1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Wellness on Mass I'm doctor Nicole Saffire and 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: this is your weekly rundown. Well for all of you 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: in the Northeast who had a blizzard earlier this week. 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 2: Hope everyone made. 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: It unscathed, didn't have any pipes bursting or any of 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: those consequences that can happen with the freezing temperatures. I 7 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: personally had a wonderful time because I had all of 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,639 Speaker 1: my family home. My husband was even home, he didn't 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: have to go in for an emergency surgery. 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 2: My oldest son came over. 11 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: And we just had a family snow day and it 12 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: was a lot of cooking, it was a lot of 13 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: board games, and then we went out and played in 14 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: the snow. I was happy as can be because my 15 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: happy place is being home surrounded by my family, and 16 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: I certainly got that. I hope you were able to 17 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: get some quality time with your family too, with the 18 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: snow or wherever you are. 19 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: So what's been going on this week? 20 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you one thing that I was 21 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: keeping my eye on is the Senate confirmation hearing for 22 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: doctor Casey Means for the role of Surgeon General. She 23 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: is the current President Trump nominee for Surgeon General. Quick 24 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: recap for those not up to date. She is the 25 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: second nomination. The first nomination for surgeon general last year, 26 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: President Trump withdrew the nomination that was doctor Jeanette Nshwat, 27 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: who I knew was a friend and colleague from Fox News. 28 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: She's a lovely person inside and out. She does a 29 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: lot of volunteer work. But her nomination was withdrawn and 30 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: in her place was put doctor Casey Means, who is 31 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: the sister of Callie Means, who is a White House advisor. 32 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: So I did watch the Senate confirmation hearing. Leading up 33 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: to the confirmation hearing, there was some buzz, you know, 34 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: the usual buzz whenever there's a nominee. You know, obviously 35 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: there's a huge amount of people for her, specifically the 36 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: Maha crowd, and then of course you always expect there 37 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: to be the other side giving the counterpoint as well. 38 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: So what I have seen and you know, the true 39 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: MAGA crowd very upset that, you know, she didn't actually 40 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: practice medicine during COVID and she hasn't spoken out against 41 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: the COVID vaccines, so they aren't her biggest fans, and 42 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: they're also the medical professionals and obviously as a physician, 43 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: I can speak to this opinion. Doctor Casey means extremely 44 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 1: intelligent individual. She I don't have her CV in front 45 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: of me, but I think she went to Stanford undergrad 46 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: or maybe Stanford Medical School. 47 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 2: She did well there. 48 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: She got a head and neck residency I think somewhere 49 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: in the Northwest, maybe Oregon. The big criticism though, is 50 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: she never completed her residency, and she said it was 51 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: because she didn't want to be a part of traditional 52 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: medicine and she wanted to go off and I guess 53 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: focus on metabolic health or I don't even know what 54 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: her reasons is to be yes, I haven't followed it 55 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: that closely. But the problem that medical professionals have is 56 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: she didn't complete her residency. She doesn't have an active 57 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: medical license, and so she's never actually really treated patients 58 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: in her specialty unsupervised. And so that's the biggest criticism. 59 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: And while people are like, well, what does that matter? 60 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: I guess it's kind of like if you think about it, 61 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: having an attorney general who never passed the bar exam, 62 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: it doesn't mean that they're not a brilliant attorney. They 63 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: can't go and start some billion dollar company or be 64 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur or whatever. 65 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 2: But to be the nation's lawyer, probably should. 66 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: You know, have the bar exam, an active legal license 67 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,839 Speaker 1: or something. And so that's what they're saying about her 68 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: insurgent general. She doesn't even have an active medical license 69 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: to practice medicine, didn't complete her training. How can she 70 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: be the quote unquote nation's doctor. What's my personal opinion? 71 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: I said, I understand, I kind of feel the same 72 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: way about not completing residency. Maybe that age is mean, 73 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: Maybe that makes me sound like a curmudgeon, like, well, 74 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: why couldn't she finish residency? 75 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 2: I had to finish residency. 76 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: So I kind of you know, I kind of feel 77 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: that way too. But is it that huge of a deal. 78 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: I don't really know. If you think about this surgeon 79 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: general role, it's a very important role because it is 80 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: the nation's doctor. 81 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 2: The biggest skill that this person. 82 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: Needs is they need to be able to effectively communicate 83 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: with the public public health messaging. But even more important 84 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: than that, they need the respect of not only the people, 85 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: the American people that they are communicating too, but they 86 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: also need the respect of the administration for which they 87 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: are working together with. 88 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 2: To get that research and put out. 89 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: The messaging, and also the medical professionals, the medical organizations. 90 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 2: They need to make sure that she is a trusted messenger. 91 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: So I think one of the biggest complaints is again 92 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: medical professionals saying we don't really trust her. Watching hearing today, 93 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: there were no major moments. There were a few little 94 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: bickering back and forth. There there were any got you moments. 95 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: In my opinion, I've seen a lot of these Senate hearings, 96 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: and trust me, they can get pretty heated. This was 97 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: not really one of them. You know, there were some 98 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: back and forth when it came to birth control vaccines. Surprisingly, 99 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: the COVID vaccine never came up once. I was kind 100 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: of surprised in that I thought they were going to 101 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: try and ask her opinion on it. 102 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 2: They did not. 103 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: And I think she gave some great answers to some questions, 104 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: some not so great answers on other questions. Ultimately, I 105 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: think she's going to get through just fine. I can't 106 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: really imagine them not voting her in, you know. 107 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 2: The Republicans. 108 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: As long as the Republicans don't deviate, she's going to 109 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: get in. I think it'll be an uphill battle for 110 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: the administration if she is in that role, because right 111 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: now they still have a messaging problem and we're trying 112 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: to bridge that gap of public health trust, and I'm 113 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: not sure if she's the person to bridge that gap again, 114 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: not because you know, she's a very intelligent person, it's 115 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: just that she's very much aligned with the Maha movement 116 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: and I'd really like to see a little bit more 117 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: reaching across the aisle when it comes to public health. 118 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: That doesn't mean it has to be some Democratic nominee 119 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: for surgeon General. Maybe just someone a little less aligned 120 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: with the Maha movement who I don't know, finish their 121 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 1: residency and has an active medical license. 122 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 2: I mean, maybe if you just check. 123 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: Those boxes, you'll get the support from some of the 124 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: critics that we're seeing online. I don't really know. I 125 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: think she's going to get confirmed. I think she's going 126 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: to do a good job. She's a new mom. They 127 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: had to do a little breastfeeding break today and I 128 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: kind of love seeing that because you know me, I 129 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: always promote breastfeeding. 130 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 2: So bottom line, I anticipate they are going to vote 131 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 2: her in. 132 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: She will be our new surgeon General, and I'll let 133 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: you know next week. If you follow me on social media, 134 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,280 Speaker 1: you'll see it before then. But I hope everyone's having 135 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: a great week, and I have an excellent guess for 136 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: next week's podcast. 137 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 2: I can't wait for you to hear it. 138 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: We're going to break down the state of the Union, 139 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: addressed what they were talking about when it came to 140 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: the healthcare stuff. What's the future of the Four Care Acts? 141 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: Are these premiums going to go up? Everyone was saying 142 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: they're going to Are they going. 143 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 2: To actually go up? 144 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: Talk about the Maha movement, and we're going to talk 145 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: about potentially the new Surgeon General. So tune in next week. 146 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: I'm doctor Nicole Staffire. This has been Well in the 147 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: Sun Mass, your weekly rundown. Be sure to listen to 148 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: Wellness Sun Mass on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 149 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: get your podcasts.