Episode #175
Medical Training and the Movement to Unionize | Grant Lin, MD
Sometimes established physicians experience a strange kind of amnesia when thinking back on their training, causing them to forget just how challenging it was. Worse, some physicians do remember how hard those years were and feel that up-and-coming doctors should suffer the same difficulties they did. To accurately understand what it is like to become a doctor, it helps to talk to those fresh out of training and, of course, trainees themselves. Our guest on this episode is Grant Lin, MD , a brand new clinical assistant professor in pediatric neurology at Stanford. Grant completed his fellowship in Palliative Care this summer after finishing residencies in pediatrics and child neurology. While in medical school and residency at Stanford, he became a leader in the successful movement to unionize the interns, residents, and fellows that make up Stanford Hospital’s house staff. Over the course of this episode, Grant shares lessons learned from training in palliative medicine and caring for children with neurologic diseases. We discuss the turbulence of medical training, the difficulty of essentially changing jobs twelve times in a year as a medical student, and what led to the house staff unionization effort at Stanford. Finally, Grant encourages trainees to make their voices heard and for hospitals to care for their staff so the staff can care for their patients. In this episode, you’ll hear about: 2:30 - Grant’s path to becoming a doctor and specializing in pediatric neuropalliative care 9:45 - The experience of taking care of children who are facing neurodegenerative illnesses 17:36 - How Grant’s approach to difficult patient conversations changed after palliative care training 21:38 - The turmoil of clinical rotations as a medical student 33:30 - Grant’s work leading the unionization effort at Stanford to advocate for better house staff working conditions 48:00 - Grant’s advice to house staff members who might find themselves struggling If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com . Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2026
