First Impressions

The candles ignited my pants that evening. But the real culprit was my anxiety over making a good first impression: in an effort to avoid the approaching dean, I unwittingly backpedaled into an open flame. Matthew R. Klein reflects on an embarrassing incident in medical school and the importance of sharing vulnerability with learners and patients. The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the January 2026 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at

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First Impressions is an episode from Academic Medicine Podcast by Academic Medicine.

This episode is 05:02 long.

This episode was published on May 4, 2026.

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