Med school unscripted: The YegMDPod podcast

Medical students and podcast hosts Jessica Bennett and Jessica Cromwell. Photos supplied.

When Jessica Bennett and Jessica Cromwell began medical school at the University of Alberta, they never expected to be running a successful podcast. 

“When I was selected as the Rural MD Ambassadors lead last year,” explains Bennett, who’s from the small town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, “I was browsing the Medical Students Association website for prior initiatives and saw there was an idea for a podcast relating to admissions and interview tips that was never really picked up on. I thought, ‘Why not make this idea more unique? Let’s do a podcast specific to medical school at the University of Alberta.’” 

When Bennett put the call out to students for help with YegMDPod, Cromwell was quick to answer. 

With a 10-year background in nursing and living in Red Deer with her husband and 12-year-old son, Cromwell recalls wondering if she would be the oddball in medical school as an older student with a family in another city. “I searched high and low to find people to connect with who might share my feelings and came up empty-handed.”

“I wanted to make it a little easier for students in subsequent years by making sure current med students with varied backgrounds were able to discuss their challenges and successes,” says Cromwell. “It’s important that all students see themselves thriving in medicine — no matter their background. I hope it sends the message that medical school is not a one-size-fits-all program, that someone considering a career in medicine sees themselves in an episode and realizes that there really is no ‘perfect applicant’.”

Getting started

Both Bennett and Cromwell create entire episodes — from choosing the topic and writing the script to selecting guests and hosting the show. They both perform an editing role as well. 

It takes about a year to produce one season — or 10 episodes — of YegMDPod. The biggest challenge is finding a time when everyone is available to record. “We usually have two hosts and two guests per episode to get a good discussion going with a variety of perspectives,” says Bennett. “Our success has largely been that everyone is just so excited for this project that they have made it a priority in their schedules.”

The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has been very encouraging. “We owe a huge shoutout to all the staff at the Sperber Health Sciences Library who patiently talked us through how to use the equipment in the Media Lab and help get everyone’s mic calibrated before each episode,” says Bennett.  

Cromwell agrees, adding that the library staff have been very helpful, not only with the technology but even allowing for recording outside normal times to accommodate the students’ often-conflicting schedules. 

The episodes

The podcast was originally targeted toward potential medical students. But it has become popular — and meaningful — to current medical students as well. For instance, Bennett says, “We had a huge group of parents in the Class of 2028 beg us to release our “Stethoscopes & Sippy Cups: Navigating Parenting in Medicine” episode early because they were really in need of some advice from students further along in their training.”

Similarly, when Bennett edited the episode on “Finding Your Dream Specialty” at the start of her third year — when the CaRMS matching process begins — she found herself thinking, “Wow, this advice is so relevant and helpful to me as I go through my clerkship rotations!”

But their most popular episode to date has been “Cracking the Code: Insider Tips from Current University of Alberta Medical Students.” “In this episode, we break down the entire admissions process and share our experiences at each step of the way,” says Bennett. “Stories of the trials and tribulations to get an MD acceptance is something that appeals to our entire audience. And our guests had so many funny stories to share; we were giggling through the entire 90-minute episode.”

“I think we did a great job of curating that episode in particular, to contain a lot of different backgrounds and experiences — from traditional to non-traditional paths and from those who applied once to those who applied several times,” adds Cromwell. “It’s so popular because not only does it give insight into the process from people who were recently successful but also from people who were successful for completely different reasons.”

What’s next?

“This season we’re hoping to engage with our audience more,” says Bennett. “We have a little something for everyone in our first season that provides a holistic glimpse of the MD program at the U of A. For Season 2 we’re hoping to see how our audience responds to Season 1, and use that data to plan future episodes about topics that people want to know more about.”

“Med school is so diverse, there’s an audience for everything,” says Bennett. “Once you find people who share your interests, it’s such a fun community to be a part of. All you have to do is take a leap of faith and share your interest; the support from others will come.”

“If you have an idea, just go for it,” says Cromwell. “We were really surprised with how successful the episodes and podcast in general have been and how engaged the guests and audience are. Chances are, if you think there is a need for something, others feel the same!”

Both Bennett and Cromwell love getting feedback from their listeners, including what future topics to cover and whether you would like to be a guest on an episode. You can reach out to them on IG via @yegmdpod or by ualberta email.

YegMDPod is now on Spotify.