The hospital can turn into a blur the second you get admitted, and we wanted to slow it down and make it make sense. 🔴 Dr Ben and Friends

Dr. Jennifer, a board-certified hospitalist in Nashville, joins us to explain what a hospitalist actually does, how patients move from the ER to the floors, and why inpatient medicine is equal parts detective work and coordination.

Comedian Marcus Saputo keeps the laughs coming while asking the kinds of questions most people are thinking but never say out loud.

We get into the real mechanics of modern hospital care: when you can be treated at home versus admitted, how discharge plans come together, and what patients and families should ask so they understand the diagnosis and the next step. Dr. Jennifer shares the value of advocacy with simple prompts like “What is this test supposed to show?” and “What are we waiting on for me to go home?” We also explain hospital emergencies in plain language, including what “code blue” means and why high-quality CPR and chest compressions are time-critical.

Then we zoom out to the future of healthcare technology. We talk electronic medical records, AI in healthcare, and ambient transcription tools that can draft notes from the patient conversation so doctors spend less time documenting and more time at the bedside. We also hit telehealth, clinician burnout, and prevention basics that keep you out of the hospital in the first place, from taking meds correctly to smoking cessation and routine primary care visits.

If you like smart healthcare talk with actual laughs, subscribe, share this with a friend who works in medicine, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s the best question you have ever asked a doctor, or wish you asked sooner?

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Jennifer: Internal Medicine, Hospitalist

Marcus Saputo: IG/TT/YT/FB @marcussaputo https://marcussaputo.com/

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about healthcare and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

Your skin does two jobs you never think about until it’s gone: it keeps fluid in and it keeps infection out.

So what happens when a major burn breaks that barrier and every decision has to be made fast, with the right words, the right math, and the right plan? We jump into a rapid-fire round of “What The Heck Is That?” with Dr. Tommy and pro comedian Tara Brown, turning burn surgery terms into clear, usable concepts you can actually remember.

We start with TBSA (total body surface area) and the surprisingly simple tools clinicians use to estimate burn size, including the patient’s palm as a quick 1% reference. From there we get precise about what a third degree burn really means and why it’s about depth, not surface area.

One of the most misunderstood words in wound care? Debridement. We tackle what it looks like when dead tissue has to come off before healing can begin.

Then we dig into skin grafting vocabulary you’ve probably heard but never had decoded: autograft versus allograft versus xenograft, plus why temporary graft coverage can be essential while a burn evolves and donor sites recover.

We connect the dots to burn fluid resuscitation and the Parkland formula, and we wrap with hydro surgery, a “water knife” approach that shows how technical burn care has become.

If YOU like smart medicine with real-world explanations and a little humor, hit play, subscribe, share with a curious friend, and leave a review with the next medical term you want us to decode.

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Tommy: LinkedIn: tommytranmd IG @tommytranmd, www.tommytranmd.com

Dr Tommy jumps out of plane for patient:

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/i-will-jump-for-you-burn-survivor-gets-his-doctor-to-go-skydiving

Tara Brown: IG/TT @tarabrowncomedy, X @TaraBrownComedy, FB/YT Tara Brown Comedy, www.tarabrowncomedy.com

Tara’s TEDx The Laughter Assignment:

https://youtu.be/Fjy2eQF7kcs?si=L5usforWt12v0V8B

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

Two headlines hit the board, and only one can be real. One claims cracking your knuckles builds extra bones over time. The other claims a man’s hands ooze yellowish cholesterol nodules after living on an extreme meat, cheese, and butter diet. We make our picks, talk through why certain health myths stick, and then reveal the truth behind the grossest story of the day.

From there, we get surprisingly practical about the science: what that knuckle “pop” likely is, why joint noise doesn’t automatically equal damage, and why visible cholesterol deposits can be more than a weird headline. We also talk about the uncomfortable question the story raises: if cholesterol is high enough to show up on your skin, what might be happening in your arteries? It’s part medical comedy podcast, part myth-busting, and part reminder to take real warning signs seriously.

Then we fully commit to the bit and scrub in. Caps, gloves, an N95-style mask confusion, and a surgical “timeout” lead into the Dr. Ben Buzz Battle, where we put comedian Tara Brown on the clock with a 60-second surgery challenge while Dr. Tommy and Dr Ben comment on every focused move.

If you like funny health conversations, medical myths, cholesterol education, and a behind-the-scenes feel for why real surgery takes skill, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves wild health headlines, and leave a review. Which headline would you have believed first?

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Tommy: LinkedIn: tommytranmd IG @tommytranmd, www.tommytranmd.com

Dr Tommy jumps out of plane for patient:

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/i-will-jump-for-you-burn-survivor-gets-his-doctor-to-go-skydiving

Tara Brown: IG/TT @tarabrowncomedy, X @TaraBrownComedy, FB/YT Tara Brown Comedy, www.tarabrowncomedy.com

Tara’s TEDx The Laughter Assignment:

https://youtu.be/Fjy2eQF7kcs?si=L5usforWt12v0V8B

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

“Hiatal hernia” sounds like a problem you should keep quiet about, and “choledocholithiasis” sounds like a spell from a medical musical. We decided to make both terms make sense. I’m Dr. Ben, and I’m joined by comedian and university professor Brynn Daniels plus Dr. Jameil, a general and bariatric surgeon, for a fast, funny round of “What The Heck Is That” where we translate real medical terminology into plain English.

We start with hiatal hernia and get specific: how the diaphragm separates your chest from your abdomen, how the esophagus passes through, and how part of the stomach can migrate upward. We talk about common hiatal hernia symptoms like heartburn, reflux, regurgitation, and trouble swallowing, plus why many cases show up as incidental findings on imaging. Dr. Jameil also explains why only some patients need treatment and what surgeons are trying to accomplish when they repair the anatomy.

Then we tackle choledocholithiasis, breaking down the word and the problem: gallstones that move from the gallbladder into the common bile duct and create a blockage. We cover the classic pain pattern after fatty or greasy meals, right upper quadrant pain that can radiate to the back, and the red-flag sign you should never ignore: jaundice. If you want a smarter way to understand GERD, gallstones, and bile duct obstruction without wading through confusing jargon, this is your shortcut.

Subscribe, share, and leave a review, then tell us: what medical word have you always wanted translated?

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Jameil: IG @drjameil, TT @bariatricbro, www.tennesseestyleweightloss.com

Brinn Daniels: IG @brinn_does_comedy, www.brinndaniels.com

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

A man gets seizures from Sudoku? That sounds like a punchline- was it a real medical case? We kick things off with our “Headline or Hoax” game and watch how quickly all of us can get fooled by a medical headline that feels just believable enough to share.

Team Dr Ben unpacks prior medical history to help to understand head injury, anoxic events, and how specific triggers like intense focus or flashing lights can tip a vulnerable brain into a seizure.

We also talk about the viral “garlic in your nostrils for congestion” trend and why irritation can feel like relief while doing nothing for the underlying inflammation.

If you care about evidence-based health, medical myths, and why misinformation spreads, this is the kind of conversation that helps you slow down and think before you repost.

Then we switch gears into pure medical comedy: a fast-paced “Buzz Battle” where a comedian attempts a 60 second surgery challenge while two docs commentate.

We close with a surprisingly relatable topic for anyone who works under pressure: operating room music, focus, and how teams stay calm and sharp.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves weird health stories, and leave a review with the wildest headline you’ve ever heard.

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Jameil: IG @drjameil, TT @bariatricbro, www.tennesseestyleweightloss.com

Brinn Daniels: IG @brinn_does_comedy, www.brinndaniels.com

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

---------------------

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

GLP-1s are everywhere right now and the hype is loud, the brand names are confusing, and the real tradeoffs can feel impossible to pin down. 🔴 Dr Ben and Friends

We wanted a straight answer, so we brought in Dr. Jameil, a board-certified general surgeon and fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon, to explain how obesity medicine actually works when you’re sitting across from a real clinician, not an ad or a comment thread.

With comedian, filmmaker, and professor Brinn Daniels in the studio, we keep it light while we get serious about what patients need to know.

We break down GLP-1 and GIP medications: what they are, how they reduce appetite, why they can affect digestion, and why many people may need to stay on them long term. Then we zoom out to the bigger question people are really asking: GLP-1 vs bariatric surgery.

Dr. Jameil explains who is a good candidate based on BMI and co-morbidities, how insurance criteria can differ from medical guidelines, and what smart questions to ask your surgeon, including complication rates and reversibility.

From there, we walk through the main weight loss surgery options in plain language: gastric sleeve, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and why more mal-absorptive procedures like duodenal switch or SADI are reserved for specific cases. We also talk about the full patient journey, including dietitian support, psychology clearance, the fight against liquid calories like soda and sweet tea, and what results can look like in terms of excess weight loss and health improvements like diabetes remission, sleep apnea relief, and less joint pain. We finish with the future of bariatrics: Da Vinci robotic surgery, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), and why the human connection still matters.

THANKS TO OUR GUESTS:

Dr Jameil: IG @drjameil, TT @bariatricbro, www.tennesseestyleweightloss.com

Brinn Daniels: IG @brinn_does_comedy, www.brinndaniels.com

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about weight loss, health, and a little comedy along the way.

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.

A single medical word can hide a whole anatomy lesson, and it gets even better when someone tries to guess the definition first. We play a fast, funny round of What The Heck? with comedian Drew Davis and Dr. Steve, turning intimidating oral and maxillofacial surgery vocabulary into plain-English takeaways you can actually remember.

We dig into cleft lip repair and why it’s done early, not just for appearance, but for nursing, speech development, and restoring healthy function. From there we get into LeFort fractures and the LeFort osteotomy, translating what “midface classification” really means when trauma hits, and how controlled surgical cuts can reposition the jaw to correct a dental facial deformity and improve bite alignment.

Then we break down sagittal split osteotomy for the lower jaw and the surprisingly intuitive goal behind it: moving the dentition segment so teeth meet the way they’re supposed to. We also cover distraction osteogenesis, the slow, deliberate process of growing new bone, often used for pediatric patients with tiny jaws that can’t support the airway. To wrap it up, we explain the sphenozygomatic suture, not stitches, but a bone junction that helps surgeons confirm the cheekbone sits in the right place during facial reconstruction.

If you like learning through stories, quick laughs, and real clinical insight, subscribe, share this with a friend who loves weird science, and leave a review. Which term should we decode next?

This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound.

Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends. Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence. See you next time!

Team Dr Ben

Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends!

Support the show

Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio!

Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode!

DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast

Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories. We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.

This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice.

If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional. Your health? That's on you. We'll stick to the punchlines.