The PateintKnowlogy Podcast: Recent Episodes
PK Podcast
Tune in as industry experts give you an insider’s guide into their profession and answer tough questions, as they relate to your health and healthcare.
PatientKnowlogy Creator, Renise Vasquez opens up about how the pandemic helped shed some light on dark areas of her life that needed healing. She talks about how she had to learn to let go of toxic relationships and habits, that once comforted her, in order to grow. In this episode, Renise explains how the pandemic made her shift her focus back to herself in order to learn how to learn herself. She also shares how letting go of her past made room for her future and allowed her to find the freedom to be herself.
In this episode, Pastor Thom Washington, of 3CLA and 4CI, shares with us his experience at a hospital that nearly costed him his life, after experiencing a medical emergency. He tells of how at that hospital he went undertreated and misdiagnosed. Thom explained that as a patient he had to do what he instinctively knew was right for his health, even if that was against medical advisement. He soon found out that his instinct to advocate was correct when after a second opinion, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon cancer. Tune in to this few informative and empowering testimony as Thom shares how he fought and won the battle of Stage 4 Cancer through prayer, medical treatment, and lifestyle changes.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness month, mental health advocate Tiffany Wright, MSW stops by to share how we can and must prioritize our mental health during a pandemic. In this episode, she gives advice about how simply changing our language can help us view problems from a different perspective. Renise also shares how she has struggled while being “safer-at-home” with her husband and small children and also discusses what steps she has taken to take care of her mental health.
Jamin Butler, co-founder of The Black Coffee company, stops by to educate us on the health benefits of coffee. Jamin, amongst the many benefits of drinking coffee, he also discusses how drinking coffee has the power to connect the community together. He also shares how The Black Coffee company's business model focuses on creating generational wealth within their community.
Liz Lund, owner of Underground Dance Company, stops by to share how she combats the norms of dance world. She teaches her students that their mental and physical health are more important than perfection on the dance floor. Liz talks about using practices such as age-appropriate dance moves and costumes, antibullying talks, and developing lasting rapport with her students and their parents in order to help them develop into confident dancers and people. Renise also shares her experience as a child dancer, how being bullied caused her to quit, and how the way U.D.C. does dance has changed a negative perspective about the dance world.
Dr. Cortez-Sammons of, Transformation Health and Wellness, returns this week to discuss hot button issues concerning women’s health. She talks about some of the unfair practices that she’s witnessed throughout her years as an OB/GYN and how women must advocate for themselves in order to get the care they need and deserve. Dr. Cortez-Sammons and Renise discuss how women can educate themselves in order to make better informed medical decisions for themselves and their families.
Dr. Jackie Cortez-Sammons of Transformation Health and Wellness shares why she felt led to leave “big medicine” and open a private practice that focuses on treating the body as a whole rather than treating symptoms. She expresses how she felt that the needs of her patients were not often met due to oversized workloads and time constraints and how, through Transformation Health and Wellness, she is able to practice medicine in best interest of her patients rather than the interest of insurance companies. She also discusses several holistic treatments that can transform a person’s health.
Dedra Jorden, the owner of Did It For Love Skincare, shares her story of how her battle with breast cancer led to her creating an all-natural skincare line. She also discusses how important it is to use chemical-free skincare products and what off-the-shelf ingredients should be avoided in order to take care of our largest organ, SKIN! Before Dedra left us she explained what ingredients we should look for and also avoid in our skincare products.
Pharmacist Michelle Nguyn returns to explain Federally mandated opioid regulations. She breaks down why it has become necessary to the health and safety of all patients to regulate a patients opioid intake. She also discusses alternative pain management treatments.
Pharmacist Michelle Nguyen explains the vital role of pharmacist within our healthcare system and how they are often a safety net to a patients care. She talks about how the rapport between a pharmacist and patient is sometimes the difference between healthful help and emergency medical intervention. Renise confesses to often bypassing the advocacy of a pharmacist until, her child’s well-being was at stake.
Kandice Haws of Bud and Bloom cannabis dispensary explains the science behind cannabis and how it can benefit ones health. She breaks down the strains of cannabis and also shares which form of cannabis a person may benefit the most. She also explains the difference between Hemp and Cannabis. Renise also shares why she began to use cannabis to manage her chronic pain.
RN Candece Henry returns to help us save lives, by teaching us how to act F.A.S.T. In this episode she educates us about how strokes affect the body, signs of a stroke, and what to do when our love one is experiencing one. She also shares how strokes can be potentially prevented through lifestyle changes and gives recommendations on how to implement those changes.
An eye-opening conversation with Nancy Gallegos about breast implant-related illnesses. Nancy is a BII (Breast Implant Illness) Advocate who is on a mission to educate women on the real harms of breast implants. She also shares her personal struggle with BII and discusses what needs to be done on a systemic level in order to save the health of women.
PatientKnowlogy Creator Renise, opens up about how she has struggled with depression and anxiety, since childhood. She candidly shares how she has dealt with suicidal thoughts, poor hygiene, and social withdrawal. Renise also shares how she has learned to prioritize her mental health and knows that the best medicine she can give herself is grace. Her hope is that by sharing her story it will help to tear down the stigmas surrounding mental health.
In honor of Nurses Appreciation Week, Renise had the pleasure of sitting down with RN, Candence Henry to discuss the vital roles that nurses play within our Healthcare System. Candence shares how she switched gears in a career in Public Health, in order to become a more hands-on advocate for others. She also shares tips for other nurses on how to prioritize self-care in order to better care for their patients. Renise also gives her point-of-view as a patient on how nurses have played an important roles in her health and wellness journey.
Tune in to this enlightening conversation about nurses and don’t forget to let nurses know how much they are appreciated!
HR Director Ashley Gibbs returns to discuss disclosing a disability while on the job. She gives advice on how to ask for a reasonable accommodation in order to protect the employee. Ashley also shares her knowledge about your protected rights under the ADA. Renise shares her experience as an employee needing an accommodation and how she protected herself in noncompliant workplaces.
Cal Poly Pomona Men’s Associate Basketball coach, Damion Hill, joined us this week to discuss a coach’s responsibility to a player’s health. He shares a few recommendations that he shares with his athletes about maintaining a body. He discusses how a coach can players recover, mentally and physically, after an injury. Also, he had some advice for other coaches teaching young athletes on how they can educate themselves in order to better serve the health of their players.
As a disabled employee, PK Creator Renise, often struggled with what she should disclose during the interview process, fearing that too much or too little information would be held against her. HR Specialist Ashly Gibbs sits down to answer all her questions in order to educate employees on their rights, and what they should or should not disclose during the interview process.
Dr. Shauntelle Bonman-Senkungu, a family medicine doctor, who is on a mission to “Make Healthcare Amazing Together," joins Renise to discuss how patients and doctors can work together to improve a patient's healthcare. In this episode she openly shares the challenges she has faced while trying to put her patients first, in a system that has conflicting goals. She also explains a few ways that patients can actively participate to improve upon their healthcare.
In the first episode of The PatientKnowlogy Podcast, PatientKnowlogy creator Renise Vasquez candidly shares how she became "uniquely abled" (disabled) due to medical error. She discusses how she defied the odds doctors had given her, by learning to listen to her own voice and body. Now, she is on a mission to help others heal from the inside out, by helping others realize they are "Stronger Than They Feel."