Reconciling Medicine artwork

Reconciling Medicine

62 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 216 ratings

We are the Doctors Paro, and welcome to the Reconciling Medicine Podcast. We are a dual physician couple in practice - and for over a decade we’ve been navigating the ups, downs and in-betweens of this profession......together. We’ve done a lot of things right, and we’ve made plenty of mistakes. Some say the practice of medicine is dying - it’s not. But it is changing and we must adapt. This podcast is an exploration of our relationship with medicine - how we fit it into our lives, how it affects the people we love, and why we are optimistic about the future. We believe that with the right commitment and mindset we can all learn how to Reconcile Medicine.

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Episodes

Episode 23 - Doctor Vegetable

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 56 minutes - 39.1 MB

The Doctors Paro talk all about their nonprofit, Doctor Vegetable!!  Episode Takeaways: - Your life will shape your career, which then shapes your life, endlessly. - You shouldn’t complain if you aren’t contributing. - Small, simple ideas can be very powerful catalysts.  - Good ideas can snowball quickly. - Defining your mission is a challenging but important exercise. - Gratefully accept the contributions of others, and then pay it forward.

Eouside 13- Food Is Fuel

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 49 minutes - 34.1 MB

The Doctors Paro dive into their thoughts on food and nutrition.  Episode Takeaways: - Identify your emotional attachment to food. - Eat more plants. More plants. - Tracking, even for a short period, will help you. - Macronutrients control what you see. Micronutrients control what you can’t see. - If you are struggling to lose weight, you are not in a calorie deficit. - You also gotta live (a little).

Episode 24 - Doctor Vegetable Redux

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MB

An update from Episode 23 about our most recent fundraiser!

Episode 25 - Off to the Races

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss their thoughts on incorporating fitness events into your life as a way to build a fit life. Episode Takeaways: - Picking the right time is important. - Make the decision and shell out the cash. - Train insane or remain the same. - The fitness is important, but not everything. - Race day is accumulation of the work you put in. - Cross one finish line and set up another one.

Episode 8 - Choosing Your Path

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 43 minutes - 30.3 MB

Drs. Renee and John discuss the importance of making big career decisions based on what makes you happy.  Key Takeaways: - Don't be afraid to pave your own way. - Despite the past 7-10 of your life, academia is actually a small subset of medicine. - Your true, lifelong mentors will support a decision you make for you. - You have to be OK with the butt pus. - Your career should fit in your life, not the other way around.

Episode 12- Respite In Routines

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss the importance of how development and refinement of a routine is the key to the changes you are looking for.  Episode Takeaways: - Life is a habit loop. - Your routine determines your outcome. - It’s OK to fail (sometimes). - You need a good morning routine. A good morning routine starts at night. - You are clay. - Life changes. Adapt.

Episode 7 - Having a Kid During Training?

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MB

Drs. Renee and John discuss their crazy (but ultimately perfect) choice to have a kid during training.  Key Takeaways: - There is no perfect time to have a kid. - You could have unforeseen issues, don't take your fertility for granted. - You need to bring a different attitude to parenting than you do to the hospital. - You might feel like you want to quit everything you worked so hard for, I did. - You might be the sleepiest trainee. You might also be the happiest. - Beware, it could change...

Episode 14 - Meal Prep

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss a big way that they’ve been able to do a better job with routines with meal prepping! Episode Takeaways: - There are a million upsides and maybe one downside. - The prep before the prep will set you up for success. - Just like anything, you will get better with practice. - Meal prep + Macros = Simplicity. - Here is literally what we do every week. - You can troubleshoot all obstacles.

Episode 15 - Renee Q&A

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 53 minutes - 36.4 MB

Dr. Renee answers questions in her solo episode. 

Episode 6 - Wait, Who Are You guys?

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 43 minutes - 30.1 MB

Drs. Renee and John spend this episode giving you a bit more information about who they are, a bit about their background and some fun interesting and embarrassing did bits.  They end the episode with two truths and a lie and a little touch feely ending. 

Episode 16 - Teamwork (and Outsourcing) Makes the Dream Work

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MB

The Doctors Paro dive into the importance of working as a team and outsourcing whatever can be outsourced to make life work… better. Episode Takeaways: - It takes two to make a family, and two to make it work. - Sometimes you need to expand the team. - Stop keeping score. - Outsourcing can add financial cost. Not outsourcing can add emotional cost. - Drop the mom guilt. - As life adapts, so does your roster.

Episode 10 - Finding Happy

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MB

A super special episode that Dr. John gave for his Chief Resident Ground Rounds presentation prior to graduating from Stanford Plastic Surgery Residency.  Key Takeaways: - Happiness is not a passive action, you create it. - Cut the negativity out - it does not serve you. - The power of a gratitude practice. - Happiness is not the absence of sadness. - Happiness drives success, not vice versa. - There are scientifically proven ways to elevate your "happiness baseline".

Episode 17 - Why Pediatric Cardiology

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MB

Dr. Renee, with the help of Dr. John, dives in more to the world of Pediatric Cardiology and why she chose it. Episodes Takeaways: - Have an idea what you like, but don’t pigeon hole yourself. - Pay attention to the signs and get exposure. - The breadth of Pediatric Cardiology. - Narrowing the focus. - A day in the life of a general outpatient private pediatric cardiologist. - John’s pop quiz on bread and butter pediatric cardiology.

Episode 18 - Why Plastic Surgery

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MB

Dr. John, with the help of Dr. Renee, dives into the world of plastic surgery and why he chose it as his career. Episode Takeaways: - Becoming a plastic surgeon. - Why I love Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. - Wait, a plastic surgeon does THAT? - You can craft your ideal practice mix. - If something doesn’t feel right, fix it. - Renee explains non-cardiac anatomy.

Episode 19 - John Q&A

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MB

Dr. John answers questions! Episode Takeaways: - Help! I might want to be a plastic surgeon! - That Nip Tuck Life. - Dad-ing in Medicine. - John gets creative. - Thoughts on the girl I kinda like. - Rapid fire round. 

Episode 9 - The First Years In Practice

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 42 minutes - 29.6 MB

Drs. John and Renee talk about those important first years in practice and all that can be learned from them. Key Takeaways: - You can train all you want, they are still going to be super hard. - If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. - Develop your new routine of life long learning. - Be a third year med student again. - Invest time in figuring out your own style. It is very fun. - You can be confident and humble at the same time.

Episode 20 - Couples Matching

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss their path to residency matching with the couples match! Episode Takeaways: - If you decide to couples match, you are essentially engaged. - Recognize your weaknesses, work to strengthen them. - You must discuss your priorities as a couple. - If you love a place - tell them so. - It is possible to have fun during this process. - If life will be miserable, don’t rank it.

Episode 11 - Fitting In Fitness

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 48 minutes - 33.5 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss their thoughts on how and why figuring out a fitness routine that works for YOU is vital. Episode Takeaways: - Don’t overcomplicate it. - Start with something that’s fun, expand from there. - Ladies - lift heavy. Trust me. - Success in fitness does not require innate athleticism. - Find accountability. - Be appropriately skeptical of quick fixes.

Episode 21 - Breast Cancer Sucks.

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MB

Dr. John discusses his thoughts about breast cancer. As a board certified plastic surgeon, this topic is very near and dear to his heart.  Episode Takeaways: - Breast cancer totally sucks. - It’s super important to know your oncologic options. - It’s also super important to know your reconstructive options. - Every patient, and therefore every treatment approach, is different. - The field is constantly evolving (and improving). - Breast reconstruction can be incredibly rewarding.

Episode 22 - The Miscarriage Club

January 24, 2024 22:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MB

Renee and John share their miscarriage story. You’ll want to stick around and hear the song at the end…. Episode Takeaways: - Miscarriage is common. - This is our story. - The strong one needs support too. - There is a way to be there that helps. - Wounds heal but the scar stays. - Rainbows come and they are beautiful.

Episode 3: So You Wanna Be A Doctor

January 24, 2024 21:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MB

Dr. John and Dr. Renee discuss their path to applying to medical school. Episode take aways: -  Make sure you are doing this for the right reasons. - Applying to medical school is the first in a long list of miserable but surmountable tasks. - If you want to do this, you can do this. - You are more than just a premed. - Dream big and cast a big net. - Great doctors can graduate from poorly known schools. Lousy doctors can graduate from Harvard.

Episode 5 - Wait, So Now I AM a Doctor?

January 24, 2024 21:00 - 38 minutes - 26.8 MB

Dr. John and Renee discuss their thoughts on their training days in residency and fellowship. Key Takeaways: -  Show up, everyday, always. - Learn on the job, let your patients be your teachers. - It's a super hard, poorly paying job with excellent benefits. - Work hard at work and then get the f*** outta there. - You can learn something from everyone, even assholes. - Neglecting yourself will result in losing yourself. 

Episode 1 - The Elevator Pitch

January 24, 2024 21:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MB

Welcome to the Reconciling Medicine Podcast! We are the Doctors Paro and we hope you'll listen and enjoy our thoughts on medicine, life and all things in between. 

Episode 4 - So You're Gonna Be a Doctor

January 24, 2024 21:00 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MB

Dr. John and Dr. Renee discuss their thoughts on how to navigate medical school. Key Takeaways: -  You are more than just a medical student. - You are meant too be there - fight back on that imposter syndrome. - Study your ass off, but don't study your life away. - Run your own race. - Keep a wide open mind, especially third year. - Your struggles will make you stronger.

Episode 2 - Why Medicine Is Not Dead

January 24, 2024 21:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MB

In the kick off episode, Dr. John and Dr. Renee discuss their thoughts on why medicine is not dead. Key Takeaways: - Burnout is real, but it doesn't have to be a given. - We are smart, talented, resourceful people who need to believe in ourselves more and stand up for those beliefs. - Change doesn't have to be bad especially if physicians learn to initiate it. - You can truly change a person's life in a clinic room. - We know so much. We know nothing. - We may be living longer but we aren't...

Episode 44 - Embarking Into Leadership

April 08, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MB

Renee is back with a solo episode discussing her recent path to leadership and few lessons she's learned in the first year of her new role. She shares some pearls and thoughts today with plans to expand into this topic more deeply in the future.

Episode 43 - Always Engaged Not Always Enraged

April 01, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MB

John and Renee continue talk about their evolution on how to stay informed without losing their minds on a regular basis.  They talk about experiences over the last couple years that have made them re-evaluate how they want to show up in the world. 

Episode 42 - Covid Vaccines In Kids with Emily C

March 24, 2022 07:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MB

Join Renee and her dear friend Emily to discuss the COVID vaccine in kids.  This is a topic that is very important in the day to day clinical experience of taking care of kids as a pediatrician and pediatric cardiologist.  Because of the incidence of COVID vaccine associated myocarditis - Renee has discussions with patients about the risk/benefit profile of vaccination in clinic on a regular basis. With the help of Emily (who had questions herself) we dive into the topic. This episode is ...

Episode 41 - The Five Year Professional Itch

March 17, 2022 07:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MB

John's back to join Renee... already. Ha! They return for an episode to talk about some thoughts, being a bit over 5 years into practice. A career in medicine is a journey and it feels like the discussion of the different parts of a career, after the training and selection of a job, seems to fall off.  John candidly speaks about his most recent experience with burnout that happened over the last year and ways he's worked to improve his practice to help. Renee has finally loosened up and ...

Episode 40 - Re-Reconciling Medicine (A Programming Update)

March 15, 2022 07:00 - 12 minutes - 8.78 MB

Reconciling Medicine.... It's BACK!  The podcast has been on quite a hiatus and in this episode Renee shares why and what the future direction of the podcast will look like.  John will be taking a bit of a step back - not stepping fully out, just back! - going forward.  Excited to be back in your ears!

Episode 39 - Fad Diets Are Dumb Diets

September 04, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 47.9 MB

The Doctors Paro will equally make you laugh and ruffle your feathers with this episode about diets. Listen..... we've been working on figuring out the truths about nutrition for weight loss, body composition and overall health. We've fallen into SO MANY "fitness and wellness" traps. After lots of reading and trial and error - we've come to understand a lot. We are in no way dietitians or nutritionists. But the truths we speak of here are backed in nutrition science - no gimmicks. And spoil...

Episode 38 - Share the Medical Mic with Dr. Lauren Powell

July 31, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 45.1 MB

The Doctors Paro EXCITEDLY welcome the very first guest on the podcast, Dr. Lauren Powell.  Dr. Powell aka "The Culinary Doctor" is a board certified family medicine physician who's on a mission to end generational health issues in the African-American community. She empowers her patients and community by making healthy eating accessible and delicious both in her clinic room and virtually with her social media platform, Cooking Queen community as well as in her book "Food Essentials for the...

Episode 37 - Fitness in 2020: Racing Towards Justice

July 17, 2020 07:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MB

In this episode The Doctors Paro touch on adapting rather than abandoning your 2020 fitness goals, how that looks in the Paro Household, and talk about a new campaign called  #racingtowardsjustice 

Episode 37 - Fitness in 2020: Racing Towards Justice

July 17, 2020 07:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MB

In this episode The Doctors Paro touch on adapting rather than abandoning your 2020 fitness goals, how that looks in the Paro Household, and talk about a new campaign called  #racingtowardsjustice 

Mini Episode - Reconciling Life

July 03, 2020 02:00 - 13 minutes - 9.37 MB

The Doctors Paro return after another few weeks off. This time was spent listening and reflecting on the future directions of life in the wake of recent events, specifically the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. In this brief episode you'll hear early thoughts on a life now reconciled with committed activism to be anti-racist.

Episode 35 - The Quarantine Album

May 29, 2020 07:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MB

Join The Doctors Paro (and mostly John) for a totally self-indulgent listening party for his Quarantine EP, being released today on streaming platforms.  Written and recorded over the past two months, it's a multi-genre collection of songs that captured the rapidly oscillating emotional spectrum of sheltering in place.  Think of it like a Kanye style listening party, but with less expensive champagne.

Episode 35 - The Quarantine Album

May 29, 2020 07:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MB

Join The Doctors Paro (and mostly John) for a totally self-indulgent listening party for his Quarantine EP, being released today on streaming platforms.  Written and recorded over the past two months, it's a multi-genre collection of songs that captured the rapidly oscillating emotional spectrum of sheltering in place.  Think of it like a Kanye style listening party, but with less expensive champagne.

Episode 34 - COVID-itudes

May 15, 2020 07:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MB

In this episode, The Doctors Paro discuss a few attitude adjustments that have helped during this heaping dumpster fire that is 2020. Episode Take-Aways: - It's OK to not be OK. - Hobbies and creative outlets are great for stress reduction. - Control what you can, and let go of the rest. - Get out of your f&#*ing house. - Acceptance can alleviate a lot of resistance. - It will end.  All is not lost.  

Episode 33 - Pandemic Parenting

May 01, 2020 07:00 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MB

The Doctors Paro share some of their parenting wins and fails during these "unprecedented times."

Episode 32 - Laughter > COVID

April 24, 2020 07:00 - 48 minutes - 33.1 MB

The Doctors Paro are back for a Quarantine episode.  And, since we a really Corona-ed out, this episode is 5% COVID updates, and 95% telling embarrassing stories about themselves.  Enjoy!

Episode 31 - Ask Us Anything

February 28, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MB

In this episode the Doctors Paro answer allllllllll of your burning questions - or at least some of the ones submitted that they felt like answering. :) From thoughts on medical school (like recent changes to a pass/fail Step 1) to their biggest turn offs to parental guilt to whether or not John has Canadian roots - they really go everywhere. No concrete Episode Takeaways on this one (I know, Renee's freaking out). Hoping you enjoy getting to hear some candid responses from the hosts. Make ...

Episode 30 - Ask Us Anything

February 28, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MB

In this episode the Doctors Paro answer allllllllll of your burning questions - or at least some of the ones submitted that they felt like answering. :) From thoughts on medical school (like recent changes to a pass/fail Step 1) to their biggest turn offs to parental guilt to whether or not John has Canadian roots - they really go everywhere. No concrete Episode Takeaways on this one (I know, Renee's freaking out). Hoping you enjoy getting to hear some candid responses from the hosts. Make ...

Episode 30 - Breast Augmentation: A Surgeon and Patient's Perspective

February 21, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MB

In this episode, the Doctors Paro dive into a topic that might seem a little taboob.  You will hear about overall choices involved in breast augmentation, some of the risks involved, and a bit about recovery.  This will be tackled from a surgeon and patient's perspective 

Episode 30 - Breast Augmentation: A Surgeon and Patient's Perspective

February 21, 2020 08:00 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MB

In this episode, the Doctors Paro dive into a topic that might seem a little taboob.  You will hear about overall choices involved in breast augmentation, some of the risks involved, and a bit about recovery.  This will be tackled from a surgeon and patient's perspective 

Episode 29 - Communication Breakdowns

February 14, 2020 08:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MB

In this Episode, The Doctors Paro speak a bit about communication, and how easy it for things to go awry.  Leaning largely on past mistakes, they share some common pitfalls in communication breakdowns and utilize examples from their own personal and professional lives.   Episode Take-Aways: - Being super defensive typically just comes across as offensive.  - The people in your life are not mind readers (and neither are you.) - Picking an appropriate time and place for tough conversations ca...

Episode 28 - My Kid Has A Murmur and I Want Botox

January 31, 2020 08:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MB

In this episode, The Doctors Paro both touch on topics specific to their area of expertise. Renee discusses murmurs and John talks about poisoning people's faces.... otherwise known as Botox. We both get a little nerdy and aim to cover the topics in an understandable and informative way. You have to decide who's presentation is more murdery.... if that statement baffles you - well you'll just have to listen to the episode to get in on the inside joke. Happy listening! Episode Take-Aways: - ...

Episode 27 - The Opioid Crisis

January 24, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MB

In this episode, The Doctors Paro solve the opioid crisis.  Ok fine, maybe the hosts just provide some background statistics, history, and discuss what kind of things are being done about it - but hey, it's a start! Episode Take-Aways: -The sheer numbers behind the opioid epidemic are staggering. -History shows that many share in the blame. -Systematic and individual changes are both greatly needed to combat the problem. -The past few years give some reason for optimism. 

Episode 26 - Goal Setting

January 17, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes - 30.3 MB

The Doctors Paro are BACK with the first episode of Season 2! We are kicking off the new season, new year and new decade with an episode about setting and achieving goals.  Episode Take-Aways: A good goal consists of a specific objective as well as specific action items. Setting intentions may be more helpful than setting resolutions. You can dream big and be realistic at the same time. It's important to support the goals of others, especially your significant other. The Paro Word of the Ye...

Episode 25 - Off of the Races

November 22, 2019 08:00 - 32 minutes - 22.7 MB

The Doctors Paro discuss their new fitness endeavor... endurance races. They discuss their mindset and approach to training. Renee ran the 2019 Chicago Marathon and has somehow convinced the "I'll never run a marathon" John into throwing his name in the 2020 Chicago Marathon lottery. Spoiler alert - will they be Iron Men at 40? We'll see.... Episode Take-Aways: Picking the right time is important. Make the decision and shell out the cash.  Train insane or remain the same. The fitness is imp...

Episode 24 - Doctor Vegetable, Redux

November 08, 2019 08:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MB

In this quick episode, The Doctors Paro recap the next phase of the Doctor Vegetable rollout.