Murmurs: Stories from Our Journey in Medicine

 

Murmurs: Stories from Our Journey in Medicine is a narrative medicine podcast from the University of Massachusetts Medical School (now known as UMass Chan Medical School) that explores how health providers and trainees think about their experiences in medicine. Each episode features a member of the UMass Chan community to discuss a poem or essay they have written about an impactful moment in their medical education or career and takes the listener through the inspiration, writing process and interview with the author. Through these podcasts, we hope to build community, promote reflection and increase awareness of issues of medical education and health inequality.

This storytelling podcast began as the Capstone project of medical students Divya Bhatia ('21) and Qiuwei Yang ('22), with Dr. Hugh Silk advising. Original theme music is by Jacob Paulson and logo art is by Hillary Mullan. Podcasts are available on Apple iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, and other streaming platforms; this collection in eScholarship@UMassChan includes transcripts and audio files for each podcast episode.

QUESTIONS?

Reach us at murmursumassmed@gmail.com or through our Anchor homepage.

Recently Published

  • Season 2, Episode 6: Hiya: Saving Face, Anxiety, and Asian-Americans
    Silk, Hugh; Yang, Qiuwei; Ngangmeni, Lael; Del Rosario, Henry (2022-01-03)
    Qiuwei Yang ('22) and Laël Ngangmeni ('23, MD/PhD) are joined by family physician Dr. Henry Del Rosario to discuss an interesting experience at a car dealership, as well as how his creative side and his faith impact his perspectives on healing. Recorded October 2021. Dr. Del Rosario's piece "Hiya: Saving Face, Anxiety, and Asian-Americans" was first published on his blog. The Workers of Worcester website created by Dr. Del Rosario and Dr. An-Hoa Giang is available at: https://www.workersofworcester.org/. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Season 2, Episode 5: Julie
    Silk, Hugh; Sardell, Jesse; Ngangmeni, Lael; Wang, Sara (2021-12-27)
    Laël Ngangmeni ('23, MD/PhD) and Jesse Sardell ('24) are joined by Sara Wang ('24) for a discussion on how to tell stories from a patient's perspective, as well as what medical students should consider when they meet a patient for the first time. Sara Wang's piece "Julie" was first published on The Interstitium blog. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Season 2, Episode 4: An Appreciative Inquiry Narrative
    Silk, Hugh; Ngangmeni, Lael; Peterson, Kenneth S.; Yang, Qiuwei (2021-12-20)
    Laël Ngangmeni ('23, MD/PhD) and Dr. Hugh Silk are joined by Ken Peterson, a family nurse practitioner and assistant professor in the Graduate School of Nursing, to reflect on his experience as a nurse during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Recorded August 2021. Ken Peterson's piece "An Appreciative Inquiry Narrative" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.

  • Season 2, Episode 3: People and Places
    Silk, Hugh; Sardell, Jesse; Botros, Mina B; Yang, Qiuwei (2021-12-13)
    Dr. Hugh Silk and Jesse Sardell ('24) are joined by Mina Botros ('24) to hear about his experience meeting people -- both similar and quite different from himself -- as he got involved with vaccination efforts early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Mina Botros' piece "People and Places" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.

  • Season 2, Episode 2: Check Engine Light
    Yang, Qiuwei; Sardell, Jesse; Finlay-Morreale, Heather; Silk, Hugh (2021-12-06)
    Qiuwei Yang ('22) and Jesse Sardell ('24) are joined by pediatrician Dr. Heather Finlay-Morreale to discuss her experience of being diagnosed with a chronic illness and how that has influenced the way she cares for her own patients. Recorded April 2021. Dr. Finlay-Morreale's piece "Check Engine Light" was first published in JAMA Neurology. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Season 2, Episode 1: Reflections on a Visit to Holland
    Bhatia, Divya; Silk, Hugh; Hirsh, Michael P. (2021-11-29)
    Dr. Divya Bhatia ('21) and Dr. Hugh Silk are joined by pediatric surgeon Dr. Michael Hirsh to talk about a trip to Holland and visiting the Westerbork transit camp. Recorded April 2021. Michael Hirsh's piece "Reflections on a Visit to Holland" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.

  • Season 2: Welcome to Season 2!
    Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh; Bhatia, Divya; Sardell, Jesse; Ngangmeni, Lael (2021-11-22)
    Join us for Season 2 of Murmurs: Stories from our Journey in Medicine. We'll be featuring new voices from the UMass (now UMass Chan) community. First episode premieres Monday, November 22nd with new episodes weekly! The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Goodbye Season 1, and Thank You!
    Yang, Qiuwei; Bhatia, Divya; Silk, Hugh (2020-09-01)
    Thank you so much for joining us for this first season! We are collecting listener feedback for our capstone project via this survey. If you have a couple minutes to spare, please consider filling it out. We hope to see you soon with a season 2! The transcript for this podcast is available for download as an additional file.

  • Episode 6: Asylum Body Work
    Bhatia, Divya; Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh; Candib, Lucy M. (2020-08-24)
    Divya Bhatia and Dr. Hugh Silk sit down with Dr. Lucy Candib to talk about the importance of medical-legal partnerships in advocating for individuals who are victims of abuse or torture in their home countries seeking asylum in the US. Content warning: physical and sexual abuse, homophobia, and torture. Recorded March 2020. Dr. Candib's poem "Asylum Body Work" was first published in The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Episode 5: Penal Code
    Bhatia, Divya; Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh; Gussak, Lisa S. (2020-07-16)
    Qiuwei Yang and Dr. Hugh Silk are joined by family physician Dr. Lisa Gussak to discuss the impact of incarceration on health and medical care. Recorded November 2019. Dr. Gussak's piece "Penal Code" was first published in Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Episode 4: Dear Anonymous Donor
    Bhatia, Divya; Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh; Yang, Xinmiao Bridget (2020-07-06)
    Divya Bhatia and Qiuwei Yang sit down with Bridget Yang to discuss her piece, "Dear Anonymous Donor,” and the anatomy lab experience. Recorded October 2019. Bridget Yang's poem "Dear Anonymous Donor" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.

  • Episode 3: When I Did What I Swore I Would Never Do
    Bhatia, Divya; Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh; Hatem, David S. (2020-06-29)
    In this episode, Dr. Dave Hatem discusses the moment when his perspective on the neurological exam changes with hosts Qiuwei Yang and Dr. Hugh Silk. Recorded February 2020. Dr. Hatem's piece "When I Did What I Swore I Would Never Do" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.

  • Episode 2: Friendly, not Familiar
    Bhatia, Divya; Silk, Hugh; Schutzberg, Rose; Yang, Qiuwei (2020-06-21)
    In this episode of the Murmurs podcast, Divya Bhatia and Hugh Silk sit down with medical student Rose Schutzberg to discuss her piece, "Friendly, not Familiar" about an experience during her second year of medical school when she visited a Massachusetts prison that inspired her to write this reflection. Recorded February 2020. The transcript for this episode is available for download as an additional file.

  • Episode 1: Budgeting
    Bhatia, Divya; Yang, Qiuwei; Silk, Hugh (2020-06-02)
    For the inaugural episode of the Murmurs podcast, the hosts discuss the piece "Budgeting", written by their very own Qiuwei Yang. Recorded May 2019. Qiuwei Yang's poem "Budgeting" and the transcript for this episode are available for download as additional files.