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Monday, May 25, 2009

Recap for Episode 107: The Gift of Life

THEME OF EPISODE 107 (May 24): The Gift of Life

PODCAST: The free download of the episode is available on iTunes here!

Pictured below, left to right: Dr. Thav Thambi-Pillai, co-host Lakshman Swamy, co-host Avash Kalra, Dr. John Donnelly

GUESTS & THOUGHTS: This week, we were joined in the studio by Dr. Thav Thambi-Pillai, a transplant surgeon, and Dr. John Donnelly, a family physician who received a life-changing pancreas transplant in 2004. Dr. Thambi-Pillai and Dr. Donnelly talked with us about organ donation, the transplant process, and the personal side to the field of organ transplantation. We also had some interactive trivia questions, so if you listen to the podcast, feel free to email us with your answers for a chance to win a prize (radiorounds@gmail.com)!

To comment or discuss the show, visit our forum on the Student Doctor Network. Read further to find out who will be joining us for the Radio Rounds Season 1 Finale!

SONG OF THE WEEK: As voted on by you, the listeners, the song of the week was, quite appropriately, "Fix You" by Coldplay. Find the poll on the right side of the page to vote for this week's song!

CASE OF THE WEEK: The answer to last week's case of the week (which you can find in last week's recap) was 'Vasovagal syncope.' Congratulations to Lucas Miller, an aspiring physician-scientist from the University of Illinois, for submitting the correct answer! Lucas will be receiving a Radio Rounds prize.

As for this week's case of the week, here it is. If you know the answer, email radiorounds@gmail.com for the chance to win a prize.

A 26 year old woman who has 2 children presents for evaluation for bilateral pulsatile headaches that started 3 years ago when she resumed full time teaching. The headaches are of moderate to severe intensity, last several hours and occur on average once every 2 weeks. The headache is worse with movement, so she tries to lie quietly, away from bright lights. She has some associated nausea but no vomiting. She has no other neurological symptoms. She is asymptomatic at the time of presentation. Blood pressure is 110/70, optic fundi normal, neurological exam is normal. Oh -- and one of her children, a 2 year old, recently had his appendix removed. And the mom's (i.e. the patient's) arm has been hurting recently.

What is the MOST LIKELY diagnosis?

NEXT WEEK: The special 90-minute Radio Rounds Season 1 Finale is on May 31 at 12pm ET. The theme for the show is "Health Policy and Advocacy," and our guest is Dr. Alvin Jackson, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Dr. Jackson was appointed to that position by Governor Ted Strickland in June 2007, and he recently met with President Obama to discuss health policy both in the state of Ohio and across the nation. We will also be joined by student leaders in the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Medical Students Association (AMSA).

We hope you can listen in to our finale! Season 2 will then begin in August. For more, keep checking the blog or our Facebook page. Take care.
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Meet the Hosts

Avash Kalra is a medical student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. He is a 2005 graduate of Cornell University, where he majored in Psychology. Before starting medical school, Avash worked for one year at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, Maryland, where he conducted research on lifespan extension. He then worked for one year as a clinical research coordinator in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Avash was born in England and lived there for 11 years. He spends his free time working as a staff writer for an NCAA hockey website. Over time, he has developed unhealthy obsessions with college hockey, poker, and the Dave Matthews Band. His favorite television shows include Lost, 24, Dexter, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is now an avid reader... of medical textbooks. He frequently points out that he has "the perfect face for radio." And -- as you'll discover -- he likes puns.

Lakshman Swamy is a medical student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. He is a 2005 graduate of the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH, where he self-designed the Neuroscience major. Before joining medical school, Lakshman worked for two years in the Trapp lab at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation as a lab technician working with multiple sclerosis.

Lakshman is a young gentleman in the MD/MBA program at Wright State, and accordingly, his favorite character on Scrubs is Dr. Kelso. He has an eclectic taste in music, loves audiobooks -- especially mysteries -- and watches 24, M*A*S*H, and Battlestar Galactica. Yes, two of those shows have run their final season -- he is also constantly behind the times. He has NO idea what he wants to do with his life, but he is sure it will involve turning down the position of Surgeon General for bigger and better things.

Shamie Das is an MD/MBA dual degree student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. He graduated from Emory University in 2004 as a dual major in Biology and Sociology. He went on to earn his Masters Degree in Public Health in 2007 from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. As a graduate student, he also performed bench research in Molecular and Cell Biology at the Emory University School of Medicine. In his free time during college, Shamie volunteered as an EMT-Intermediate and went on to become certified as a Paramedic.

Shamie was born in England and soon after moved to the US. In his free time he enjoys photography, traveling and fine cuisine. A few of his life goals are to visit every continent and climb Everest. An avid extremist, Shamie enjoys leaping out of perfectly good airplanes, white water rafting and jumping headfirst into gorges. Recently engaged, he also spends countless hours on the phone with his fiancée. His favorite authors include Hemingway, Frost, and Crichton (and of course Robbins). Television is a thing of the past in his current life, but occasionally he still watches PBS and listens to NPR and (of course) Radio Rounds.