Dr. Waggel's Connections
One of the most valuable parts of our internship program is connecting students with top health professionals.
"One of the unique parts of my background is that I served as social chair of my medical school class for four years and later as the class ambassador. That role meant it was my job to stay connected with hundreds of physicians across the country. Over time, I’ve built a network where I know who is truly the “top of the top” in their specialty. Because of this, I want to share some of the doctors I personally recommend. These are professionals I know and trust, and who my patients have benefited from. On the following pages, you’ll find more about these colleagues, their programs, and how they can help."
- Dr. Waggel
Dr. Seth Rosenblatt, MD, MA, MPH, FAPS
Learning Addiction Medicine with Dr. Seth Rosenblatt of VIVE
Addiction medicine is a field that intersects with psychiatry in powerful ways, and our interns have the chance to learn directly from one of the top experts: Dr. Seth Rosenblatt.
Dr. Rosenblatt is board certified in addiction medicine and directs VIVE Recovery Center in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC. He has created exclusive video content for our interns, where he explains:
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Why addiction is not just a personal struggle, but a medical and psychiatric condition.
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Why short-term outpatient care isn’t enough for many people, and how intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) change lives.
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The realities of relapse prevention, long-term recovery, and the importance of physician-led care.
Interns watching his sessions get a front-row seat to how an addiction medicine specialist approaches treatment and collaborates with psychiatrists. This is a rare educational opportunity that goes beyond textbooks. Students see what real interdisciplinary care looks like.
Dr. Sarah Diekman, MD, JD, MS, MPH, FCLM
Psychiatry doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Many psychiatric symptoms overlap with autonomic disorders like POTS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). To help our interns understand this complexity, I collaborate with Dr. Sarah Diekman, a physician who specializes in dysautonomia at Diekman Dysautonomia in Maryland.
Dr. Diekman has recorded teaching videos and produced educational material for our interns. She can speak on:
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What autonomic disorders are, and how they can present with psychiatric-like symptoms.
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The importance of genetic testing in certain EDS subtypes, including vascular forms.
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How specialized clinics diagnose and treat complex disorders that are often dismissed elsewhere.
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The importance of disability accommodations in education and healthcare, and how patients can advocate for themselves in these systems.
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In addition to her medical expertise, Dr. Diekman is also a law school graudate, which gives her a unique perspective on patient rights, disability law, and accommodations. This rare combination of medicine and law allows her to teach interns not only about diagnosis and treatment, but also about the policies and protections that impact patients’ lives. She spoke through the heart on her personal experience in this video.
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By learning from Dr. Diekman, interns gain insight into how different doctors work together and how legal and medical frameworks intersect to support patients. They also see how careful listening, advocacy, and interdisciplinary expertise can make a difference for individuals who are too often overlooked.
Together, these collaborations show prospective students that Improve Medical Culture interns aren’t just shadowing psychiatry they are exposed to top physicians across specialties and gain rare insights through real physician-recorded educational content that also emphasizes patient rights and disability advocacy.
