On/Offcall: See the Definitive List of Physician Founders

Welcome back to On/Offcall!

This week on How I Doctor, our co-founder Dr. Graham Walker tackled the hot topic of how we should fix medical education…

…With the one and only Dr. Paul Tran. Paul is a peds GI doctor who also started The Alimentary School as a way to empower and educate med students and trainees. And he’s not shy about calling out the ways that med school is no longer teaching doctors how to succeed in today’s era of medicine.

This is not the first time we’ve heard from physicians about this topic (for example, see Graham’s interview with Dr. Sanjay Divakaran about how med school doesn’t teach the business side of practicing). And yet, Paul brought up some new points about the outdated traditions, the culture, and specific med school teachings that he feels urgently need fixing.

Take, for example, Feedback Fridays, which he says may seem innocuous, but in reality believes is used to demean and put down young doctors: "It always starts with ‘How do you think you did?’ But then you hear things like, ‘Hey your presentations suck’ and then the attending leaves and you never get the chance to show you worked on it or improved.”During the episode, Paul sounds off about big and small things he’d like to see changed, including:

🤔 Not referring to trainees by their actual 'name' and the demeaning hierarchy that creates

💔 The broken virtual interview process which covers up the true culture of residency programs

💰 The exorbitant cost of training, which puts doctors in a black cloud to start their careers

Listen to the episode here.

Most Read From Offcall

Clinician Burnout: Why it’s Medicine’s Favorite Misdiagnosis
New op-ed from Dr. Jessica DeJarnette: Stress vs. Burnout vs. Trauma: We need an honest dialogue about what we mistakenly call burnout.

See our definitive list of physician founders!
We’re building a comprehensive list of the “rare breed” physicians who have gone on to start companies, and the response has been incredible! Check out the comments feed and get inspired 👏

The Doctor's Dilemma: When Smart Money Leaves Medicine
ICYMI, Dr. Taif Mukhdomi’s op-ed on physician pay that made waves: What the market is telling doctors about whether to choose medicine anymore.

Physician Builder Spotlight: Ben Bergman

We’re shining light on MD-entrepreneurs! Each week, we feature an entrepreneurial doctor who’s building a cool product, company, or working on a big idea that you definitely want to know about. This week, meet Ben Bergman, founder of VocalMD (more on the company’s mission below!). You can connect further with Ben on LinkedIn.

1. Ben, what inspired you to become a physician entrepreneur? The persistence of patient care problems and medical access problems with little change in 20 years. I felt responsible, and I did not feel like a good doctor if I continued to sit back and watch others continue to do things that felt wrong to me.

2. Tell us what your company does and what problem you're trying to solve. VocalMD is direct virtual care with a longitudinal approach: Same doctors all the time, for the rest of your life! Deep patient knowledge and access begets deeper, more effective long-term medical care. We donate product and services to non-profits and our long term goal is: all 800,000 unhoused individuals under longitudinal virtual care, which would re-establish physicians as the most knowledgeable and effective stakeholder for marginalized groups and help direct resources toward better situations for patients in need.

3. What's your advice to anyone who's thinking about entrepreneurship or a nontraditional career in medicine? Get ready for sleepless nights, conflict, and self-doubt in addition to high points and wins.

4. How can a physician get over the "start" problem and overcome their biggest fear to start a company/organization? Don't confuse the cold start problem and the start problem. Start problem has a solution - just start. Cold start problem is entirely different. There is no way. Just start, plus coffee.

5. What's the #1 lesson you've learned since building your company that wasn't obvious to you before? I didn't fully realize how misaligned most for-profit health systems are with companies that seek mission-driven objectives. It reminds me of trying to take candy away from a 5 year old.

6. Name the top resources you found most helpful to get going as an entrepreneur that others would benefit from? Best resource is other entrepreneurs and founders, by far. Find your business and clinical partners through baring your soul, going forward with your mission with quasi-reckless abandon, mourn the previous life you used to live, and pursue your dreams with all your might.

7. How can other physicians support you? Are you open to connection/investment/user feedback, etc? Physicians can support the VocalMD mission by thinking hard and long about why patients cannot access care in many circumstances. Join a network like ours that offers more open access and get involved through pilots, advocacy, investment, feedback, all of the above. I can be reached at ben@vocaldocs.com.

This excerpt has been shortened, be sure to read the full article here. Know someone else who should be featured? Reply or tag them and their company in the comments!

3 Things to Read This Week

Why Fax Refuses to Die (PCP Lens)
From Dr. Sudeep Bansal: Fax isn’t a bug of the system — it’s a feature. Blaming doctors for “refusing to move on” misses the real story.

10 New Statistics Scaring Physicians (Becker’s)
The burnout and autonomy statistics causing the most anxiety amongst physicians in 2025.

They Asked An AI Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling (NY Times)
A.I. chatbots are going down conspiratorial rabbit holes and endorsing wild belief systems. Also check out commentary about this article from Graham)

Highlights From Our Community

💥Keep after it, Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban’s tweet about how he’d fix healthcare is making waves, read it here. Don’t forget to listen to his entire podcast conversation with Graham about the topic here.

🎉Congrats, Taylor Nichols!
Dr. Taylor Nichols received the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Policy Pioneer Award! Learn more here, congrats!

💯Let’s build, Russell Ledet!
Dr. Russell Ledet is the co-founder of The 15 White Coats non-profit to increase representation in medicine through storytelling, educational resources and scholarships, and he put out a call for anyone interested in building together with him. Check it out and get in touch here.

✅Great example, Dawn Sears

Dr. Dawn Sears talked with Kim Downey about the importance of keeping a gratitude journal and how that helps her keep a positive mindset. Fantastic example! Check it out here.

🎙️Great podcast listen, Glenn Loomis
Dr. Glenn Loomis chatted with Dr. Andrew Greenland about AI in Healthcare and his new company Query Health. Give it a listen here.

🎧Give it a listen, Sarah Gebauer
Dr. Sarah Gebauer is on fire! She chatted with Dr. Gil Shimon about healthcare evaluations and the future of AI governance. Check it out here.

❗Important read, Tait Shanafeld, Colin West, Christine Sinsky and others!
Drs. Tait Shanafeld, Colin West, Christine Sinksy, and several other collaborators published important research comparing burnout amongst physicians compared to other professions. Give it a read here.

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