation, and Research, explores how student self-reflection can strengthen the evaluation process and support lifelong learning. Rachel is joined by Dr. Andrew Chang, a clerkship preceptor who also serves as a Director of the Learning Environment, Co-Director of Faculty Development, and Learning Community Coach, and Tim Wardrop, a second-year medical student completing his clerkship year. Together, they discuss a reflection worksheet designed to help students document clinical skills, meaningful patient encounters, and lessons learned throughout their clinical training. Tim shares how reflecting on his year working with Dr. Chang helped him recognize his growth, identify impactful experiences with patients, and connect his developing clinical skills to specific examples. Dr. Chang explains how these reflections provide valuable context when writing student evaluations and letters of recommendation, helping preceptors move beyond generic feedback toward detailed, personalized assessments. The conversation also explores the role of feedback conversations, the importance of understanding a learner’s perspective, and how developing self-reflection early in medical training can prepare students for continued growth throughout residency and their careers. Join us for a conversation about making evaluations more meaningful, strengthening communication between learners and preceptors, and building the habits that support lifelong learning in medicine.

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   The Sacred Ordinary - Fall Storytelling

   This episode features a recording from our Fall Storytelling Night, centered on the theme The Sacred Ordinary. The Sacred Ordinary explores how meaning in life is often found in quiet, easily overlooked moments rather than in major milestones. These in-between spaces might appear in daily interactions, familiar routines that suddenly feel different, or small moments of connection or stillness that linger longer than expected. This theme invites reflection on how such moments can feel profound, beautiful, or transformative when we pause to notice them. Rather than focusing on exceptional or rare experiences, this theme centers attention and awareness in the everyday. We welcome stories that reveal how ordinary moments can quietly shape perspective, deepen empathy, and reaffirm purpose in life.We had an incredible group of storytellers join us this last weekend at our semiannual Storytelling Night!7

3. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Giving Yourself Permission to Change Course | Sarah Fairweather on Finding Your Voice and Pursuing Medicine

   What happens when the path you’ve been following no longer feels like your own? In this episode of the RealMD Podcast, Sarah Fairweather shares the long and unexpected journey that brought her to medical school after a career in physical therapy, marriage, and raising three children. Sarah reflects on growing up with strong expectations about what her life should look like, learning to listen to external voices instead of her own, and the fear that kept her from pursuing medicine for years. A pivotal moment in her family’s life ultimately led Sarah to reconsider the choices she had made and recognize that it was not too late to change course. She talks about finding the courage to finally say out loud what she had always wanted, letting go of an external locus of control, and creating a life that feels both fulfilling and true to who she is. Sarah’s story is a reminder that sometimes the path forward begins with giving yourself permission to try.

Who has been a guest on Real MD

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Trisha Enriquez
• Marina Knysheva
• Dr. Wayne Samuelson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Contact Real MD

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.