• "This Isn't a Goodbye. It's a 'See You Later'" - Season 1 Finale
    Feb 6 2023

    Please complete this brief 3 minute survey to provide us Feedback on Season 1 so we can continue to improve the podcast for all our listeners!

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    7 mins
  • "Reach out for Help" - Metabolic Health (Part II)
    Jan 23 2023

    In this episode, Dr. Vasudevan and Dr. Moreno explore the ever-expanding treatment options for Obeisty, and our patient tells us about his experience with some of these interventions.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Lifestyle Changes (Diet/Exercies)
    3. Chapter 2: Weight Loss Medications
    4. Chapter 3: Bariatric Surgery
    5. Chapter 4: Advise to Young Clinicians and Fellow Patients
    6. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Lifestyle modifications need to be tailored to the patient. This often involves starting with a careful dietary and activity history and helping the patient incorporate small, healthy changes that are congruent with their cultural background
    2. There are multiple medications available for weight loss and selecting the right one requires knowledge of a patient's comorbid health conditions, as well as taking into account their personal preference. Side-effects tolerance cost, and or insurance coverage
    3. Recognize how to counsel patients on when it may be appropriate to pursue bariatric surgery and what they can expect following the procedure.
    4. The most important step in helping patients manage obesity is by starting the conversation and letting patients know that you are there to support them along every step of the way.

    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Jorge O. Moreno is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.


    Dr. Moreno is originally from Mexico and is also fluent in Spanish. He grew up in New Rochelle, NY and completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in 2006. In 2011, he obtained his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his internal medical residency at the Yale University’s Primary Care Residency Program Yale New Haven in 2014.


    === References ===

    1. Heymsfield SB, Wadden TA. Mechanisms, Pathophysiology, and Management of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jan 19;376(3):254-266. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1514009. PMID: 28099824. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1514009
    2. Wilding, J. P. H., et al. (2021). "Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity." New England journal of medicine 384(11): 989-1002.


    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Maisie Orsillo
    Producers: Helen Cai, JW Allen, August Allocco
    Logo and Name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: Corbyn Kites, Quincas Moreira, Jesse Gallagher, Patrick Patrikios

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on your favorite podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls

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    47 mins
  • "I Miss Hiking" - Metabolic Health (Part I)
    Jan 9 2023

    In this episode, Dr. Vasudevan and Dr. Moreno unpack our patient's experience with weight and how it's impacted his life.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Personal Relationship to Weight
    3. Chapter 2: Impact of Weight on Mental Health
    4. Chapter 3: Relationship with PCP
    5. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Commonly used measures of obesity include BMI and waist circumference. These measures are imperfect, since they are attempting to quantify adiposity.
    2. Patients often undergo an emotional journey that is related to their weight. Many patients prefer to move towards tangible end goals such as increased mobility, lowered risk for future adverse health events, or other factors rather than a specific weight, BMI, or waist circumference.
    3. Screening and treatment of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression can be instrumental in the care of patients who have elevated BMI.
    4. Be sure to ask permission to discuss the patient’s weight before jumping in. Set SMART goals with your patients and set expectations early.


    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Jorge O. Moreno is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.


    Dr. Moreno is originally from Mexico and is also fluent in Spanish. He grew up in New Rochelle, NY and completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University in 2006. In 2011, he obtained his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his internal medical residency at the Yale University’s Primary Care Residency Program Yale New Haven in 2014.


    === References ===

    1. Hales CM, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity among adults: United States, 2017–2018. NCHS Data Brief, no 360. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.html
    2. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html


    *For additional resources discussed in the episode, check out our transcript!


    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Nate Wood
    Producers: Helen Cai, JW, August Allocco
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: Emily A. Sprague, Unicorn Heads, Godmode, Corbyn Kites, Ammil, Coma

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls



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    39 mins
  • "A refrigerator full of ice cream" - Nutrition Medicine (Part IV)
    Dec 26 2022

    In this episode, Nate and Justin discuss ways that Tina could modify her food environment to keep moving toward her health goals. They also discuss the tricky aspect of social determinants of health and how that may (or may not?) hamper our efforts to help patients achieve healthy lifestyles.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Food Environment
    3. Chapter 2: Social Determinants of Health
    4. Chapter 3: Concluding the Nutrition Series
    5. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Setting up an environment for success and encouraging new habits are the most important strategies for success in changing eating patterns.
    2. While it’s important to understand the effects of social determinants of health, our patients are resilient in enacting change and should not be underestimated.
    3. Many fad diets and trends exist within mainstream cultures. At the end of the day: point patients to an evidence-based lifestyle (such as eating a whole food, predominantly plant-based diet).
    4. Time within the office is limited. Provide patients with brief, targeted teaching while they are within the office, and additional resources for patients to explore after the visit.


    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Justin Charles is a graduate of the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program.

    His clinical interests are in Lifestyle Medicine, the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to not only prevent, but treat and reverse chronic disease from a root cause perspective. He has received training in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, as well as Dr. John McDougall's Starch Solution Certification Course.


    === References ===

    Re: similarities between processed foods and “illicit” drugs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334652/

    Re: our environment being obesogenic: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743599905856

    Structures being a fundamental cause of disease:
    https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626958

    Re: systemic solutions mentioend at the White House Conference: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/28/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-announces-more-than-8-billion-in-new-commitments-as-part-of-call-to-action-for-white-house-conference-on-hunger-nutrition-and-health/

    *For additional resources discussed in the episode, check out our transcript!


    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Nate Wood
    Producers: Nate Wood, Helen Cai, August Allocco
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: Dan Henig, Bobby Richards, Asher Fulero, Jesse Gallagher, VYEN

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls

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    36 mins
  • "I can't discipline myself, but I don't want to disappoint you" - Nutrition Medicine (Part III)
    Dec 12 2022

    In this episode, Nate and Justin discuss the powerful technique of motivational interviewing to figure out how to help Tina inch closer towards her own goals.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Taking a Dietary History
    3. Chapter 2: Motivational Interviewing
    4. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Changes in food habits and eating patterns can mean breaking patterns that have been ingrained over lifetimes
    2. Fear and shame are not effective motivators, and so should not be used to persuade patients to change behaviors. Instead, emphasize the positive benefits that are present in the short term.
    3. Taking a detailed hour-by-hour dietary history can uncover additional opportunities to change eating patterns. Be sure to ask patients how they prepare foods, dress foods with condiments, and so forth.
    4. Empowering patients and removing judgment is critical. Motivational interviewing is a technique that frames change in an actionable, self-empowering manner, while uncovering reasons for changing eating patterns that are not solely weight-centered.
    5. In addition to achieving weight loss goals, changing nutrition is an opportunity to help patients get excited about other health goals, such as improving their blood pressure or reducing their risk of developing diabetes.


    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Justin Charles is a graduate of the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program.

    His clinical interests are in Lifestyle Medicine, the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to not only prevent, but treat and reverse chronic disease from a root cause perspective. He has received training in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, as well as Dr. John McDougall's Starch Solution Certification Course.


    === References ===

    Arab L, Tseng CH, Ang A, Jardack P. Validity of a multipass, web-based, 24-hour self-administered recall for assessment of total energy intake in blacks and whites. Am J Epidemiol. 2011 Dec 1;174(11):1256-65. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr224. Epub 2011 Oct 20. PMID: 22021561; PMCID: PMC3224251.

    === Recommended Reading ===

    1. Moshfegh, A.J., Rhodes, D.G., Baer, D.J., Murayi, T., Clemens, J.C., Rumpler, W.V., Paul, D.R., Sebastian, R.S., Kuczynski, K.J., Ingwersen, L.A., Staples, R.C., Cleveland, L.E. The US Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes. A J Clin Nutr. 2008;88:324-332
    2. Johnston CA, Stevens BE. Motivational Interviewing in the Health Care Setting. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2013;7(4):246-249. doi:10.1177/1559827613485923
    3. Hauser ME, McMacken M, Lim A, Shetty P. Nutrition—An Evidence-Based, Practical Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment. Fam Pract. 2022;71((1 Suppl Lifestyle)). doi:10.12788/jfp.0292

    *For more reading recommendations, check out our transcript!



    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Nate Wood
    Producers: Nate Wood, Helen Cai, August Allocco
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: Patrick Patrikios, pATCHES, Myuu, VYEN, Reed Mathis,

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls

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    34 mins
  • "I loved [Keto] because I lost the weight" - Nutrition Medicine (Part II)
    Nov 28 2022

    In this episode, Nate, Justin, and Tina sit around the proverbial dinner table to discuss different types of eating patterns or "diets" and why a whole food plant-based diet might deserve a spot at the top of the food chain.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Types of Eating Patterns
    3. Chapter 2: Whole Food Plant-Based Diet
    4. Chapter 3: Emotional and Psychological Nature of Eating
    5. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Patients have different motivations for changing their eating habits: they may wish to lose weight as measured on the scale, change their appearance, or prevent or treat chronic disease.
    2. The keto diet, a popular eating diet, can appear to be healthful in the short term: patients are able to lose weight, decrease their blood pressure, and decrease their blood sugar. However, it is not sustainable in the long term and may lead to increased risk of adverse health outcomes.
    3. Many scientifically vetted eating patterns, including the DASH diet and Mediterranean diet, share one thing in common: eating a whole food, plant-based diet. Eating a whole food, plant-based diet does not mean the same thing as “vegan;” rather, it emphasizes eating foods in their minimally processed form and minimizing consumption of animal-based foods.


    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Justin Charles is a graduate of the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program.

    His clinical interests are in Lifestyle Medicine, the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to not only prevent, but treat and reverse chronic disease from a root cause perspective. He has received training in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, as well as Dr. John McDougall's Starch Solution Certification Course.

    === Recommended Reading ===

    1. Comparison of sociodemographic and nutritional characteristics between self-reported vegetarians, vegans, and meat-eaters from the NurtiNet-Santé Study.
    2. Rosenfeld DL. The psychology of vegetarianism: Recent advances and future directions. Appetite 2018; 131:125-38;and Ruby MB. Vegetarianism. A blossoming field of study. Appetite 2012; 58:141-150.
    3. Plante CN, Rosenfeld DL, Plante M, Reysen S. The role of social identity motivation in dietary attitudes and behaviors among vegetarians. Appetite 2019; 141 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.05.038
    4. Dehghan M, Mente A, Zhang X, et al. Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five contents (PURE): a prospective study.


    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Nate Wood
    Producers: Nate Wood, Helen Cai, August Allocco
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: pATCHES, Unicorn Heads, Asher Fulero

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls

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    27 mins
  • "Nothing was ever real food..." - Nutrition Medicine (Part I)
    Nov 14 2022

    In our inaugural episode of the nutrition series, Nate, Justin and our patient, Tina, tackle nutrition myths and what it means to eat for joy. Pretty ambitious... did they bite off more than they can chew?? Listen to find out.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Tina's Story
    3. Chapter 2: Eating for Joy
    4. Chapter 3: Busting Nutrition Myths
    5. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. Eating behavior is deeply rooted in personal experience.
    2. Healthy eating can be a joyous experience, a message that is often lost in mass media and cultural myths.
    3. Instead of focusing on individual components of food such as macronutrient profiles, carbohydrates, or fats, focus more on what a particular food offers as a whole.
    4. Robust literature is available to guide physicians in counseling patients on their nutrition choices (more on this to come in future episodes).


    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Dr. Justin Charles is a graduate of the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program. His clinical interests are in Lifestyle Medicine, the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to not only prevent, but treat and reverse chronic disease from a root cause perspective. He has received training in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell, as well as Dr. John McDougall's Starch Solution Certification Course.

    === References ===

    1. Ros E. The PREDIMED study. Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr. 2017 Feb;64(2):63-66. English, Spanish. doi: 10.1016/j.endinu.2016.11.003. Epub 2017 Feb 1. PMID: 28440779.
    2. Le LT, Sabaté J. Beyond meatless, the health effects of vegan diets: findings from the Adventist cohorts. Nutrients. 2014 May 27;6(6):2131-47. doi: 10.3390/nu6062131. PMID: 24871675; PMCID: PMC4073139.


    === Recommended Reading ===

    1. Zhang B, Zhai FY, Du SF, Popkin BM. The China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1989-2011. Obes Rev 2014; 15(suppl 1):2–7.
    2. Campbell TC, Parpia B, Chen J. Diet, lifestyle, and the etiology of coronary artery disease: the Cornell China Study
    3. Davey GK, Spencer EA, Appleby PN, et al. EPIC–Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33,883 meat-eaters and 31,546 non meat-eaters in the UK.
    4. Wilkins JT, Karmali KN, Huffman MD, et al. Data resource profile: the cardiovascular disease lifetime risk pooling project. Alles B, Baudry J, Mejean C, et al.


    === About Us ===
    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts for furthering the medical education of residents and clinicians in early stages of their careers. Building on the work of other medical education podcasts, Primary Care Pearls includes contributions from patients themselves, who have the autonomy to share their own experiences of how their primary care physician directly impacted the quality of their care.


    Hosts: Nate Wood
    Producers: Nate Wood, Helen Cai, August Alloco,
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: TrackTribe, The Tide, Patrick Patrikios, Asher Fulero, Windows of Ken, Joel Cummins

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls



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    28 mins
  • Elderly, Kidney Disease, and Pregnancy - Hypertension (Part III)
    Oct 31 2022

    In the final episode of our hypertension series, Taylor and Dr. Gallagher discuss the causes of high blood pressure and management in special populations.

    Share your reactions and questions with us at Speak Pipe . We might feature you on a future episode!

    === Outline ===
    1. Introduction
    2. Chapter 1: Causes of Primary Hypertension
    3. Chapter 2: Secondary Hypertension
    4. Chapter 3: Treating Hypertension in Special Populations
    6. Conclusion

    === Learning Points ===

    1. About 90% of patients with hypertension experience primary hypertension. About 10% of patients with hypertension experience secondary hypertension due to an underlying disease or interfering medication. Causes of secondary hypertension can include pheochromocytoma, renal artery stenosis, CKD, primary hyperaldosteronism, fibromuscular dysplasia, and obstructive sleep apnea.
    2. Workup for diagnosing the cause of hypertension should include a detailed history and a focused physical exam. Basic labs should include assessment for acute nephritis (e.g. hematuria, pyuria, or proteinuria), lipid panel, and A1C to screen for type 2 diabetes.
    3. “Hypertensive urgency” is differentiated from forms of hypertensive emergency by the absence of hypertensive end organ damage. Distinguishing between the two conditions is key for determining the therapeutic goal for blood pressure.
    4. Patients who are elderly, pregnant, may become pregnant, or have chronic kidney disease require special attention and management of their hypertension.

    === Our Expert(s) ===

    Benjamin Gallagher, MD, FACP is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine (General Medicine) at Yale School of Medicine.

    === References ===

    de la Sierra A, Segura J, Banegas JR, Gorostidi M, de la Cruz JJ, Armario P, Oliveras A, Ruilope LM. Clinical features of 8295 patients with resistant hypertension classified on the basis of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Hypertension. 2011 May;57(5):898-902. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.168948. Epub 2011 Mar 28. PMID: 21444835.

    Anderson TS, Jing B, Auerbach A, et al. Clinical Outcomes After Intensifying Antihypertensive Medication Regimens Among Older Adults at Hospital Discharge. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(11):1528–1536. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.3007

    === About Us ===

    The Primary Care Pearls (PCP) Podcast is created in collaboration with faculty, residents, and students from the Department of Internal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. The project aims to create accessible and informative podcasts about core primary care topics centered around real patient stories.


    Hosts: Josh Onyango, Maisie Orsillo
    Producers: Helen Cai, Kevin Wheelock, Danish Zaidi
    Logo and name: Eva Zimmerman
    Theme music and Editing: Josh Onyango
    Other background music: Coma Media, Defekt_Maschine, Chris Haugen, Unicorn Heads, and Slynk.

    Instagram: @pcpearls
    Twitter: @PCarePearls
    Listen on most podcast platforms: linktr.ee/pcpearls



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    54 mins