‘Venk’ Bellamkonda, EM Physician, Viral Tweet Composer, Cleveland Browns Hopeful and Human Being

We usually get a sense of someone’s character when we get to know them in person. But what about online?

This is the very first time I’ve selected an RHB podcast guest based simply on their online “character’. A few months ago, I started following ‘Venk’ on Twitter because he had some thoughtful and compassionate tweets with what we would term as having 3rd gear intentions.

Dr. Venkatesh Bellamkonda is an Emergency Medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic, and many of his posts concerned the challenges of his industry. BUT then one of his tweets was shared over 600 times. In it, he details how he failed the first year of medical school and what he did about it. I have shared this with many friends who are attending or have family members attending school. So naturally I had to find more about the human being behind the white coat.

Some excerpts from our interview:

On his upbringing: “My mom showed me what it was like to be a person of the people and to really embed yourself in the families of the people trusting their lives to you.”

On his passions: “I am trying to raise my kids to enjoy a team that is more successful than the Cleveland Browns…but in my heart, the Browns are everything on Sundays.”

On failure: “I failed my first year of medical school. I had to dig deep, put my pride to one side and learn from those who were successful; how they did it and incorporate that into my life.”

On goals: “I would go back even to grade school and make kids enjoy learning. The biggest dissatisfaction I see is when people stop seeing learning as something to be grateful for and they see it as work.”

On people who work in a hospital: “Nobody is limited by what it says on their name-badge.”

It’s worth a listen if you want to hear a candid interview with someone trying to be a little kinder, smarter and stronger.

Listen here: