Raise the Line

Imagine you had a tutor who was with you every time you were studying and, because they knew your learning style, strengths and weaknesses, could hand you the right content at the moment you needed it to deepen your understanding of a topic.  That’s the pedagogically powerful experience students are having with AI-enhanced learning systems such as Osmosis AI, making possible what our guest, Elsevier’s Chief AI Officer Paul Crockett, describes as a new era of precision learning.  “We now have signal from how students actually engage with content – such as where they get stuck and how they learn – and that behavioral data can tell you more about what a learner needs than any sort of static assessment. That's a profound transformation,” he says. In this fascinating conversation with Raise the Line host Lindsey Smith, Crockett also highlights how AI enables tutoring-like interactions with students which supports deeper reasoning rather than rote memorization. That in turn, helps Elsevier achieve the goal of getting students ready to practice medicine, not just ready to take tests. In addition, limiting the AI’s sources to the evidence-based material in the Osmosis and Elsevier content libraries provides both students and faculty with the level of trust and verifiability they desire. Tune in to learn how this meaningful shift from static content delivery to dynamic, data-informed learning experiences is changing healthcare education.

Mentioned in this episode:

Osmosis AI

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“Everything I’m not, made me everything I am.” For Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, that song lyric captures how growing up in a community marked by food insecurity and limited access to healthcare shaped a lifelong mission to improve health on a broad scale. Dr. LaMar, as he’s known, has pursued that mission in a variety of impactful roles, including CDC disease detective, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Reflecting on today’s public health challenges, Dr. LaMar sees the biggest problem not as a specific disease, but rather the constant “noise” of modern life and the social isolation that fuels sedentary lifestyles and chronic disease. 

This thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation with host Lindsey Smith also explores:

The rise of the “know-it-all-ogist” and the dangers of misinformation;

The importance of transparent communication and humility when navigating public health crises;

Going beyond community engagement to being a true community partner.

This is a great opportunity to hear from a seasoned and encouraging voice at a time of unprecedented challenges for public health professionals and programs.

Mentioned in this episode:

DLM LLC

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

“Every person deserves kindness, dignity, and respect, regardless of what their medical situation is,” says Madison Donnelly, PA-C, who joins host Dr. Parsa Mohri on the latest installment of our NextGen Journeys series. As you’ll hear in this thoughtful conversation, Madison is bringing that commitment to patient advocacy and equitable care to her patients at Community Care Physicians in Albany, New York. A graduate of Hofstra University’s PA program, Madison describes how the profession’s flexibility and team-based approach enables clinicians to expand access to care, particularly in high-demand specialties like women’s health and primary care. Drawing on her work in obstetrics and gynecology, she highlights persistent gaps in women’s health, including America’s troubling maternal mortality rates and the long delays many patients face in receiving diagnoses for endometriosis and other conditions. “There’s a difference between telling someone something and being heard,” she notes, emphasizing that women’s symptoms are still too often dismissed in clinical settings. The episode also explores overlooked populations -- including NICU families and patients with eating disorders -- where stigma, mental health challenges, and fragmented follow-up care can leave people vulnerable long after the initial medical crisis. Don’t miss this Raise the Line dialogue about the evolving role of physician associates and how early-career clinicians can help build a more humane and responsive system.

Mentioned in this episode:

Community Care Physicians

Hofstra University Physician Assistant Program

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

We’ve spoken with many guests about clinical and technological trends impacting healthcare providers, but less so about the trends on the business side of practicing medicine.  So on this episode, we’re going to make up for that by spending our time with Dr. Alexander Vaccaro, an influential spine surgeon and president of one of the largest musculoskeletal practices in the U.S. -- Rothman Orthopaedic Institute -- which treats patients at over 40 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Florida. While Dr. Vaccaro understands the desire for financial stability that’s increasingly driving young physicians into the arms of hospital systems, he worries about what’s being lost with the resulting decline in the number of independent practices.  “If you didn't have private practice advocating for the doctor, the insurance companies would bully the healthcare profession.”

Join Raise the Line host Michael Carrese for a candid and lively conversation that also covers:

How physician autonomy and entrepreneurship can drive innovation;

The economic and policy forces reshaping private practice medicine;

The role of research partnerships between private practices and universities.

Mentioned in this episode:
Rothman Orthopaedics

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

We've had many conversations on Raise the Line about the challenges of health communication in today's world of information overload, but none of our guests have the kind of expertise Dr. Tesfa Alexander has acquired in a career that has taken him from Madison Avenue to the halls of government and academia. From guiding tobacco education research at the FDA to leading public health initiatives at MITRE, Dr. Alexander has developed a deep understanding of the science and strategy behind effective health communication. “Successful campaigns keep the long game in mind where you want to develop a lasting relationship with your target audience,” he tells host Lindsey Smith. That relationship needs to be built on understanding culture, beliefs, priorities and daily realities, and only then can you develop messaging that will resonate, he explains. Dr. Alexander also believes these relationships can be leveraged to help people sort out facts from misleading or inaccurate claims. “I strongly recommend shifting our focus from combating misinformation head on, and instead working with the communities who we are seeking to serve.”

This fascinating look at communication science also covers:

How stories drive belief;

The importance of working with community partners who are trusted messengers; 

The power of audience segmentation.

Tune in as Dr. Alexander unpacks what it takes to influence beliefs, and ultimately behaviors, in an era defined by misinformation and institutional mistrust.

Mentioned in this episode:
Lerner Center for Public Health Advocacy

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast