Offcall Physician Spotlight: Meet Dr. Dana Corriel

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1. What's one task you've fully handed off to AI that you'd never take back?

Pulling the best moments out of long-form interviews. I produce documentaries, podcasts, and physician interviews at SoMeDocs, and I used to spend hours scrubbing through footage looking for memorable quotes. AI now surfaces those moments almost instantly. I still decide what tells the story and what gets published, but I'd never go back to manually searching through hours of video. It lets me spend my time being an editor instead of a timestamp hunter.

2. Are you worried about deskilling — that the next generation won't develop the intuition you did because the model handled it?

I am, but I don't think the solution is avoiding AI. The solution is teaching physicians how to think before teaching them how to prompt. Clinical intuition comes from uncertainty, pattern recognition, and thousands of patient encounters. AI should accelerate learning, not replace the struggle that's required to develop judgment.

3. Will AI solve the physician shortage or quietly make it worse?

Neither. The shortage isn't primarily a documentation problem. It's a system problem. AI can certainly give physicians time back, reduce administrative burden, and make independent practice more realistic. But if health systems simply use those efficiency gains to demand even higher productivity, physicians won't feel any less burned out. Technology amplifies whatever incentives already exist.

4. If you could redesign residency from scratch, what's the first thing you'd change?

I'd add a required curriculum on everything medicine forgot to teach us: communication, personal branding, business, contracts, entrepreneurship, AI, media literacy, and financial independence. We graduate outstanding clinicians who often have no idea how the healthcare industry actually works outside the hospital walls. I'm implementing some of that in the venture I founded, called SoMeDocs, in virtual lectures that are accessible to all.

5. Independent practice in 2026 — endangered species or quiet comeback?

A quiet comeback. Physicians are rediscovering that autonomy has value. Technology is lowering barriers to entry, AI is reducing overhead, and more doctors are realizing they don't need a massive infrastructure to build meaningful practices. I think we'll see more physicians creating businesses around their expertise rather than relying exclusively on traditional employment. I'm excited to be building a room within the SoMeDocs community, where privately practicing physicians can learn, network and grow.

6. What's something you used to judge other physicians for that you now completely understand?

Self-promotion.

I used to think great work would naturally be recognized. Now I understand that visibility isn't vanity. If patients, colleagues, podcast hosts, journalists, and conference organizers can't find you, they can't benefit from your expertise. That's a large part of why I built SoMeDocs and why we've expanded into physician PR and authority-building through articles, video series, and strategic media placement. Expertise deserves an audience.

7. What did you spend money on early in your career that absolutely wasn't worth it?

Trying to look successful instead of investing in becoming visible.

Many physicians spend thousands on credentials, memberships, or marketing that nobody ever sees. I'd rather invest in assets that continue working for you: professionally produced video, evergreen articles, podcast appearances, and a digital presence that builds credibility long after you've created it. That's one reason I've developed done-for-you content creation packages that turn a single recording session into videos, articles, and social content physicians can use for months.

8. What's something physicians are quietly worried about that the public doesn't know about yet?

Many physicians are wondering whether they'll remain relevant in a world where patients increasingly ask AI before they ask their doctor.

The concern revolves around those physicians who don't adapt quite as quickly and that they may be overlooked by patients who expect faster answers, more accessible education, and a stronger online presence. Clinical expertise is becoming only part of what patients value. Communication matters more than ever.

9. If you had a magic wand for one thing in medicine — not your whole career, just one thing — what would you fix tomorrow?

I'd give physicians back control over how they spend their time.

Every problem in medicine feels a little more manageable when physicians have the autonomy to focus on patients instead of bureaucracy. Better conversations happen. Better decisions happen. Innovation happens. Burnout falls. If I could restore one thing overnight, it would be physician autonomy (and this is the core mission of my entrepreneurial venture). Everything else becomes easier to solve from there.