Flying through the air in a helicopter that's "so much smaller than you think," Sophie Fuller works to save lives as a critical care flight paramedic. In this captivating conversation, she reveals the unexpected journey that led her to becoming a lifesaving flight medic who transports critically ill patients by air.

Sophie's path wasn't always clear. Seeking something beyond the hospital walls to satisfy her "super ADHD" personality, she discovered emergency medicine through a friend who was a paramedic. This sparked a multi-year educational journey through EMT school, advanced training, and finally paramedic certification—all while working as a firefighter and in 911 services. Her love for medicine and adrenaline eventually led her to the skies as a flight paramedic, where she found her perfect professional home.

The reality of flight medicine comes alive as Sophie details her daily routine: the two-and-a-half-hour commute, the extensive safety protocols, and the remarkable teamwork between paramedics and nurses that makes airborne medicine possible. She vividly describes the complex dance of managing patients in a confined, noisy space where "we tend to communicate with our eyes more than our mouth." From blood coolers to helmet communications, every aspect of this specialized care environment serves a critical purpose.

But Sophie's story goes deeper than medical procedures. She candidly shares how burnout nearly drove her from the profession entirely before she found renewal through an unexpected source: sharing her experiences online. As "Paramedic Sophie," she built a community that reignited her passion for emergency medicine and eventually led to co-hosting the Life and Sirens podcast, where she and colleagues share everything from clinical education to tales of "haunted stations" and unforgettable patient encounters.

Whether you're considering a career in emergency medicine or simply fascinated by these "quiet heroes" of healthcare, Sophie's story offers a powerful reminder of the extraordinary people who stand ready to help on our worst days. Ready to explore emergency medicine for yourself? Sophie encourages everyone from high school students to healthcare professionals to take advantage of ride-along programs and experience firsthand the "chaos and excitement" that makes emergency medicine unlike any other healthcare specialty.

Paramedic Sophie (Instagram)
Life and Sirens Podcast (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Website)

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
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What does it take to completely reinvent your career path at age 30? Ryan Foley knows exactly how daunting this journey can be. Starting as a construction worker with a vocational high school background, Ryan made the bold decision to pursue medicine, beginning with remedial college classes and reverse engineering his way to becoming a physician assistant.

Ryan's approach was brilliantly methodical. Rather than rushing straight toward PA school, he first became a registered nurse—a decision that provided clinical experience, financial stability, and professional connections. "I had a goal in mind and engineered it backwards," he explains. This reverse-engineering process not only made his dream achievable but gave him invaluable perspective that continues to shape his practice today.

The conversation dives deep into the cultural differences between emergency medicine and other specialties. Ryan offers a memorable analogy: "When you're comparing the ED versus the ICU, it's the ADD kids versus the OCD kids." This perfectly captures how emergency medicine professionals thrive amid constant shifts in attention and priorities, yet paradoxically find calm during critical moments. "For as chaotic as a trauma can be, everyone's just very calm, knows their role... It kind of hits that flow state," he shares.

Perhaps most valuable is Ryan's insight on patient communication. Despite sophisticated diagnostics and technology, he emphasizes that simply asking patients what they think might be wrong and truly listening to their stories remains the cornerstone of effective medicine. "When patients feel listened to, they're going to trust you more," Ryan notes—a simple but profound reminder that medicine, at its core, is about human connection. Whether you're considering a career change, curious about emergency medicine, or simply fascinated by healthcare journeys, Ryan's story offers both practical guidance and genuine inspiration.

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
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A sarcastic whisper describing the tools used in the operating room changed everything. Meet Alyssa Ellis, the Certified Surgical Technologist and First Assistant whose educational videos have captured the attention of surgeons, students, and curious patients alike. With her trademark straightforward delivery and deep expertise, Alyssa pulls back the curtain on what really happens when you're under anesthesia.

Find Alyssa @beyondassisting on all social medial platforms and check out her website https://www.beyondassisting.com/ for more information!

After 16 years spanning nearly every surgical specialty, Alyssa brings unparalleled perspective to what makes an operating room function. Her journey began unexpectedly - working retail jobs as a young mother, she enrolled in surgical tech school on a friend's suggestion. When those friends quit two weeks later, her determination to finish what she started launched a remarkable career that would touch countless patients' lives.

Throughout our conversation, Alyssa shares invaluable insights about the true dynamics of surgical teamwork. She explains how four essential roles (surgeon, anesthesiologist, RN circulator, and surgical tech) form the foundation of every procedure, while revealing the critical importance of communication, respect, and knowing when to admit what you don't know. Her philosophy - that acknowledging limitations is a strength, not a weakness - stands as a powerful lesson for anyone in healthcare.

What makes Alyssa's story particularly compelling is her commitment to education and improvement. After years of documenting surgeons' preferences, optimizing workflows, and mentoring colleagues, she's now building a comprehensive platform to share her knowledge with the world. Her mission to reignite passion in healthcare comes at a crucial moment when burnout and disillusionment challenge the field.

Whether you're a pre-health student considering surgical specialties, a healthcare professional looking to understand OR dynamics, or simply someone curious about what happens during surgery, this episode offers rare and valuable perspective. Subscribe now and join us for more conversations with the remarkable people shaping modern medicine.

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
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Dr. Josh Wageman brings a rare blend of expertise to cardiovascular prevention. With credentials spanning physical therapy, biochemistry, and Yale PA training, he's transformed how we understand lipid science through brilliant, accessible metaphors that make complex medical concepts understandable to everyone.

At the heart of our conversation is Josh's innovative framework that reimagines cardiovascular health as a "home security system" and cholesterol management as living in a "safe lipid neighborhood." Rather than overwhelming listeners with biochemical pathways, he translates these concepts into vivid metaphors - LDL particles become mailmen delivering packages, HDL serves as the police force, and lipoprotein(a) represents potential felons threatening arterial walls. This approach fulfills what Josh describes as the true test of understanding: "If you can explain it to somebody who may not be familiar with the topic."

Josh challenges several persistent misconceptions about cholesterol. He explains why LDL isn't inherently "bad" (it's only problematic when depositing cholesterol in arterial walls) and why high HDL doesn't necessarily mean protection. "Just relying on your HDL cholesterol to tell you anything about its functionality is irresponsible," he notes, sharing examples where patients with impressive HDL numbers had extensive coronary disease.

Most powerfully, Josh advocates for shifting cardiovascular care from reactive to preventive approaches. He explains why standard risk calculators miss significant disease and why additional tools like coronary artery calcium scoring can be life-saving. Through a striking example of a physically fit friend whose 10-year risk was calculated at just 2.3%, yet required five-vessel bypass surgery, Josh demonstrates why we need to look beyond traditional metrics.

Beyond technical expertise, Josh emphasizes the human element in medicine: "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." His approach reminds us that effective healthcare requires not just knowledge, but the ability to communicate in ways patients understand and trust.

Want to prevent heart attacks, strokes and dementia? Find "The Home Security System in the Lipid Neighborhood" on Amazon and follow Josh on LinkedIn and Twitter for more insights that could save your life.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Security-System-Lipid-Neighborhood-Complicating/dp/B0DTJ1HJ4Y

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
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Dr. Ali Zreik arrives at patient rooms with an unusual tool—a rolling whiteboard. While most physicians carry stethoscopes and tablets, this internal medicine attending physician and associate program director brings something more transformative: a visual bridge between complex medical science and human understanding.

"Bring me the whiteboard," he tells residents when faced with a challenging patient case. What follows is nothing short of medical storytelling at its finest. Drawing hearts, explaining physiologies, and breaking down medical jargon into clear visuals, Dr. Zreik transforms the clinical encounter for everyone involved – the frustrated patient suddenly understands their condition, burned-out residents rediscover purpose, and healing begins in earnest.

Drawing inspiration from Dr. Lisa Sanders (the physician behind the New York Times' "Diagnosis" column and TV's "House"), Dr. Zreik brings a Sherlockian approach to medicine. Yet his true innovation lies in combining analytical precision with profound compassion. "Medicine has changed from being patient-oriented to goal and task-oriented," he observes, pinpointing a shift that has left many patients feeling unheard despite technological advances.

His philosophy centers on creating "happiness at the point of care"—a radical concept in today's efficiency-focused healthcare environment. This approach not only improves patient outcomes but serves as a powerful antidote to burnout among medical professionals. By finding meaning in the work and intentionally fostering connection, Dr. Zreik demonstrates how medicine can remain both scientifically rigorous and deeply human.

For pre-health students uncertain about their path, his advice resonates beyond medicine: "Create a sense of why for yourself... it's in the art of asking questions that identity gets created." This perspective shifts focus from merely accumulating knowledge to developing purpose – a lesson valuable for anyone in healthcare or beyond.

Subscribe to Shadow Me Next for more conversations that reveal the human side of medicine and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @shadowmenext for highlights and previews of upcoming guests.

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
Mock Interviews: shadowmenext.com/mock-interviews
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Want to request a guest? Shoot me an email: ashley@shadowmenext.com

Challenging a broken system often requires walking an unconventional path. Jono Lippman's journey from communications major to wilderness guide to emergency medicine PA beautifully illustrates how diverse experiences can reshape our understanding of what healthcare education could and should be.

What happens when someone who once actively avoided science classes finds themselves drawn to medicine through wilderness first responder training? For Jono, it sparked a transformative journey that would eventually lead him to create one of the most innovative medical education resources available to PA students today.

Throughout our conversation, Jono shares raw insights about navigating burnout early in his career—a seven-month period of being "functionally homeless" while traveling Europe that helped him rediscover his purpose. This perspective informs his dual practice in both busy city emergency departments and remote critical access hospitals, where his autonomy as a provider is pushed to its limits.

The heart of our discussion centers on Jono's passionate mission to overthrow the "drinking from a fire hose" mentality in medical education. "It's a stupid cliché we use because we're too lazy to try to change things in medicine," he explains with refreshing candor. His solution? The PA Guide—a comprehensive illustrated notebook and course that provides students with a clear map through the overwhelming terrain of medical knowledge.

What makes Jono's approach revolutionary isn't just the content but the philosophy behind it. By rejecting the cultural norm that suffering through chaos is somehow necessary for becoming a good clinician, he's created a system that empowers students to learn effectively without burning out. His resources meet diverse learning styles through illustrations, organized content frameworks, quizzes, and even an AI chatbot that functions like an attending physician.

Ready to challenge how you think about medical education? Listen now, then visit pa-guide.com to discover how Jono's resources might transform your learning journey or the experience of someone you know in healthcare education.

Follow Jono's instagram https://www.instagram.com/jono.pa/ and check out his website for more information!

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
Mock Interviews: shadowmenext.com/mock-interviews
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What does it take to transform obstacles into opportunities? Major M. Tiye Young knows firsthand. When deployment orders arrived just days before her PA school application deadline, she didn't abandon her medical dreams—she recalibrated. When a cervical cancer diagnosis threatened her future, she fought back with unwavering resolve. Now, as both a military leader and surgical PA, she's redefining what resilience looks like in healthcare.

This conversation takes us behind the scenes of Major Young's extraordinary journey from Army service to acute care surgery and gynecologic oncology. She shares the raw reality of balancing night shifts in a trauma center with military duties, including her recent command of 1,500 National Guardsmen during Hurricane Helene's devastating aftermath. The leadership skills she's honed through military service translate seamlessly to the operating room, where split-second decisions can mean the difference between life and death.

Perhaps most powerfully, Major Young reveals how her personal battle with cancer transformed her approach to patient care. Walking into the same hospital room where she once received treatment—this time as the provider rather than the patient—created a full-circle moment that fuels her compassion daily. She now advocates fiercely for patients showing subtle symptoms others might dismiss, remembering how her own body gave warning signs before her diagnosis.

Major Young's story isn't just about personal achievement—it's about creating pathways for others. As a Black female PA who grew up without access to healthcare providers who looked like her, she's committed to visibility and mentorship for underrepresented communities. Through social media and direct mentorship, she shows pre-health students that their backgrounds don't determine their potential.

Whether you're pursuing a healthcare career, serving in the military, or simply searching for inspiration to overcome life's unexpected challenges, Major Young's perspective will leave you with renewed purpose and an expanded vision of what's possible when you refuse to give up.

Follow her incredible journey on instagram @tymcarolina_

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
Mock Interviews: shadowmenext.com/mock-interviews
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When a terrified 10-year-old boy walked into Colleen Sloan's pediatric practice in tears, she discovered he'd been monitoring his weight obsessively after another provider warned he'd "need needles in his stomach" if he didn't lose weight. This moment exemplifies everything wrong with how healthcare approaches nutrition conversations—and sparked a mission to change it.

As both a pediatric physician assistant and registered dietitian nutritionist, Colleen brings rare dual expertise to the critical intersection of medicine and nutrition. Her journey from clinical dietetics working with critically ill children to PA school while raising a child showcases her remarkable determination and passion for comprehensive patient care. What makes her approach revolutionary is her commitment to compassionate communication when discussing sensitive topics like weight, diet, and body image.

Most medical professionals receive merely 2% of their training in nutrition, despite its relevance to virtually every condition they treat. Through her platform Exam Room Nutrition, Colleen equips clinicians with practical tools to confidently navigate these conversations using techniques like "ask, offer, ask"—a framework that respects patient autonomy while providing expert guidance.

"Being curious is a really great characteristic of an excellent clinician," Colleen explains, advocating for questions like "What's making this hard for you?" rather than judgmental directives. This approach not only improves patient outcomes but also helps prevent provider burnout by fostering genuine connection instead of frustration.

Colleen's CME-approved course for healthcare providers fills a crucial education gap, covering everything from nutrition fundamentals to counseling skills for specific populations. By transforming how we discuss nutrition in the exam room, she's creating a future where medical care nourishes both body and spirit.

Looking to enhance your approach to nutrition conversations? Connect with Colleen on Instagram or LinkedIn @ExamRoomNutrition or through her podcast on Apple and Spotify.

More at her website www.examroomnutrition.com

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.

Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
Mock Interviews: shadowmenext.com/mock-interviews
Personal Statement Review: shadowmenext.com/personal-statement
Free Downloads: shadowmenext.com/free-downloads

Want to request a guest? Shoot me an email: ashley@shadowmenext.com