We’ve rounded up some of the best podcasts for medical students and for practicing physicians. With a wide range of topics and episode lengths spanning over 20 podcasts, there’s bound to be a show in this list that meets your interests.
The Best Medical Podcasts for Medical Students
While you’re training to become a doctor, medical podcasts can help you learn about the future of your career, prepare for exams, narrow down your focus, and more. We found some of the best medical podcasts for students, with episode lengths ranging from a few minutes to a few hours.
Docs Outside the Box
Docs Outside the Box features innovative doctors who are doing things you won’t read about in medical textbooks. You’ll learn about how to manage money as a student and a practicing physician, as well as “Sh*t I wish I knew in residency.”
Episode length: 30-60 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.9
EM Basic
Dubbed “Your Boot Camp Guide to Emergency Medicine,” this podcast was created for medical students and emergency medicine interns to learn about common emergency room complaints. From bronchiolitis to opioid withdrawal, each episode features a different chief complaint.
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
The Short Coat
The Short Coat podcast covers everything they don’t tell you about in medical school but should. Learn about the pros and cons of having babies in medical school or tips and tricks for your first year of medical school.
Episode length: 60 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.7
Raise the Line
The Raise the Line podcast is designed to help strengthen the healthcare system, and med students can learn a lot from the experts on the show. The podcast discusses topics med students care about like “Can Learning Medicine Actually Be Fun?” and “A Flexible Alternative to Student Loans.”
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
Everyday Emergency
This podcast, brought to you by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), recounts stories from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies. Episodes feature topics like “’We built a hospital in a house’: An MSF medic returns from Syria” and “Ukraine: From bylines to the frontlines.”
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.9
The Undifferentiated Medical Student
Although there haven’t been any new episodes since 2019, this is still an excellent podcast that helps med students choose a specialty and plan their careers. Learn about specialties like ophthalmology, sleep medicine, and interventional radiology.
Episode length: 2-4 hours
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
Board Rounds
Board Rounds helps medical students prepare for the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 exams. Most episodes consist of short scenarios and complaints. The hosts walk through the problem to find the diagnosis.
Episode length: 10 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 3.8
The Best Medical Podcasts for Medical Professionals
While the end of medical school is a relief, it doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly have all the time in the world to sit down and review the latest research every morning or solve the problems of the healthcare system overnight! What you can do is listen to some medical podcasts—many of which are very short—to stay up to date on the latest techniques, learn from other physicians, and improve your practice.
The Curious Clinicians
This podcast asks and attempts to answer many of the “whys” in medicine. Some questions the podcast has covered include why furosemide can improve dyspnea in acute heart failure and why uremia interferes with platelet function.
Episode length: 20 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
JAMA Clinical Reviews
This podcast explores the latest clinical reviews via author interviews. Recent episodes include “What Clinicians Should Know About Syphilis” and “Microplastic Pollution and Human Health.”
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.6
Pediatrics on Call
This podcast, brought to you by the American Academy of Pediatrics, features new research and hot topics in pediatrics. Learn about topics such as caring for gender-diverse youth and food allergy prevention. Some of the recent episodes include “Screening for Mental Health, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems, Emergency Medical Services Responses to School-Based Medical Emergencies” and “Pediatrics Research Roundup, Evaluating Children with an Intellectual Disability or Global Developmental Delay.”
Episode length: 30-40 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.6
AFP: American Family Physician Podcast
This podcast examines clinical points from issues of American Family Physician (AFP). Some recent clinical reviews they have discussed include topics on screening for carotid artery stenosis, active management of the third stage of labor, and repeat bone mineral density testing.
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
Raise the Line
Raise the Line explores solutions in healthcare, speaking to top experts about ways to improve the system. Recent topics include “Centering Harm Reduction in Addiction Treatment” and “A New Model for Chronic Pain Treatment is Needed.”
Episode length: 20-30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
NEJM This Week
This podcast summarizes the latest research and reviews from the New England Journal of Medicine, providing a succinct way of staying up to date when you’re short on time. Recent summary topics include Wolbachia-infected mosquito deployments for dengue and left atrial appendage occlusion during cardiac surgery.
Episode length: 30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.3
TED Talks Science and Medicine
Listen to TED talks from the world’s greatest scientists, doctors, and medical researchers. Recent episodes include, “Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world’s coldest places?” and “A virus-resistant organism and what it could mean for the future.”
Episode length: 10-20 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.1
Straight Talk MD
In this podcast, Dr. Frank Sweeney attempts to create positive change by exploring hot-button issues in science, medicine, and healthcare. Many episodes take a closer look at healthcare in the United States and include episodes focused on importance of anesthesia in the evolution of surgery.
Episode length: 20-60 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.7
Legends of Surgery
If you need a break from current events and new research, this podcast takes you back in time by telling the history of modern surgery. Learn about the history of the Ilizarov Apparatus and the background behind Potts Scissors.
Episode length: 30-40 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.7
Out of Patients
This long-running podcast hosted by a 25+ year cancer survivor is designed to help healthcare suck less. Episodes cover a range of topics, such as charity work, genetics, grief, sleep, health advocacy, and suppressed immune systems in a post-COVID world.
Episode length: 30 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.9
The Podcast by KevinMD
The Podcast by KevinMD aims to give voices to those who are rarely heard from, all in short episodes. Recent topics include, “Meeting transgender patients with compassion and equity in health care” and “Ending monopolies is the first step toward true health care reform.”
Episode length: 20 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
Bedside Rounds
In Bedside Rounds, host Adam Rodman examines medical history and the stories that have made modern medicine what it is today. The podcast examines topics such as past pandemics, mankind’s history with germs, and outdated medical practices. Recent episodes include “What does it mean when a computer can make better medical decisions than a human?” and the nature of a doctor’s work with cultural and medical historians Lakshmi Krishnan and Mike Neuss.
Episode length: 45 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
Physician’s Guide to Doctoring
This is a practical podcast aimed at helping physicians improve their practice. Dubbed the podcast that answers the question, “What should we have been learning when we were memorizing the Krebs Cycle?” Recent episodes include titles such as “Time Management Skills That Improve Doctor Work-Life Balance” and “Brace for the Big Beautiful Bill’s Insurance Crisis.”
Episode length: 40-60 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.8
The Nocturnists
The Nocturnists is a medical storytelling community that gives healthcare workers a platform to share stories of joy, sorrow, and self-discovery. In addition to general content, the podcast has a variety of series including, “Trust in Medicine,” “Post-Roe America,” and “Black Voices in Health Care.”
Episode length: 30-45 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 4.9
Talk2MeDoc with Andrew Tisser
This podcast, hosted by physician Andrew Tisser, interviews guests both inside and outside healthcare. Some recent podcast topics include legal tips for new physicians, health informatics, and fellowships.
Episode length: 30-45 minutes
Average rating on Apple Podcasts: 5
Which Medical Podcast is Best?
The best medical podcast is one that adds value to your life as a provider or medical student. All of the above podcasts are designed to inform, entertain, and/or better the healthcare field.
In a world where we are always on the go, podcasts provide a time-effective way to consume information while multitasking. Choose a podcast that resonates with you, subscribe to it, and you’ll always know when a new episode is available.
Key Takeaways
- Medical podcasts fit learning into busy schedules for students and professionals.
- Podcasts cover diverse topics: clinical cases, exam prep, healthcare systems, and stories.
- Episode lengths vary from 10 minutes to several hours to suit your schedule.
- Choose podcasts that resonate with your interests and career goals.
- Subscribing keeps you updated with new episodes and evolving medical knowledge.
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