May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the ACOPedscast wanted to take the opportunity to focus the spotlight on a topic that doesn’t get brought up nearly enough… physician self-wellness and recognition of physician burnout. Jason and Scott were lucky enough to find as a special guest, someone who just last month shared her personal story with physician burnout and how she turned it into a life lesson in The DO online magazine, Doctor Veronica Nkie, DO, MPH, MLS (ASCP).

Doctor Nkie took time out of her busy schedule wrapping up her Traditional Internship and military service period at the Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, took join the Pedscast to share more about her story, what led her to share such a personal moment, and what this experience has taught her about listening to her own body while caring for the patients in front of her.

This month’s episode is a must for listeners at any level in your osteopathic medical career, as we all already have or likely will face a period of burnout, and it is important for us to know how to recognize that within ourselves, seek help, and get back to being our best when caring for our patients and each other. Make sure to save some time for this one because in true Scott and Jason style, the clock on the wall gets ignored as they get lost in the conversation.

Scott, Jason, and the ACOP want to thank Dr. Nkie for sharing her story, thank her – and all of you who choose to serve our Nation in the military – for her service, and congratulate her on completing her traditional internship and moves on to a residency in General Surgery.

If you haven’t read the story, the link is below as well as ways you can follow Dr. Nkie and the ACOP on your favorite social media platforms.

Welcome to Summer… and Happy Listening!!

If you, or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available: Get Help - 988 Lifeline

The DO Magazine piece: How burnout taught me to listen to my body - The DO

Mental Health resources from the AOA: Wellness Toolkit - American Osteopathic Association

Contact Dr. Nkie:

• Email: veroniguebijou@gmail.com
• Facebook: Veronique Bijou
• Instagram: veroniquebijou

Follow the ACOP:

• Facebook: ACOPeds
• Instagram: acopediatricians
• Bluesky: acopeds.bsky.social

April’s episode is a very special one for both Jason and Scott, and hopefully for all of you was the hosts sit down with a listener who contacted them to share his story. Dr. Gary Kirkilas is a unique pediatrician in Phoenix, AZ who works primarily with Phoenix’s unhoused population through the robust mobile medicine program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In this free-flowing conversation, Dr. Kirkilas shares his story and what drove him to this career including meeting his future employer, and a role model for many on Pediatric Advocacy, Dr. Randy Christensen, author of the book Ask Me Why I Hurt: The kids nobody wants – and the doctor who heals them. Gary talks about the unique joys and challenges that comes with running a mobile medicine unit and caring for the unhoused pediatric population, as well as advocacy efforts he has undertaken to take healthcare to the children in the schools in the area.

He also discusses his additional advocacy efforts in protecting Pheonix’s children from the dangerous advertising and labelling practicing utilized by many manufacturers of THC-infused drinks and snacks, an effort that has led him to the Arizona Capitol to provide expert testimony on the impact these foods and drinks have on the pediatric population.

We also dive into Gary’s life outside of medicine and his own quest for health as an Ironman Triathlete!! This is an extremely inspiring and educational podcast that you are sure to enjoy as much as we enjoyed recording it.

If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Kirkilas, you can find his story at Dr. Gary Kirkilas – Pediatrician ∙ Speaker ∙ Writer ∙ Advocate. And you can find the book Ask Me Why I Hurt at major retail booksellers, or you can always support small businesses by asking your local bookstore to order it for you!

On a side note, if you think we are sounding better lately that is do to the amazing editing and sound mixing of Allison Cyrus, who just happens to also be Scott’s daughter-in-law. Welcome to the ACOPedscast family Allison!!

Happy Listening!

Have you ever stopped and just thought about how much time you spend on your smart phone? (If not you should… after the podcast, of course.) Or have you thought about what it would be like to go a week without your phone… or a day… how about just 30 minutes? It is no secret that we have become more and more dependent on these small rectangles in our pockets, and that dependence is most prominent in our teens.

Our guest, Aileen Behringer, is a librarian at a high school in Orange County, NY where she had a front row seat to the growing screen dependence in the teens she cared for, and she decided that she wanted to take a closer look at the effects of this phenomenon. What she found out is nothing short of eye opening for all of us.

Jason and Scott sit down with Ms. Behringer to discuss her study, her findings, and the implications in physical and mental health that these findings may have for not only our teens but also many of us, and yes the hosts take a deep dive into their phone usage too!

Thank you to Aileen for reaching out to join us on the Pedscast and for sharing your work, This is a great example of how education is a vital component to the overall health of our pediatric population, and how we need to continue to celebrate our public school teachers and librarians for the work that they do!

It’s that time of year again; days are starting to get longer, we catch a few passing glimpses of Spring, and 3rd year medical students start preparing for 4th year Audition Rotations. Annually this is one of the most requested and downloaded episodes, when we sit down with our student trustees to discuss all things VSLO, Auditions, and preparing for 4th year. Unfortunately, respiratory viral season claimed 3rd year trustee Lindsay Abel’s voice on the night of recording, but current 4th year trustee Madison Craft was ready to take al of our questions and share his story about juggling auditions, interviews, on top of every other expectation of graduating medical school. He also provides a new perspective not had on this show before in that he is going through Couple’s Match and is applying Med-Peds.

This episode is always filled with excellent pointers and advice for our students as you prepare for the upcoming months. Be sure to also listen to the end to hear about some excellent opportunities to get involved in the student leadership in the ACOP!

As always Jason and Scott welcome all requests or comments. We can be reached at acopeds@acopeds.org.

After a Holiday break, which we all hope you also took time to enjoy with friends and family, Jason and Scott are back in the studio. For the first episode of 2025 we sit down with current ACOP President Dr. Jamee Goldstein and President-Elect Dr. Tyree Winters to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the ACOP and pediatric medicine in general as we head into a new year. Tackling tough topics, the panel does not shy away from concerns regarding the future of vaccine science or healthcare access, but with each topic we discuss how we will be pushing forward as an osteopathic pediatric community.

We also make sure to take time to celebrate our wins of 2024 and dole out some congratulations for our very own Scott Cyrus as he takes the lead as President of the American Osteopathic Foundation this year. We discuss our visions for both organizations, ways we hope to collaborate and, yes, we do have a lot to look forward to as well.

We hope you will enjoy this first episode of the New Year and we look forward to spending more time with you in the coming months. As always our virtual doors are open if you have any topic requests or would like to guest on an episode of the ACOPedscast. We can be reached at acopeds@acopeds.org with the subject line “ACOPedscast”. Until next month… Happy New Year, and Happy Listening!

It is November, a time when nights start to overcome daytime hours, temperatures start to drop, and the sights and sounds of the Holidays begin to surround us. As we get ready to prepare for Thanksgiving, we could think of no better time than this month to take a moment to thank an organization that many of our listeners may not even be aware of but one that does tremendous things in support of the osteopathic physician community, the Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association or AAOA. This amazing group is comprised of the spouses, partners, and significant others of osteopathic physicians and medical students. It serves as a support network for those people who are supporting osteopathic physicians throughout every stage of their training and career, as well as a fierce group of advocates for the osteopathic profession.

This month Scott and Jason sit down with immediate past president of the AAOA, Megan Maples of Colorado to discuss her journey as an advocate for her husband and children as he went from medical student in Fort Woth, Texas, to now co-owning their Still Point Osteopathic Care Center in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Megan discusses what it meant for her to serve as an advocate for the osteopathic profession, her accomplishments as the immediate past president as well as the future of the advocates under current leadership. She also talks about how other spouses and significant others can get involved in their activities. Make sure to stop by their table your next visit to OMED, DO Day on the Hill, or the AOA HOD and thank them for all they do… and maybe even buy a fun tie or brooch to support their cause.

If you are looking for more information about the Advocates or how to get involved, details can be found at their website at Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association. If you are in the Castle Rock area and are looking for osteopathic care you can find out more information about Dr. Maples and his center at Comprehensive Osteopathic Musculoskeletal Care in Castle Rock - Osteopathic Care.

Scott and Jason also want to take this time to thank all of our listeners for continuing to tune in each month and listen to our ramblings. We hope you will continue to like, subscribe, download and share the ACOPedscast with friends as we head into 2025. With the fourth Wednesday of December falling on Christmas Day this will be the last episode of 2024. We both want to wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday Season, and we will see you in January 2025. As always if you have any requests or have something you’d like to share on a future episode, contact us at pedscast@acopeds.org.

Happy Listening!

It’s the first episode since the ACOP got together in San Antonio as part of the annual AOA OMED Conference, and the ACOPedscast is celebrating a milestone as we reach our 40th episode, and what better way to commemorate all of that than with a celebratory episode with two leaders in the ACOP family. Each year at OMED, the American Osteopathic Foundation, AOF, presents a select number of awards and this year pediatricians were well represented. Fellow-in-Training Board of Trustee member Dr. MacKenzie LeMay was the recipient of the AOF/ACOP Pediatrics Resident of the Year Award, and Dr. Bob Hostoffer, a past President of the ACOP among many other roles, was awarded the prestigious AOF Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual AOF Awards Gala!

Scott and Jason were able to get both of them to sit down together in the “studio’ to discuss what it meant to them to receive this recognition from the AOF, and to talk a bit about their respective journeys to where they are now. With a great deal of reminiscing and a lot of looking forward, this month’s episode provides a double dose of inspiration for listeners in any stage of your training or career. If you need a dose of warm fuzzies to help get you through the change in weather this 40th episode of the ACOPedscast is just what the doctors ordered!

Jason and Scott are always looking for show ideas and guests who’d like to come on and share your achievements with the ACOP family. If you have an idea or would like to sit down with us, reach out at pedscast@acopeds.edu for more information! Also don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to auto-downloads so you never miss an episode!

Happy Listening!

This month the ACOPedscast has its second “live on location” episode with Jason and Scott coming to you from the 2024 OMED Conference in San Antonio, Texas, and like the last on-location episode from DO Day on the Hill in Washington DC, the topic is how to serve as physician advocates. Jason and Scott also take advantage of being at the AOA’s largest annual gathering to pull a very special guest to the Pedscast, Sean Neal. Sean is part of the AOA Washington DC office and serves as the Vice President of Advocacy and Political Affairs for the organization.

In this episode we get a first-hand look at how the AOA advocates for our patients and our profession and how you can get involved in legislative advocacy at all levels. We also discuss the resources available to you as members of the AOA ranging from help for the novice advocate in getting in contact with your local representatives to getting prepared to run for public office yourself!

Sean explains the difference between the AOA, the American Osteopathic Information Association (AOIA), and the Osteopathic Political Action Committee (OPAC), breaking down what each arm does in relation to healthcare advocacy and how you can get involved in each. He gives us a boots-on-the-ground evaluation of the current environment on Capitol Hill.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. Look for more episodes like this in the future as Scott and Jason sit down with other members of the AOA Policy Team to learn more about the various ways the AOA supports our profession.

See you in October!

If you are interested in learning more, links are provided below:

• AOA: osteopathic.org
• Osteopathic Advocacy Network: Osteopathic Advocacy Network - American Osteopathic Association
• AOIA/OPAC: AOIA-OPAC (osteopathicpac.org)