Environmental medicine

Where are you at as far as in fourth year? Like just to let everyone know where you're applying, what you're looking to do, what your thoughts are.

yeah so i'm actually applying to this really weird field called occupational and environmental medicine it's more of a public health focus like you get your mph during the residency and you can do more like large-scale systems prevention style things so the goal right now i think is to be more like have maybe part-time clinical and then part-time maybe in more of a more like leadership systems role.

So I'm super excited about that because I was nearing the point during third year where I was like, I don't know if medicine is for me.

I don't know if there's really a career option out there that balances things the way I'm looking to in life.

Same with family medicine.

I mean, the volume of patients that you're seeing in a day is just crazy.

and so i actually found out about it by i accidentally sent an email to the only occupational environmental medicine doctor we have at stony brook thinking she was someone else and she said let me tell you about this field i had a very similar journey to you by the end of medical school into first year residency i didn't think medicine was for me and i was almost about to leave and then i found out about this field and the lifestyle and like balance it's afforded her as well as like keeping people healthy and working with populations in that way she was able to remain like fulfilled not burnt out and she became a great mentor and so that's like how i found out about it through an accidental email like a twist of fate right how crazy yeah to think about but uh and now i'm applying into it so

how many years is the residency and then would you have a similar job in a hospital or university like her like just i'm curious you know what yeah

Thank you both for joining us on the show.

I came across your paper in Wilderness Environmental Medicine and had just recorded a podcast on heat illness.

and was super interested to have you both on and have you describe the case because we don't honestly have access to that many cases in the world of search and rescue.

Ski patrol heat illness is less of an issue, but let's say bike patrol, where we get to discuss these cases and think about what someone would do in your shoes.

And you can also find in the show notes a link to the original paper published by doctors Daniel and Clark, which describes this original case.

And it's actually in the structure of a conversation, of an interview.

It's a new format for wilderness and environmental medicine, so it's really easy to learn from it, and it's a quick and easy read if you're interested to read the original text.

As always, if you want to reach out, provide some feedback, tell me something I did wrong.

Hello and welcome back to Pediapod.

Today I'm joined by senior investigator Philippe Grandjean, professor of environmental medicine at the National Institute of Public Health in Denmark and research professor at the University of Rhode Island.

Here he is telling me about his early start into environmental medicine research.

When I was in medical school, which is a few summers ago, there was lead in gasoline.

And I sat down and did some calculations.

And, and a, a question that I was thinking about is, in your vast experience in complex disease, whether it's ME/CFS or maybe Gulf War injury, or an individual that's, that's had I'm gonna say multiple diagnostics.

Why, what is it that has inspired you or motivated you to look at a variety of medicine approaches? And, and for me, I wanna ask you specifically about environmental medicine.

Well, when I started, because Dr. Klimas had been, uh, you know, the, the one of the world's leading experts in CFS when I joined her, but when I started in 2010, we were taking an immunologic and virologic approach to the illness, 'cause we know that there's viral reactivation in this illness.

There was...

Right

... population.

Therefore, we were asked, I believe the story is, if I remember correctly, 'cause I was there, I should remember it, but [laughs] Dr., Dr. Klimas was asked to set up a program for the VA hospital in environmental medicine.

So she contacted the academy, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.