On Courage and Curiosity (with Dr. Phil Pizzo)

The Doctor's Art

Henry Bair and Tyler Johnson

Medicine, Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Philosophy

5 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A former dean of Stanford Medical School and past leader at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Phil Pizzo is as renowned for his groundbreaking research on childhood cancers and immunodeficiency as he is for his promotion of medical education. He is also a tireless scholar who continues pursuing knowledge and purpose deep into what many would consider the retirement years. In this episode, Dr. Pizzo shares what caring for children with some of the most harrowing diseases has taught him about courage, and how his creation of Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute epitomizes his vision for longevity and philosophy of lifelong learning.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Pizzo’s love of learning and objection to the Vietnam War led him to a career in medicine - 2:00
Teddy, a “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for and who profoundly shaped Dr. Pizzo’s career and life philosophy - 5:54
Leaning into the work of treating severe diseases, despite the realities of the deep suffering involved - 14:46
The guiding principles behind Dr. Pizzo’s time in leadership at the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford Medical School - 20:01
How Dr. Pizzo manages to maintain tranquility of mind and buoyancy of spirit over his long career, and why he created the Distinguished Careers Institute - 22:51
The surprising next step in Dr. Pizzo’s scholarly journey - 30:42
Dr. Pizzo’s advice to young people about the value of a habit of lifelong learning - 34:40

Read more about Teddy DeVita, the “boy in the bubble” whom Dr. Pizzo cared for, in this Washington Post article.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Henry Bear.
0:03.4	And I'm Tyler Johnson.
0:04.8	And you're listening to the Doctors' Art, a podcast that explores meaning in medicine.
0:09.9	Throughout our medical training and career, we have pondered, what makes medicine meaningful?
0:15.2	Can a stronger understanding of this meaning create better doctors?
0:18.8	How can we build healthcare institutions that nurture the doctor-patient connection?
0:23.1	What can we learn about the human condition from accompanying our patients in times of suffering?
0:28.0	In seeking answers to these questions, we meet with deep thinkers working across healthcare,
0:33.1	from doctors and nurses to patients and healthcare executives, those who have collected a career's worth of harder and wisdom.
0:40.2	Proving the moral heart that beats at the core of medicine, we will hear stories that are by turns heartbreaking,
0:45.6	amusing, inspiring, challenging, and enlightening.
0:49.3	We welcome anyone curious about why doctors do what they do.
0:52.9	Join us as we think out loud about what illness and healing can teach us about some of life's biggest questions.
1:03.1	We are delighted today to welcome Dr. Phil Pizzo to the episode.
1:07.2	From 2001 to 2012, Dr. Pizzo served as Dean of Stanford Medical School,
1:12.8	where he was also a professor of pediatrics, microbiology, and immunology.
1:18.0	Prior to joining Stanford, he was a physician and chief of Boston Children's Hospital
1:22.5	and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
1:26.1	Dr. Pizzo has also spent over 20 years in various leadership positions at the National Cancer Institute,
1:31.7	where he is renowned for his groundbreaking research on childhood cancers and immunocompromised children.
1:37.4	In addition to his medical work, Dr. Pizzo is a thought leader on the intersections of human longevity, aging, and education.
1:44.5	In 2013, he founded the Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University,
	...

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