A Sea Change for Medicine - Dr. Vineet Arora, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Raise the Line

Helping to lead one of the nation’s most prestigious medical schools is a challenge at any time, but Dr. Vineet Arora is stepping into that role when the fight against COVID is far from over. Although her work as Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine is new, she is no stranger to Pritzker having served as a clinician, researcher and educator there for the past 16 years. One focus for her will be student and provider burnout and self-care, issues she is steeped in due to a research interest in sleep and her past role overseeing the clinical learning environment. “Friends don't let friends drive drowsy. Even some sleep is always better than no sleep,” she tells host Dr. Rishi Desai. Arora says one upside of COVID is that it has helped healthcare workers get in the habit of questioning their own fitness for duty. “The whole idea of a symptom check-in and not coming to work when you're sick is a sea change for medicine.” Tune in to this episode of Raise the Line to hear about her personal journey into hospital medicine, what physicians can learn from pilots, the importance of reverse mentoring and why she believes the post-COVID environment holds great opportunity for those joining the field.