Are things getting better or worse? What if your a career in medicine, the collapse of civilization, and the maternal mortality crisis all shared one uncomfortable truth–progress doesn’t guarantee clarity, balance, or justice? In this episode, M3 Zay Edgren confesses he’s feeling a bit doomy about humanity’s chances, and M2 Taryn O’Brian feels frustrated with medicine’s successes with acute care while primary care languishes. But M3 Jeff Goddard (and Dave) are more optimistic, at least on the grand scale. What every future healthcare worker needs to ask is, “What does helping actually mean when the system is stacked with trade-offs? You’ll get insight into how real medical students think through messy, high-stakes issues—like why we’re amazing at keeping preemies alive but failing mothers, or why primary care is where the real impact happens but nobody wants to do it. We explore what career indecision really looks like when you’re smart, driven, and yet unsure. You’ll also hear honest takes on burnout, idealism, and what med students actually think about the world they’re about to inherit—and remake. If you’re staring down the med school track wondering what’s waiting for you on the other side, this episode hands you the context no class will. You’ll leave smarter, more grounded—and possibly nervous, but in a productive way. Episode credits: Producer: Dave Etler Co-hosts: Taryn O’Brian, Jeff Goddard, and Zay Edgren We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com. The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening! We do more things on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to theshortcoats@gmail.com. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttributionDOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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