Mark Shapiro, Producer and Host at Explore The Space Podcast. Hospitalist.
Mark Shapiro, MD, is a practising Hospitalist and is the creator, producer and host of Explore The Space Podcast, a show focused on bringing those who provide healthcare and those who seek healthcare closer together through conversations with leaders from across the spectrum. He is also a TEDx speaker, delivering his first TEDx in March 2021.
In addition, he is a co-author of the "Covid-19 CV Matrix" published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He also won the "I Stand With Her" Award at the 2021 Women in Medicine Summit.
Dr Shapiro has been in full-time clinical practice as a Hospitalist since 2006 and has been working with Providence Medical Group-Sonoma County since 2016. Since joining the medical group, he has served as both a Hospitalist Medical Director and a member of the Board of Directors.
He earned a BA in history at the University of California-Los Angeles, attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of California-San Diego.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter because it affords a level of authentic interaction that is both rewarding and educational. The opportunities for learning and networking are limitless, and it is a springboard for collaboration and friendship with amazing people worldwide.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am a full-time Hospitalist, a physician specialising in hospitalised adults' care. I am also the founder, producer and host of Explore The Space Podcast LLC.
I'm a husband, a father, a home coffee roaster and a social media enthusiast. My current professional area of interest is building collaborative networks through Explore The Space Podcast, wherein like-minded people from different backgrounds can meet and work together on interesting projects and idea formation.
My particular focus areas are gender equity, gun violence reduction, climate change, and amplifying under-represented voices. I have also created a show called #MedLasso from Explore The Space Podcast, which discusses why the television show "Ted Lasso" resonates so deeply with healthcare professionals. This has proven to be a very popular and incredibly fun endeavour.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
My current area of professional focus keeps me in a wonderful space of collaboration, kindness, enthusiasm and accountability. These qualities are both grounding and aspirational; starting each day knowing I'll have the opportunity to work with and meet people who share this vision is incredibly exciting. As a result, new horizons continue to open, and I am able to remain pluripotent.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Remember how to have fun.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I am a pragmatic optimist, so even when the world around me feels chaotic and at-risk, I remain fully confident in my ability to move forward. Moreover, I remain confident that my ever-growing community has that same ability and motivation.
Trusting in, as President Abraham Lincoln said, "the better angels of our nature", is a guiding principle that helps keep me focused and motivated.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I am unendingly proud of my family and the way we all recreate together and look out for one another. In addition, I am proud to be a hospital-based physician, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I am proud of the ways I have learned to care for myself, be accountable to others, maintain a desire to continually improve, and remember how to have fun.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Nothing beats in-person meeting people, finding things in common, having a laugh and connecting. Having had such limited access to this during the Covid-19 pandemic, I have found social media to be a great source of this connection.
Making friends as an adult is hard, yet many of us want to continue making friends. Interacting with good, like-minded people on social media and then meeting them in person has proven to be a great friendship accelerator.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I am honest and authentic. When I speak, I avoid platitudes, and I invite clarity. I bring high energy to all my interactions and love engaging and learning about other people. I am pluripotent with a wide variety of interests, allowing me to find common ground quickly with new and old friends.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Don't wait so long to jump into community building on social media. There are so many good people in those spaces and so much enthusiasm to connect with; I wish I had jumped in more fully years earlier.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
I admire risk-takers, people who are unafraid to step into tension and take action. This is a mindset I continue to build, and I draw continued inspiration from people who are undaunted by friction and ready to move over barriers.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I love home coffee roasting and talking about all things coffee. In addition, I am a huge sports fan and enjoy pretty much every major global sport. These interests are not only endlessly fun and filled with anticipation but also afford even more opportunities to meet new people and build on pre-existing relationships.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
Currently, it is difficult for me to view the Covid-19 pandemic through any prism except one of great sadness. I have taken care of many people critically ill with Covid-19, and I've been a part of medical leadership during the pandemic and a part of large-scale campaigns to educate the public.
While I feel honoured to have been able to do all of these things, they are and will remain steeped in a very heavy feeling of sadness. We have all lost so much, and so many around us are still wrestling with the ongoing pandemic and tremendous personal grief.
We must never lose sight of our shared humanity amidst this tragedy and continue to check in on those around us and ourselves.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
One of the greatest things in my life, I've been blessed with the right mentor at the right time as my career and personality have evolved. This has been absolutely critical to my development, my mindset, my sense of right and wrong, and how I strive to live my life and improve the lives of those I come in contact with.
In turn, I am equally fortunate to be a mentor to many people on various subjects. Everything from medical training to podcasting, from public speaking to running for elected office, from creating a social media presence to being a Dad. All of these opportunities and more make my life feel rich and joyful.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Don't wait another day. Get started. That's not a platitude. Your plans are laid, and your goals are written. It's time to go.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
I have developed an increasing understanding that "failure" and "giving up" are frequently driven by external, systemic factors that make it harder for certain demographics to succeed.
Those of us with great privilege have a responsibility to lift as we rise and support those starting journeys with obstacles we did not experience. This is how we level the playing field.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"Step into the tension."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I am a big fan of Practicing Excellence, which is an organisation committed to supporting and developing health care teams around team wellness, patient connection, and leadership effectiveness.
The founder of the company is a good friend and mentor to me. The way the people who are part of Practicing Excellence conduct themselves, take care of one another and support thousands of healthcare professionals in meaningful ways is truly admirable.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is fleeting and heterogeneous. It's a laugh alongside someone you love. It's a moment of joy with a colleague. It's giving someone a hug when their world has shattered.
It's listening patiently to a story, knowing when to work hard and when to relax. It's gifting someone with your true self and allowing them to do the same back to you.