Out of Patients EP0434: Neuro Spicy on the Front Line: Dr Pamela Buchanan

Dr Pamela Buchanan came on Out of Patients because she tells the truth without flinching. She spent over 20 years in emergency rooms watching American medicine chew through its own people. During COVID in 2020 she logged 80 to 100 hours a week while death piled up and guidance changed daily. She isolated from her family so she would not bring the virus home. Somewhere in that stretch survival started to feel negotiable.

I wanted Pam on this show because she names burnout as emotional flatline and refuses to let hospitals call it a personal failure. She talks openly about physician suicide. One doctor per day. She talks about trying to get mental health care while still practicing medicine and charging $10,000 to $15,000 just to stay alive. No polish. No wellness nonsense. Just receipts.

I survived brain cancer at 21. I know the moment when your body lives and your spirit barely does.

Pam knows it too. We talk about neurodivergence. Race. Power. Why emergency medicine attracts people wired for intensity. Why the ER treats chronic suffering like an inconvenience. We also laugh. Gen X parenting. Black and white TVs. The term neuro spicy. Humor that keeps you breathing when the system stops caring.

Listen for clarity. Listen for permission. Listen for someone who refuses to disappear quietly.

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Out of Patients drops new episodes every week. We've been turning medical trauma into momentum for 17 years. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

EPISODE LINK ➡️ https://www.outofpatients.com/neuro-spicy-on-the-front-line-dr-pamela-buchanan/