Recommended Medical Podcasts

Of course there are hundreds of medical podcasts out there, but with only so many hours in the day, I’ve tried to narrow my allegiance to a few podcasts that I find most useful.

1) Best Science Medicine Podcast – Dr. James McCormack (UBC) and Dr. Michael Allen (University of Alberta) do a weekly podcast that gives an evidence-based look at pharmaceuticals and other health care interventions and testing. If you haven’t heard any of their podcasts, I highly recommend starting at podcast #1. Their advice will definitely change your practice in primary care.

2) Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe – Highly entertaining podcast from the U.S. starring Dr. Steven Novella and his panel of skeptics. Dr. Novella is well known in scientific circles for frequently taking on pseudoscience and charlatans. He is also the Executive Editor of Science-Based Medicine, a great resource for anyone looking for rational science-based opinions about hotly-debated medical news stories.

3) New England Journal of Medicine – Largely self-evident why this podcast is important, but the podcast does provide a good summary of that week’s journal.

4) Medscape Family Medicine – Quick 5-10 minute summaries of the latest in the medical literature and news. Most of the content is solid, but you have to be wary of the odd questionable story that has more bluster than solid evidence behind it.

5) British Journal of Sports Medicine – I personally find it generally interesting, but you have to be patient with some of the podcasts that can be QUITE dull.

6) ReachMD – Here’s one where you have to be careful. The CME content is generally solid, but it is painfully obvious that there is a lot of pharmaceutical influence on this podcast (eg. unrestricted educational grants, etc.) Just have a heightened awareness of that bias when listening, and you may get something out of this podcast.

I’d love to hear about your favourite podcasts, medical or otherwise in the comments!

Mario