Stephanie Moss, MD - Psychiatry Resident in Chicago, Illinois

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you're making a life-changing decision, and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Welcome back to Meet the Doctor.

(00:30):
My guest today is Dr. Stephanie Moss, who is a first year psychiatry resident. She also has her own podcast called Life as a Patient Doctor, which we're going to find out much more about right now. Welcome to the podcast.

Dr. Moss (00:43):
Thank you for having me.

Eva Sheie (00:45):
Okay, Stephanie. Dr. Moss, what does a psychiatry resident do? What's your job look like right now?

Dr. Moss (00:53):
Oh, yes. So I am currently at an FHCC, which is a federal health center, which takes care of individuals in the military as active duty recruits and veterans. So I take care of them in the inpatient unit. I take care of them when they come into the emergency room and I take care of them, individuals, outpatient.

Eva Sheie (01:20):
It's not part of the VA, it's separate from the VA?

Dr. Moss (01:24):
It's an additional part. So a VA just takes care of veterans while an FHCC, Federal Healthcare Center, that's, it takes care of also active duty and recruits. So I specifically work at the one that is on the Navy base or right off the Navy base. So all the Navy recruits.

Eva Sheie (01:44):
So how often do you get those younger guys coming through for help?

Dr. Moss (01:48):
So all the time. That's actually the majority that I work with is the recruits or the individuals particularly that are trying to get out of the Navy because they're having significant mental health conditions that are preventing them from being able to complete bootcamp. So that is actually my little niche that I work with is a lot of the recruits that are leaving.

Eva Sheie (02:09):
How do you help them? Are you the one who makes the decision about whether they get to stay or go?

Dr. Moss (02:14):
Since we are not military physicians, we are not the ones who make the final call. However, we're the ones that give the recommendations that they are not fit for duty and that they have preexisting health conditions like PTSD, autism, bipolars, things that are aggravated by going through the bootcamp. And that's usually why I see them is because bootcamp is so intensive. It brings about a lot of difficulties that they've had in their life. And a lot of times a lot of these kids, I call them kids because they are 18, 18, 19 years old. A lot of them have come from all over the country and a lot of them do not receive mental health support. So this is usually the very first time they've ever seen a psychologist, a psychiatrist.

Eva Sheie (03:04):
How do you go about making them feel safe enough to tell you what's really going on?

Dr. Moss (03:11):
That is a complicated situation. I think a lot of it is my initial presence of safety and saying that I am here to listen to them and listen to their story. And that really opens up everyone, no matter if they are young, middle or old, no matter their age, no matter their trauma. That is actually one of my specialties is individuals who've been through trauma and been through significant stressful experiences in their life. And we just want someone to listen. And same thing is just through validating their experience, their emotions. A lot of things come out and they are very happy to finally be heard and respected.

Eva Sheie (03:58):
Do they ever decide they're okay and they're going to stay? I mean, do they find themselves trying to get out by the time they reach you or are they trying to stay or is it just all over the place?

Dr. Moss (04:09):
So usually they've come straight from the base after they become suicidal. And so the majority of what happens is individuals when they are told they are trapped and cannot get out, and that's what is told on the base, that once they sign a contract, they're obligated to complete their four year, five year, whatever they signed for it. And that's not true at all, but it's what they're told. And so they become suicidal. They feel that they would rather die than stay in the military environment. And so that's when they get sent to the emergency room, I get to talk with them and then I get to explain to them there is a way out and there is a set process. Hundreds of people are currently waiting to be let out. It takes only a couple of weeks. And so at that point, after I do my evaluation, which can take up to an hour to really understand what are their risk factors for having mental health conditions, do they have an untreated, undiagnosed mental health condition, have they been suicidal in the past?

(05:19):
There are so many risk factors that I talk to them about. And then I make a determination of whether I will keep them in the inpatient unit for an additional further evaluation or until they end up separating, which can take anywhere from four to six weeks to separate from the military or send them to another ship. They call it another building where they can just, same thing, wait four to six weeks, but be back in the military environment, which is usually not very healthy for these individuals. And so the majority of time we do just keep them impatient.

Eva Sheie (05:55):
This sounds like really important work. And I had no idea that this was even a thing available.

Dr. Moss (06:05):
I didn't either. I applied to this position, I went to medical school, I applied to residency all over Chicago area. And even when I interviewed, I learned about the FHCC, but I didn't know or learn about the broad depth of our responsibilities until I was a first year. July 1st is when all the first year residents started. I really got into learning all the additional responsibilities that are definitely beyond a lot of other psychiatry residencies because this is the only one in the country that exists.

Eva Sheie (06:46):
It's the only one in the whole country.

Dr. Moss (06:48):
Yeah, we're the only Navy facility. We're the only bootcamp. And I think the Army Air Force and the other locations, they have their own hospital, but no other place has all three veterans, active duty, and recruits. So we're actually a very unique hospital and residency program.

Eva Sheie (07:13):
So you said July, so you've been doing this job now since July of last year, so about 10 months.

Dr. Moss (07:19):
Yes. I'm about to be a second year psychiatry resident. So yes.

Eva Sheie (07:22):
How will your job change when you go into year two?

Dr. Moss (07:25):
I'm actually, I've been voted to be a chief resident, so I will be a chief resident for medical student education and chief resident for wellness. So I will keep doing what I'm doing, but now being a little bit more responsibilities to take care of the mental health and wellness of my co-residents. And also I very much value teaching and I love teaching medical students. So one of the co-chief for medical student education is actually teaching the medical students as they come through our units, how to talk to patients, how to help them develop that rapport and be able to connect with them so they can actually make a meaningful difference.

Eva Sheie (08:14):
It looks like you're happy to be staying there.

Dr. Moss (08:17):
Oh, yes,

Eva Sheie (08:17):
Yes. And then, so after year two, will your job change again? What does the path look like?

Dr. Moss (08:25):
In second year, it's very similar to first year, similar locations. There is, since we're a regular hospital, I will spend more time, more rotations, more months as a consult, psychiatry liaison. So whenever they consult psychiatry in the ICU or internal medicine floors or anything like that, I'll be doing some rotations there. And actually a really cool thing that I'm about to do is I'm about to work for a couple months at Elgin, which is the hospital where they house the individuals who have been told by the courts that they are mentally insane and so they're not able to go to trial or they're waiting to go to trial for mental health. So I'm very excited about that because that's another very unique experience

Eva Sheie (09:19):
That's also in Chicago or somewhere else?

Dr. Moss (09:21):
And it's actually an Elgin, It's a city.

Eva Sheie (09:25):
Oh, yes. Yeah, right. I did see the Blues Brothers. I got you.

Dr. Moss (09:27):
Oh, perfect. Yeah, I'll be actually one of their residents or psychiatry residents that will be working with those individuals.

Eva Sheie (09:39):
If you can articulate if it's even possible, how it makes you feel to be able to help this patient base, I would love to hear more about that.

Dr. Moss (09:53):
I feel so honored, so humbled, so thankful to be the listening ear and provide and to treat them like people because I feel like a lot of individuals, especially when they have mental health conditions, they are sometimes seen by society or other healthcare providers as not subhuman to some extent or just not given the same respect. And so I feel so honored to be there for those individuals and to actually make a meaningful difference to help them at wherever they are in their own life journey.

Eva Sheie (10:41):
Did you ever think you'd end up in this? I mean, that's such a special category of the field you're in already.

Dr. Moss (10:49):
Right. No, I chose a degree in psychology as an undergrad because I was really interested in mental health, but then I went to medical school, I wasn't sure between psychology and medical school, and I ended up going medical school. I felt like there was more that I could do, more potential I had, and I'm so glad I did do medical school because understanding the body and the brain connection has been monumental to my understanding of mental health and how people live their daily lives. And so now adding this additional viewpoint of in mental health and really seeing the connection between health conditions, mental health conditions and day-to-day life is just so meaningful. And I feel like I'm able to have this broader understanding to see patients and understand and kind of connected instead of solely being focused on one aspect of their life.

Eva Sheie (11:57):
You mentioned wellness a couple times already. Is there a special passion that you have for general wellness in terms of psychiatric health? How do I make a smart question out of that?

Dr. Moss (12:12):
No, I hear what you're saying. And yeah, I think the personal journey on just the journey on wellness has been really personal in that sense is a human. I was a human before medical school and before residency, and I continued to be, and it wasn't until medical school that I actually got diagnosed with both mental and physical health chronic conditions. And so it provided, I had to really learn how to take care of myself in the mix of my studies. And that also provided me this viewpoint of the healthcare system of physicians and the healthcare providers that don't take the time to take care of their own health and wellness. And so that, I think that is definitely one of through my own individual struggles, not just with my health but then worsened during my academic because of the increased amount of stress, the increased amount of responsibilities we had, my health got worse.

(13:23):
And so by then learning how to be open about my own struggles, trying to break the stigma in medicine and showing why it's important that we take care of ourselves and then sharing those stories both from my own experience and like you mentioned, my podcast life as a patient doctor, sharing the experiences of other healthcare providers, other students that have and are currently struggling with their own health conditions or with their experience and learning how to be both a healthcare provider and also a human that takes care of themselves. So yes, wellness is an important additional thing of mine.

Eva Sheie (14:11):
How much can you share about your own health story?

Dr. Moss (14:14):
Of course.

Eva Sheie (14:14):
Is that something you're open about?

Dr. Moss (14:16):
I'm very open about, definitely all over social media in my podcast. And so in medical school I was, when we had the sexual and reproductive block, I started, were reading about all these reproductive health conditions and we start going over just what the normal and not normal or health conditions or disorders that individuals had. And I started to recognize a lot of things that I had grown up with, thinking that they were normal thinking that going to the bathroom was painful and that was normal. Having a period with a lot of pain, that's normal. Having sex with pain, that's normal. These were incorrect thoughts, but these were my general life experiences. And so then being in med school and learning that weight, it's not normal and not okay to be in pain, that's actually a health condition. And so over then going and seeking healthcare support and dealing with my own challenges of dealing with the healthcare system of not appreciating women and female pain, that is a whole nother story that I could go into.

(15:28):
But eventually I did get diagnosed with endometriosis, which is cells that are supposed to be in the uterus and they are not in their uterus, so they are outside the body and cause pain during different cycles of the natural hormones. During that diagnosis journey, there was also COVID, so adding an additional stress, a stress in everyone's life, including my own life, which led me to fail exams in school, led me to then having to take time off of school. So all these different challenges that again, learning and actually appreciating not just my own experience of pain, but recognizing that there are things around me that are leading to me more in pain and more struggling. And so learning how I can then treat my mental health, my physical health, and also take care of managing my stress and managing as much as I can of what is in my control and what is not in my control.

Eva Sheie (16:36):
What inspired you to start your own podcast?

Dr. Moss (16:39):
I actually, I feel the biggest thing was I was blogging about this experience. I was writing

Eva Sheie (16:46):
Way too much work. Way too much work.

Dr. Moss (16:49):
Well, that's what I was writing my own experience in my journal, and so it ended up through my journal. I started publishing some of my posts to let people know about this struggle because knowing that one in 10 females have experience from endometriosis, and so publishing, creating a website, so sharing my writings, getting my writings published, and then eventually I started talking to people and realizing that people don't have the time to sit and read. That's really what motivated me to be like, okay, I'm going to just read my blogs, read my writings, which then morphed into now sharing my journey in medical school and also sharing the other challenges that I have experienced and overcome and other healthcare providers, both as students and workers. I've been very lucky that I have found a lot of individuals that have been willing to share their stories on off camera, but at the end of the day, sharing their story, even if they're anonymous or are willing to go like me, that's been so meaningful to be able to listen to their stories and share them.

Eva Sheie (18:06):
Well, I totally approve of podcasting as a whole way to talk to people, especially doctors and prospective patients, both. I think there's something uniquely special about this medium and you and I share that for sure, for sure. What would you like patients to know about you if perhaps they are on their way in to see you and have not met you yet? What do you want them to know about that?

Dr. Moss (18:40):
I think one of the things I liked starting my conversations with patients or hoping that they have is just knowing that I'm a safe place for them to explore different things that maybe are taboo in society or experiences that they've had that cause them to experience different fears or different emotions. All that is okay and safe. I literally carry around tissues, not just for myself, not just for the patient, but also myself, just being that open door in the sense of that I'm not going to say that their experience doesn't matter, their experience isn't true. And so really recognizing that I am a person that through my own lived experiences and working with others, I have a broader depth that maybe if they've worked with other healthcare providers or mental health providers where they felt maybe didn't appreciate trauma or didn't appreciate pain or chronic health conditions, I might be the person that might be able to understand a little bit more.

(19:55):
And sometimes I do disclose, sometimes I don't. It really depends on the situation, but I don't hide away if I feel like it would benefit from the patient knowing that I share the same experience because sometimes it is helpful to know that they're not alone and that there's an additional depth of knowing that I've also struggled or your clinician has also struggled and that wasn't the end. And I think a lot of the times, whether if it's going through trauma or having chronic health conditions, sometimes we think that it's the end that we can't go above, that we can't be in successful in life or we can't, won't be able to overcome it. And so sometimes I like sharing it with my patients to show that, Hey, I made it as a doctor. That means that you can also overcome whatever challenge you have or at least live with your condition and still achieve your dreams.

Eva Sheie (21:01):
Well said. Thank you for that. Okay. Your podcast is called Life as a Patient Doctor. I'll put the link in the show notes so it's easy to find and listen to and recommend and share with your friends. And where can we find you on Instagram?

Dr. Moss (21:17):
Yeah, so I recently changed my Instagram named literally a couple of days ago. I had always been Med Psych Moss everywhere. My website is still Med psych moss.com, but I decide to actually start using my name. So I did Steph Moss md, so S-T-E-P-H-M-O-S-S-M-D. So we'll see. I just changed, what is it? My TikTok, my Instagram to both of those. And then on YouTube where my podcast is and a lot of my videos, it is Dr. Moss.

Eva Sheie (21:53):
We'll make that easy to find too. Thank you so much, Dr. Moss. It was great getting to know you today.

Dr. Moss (21:58):
Yes, thank you so much for having me and allowing me to share my story.

Eva Sheie (22:05):
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