Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/568709
68 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Meet the Stanford Hospitalist-Turned-Rapper Changing Healthcare in Las Vegas By Emily Rappleye T here's a new voice adding to the end-of-life care discussion, to the tune of Rihanna and Eminem's hit "Love the Way You Lie." It's the voice of ZDoggMD, a self-described "international icon and man of mild-to-moderate mystery." ZDoggMD dropped his latest music video "Ain't the Way to Die" at the end of July. It has already gar- nered 206,000 views on YouTube. He may star in more than 100 music videos, comedies and sketches about healthcare, but ZDog- gMD is more than your average Internet sensation. Zubin Damania, MD, was a Stanford hospitalist when he decided to start moonlighting as the "Weird Al" Yankovic of the medical world. ings took off from there. A musical mid-life crisis "Ain't the Way to Die" was professionally directed by Michael Shaun Conaway, who plans to feature Dr. Damania in his documentary "Wake UP!" about people who incorporate their passions into their professions. "I had my midlife crisis early," says Dr. Damania. Aer about eight years at Stanford, he yearned for some creativity in his career. "I decided I was going to reconnect with my passion, which is being a goof- ball." e end-of-life number was co-written by Kai- ser Permanente pediatrician Harry Duh, MD, and it was instrumentally and vocally backed up by Devin Moore of the indie-pop quartet Rabbit!. In the video, ZDoggMD diverges from his goofy self, and takes a much more somber, emotionally-charged approach to the song. Dr. Damania said he got a sense that the subject needed to be taken seriously aer testing the waters on social media. "We feel healthcare providers need to be remind- ed constantly about having this conversation in the outpatient space," said Dr. Damania. "ey need to see the torture — it's not glamorous at all if you ignore these conversations." Dr. Damania has some musical background — he played guitar in high school and minored in music at University of California, Berkeley — but claims his talent is more comparable to a brute force. "Weird Al was my idol as a kid, which got me absolutely no street cred, but it's the truth," he said. Dr. Damania began writing and filming videos on his own about everything from ulcers to vaccines to CPR. His biggest hit, "Readmission," has more than 1.2 million views on YouTube. In addition to his musical pursuits, Dr. Damania continues to practice as adjunct faculty at the Univer- sity of Nevada on a volunteer basis. He is also dis- rupting healthcare delivery in downtown Las Vegas. ere he launched the primary care clinic Turntable Health as part of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's Down- town Project. Turning the tables on primary care in Las Vegas e videos led Dr. Damania to Mr. Hsieh, who at- tended Harvard University with his wife. Aer inces- santly emailing the Zappos CEO, Dr. Damania finally got a response — and an opportunity he couldn't ignore. Mr. Hsieh told Dr. Damania if he le his job at Stanford, he would give him some resources to re- design healthcare in downtown Las Vegas. But there was a catch. Dr. Damania had to make it work — funding was limited and his project had to be finan- cially feasible right off the bat. "I never would have thought making videos would have led to this kind of crazy offer," Dr. Da- mania said. Despite the naysayers, Dr. Damania was compelled to see if he could pull it off. "It was a huge