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AMEC Prep
148 Plays1 year ago
We're back again with another episode of The Lounge! In this special episode, host Isabella Ntigbu and Jared Jeffrey sit down with a host of Docs Outside The Box, Dr. Nii and Renée Darko, to discuss all things AMEC! The Darkos share their personal experiences at AMEC, the benefits of AMEC, networking tips, and more!
To share your thoughts on our discussions or if you have any questions to ask our hosts, email podcast@snma.org for a chance to be featured on the show!
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
Introduction and Topic Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
The views expressed on this podcast represent only those of the hosts and do not represent the views of the Student National Medical Association.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of SNMA Presents the Lounge. My name is student Dr. Isabella Intavu. And I'm Jared Jeffery. And today we're here to discuss the 60th Annual Medical Education Conference.
Meet the Guests: Drs. Nhi and Renee Darko
00:00:38
Speaker
How to prepare for AMEC, take advantage of AMEC resources, develop networking skills, and more with the host of Docs Outside the Box, Dr. Nhi and Renee Darko.
00:00:52
Speaker
I'm excited to be back. They've been here before, but if by chance, some off chance, this is your first time here and it's your first time with doctors near Renee.
00:01:06
Speaker
Dr. Nate Darko is a trauma surgeon and his wife, Dr. Renee Darko, obstetrician and gynecologist both have thriving careers helping people, but realize that there's more. Both doctors were inspired to discover that many other avenues that medicine can offer outside of seeing patients in an office or hospital. This journey led them to launch their business, including Doctors Outside the Box podcast, a premier resource for information on financial freedom, lifestyle design, and mindset.
00:01:33
Speaker
through their journey of discovering their own passions outside of medicine. The couple speaks from life experiences, including expanding their family through the difficult journey of IVF and paying off $662,000 of combined student loan debt. We've got to clap for it again,
First AMEC Experiences
00:01:50
Speaker
guys. Clap for it. Because they didn't hear the clap the first time. We've got to clap again.
00:01:57
Speaker
The doctors are truly walking the walk and currently bring on podcast guests to discuss all things money, mission, and mindset fused with entertaining husband and wife banter about life outside the box, pop culture, and more.
00:02:11
Speaker
So without further ado, we gon' get right into it with this one. We don't need any formalities. I feel like we already know each other. I feel like we like fans at this point, yeah. We do, we do. We're so excited to be back on with you guys. Oh, I'm excited to be talking to y'all again. This is a very special way to communicate with people, man. You really get the chance to know them really well. Nah, honestly, honestly. We'll talk about my ideas about how podcasting as a Renaissance are off air.
00:02:39
Speaker
Oh, we got to. We need to. But we're going to jump right into it, right? AMEC is around the corner. March is around the corner. This year is the 60th annual medical education conference, and it's taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Could you guys tell us a little bit as SNMA grads, what does AMEC mean to you? Oh, man.
00:03:05
Speaker
That is a loaded question because it all started. Yes, start from the beginning, start from the beginning. Cue the wavy squiggly lies, you know, it all started. So my first AMEC was back in 2001. I was a pre-med post-bac student and it was in Atlanta.
00:03:30
Speaker
At the time we had a maps chapter, I was the president of the maps chapter and we were trying to get to this AMEC. So I was president of maps at Hunter College. Shout out Hunter College in Manhattan. And we literally did an auction, a date auction to get there.
00:03:52
Speaker
So we eventually raised all this money, get there. We knew it was going to be a pretty good conference. But I have to tell you that the number of Black folks that I saw, I don't think I was ready for. You know, medical students, doctors, other pre-med students. I mean, it was just
00:04:19
Speaker
like overwhelmingly positive, you know? And I just remember that particular Amex so vividly that, you know, I met my mentor there. I just knew, like when I left there, I knew I'm going to medical school. I know I'm going to get into medical school.
00:04:43
Speaker
There was just no doubt in my mind because it was just all around me and you had all these people who were essentially living out the dream that I wanted to live out. Definitely. So, you know, if I had any doubt at that point in time, it was all gone. I just knew, like, this is going to happen.
00:05:01
Speaker
So, I mean, that is what that means to me. And I hope that over the years, when people are attending, that they realize not only are they getting something out of it, but that they can also give something. So over the years, right? Right. Because we talk about giving. You know, over the years, obviously, I've gone through as a pre-med
00:05:25
Speaker
been a medical student. Now as a physician, my job isn't to just get something out of AMEC, you know, meet up with my homies and stuff like that. That's all good. But my job is to give back, be there for the students, you know, fill in where I need to, you know, be a mentor, give students resources, encourage them. So that's what, you know, it means to me just from start till now. Right.
00:05:56
Speaker
Dr. Ni, anything? So when I went to New Orleans, when we went to New Orleans, when we were in school together, that was- 2000- Was that the year that we, what do you call it? That we ran for office? Yes. Okay. Yes. Yeah. So that was the year, that was my second time at an SNMA national conference. So 2004. I was pretty nervous because
00:06:24
Speaker
You know, I was, I think I was vice president of the local chapter, and our mentor had the bright idea that I should consider running for regional director. And I was like, regional what? Like, what are you talking about? Like, I'm just in charge of getting chicken. I'm just in charge of getting YouTube at the local meetings. I got the sign in sheet. Regional director.
00:06:51
Speaker
You see, for y'all to listen, Renee makes everything sound really nice. I talk about the nitty gritty of how it really is. And once we got over trying to figure out how we would get to New Orleans, the school was going to pay for it and figure out some ways to pay for us to fly and get the hotel there. I was pretty nervous because I was wondering, how am I going to convince a lot of these different chapters to consider me as someone who they want to vote for?
00:07:19
Speaker
to be regional director. So, you know, I didn't really have as much fun as I wanted to because I was really nervous. But if you rewind back the year before that, I think that's when SNMA National Conference was in D.C. That was the first time that I had been to a national conference. And similar to what Renee said, I was really shocked at like... You know when people always say black excellence and they throw it around like it's a buzzword?
00:07:49
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. To actually like see that. So for me, I went to a PWI for undergrad.
00:07:55
Speaker
My high school was pretty much, I went to high school in Newark and it was a prep school in Newark. And then from there I went to a PWI. So I went from seeing like, you know, high school students doing anything you wanna do to just being a really very infinitesimal amount of black people on campus. So to transition from that to then going to a national conference or being at a medical school where there's not many black folks and then going to a national conference
00:08:22
Speaker
it was really jarring. And it was really inspiring because I got to see people from so many different med schools, people from different backgrounds, people who got into medical school, you know, right after college, people who took a security path like me and Renee into med school, people who are at Harvard, people who I mean, you just have people from so many different walks of life and they black and they cool. And it's just is even if they weren't cool, they were just there also.
00:08:57
Speaker
And then you throw on top of that, all of the, you throw on top of that, you know, the exhibit affairs for residency, the exhibit affairs for pre-med students. It just, I just felt like I was like in this
00:09:11
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like city almost within the hotel almost, so to speak. And it was, it was really, it's an experience that even to this day, I haven't had that experience. And, you know, that's NMA included, you know, like energy that comes from a national conference is unlike, particularly at SNMA is unlike any other conference out there. Right. Nah, that's fire.
00:09:32
Speaker
I think it's really cool
Benefits of Attending AMEC
00:09:33
Speaker
how you guys are talking about both sides of AMEX. One, Dr. Rene talking about the actual, this is what helped me decide to even go to medical school. And then you, Dr. Rene, talk about, yeah, it was a little bit jarring. I didn't really know what was going on, but you still got to see this really huge cosmopolitan.
00:09:49
Speaker
population of Black people who are in medicine. So from a more tangible aspect, I guess, with people in all stages of medicine, from pre-med down to attending status, what would you say is, from your perspective, maybe after going to a couple at this point, now serving in board positions, what would you say is the things that could really benefit from attending AMEC?
00:10:15
Speaker
You got five hours. So I think piggybacking off the things that we've already said, I just want to reemphasize that.
00:10:30
Speaker
there is nothing like the feeling of being in a place, especially in this country, where you feel like it was carved out for you and you belong there. And that's really what AMEC feels like. It feels like this is carved out for us. We belong here. You just feel comfortable. And many of us walk around not feeling comfortable. Many of us walk around feeling very fidgety about, what about my MCAT score?
00:10:56
Speaker
What about my GPA? What about my this? What about my that? What about my board scores? And it's like everything that you could possibly be thinking about.
00:11:06
Speaker
there is something at AMEC there to help you get rid of that negative thought. Like it's all there, you know? So it's for everyone. So it's from the person who's got the perfect score, the perfect GPA to the person who has the lowest score, the lowest GPA. There is something there for everybody. And I say that
00:11:28
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first because I want to emphasize that to students that you do not have to be perfect to get to AMEC. Like you don't have to be perfect to get the benefit out of it. So that's number one. Number two, just the resource, right? The resources that are available to you. So me talked about, you know, the exhibitor fairs and the exhibitor fairs
00:11:55
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I can't even express to you how many times I've been in an exhibitor fair at AMEC, and I will stop students. I usually hang out in the pre-med section, because I like to work with pre-meds. But I'll be like, oh, did you go around to the exhibitor fair? And they're like, yeah. I'm like, OK, how many recruiters did you meet? Oh, four or five, this, that, and the other. I'm like, OK, what did you ask them? And I asked them about their school. I asked them about their program.
00:12:25
Speaker
And I said, okay, well, what did you tell them about you? And it's silence. They're looking at me like, was I supposed to tell somebody something about you? Yes. Yes. Right. You have to tell people who you are, what you do, what's your circumstance, what challenges you might be having. That is the only way someone can help you. It's great if you learn about a school, but I mean, let's face it, whatever they're telling you, you could probably get on the website and just learn that.
00:12:56
Speaker
But if a recruiter cannot connect to your story because you didn't tell it, then when you come up for application, because I'm assuming if you tell the recruiter about you that you're going to keep in contact with that person, i.e. my next point, that that person will be able to advocate for you and
00:13:19
Speaker
And that leads into my next point is that you have to realize that after you've told the recruiter about yourself, now you have to move into securing that relationship. You've got to secure that relationship, you've got to foster it, and you've got to be able to turn that recruiter into an advocate for yourself.
Networking and Socializing at AMEC
00:13:41
Speaker
You know, um, and people don't realize people, I, I talk to recruiters all the time. And let me tell you, I can definitely tell you, cause he knows we just recently had somebody interview and let's just say, let's just say the connection that we have with the recruiter. It did good. It did really good.
00:14:07
Speaker
It served that student very well. So it's important. There are people out there who are looking, they're looking to look out for you. And many of the recruiters come out to SNMA because they are looking for the students that attend the conference and looking for black students and looking for minority students.
00:14:30
Speaker
And if you make the move, if you take that step in introducing yourself and then following up and letting people know where you are in your process, when your application comes up, trust. You will be interviewed by the right person. And you will be advocated for by that person. So that's at least three things I could tell you that you get from AMIC. There's so much more, but at least those three things.
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like what you're saying is like, you know, like you know, you know how to say like your network is your net worth. This is one of those opportunities to really like build your network in a substantial way, you know, like you're really trying to build it and have people that will really become allies for you, like people that will be able to assist you in your journey. And I think that that's fire. Dr. Nee, might you have anything that maybe like an aspiring medical school student or like a resident could use?
00:15:28
Speaker
I think for me, I'll just keep it a buck with you. I think the socializing aspect is what I take away from it the most. AMAC for me is really an amazing, just socializing aspect, a socializing event. I think there's a lot of resources. There's a lot of exhibits that you can go to, whether it's for residency
00:15:52
Speaker
Or if it's for sub internships and things like that, or even trying to get a scholarship. But I think just if you're at a medical school and you feel like you're isolated, or you feel like, man, I'm one of 200 or whatever it may be, when you go to an SNMA conference, just like Dr. Renee said, you just feel like the spotlight
00:16:15
Speaker
is on folks who look just like you. Maybe there's a significant amount of people who come from a similar background than you and so forth. And it's really dope. And if you're single, there's something for you. If you are married and you have kids, there's something for you. We're back to the Miami BBS. You know what I'm saying? Everything is for you.
00:16:42
Speaker
Everything is there for you. So if you're on your business and you're looking for something, it's there. If you're looking for an opportunity to get into a sub-I, that's going to be there for you. You don't have to feel like you're being judged. Some people may feel like if they're at their own med school.
00:17:03
Speaker
And I think for a lot of folks who go there for the first time, they'll be like, oh, wow. I didn't know that I can just say, I don't know about X, Y, and Z, and nobody's going to laugh at me. Or nobody's going to hold it against me. Or I just feel like if I'm coming with a whole bunch of I don't knows that there's a room full of competition.
00:17:22
Speaker
And that's the part that I think is missing when you're describing this whole event to people is that, listen, you're going to feel at home when you're here. You're going to find people who come from similar backgrounds and are struggling just like you. And you're going to see people who aren't struggling. You're going to be like, yo, that's dope. I want to be just like that person. Everything is there for you.
00:17:41
Speaker
Nah, that's fine. Yeah. I feel like I definitely have. I've been to two Mx myself and like I definitely notice a certain warmth in the room. You know what I'm saying?
Preparation for AMEC
00:17:50
Speaker
And I feel like the lack of microaggressions in the networking and like just being able to
00:17:56
Speaker
navigate those spaces, meet people and, you know, kind of try to elevate without any kind of reservations. It's just, it's just a fire feeling. It's just a fire feeling. Yeah. I just want to hold on this point though, because
00:18:12
Speaker
dr. Nee did mention, you know, it's for people who maybe they're there to network maybe they're also there if you're single looking for a potential partner. So I have I feel like I've already been personally victimized coming in with that mindset because there is I think there's like an overall chair don't laugh. I feel like this has to be said because I think there's a lot of are you looking for a suitor Isabella?
00:18:39
Speaker
No, no, no. I've tried to speak on behalf of people who may have this question because it's a legitimate question. So there are... What is the question? What is the question? You're not letting me say the question. So I feel like if somebody's coming into a conference, right? Maybe they're coming there with the overall goal that they want to get those professional connections. Maybe they're also open to just meeting people, like building personal bonds.
00:19:08
Speaker
Like, is there how would you how would you advise people who may or may not know if somebody is actually being authentic and genuine with that kind of approach or if they're just there to play the game? Because I think a lot of a lot of these, you know, blackmail doctors, you know, they don't. This is crazy. Now I feel bad for asking my question because the question people have this question, I promise you, people have this question.
00:19:39
Speaker
The question did not need the slander in it. You didn't need to slander blackmail doctors to ask the question.
00:19:47
Speaker
Okay, now I feel bad for us. Okay, do we want to move on? You guys want to answer the question? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
00:20:14
Speaker
That's a big exaggeration, but I do I do think that she's like she don't think so
00:20:23
Speaker
I think it's pretty spot on. They trying to do proactive. They're like, yeah. I'm going to tell you right now, if you go into SNMA and you're a woman and you single, there's going to be a whole bunch of dudes there. There's going to be a whole bunch of dudes there who are on their stuff, right? Because obviously trying to get into medical school is one of the hardest things that you can do. So just know that the dudes who are there, they're legit. They know what they're coming. They know what they're about. And they're just in general good dudes. I think that what I think.
00:20:53
Speaker
Sometimes there's a little too much work into trying to connect with someone, not just like... I think if you're there just about your business, if you're there just to kind of just make connections, just general connections and maybe just make certain type of discussions about whatever is going on pop culture wise, just in general and with going on SNMA, I think you'll be okay.
00:21:16
Speaker
But I think if you're looking for something, sometimes, you know, you can get caught up, basically, so to speak. I don't know if you want to speak up on that. Well, the only thing that I will say is that as far as the dating scene, it was the foster. It is like the Sahara Desert out there. Yeah. OK. OK, there is the predator and the prey. I'm going to say I disagree.
00:21:43
Speaker
Listen, I didn't say who were the predators and who were the prey, but let me tell you, it could be either way. It could be, I mean, it could be either way, but there are a lot of, we'll call them connections made during SNMA conferences before and after the conference. What I will say is this.
00:22:07
Speaker
don't go in with the idea that you are going to definitely find your future spouse out there. It is such an overwhelming experience for people that sometimes that good vibe, that good feeling of going to the conference translates into a connection that you make with someone and you think- Don't make it like Woodstock, basically.
SNMA and Leadership Development
00:22:37
Speaker
Don't make it like Coachella. Don't make it like Coachella. That was a good one. That was a good one. Don't make it like Coachella, Afrochella, like, you know, because people do that though. They do that every year. They have, you know what? Let me not put all the secrets on this podcast.
00:22:57
Speaker
I was just about to say, I think a great way to sum it up is you're gonna go out there, you're gonna make connections. The energy of the weekend is gonna initiate it, and you know, you kind of let the time that follows determine it. Does that sound good to you, Liz? Okay, all right. And they're gonna be in New Orleans, so let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let's say, let
00:23:26
Speaker
Did you guys know what this year's theme is? Um, I have heard this year's theme, but let me tell you, I have heard 20 years worth of themes. Okay. Okay. So, so you can't pull off the top of the dome. I know that. I know that. I got you. I got you. So, uh, this year's theme is from pressure to purpose, illuminating the path to excellence.
00:23:49
Speaker
And so this year's theme basically highlights the values that each component of our organization uphold, right? The ways in which our activities, events, and estimates go, and the significance of revitalizing the vision as we fully move to a post-pandemic medical era. We're not fully too focused on COVID anymore, things of that nature. So how would I say? Based on the theme,
00:24:13
Speaker
How would you say that SNMA has helped you overcome some of the pressures that you faced in your journey in becoming physicians? That's a really great question.
00:24:27
Speaker
You know, I always say, I was just saying this to somebody today that, you know, one of the things that I think a lot of people don't realize about SNMA because people come into SNMA and they get a lot of stuff, right? They get resources, they get to put stuff on their resume or on their applications and stuff like that.
00:24:51
Speaker
In doing that, you are actually being trained, right? SNMA is a training ground. It's a training ground for future leaders. And I think that that is very important for people to remember, right? Like you're not just doing something, like you're not just the, oh, I'm the chapter president, or I'm the chapter treasurer, or I'm the national president, or, you know, you're not just in these things in the present. You are utilizing these experiences
00:25:20
Speaker
so that you can potentially translate the skills that you've learned into the future. And I think that's important for people to realize that SNMA is a training ground for leadership. And I think when you take that approach, when you start realizing, especially when the physicians who are
00:25:43
Speaker
mentoring the students recognize like, hey, you know, this is supposed to be a training ground. It makes for a better, one, relationship with the students. But two, I think it helps the students to really focus on not just the here and now, but for the, you know, for the future of the organization, right?
Practical Advice for AMEC Attendees
00:26:04
Speaker
Like, there have been so many times when it's like,
00:26:07
Speaker
Well, yeah, I want to do this now. I want to do this thing. And a student is so hellbent and focused on doing something right in the here and now because they just think it's a good idea. But sometimes you have to think about, OK, well, leaders can't just think about the here and now. This might be fun for right now. But what does that mean for the organization's future? You could put this on your resume, and it would look fabulous.
00:26:35
Speaker
But is it going to have a positive or a negative impact on the organization? And when you look back after you become a physician, when you look back, will you be able to say this was the thing that started the mess or started, you know, the beauty?
00:26:55
Speaker
Right? Like, so you really have to start thinking about that. So I think people just, you know, I think SMA helps me to be very intentional about what I was doing.
00:27:08
Speaker
while I was a medical student. I was, and I didn't mention what I was, but I was national free medical board member. And then I became national chairperson of the board of directors. I actually did that particular position when I was a student. And then I came back and did it as an attending because SMA had some transitions that they had to do. And now I'm a chair emeritus.
00:27:33
Speaker
But it really helped me to think about what is the future of the organization, not just think about the here and now and the fun thing to do or the, this would be really great for me on my resume and my application, so. Right.
00:27:50
Speaker
Oh, my part? Dr. Nee. After I go, you go. If you have a part. The flow. Right. Yeah, you have to. No, I think basically a lot of things that I'm going to say is going to piggyback off of what she says. So I think for the sake of the conversation, let's give Mook, because it's the same thing. You're in line. I stole his thunder. Basically. I'm not doing, I wasn't involved in the same part.
00:28:15
Speaker
he said my wife did such a great job explaining that i have no i have nothing else i have nothing to add nothing listen i respect it because it keeps the conversation moving with you know and maybe we can ask more out-of-pocket questions so i already did the first one this is what you pod when you pod all the time you just know it's like all right like we gotta let that breathe
00:28:38
Speaker
I want you guys to go back to when you first went to AMEC. You know how someone goes on a trip and they're just like, oh, I wish I had packed this thing or I brought this thing. I forgot it, but I know next time I'll bring it with me. What would you say are the top essential things that someone is going to AMEC should definitely bring with them when they come? Give me one second. I'm going to go get my notepad. I'll be right back.
00:29:04
Speaker
Bring a notepad. There you go. Write it down. Don't worry. We have the recording as proof. There you go. There you go. Documentation. Wow. So definitely your resume. Like one copy of it? No, no, no. Bring multiple copies. You might only give out one, but you might give out multiple copies. So I would definitely say that. What else?
00:29:31
Speaker
We don't do business cards anymore, right? Yeah, people don't really do business cards anymore. I mean, even the resume is pushing it, but the only reason I say bring a resume is because it's so personal to you. Pictures, pictures, pictures. If you have a headshot.
00:29:45
Speaker
Yeah, right. And make sure you have a headshot on the resume. That didn't used to be a thing, but now things have changed. Back in our day, if you put your picture on a resume, it was like, wait, what are you doing? But now that's very different. So yeah, so I would say that.
00:30:05
Speaker
Um, everything is so technologically available at this point. It's like, if you need something, it's going to be on your phone. You know what I mean? Um, I would say bring cash, make sure you don't go to AMAC broke. Cause we do know that people end up being broke, sleeping out on somebody's hotel room floor.
00:30:31
Speaker
That's just New Orleans too, and those hotel prices were looking a little, they were looking kind of crazy, so there might be some sleeping on the floor. Yes, there's always sleeping on the floor. Buy water from another spot outside of the hotel. Yeah, don't buy water in the hotel. Right. Right. Breath mints, was there a personal experience where you violated by somebody's breath at a prior? Okay. Just making sure. The feeling was a vibe later. And not that I'm about to see on the show.
00:30:57
Speaker
But you're going to be talking to so many different people. And you're going to start at 8 o'clock in the morning or 7 in the morning. And then you're going to end at a party at like 11 o'clock or something. So it's always good just to have something just kind of fresh in your brain. Oh, I just thought something. For the ladies, especially bring comfortable shoes. So I'm going to tell you, they will be out there. But there are the girls who wear the
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah, five inch, four inch, five inch. I'm like, listen, if you can do it all day, more power to you, but your dogs are going to be barking if you're somebody who just doesn't wear that all day, every day. And I can't imagine that most medical students wear it all day, every day.
00:31:46
Speaker
Um, cause they're in class, they're on the wards and that just is not, you know, the dress code that you typically see. So bring comfortable shoes. Um, I will walk around even like in little kitten heels or regular pumps.
00:32:02
Speaker
And by the end of the day, I'm switched out. I'm like, all right. It's time to get those out of the way. I think I'm going to throw an open mind on the list because it's all kinds of sessions and stuff that you never think that you would want to go to. I feel like I dragged Isabella to a couple of sessions last year. She was like, oh, I'm going to study for step. And then she was trying to study her flash calls. And she's like, oh, this is kind of interesting.
00:32:29
Speaker
And you kind of never know what you might get out of an unexpected session. And there are multiple tracks. So try to touch a track that may not necessarily align with you, but they got all kinds of things going on. I feel like the wellness track might not get enough love. The wellness track is a real gem. So I will tell you, I agree with that. So we're osteopathic docs.
00:32:50
Speaker
And one of the workshops that I went to was the osteopathic workshop. I didn't really know much. I had heard osteopathic medicine, but I didn't really know much about it at the time. And so I get there, when I get there, I'm like maybe like two minutes into the session. So as I'm coming into the row, and it was pretty packed in there. So as I'm coming into the row, I see this guy just smiling.
00:33:20
Speaker
as I'm walking past him, I'm like, excuse me. And he's just smiling. And I'm like, looking at, right? That's my mind. And so at the end of the session, they basically call whomever up, they're like, you know, we have people here from our school, we want to call them up to come and do a little Q&A. And sure enough,
00:33:44
Speaker
The guy who was smiling when I walked past him, he goes up and he's like, hi, I'm Dr. Dale Sanders. Oh, okay. Well, he said I'm the big dog here, but you don't need to know that. He became a mentor.
00:33:59
Speaker
Oh, okay. Wow. Right. I love that. So when you say bring an open mind, you're absolutely correct. I'm going to tell you something. Just when you think you know something, you don't know nothing about what you think you know. You don't know anything. So go in with an open mind.
00:34:22
Speaker
figure out, you know, what are the things, what are the questions that you might want to ask, bring questions, you know, bring questions with you. That's another thing. But just, yeah, I think there's just so much benefit to gain out of going to AMEC.
00:34:38
Speaker
Okay, okay. This one is gonna be directed at Dr. Nee specifically. Dr. Nee, you strike me as a real swaggy fellow. Ooh, swaggy. He's a nerd. So let me start with the ego boost. Okay, I see your tactics. I see your tactics. Relax, I keep on your tactics, man. Come on, Isabella. Have you seen his thumbnail for the podcast? Ooh, okay. It's a swaggy gentleman right there. Okay.
00:35:09
Speaker
So I remember my first IMEC, right? I pulled up with three suits. I was an undergrad rocking the full suit every day. You would have thought I was going to speak to the nation.
00:35:25
Speaker
The tie, the hard pants, I had the socks that matched the tie, you know what I'm saying? You would have thought I was interviewing- K&G special. You feel me? Oh, K&G special. I haven't heard of K&G in a while. That's true. At the very least, my John, it was a little tailored, so I look kind of schmooven or whatever.
00:35:47
Speaker
Last year I went for a little bit more just a cozy business casual. So please let you let me know, you let me know what should the fellas be looking to rock as they try to look the part, but also make a good impression on these people that they're going to be networking with.
00:36:03
Speaker
So it's funny you mention that. I think that when I was there from the beginning all the way till the end, my wardrobe has changed from having three separate things, like what you had, to having more of a modular look.
00:36:20
Speaker
right? So maybe instead of having three, but having two or just even one, but you can kind of use the jacket when you need it to be there. Or if you don't want to wear the jacket, then you can just kind of just wear a shirt and tie or just tieless or, you know, just change the top and have a different pair of pants and stuff.
00:36:36
Speaker
Because invariably what you'll find out is that you're going to be, throughout one day, you'll be in literally three different types of events. Something that's very formal, something that's casual, and then something that is kind of like business casual, where you don't need a tie. So I think the biggest thing is for any dudes that are listening right now, try to find something that's modular. Like try to find something that you can kind of change. Something that kind of is like a suit, if you need it to be a suit, but then kind of you can wear just like a shirt without a tie.
00:37:05
Speaker
And I think number one thing is having some shoes that are very comfortable also like shoes that can take you from the morning to from the morning in a very
00:37:17
Speaker
a big event that you would wear like a shirt and tie and a suit to, to something that can get you to semi-casual and then obviously, you know, casual after that. So that's why for me, I kind of learned my lesson the hard way, you know, and I would pack like, I would have like this big, crazy, heavy bag and stuff. You and me both. By the time I get back, you don't use any of that stuff, right? Or your heels hurt, right? At the end of the day and stuff. So I would definitely say nowadays, you know, cause times have changed also. I think definitely,
00:37:45
Speaker
the modular look is the better way to go about things. Because you're going to find yourself in so many different situations in a 24 hour period. So might as well just dress the part.
00:37:54
Speaker
Yeah, that sound like that Steve Harvey reel. A man needs five suits. He needs one suit. He needs the other one. What is it, the gray pants and the black pants and the blue pants? Yeah, see now Steve Harvey, I don't know if we're going to use him as a prime example, but he says a lot when it comes to black people and just our lives. He says a lot. He says a lot, yeah. I feel like ever since this shining sharp Cat Williams thing,
00:38:27
Speaker
Steve Harvey is like, catching strays. Yeah.
00:38:32
Speaker
These people throwing strays at Steve Harvey, I think they're targeting him. Yeah, they're targeting him. And I would say it's even before Cat Williams, because Steve Harvey keeps his mouth open. Yeah, he keeps his mouth open. He makes self-help books. He does a lot of talking. No Steve Harvey slander will be tolerated here. My man was on TV seven days a week. Of course you go hear his voice.
00:38:58
Speaker
Let's just move it right along. You know, speaking of such real quick too is if you're there and it's your first time there, never forget that even if it's your first time there, it's a great opportunity to even work with the pre-med students that are there. So it's always an opportunity for you to provide mentorship even from a step below you also. So you could be really nervous and you're not sure exactly how you fit with
00:39:23
Speaker
you know, those who are third years, fourth years or, you know, maybe even higher. But don't forget that there's a bunch of pre-med students there. Also, there's a huge maps component there that is looking for, you know, your perspective of what it's like to get through or get into medical school either without any blemishes or with blemishes. And they literally just want your perspective. So
00:39:44
Speaker
Don't be afraid of that also. When it's talking about being an open mind to receive some of the favorables from other people, same thing. Have an open mind when you're talking to people who don't have your perspective and are just wanting to know what it's like to be in med school.
00:40:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's really great that you brought up the pre meds Dr. Nee because you kind of mentioned it before Dr. Nee, but just like how you as a pre med and being at AMEC basically changed your entire trajectory and allowed you to really get that confidence and that just that motivation to just continue to pursue it. I can imagine that when we were all pre meds, we had a little love, we had a, we had a certain level of fear maybe about like, how do I do this and what's to come and like, what is this going to look like?
00:40:27
Speaker
there's a lot of unknowns in medicine, especially when you're a black person in medicine, because they don't really have a playbook for us. Like a lot of us don't come from family members who may have been in medicine, some of us have. So you just never really know what the expectations are when you're going into it. And so I feel
00:40:44
Speaker
Like for AMEX specifically, there are pre-medical recruitment fairs and just things censored for pre-meds. What would you say as like advice to them as to how they can network during these events and kind of get the most out of their time there? Because I'm sure they're very, maybe there's level of confusion they have coming into it that they're not really sure like, how do I navigate this kind of space?
00:41:06
Speaker
Yeah, I think the things that I mentioned previously about how you interact with recruiters while you're at the conference and then thereafter, but the networking goes beyond that, right? So Dr. Nee just mentioned that med students can be mentors for pre-meds, but pre-meds can seek that mentorship very specifically, right?
00:41:31
Speaker
So there is a certain level of initiative that I think that pre meds have to be comfortable taking. So we talk about having your elevator pitch ready, right? That elevator pitch, which is like the five minute spiel that not even five minutes like that. Actually, it's not five minutes. It shouldn't be five minutes. It's like, you know, that one, maybe one and a half minute spiel. Yeah.
00:41:57
Speaker
where you tell somebody very quickly about yourself, what you're looking for out of this interaction and what follow-up you can have with this person.
Navigating AMEC Solo
00:42:08
Speaker
I think every single pre-med should have that. So going back to your question of what should you bring, which is why I was like, well, do you have five hours? Because as we get into it, it's just going to build and build and build upon that list.
00:42:21
Speaker
But I think that's one thing that pre-meds need to remember is that you are not just there to just be receivers of information. You are there to be self-advocating. You have to advocate for yourself. And one of the ways to do that is to approach people.
00:42:40
Speaker
You have to approach people. And the best way that you can feel comfortable about approaching people is through preparation. You have to prepare. And the best preparation that you can have is, at the very least, have an elevator pitch where you can tell them very quickly about yourself and ask them how you can follow up with them. Give them an example of an elevator pitch. I don't know.
00:43:03
Speaker
So I'd say something like, hi, my name is Renee Darko. I'm a non-traditional pre-med student. I'm currently in a post-bac program at Hunter College looking to apply to medical school in the next two years. And I saw that you are at, I don't know,
00:43:26
Speaker
KCU, which is a school that I'm very interested at. And I just wanted to kind of talk with you, ask you what your experience is, and potentially exchange information so that we might follow up after the conference. That's it. Like, that's literally all you have to do. And that was really good.
00:43:43
Speaker
This is for anybody. Yeah, this is for anybody. You could say that to an exhibitor. You could say that to a med student or a physician. You just tweak the word so that they make sense. If it's a physician, you say, I can see that you graduated from KCU. That school is the one that's really on the forefront of my mind. I would love to talk with you about your experience and whatever. So you just tweak the word so that they make sense for whomever it is that you're talking to.
00:44:12
Speaker
But you don't have to do a whole laundry list of, well, what happened with my GPA? Because my mama was sick, and then my grandmama got sick. You don't need to go into all of that. That's the follow up afterward. Right. So question, is the elevator pitch like that how you got your mentor at EMEC? Yeah, I had an elevator pitch. I think it's something that
00:44:41
Speaker
I've carried with me, you know, throughout the years, having elevator pitches and your elevator pitch is gonna change, you know, as your status changes. It might change, again, like I said, for the person that you're talking to, it might change for the thing that you're actually looking for, right? So it depends on what your circumstance is. But I was very diligent about following up
00:45:07
Speaker
after the conference and that's how essentially I met my mentor and maintained that relationship. I like that. That's the most important, right? Because people will tell you all the time, like, oh, you know, I know the director of admissions at such and such a school. And I'm like, do they know you? They don't know you.
00:45:29
Speaker
Right? Because it's not about who you know, it's about who knows you. Right? Because if the director don't know you, so would you know it. Like, everybody know her. Her face is on the website. Everybody knows. Wait, that you've read a lot of people for filth just on that one statement alone. Okay.
00:45:54
Speaker
So, one more thing, one more thing. You know, I'm the pre-med on the line right now, so I gotta hold it down for all my pre-meds out there. Let's say, I'm nervous. I'm timid. I ain't never talk to a doctor face to face and say, hey, this is my name and this is what I do. How do I get over those kinds of jitters or have a meaningful interaction without like embarrassing myself?
00:46:19
Speaker
That's tough, right? Because even when you do have your elevator pitch, you still have to execute, right? And the most that I will say is, remember why you're there. Remember why you're there. Because you could go there and come back with nothing, or you could go there and come back with something.
00:46:41
Speaker
So that is like an option. Yeah, the first option sounds better. Yeah, exactly. So you got to muster up that self motivation, right? Because no, maybe you've never talked to a doctor outside of the realm of being in a hospital or a, you know, or a clinic visit. But if you plan on going to medical school, and I say this to pre-meds all the time, I'm like, you got to start acting like a doctor.
00:47:09
Speaker
You got to start acting like, well, what would a doctor do? Because the doctor ain't going to sit back and be like, I don't want to talk to nobody. That's not what's going to happen. If you truly want to be a doctor, you have to start doing what doctors do. You have to start making good decisions. You've got to start being self-motivated. You've got to know when to ask for help.
00:47:33
Speaker
You know, when you need it, you've got to be able to approach people that you've never approached before. You've got to be able to deliver news that maybe is not necessarily the best. And I use that example, like if your GPA isn't that great or your MCAT score isn't that great.
00:47:51
Speaker
That's a very hard thing to reveal to people, but if you liken it to, I'm sorry, but this patient has such as such a diagnosis, which is a grave diagnosis, that is not an easy thing for a doctor to say to a family member either.
00:48:08
Speaker
Right. So you've got to start operating outside of your comfort zone until it becomes your comfort zone. So that's really the only thing that I can say is that you got to think about if I don't do all of those things, I will be here and leave with nothing or I could be here and leave with something.
00:48:27
Speaker
You're talking to two doctors right now. So I don't know. I feel like you're already ahead of the curves. I mean, I mean, you know, that's just me for the maps members nationwide. You feel me? I'm doing this for all of them because I have one more question on behalf of the maps members, actually. So here's one more scenario.
00:48:47
Speaker
my school did all we could and we could only afford to send one student to AMEC. It's a long trip, it's expensive, whatever the case may be. How can me as a solo student out here putting on for my whole university, one, have a substantial experience for myself and two, bring back anything of value for like my chapter.
00:49:14
Speaker
So, man, that is so common and so sad on some levels that not all students get to have that experience, but all is not lost, right? And I like the fact that you asked this question because you also realize that, yes, I might be out here by myself, but I can bring something back.
00:49:43
Speaker
for the others. So first things first though is that you while you are the lone person potentially for your school that you cannot put the burden on your shoulders of representing everybody you know in your in your school.
00:49:59
Speaker
Right? Like, you are only one person. And so you can't necessarily represent everybody in all the circumstances and all of the things. So as much as you can share about your school, don't feel like, you know, if I mess up, it's done for my school. Right? Because we put those burdens on ourselves too.
00:50:23
Speaker
So the things that you can do, the tangible things that you can do, you can bring back a bunch of resources. Go in, get all the stuff that's on the tables. Get all the stuff that's on the tables and bring them back to your chapter members.
00:50:41
Speaker
You could certainly take notes, jot down notes, and really just share. Another thing that you can do is you guys got technology in ways that we didn't have it before, right? You could video, you could go live, you could do so many different things.
Donations and SNMA Support
00:51:00
Speaker
You should journal. Journal in some form or fashion, even if it's just a notebook. Trust me, there's going to be enough notebooks, free notebooks and pen and papers there.
00:51:09
Speaker
You know the the way in which do you know what do you call these alpha generation alpha now or something like that generation. Instagram live it or just put it on your you know record it so that you know at the end of the day or when you're flying back or if you're taking a greyhound back.
00:51:26
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? You jot those things down so that you can let everybody know at your school exactly the events that occurred and stuff. And I would say, honestly, now I'm not going to call for everybody to do this because all the recruiters are going to kill me.
00:51:47
Speaker
But I will say it anyway, is that, one, if you have maybe a little group chat going with all the people back at your school, you could just let them know who's there, or you could tell them, ask what's going on over there. It's such a school there. Can you ask this question on my behalf, X, Y, and Z?
00:52:10
Speaker
And then knowing me though, I'm very unconventional. Me, if I had a friend who I know really wanted to go to a certain school, really wanted to connect with a certain recruiter, I would WhatsApp them and be like, all right, here, talk to my friend. You gotta put off for the friends. I know, but don't go and do this to all the recruiters. And they say, Dr. Renee told me to do this, because they're gonna kill me.
00:52:38
Speaker
Isabella, I promise I'm going to step out of my pre-med corner right after this. I only asked these questions just because back when I was at Delaware State, this is one of the issues that we had. We could only afford to send a couple of people and they told me, yo, make sure you bring something back. So one of the things that we did,
00:52:56
Speaker
We connected with people in the region so that we wouldn't feel alone. We connected with the other undergrads in the area. And then we also tried to connect with the regional recruiters to see if, hey, we have a lot of people that couldn't be here, but could I get your contact and maybe set something up with us on campus? And that way they can get a chance to, when we're back home, XYZ, XYZ. You know what I'm saying? Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:53:20
Speaker
Yeah, because at AMEC there's going to be a lot of potential leadership opportunities too, right? So in terms of making that connection with your regional director and other regional officers or even national officers, right? So there's the academic resources, right? And then there's kind of the social resources.
00:53:45
Speaker
when we talk about the leadership and all of those things. So definitely you can bring back information about that. Tell them about how HOD works, the House of Delegates for the SMA works. A lot of people go to SMA not realizing that, and I'm gonna put this out there, AMEC only exists because the HOD has to meet.
00:54:12
Speaker
It's not the other way around. So the House of Delegates is essentially the SMA constituency. Basically, it's the students, right? It's a representation of the students. So they do something called apportionment, which then determines how many delegates. I don't know the whole calculation, but it determines the number of delegates.
00:54:36
Speaker
in each chapter and then each chapter, you know, together with their, you know, come together as regions. There's 10 regions in the SNMA and they vote on the business of the SNMA. Remember, SNMA is a nonprofit organization. So first and foremost, that's what it is. It's not a club.
00:54:58
Speaker
It's a national nonprofit organization that is a 501c3 designation by the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service. So it's a real business, a real nonprofit business.
00:55:16
Speaker
and nonprofit businesses have certain rules that must be followed. And so for the SNMA in particular, this particular meeting meets some of the criteria that SNMA as a business has to conduct, right?
00:55:37
Speaker
the annual medical education conference, okay, the actual AMEC that we talk about going to the sessions and the exhibitor fair and all this stuff, that's an added thing, right? Since we got everybody coming out to HOD, we might as well educate them. That's how that happens, right? So AMEC doesn't exist first. AMEC is actually the...
00:56:00
Speaker
secondary thing. Right. Exactly. It's the secondary thing. The HOD is the primary thing. That is why. Because if HOD doesn't meet, then we got to answer to the IRS. Okay. And then there will be no more AMEC because there will be no more SNMA if we, you know, go down a certain path. So that's important for people to understand. And I say all of that to say, oh, you could tell I was chairperson aboard directors, right?
00:56:31
Speaker
And I say all of that to say, you know, that the leadership opportunities in SMA do present themselves at the conference, right? So if you are thinking about being a national president, if you're thinking about being a regional director, if you're thinking about being a committee chair member, right?
00:56:50
Speaker
you have all of these opportunities. And that's one of the things that I think someone could bring back and say, hey, there are all of these positions. You should learn more about them over the years. So then by the time the next AMEC comes, then you'll be ready to run. Right.
00:57:09
Speaker
Thank you for laying all of that down, Dr. Renee. Yeah. We appreciate it. We have to go back to- I feel like we should have started with that. Honestly, because a lot of people, I didn't know that. I learned something new and I've been with SNMA for at least this is what, my fourth, fifth year? Yeah, fourth year now. We got to do better.
00:57:28
Speaker
I know, I know. I feel like we sometimes estimate in a way exists in a silo, like unless you join the leadership team where you do something, where you're behind the scenes, you don't know what's, even I'm doing something behind the scenes and I still don't know what's going on.
Media's Role in Medicine
00:57:41
Speaker
So I'm just grateful you laid it out for us. So we have to talk about the money though, right? We have to talk about the finances. So one, as we've stated before, this year is the 60th year anniversary for AMEC.
00:57:57
Speaker
And the SNMA has actually launched a campaign to raise $600,000. You guys actually pledged, as you stated in our previous episode, $10,000 to the SNMA. So for pre-meds, med students who are actually listening to this, how do you feel like they can benefit from your pledge, from your donation? So any donation that is given to the SNMA
00:58:23
Speaker
will do a number of things. Some of the primary things that we absolutely want donations to go to is essentially programming, right? Being able to provide students with the programming that they need to help them academically or help them in leadership.
00:58:43
Speaker
So that's why we raise money, especially in those anniversary years where you can potentially get people to be a little bit more nostalgic and give a little bit more. But I think it's going to be important for people to understand that those donations go to things like, you know, community service projects, they go to scholarships, they go to potentially like internships, fellowships, like those things are extremely important, right? They might go to MCAP prep.
00:59:13
Speaker
to be able to offset maybe some of the very expensive pricing that we see with board preps and MCAT prep. So all of those things are extremely important in order for the S&MA to function and really give back to its students.
00:59:34
Speaker
So as two people who went through the SNMA, we know what we got from it, but we also know what we would have liked to have gotten from it that we didn't necessarily get because there weren't enough donations. AMEC is the biggest fundraiser for the SNMA, point blank period, end of story. It's not the membership drive. It's not that.
00:59:59
Speaker
That doesn't mean you don't become a member and pay your membership dues. Please do that. Okay. Don't be like, wait, I was not making no money. No, it puts a dent. But the biggest dent is through AMEC. It is the biggest fundraiser for the SNMA. And again, remember, because SNMA is a business, it also needs to function.
01:00:19
Speaker
It also needs to function. So SMA has a headquarters. It has staff members, like real people that we pay to work for the organization because guess what? It's not a bunch of students just single-handedly putting this AMEC together. That's not what's happening. There's a lot of people who are behind the scenes that you will never meet who are in an office nine to five or later
01:00:46
Speaker
Monday through Friday, who work to pull this AMEC off. So it helps to do that. It helps for AMEC to actually happen, right? So somebody's got to pay for the food. Somebody's got to pay for the hotel, whatever fees. Somebody's got to pay for the security. Somebody's got to pay for all of those things. And so those donations also help with those administrative and operational
01:01:12
Speaker
functions that SMA needs to have. So that's why we ask people to donate. That's why we donate. So those things are extremely important. But I think a lot of students don't really realize that. And I think when students don't realize that, potentially they get to attending hood. And because they haven't realized it as students,
01:01:34
Speaker
then it's not something that becomes at the forefront of their minds when they are attendings and think like, hey, I should give back to the SMA. But you should give back to the SMA because it's given to you in some way, shape, or form. And if you want the students behind you to have more, then you got to give more. Right. I like that. I'd like to continue that longevity of SMA because, yeah, realize on dollars, doesn't rely on dreams, but on money. Right. Right. Yeah, definitely.
01:02:03
Speaker
All right, so we're gonna switch gears just a little bit. I personally like to think of AMEC, right, as like the medical community homecoming, you know what I'm saying? Like, you're real excited to see your peoples, you meet new peoples, but you're still taking care of business, but it's late, right? That's how I think of it, at least. 100%. Dr. Renee, Dr. Nee, please let me know, and I only want one, please. We pardon, but we ain't pardon, pardon.
01:02:32
Speaker
Give me one of your favorite ever a Mac memories. I'm gonna let you go. Oh, actually was New Orleans. I think looking at the chairperson at that point, Spencer neighbors. I forget what you call the gala and all the stuff that occurs with the Cheers banquet.
01:02:55
Speaker
with, you know, in New Orleans with the, you know, the celebration, people come with the umbrellas and all that stuff. I feel bad for even not knowing the name, but, you know, for the chairman's banquet or chairperson's banquet, he was introduced in a very like, in a gala. And it was very New Orleans like, and I had never had that type of experience before. So that was my biggest memory from that event. But I just think in general, like, yo, like,
01:03:26
Speaker
You know, being in a hotel room in New Orleans and looking at just like, you know, what's the name of the river there or the, uh, well, I forget the name of it, but just looking at the Gulf coast or something. Yeah. And the bridge that's there and so forth. You know, obviously this is pre-Katrina and everything and stuff like that. Like New Orleans is a very beautiful place. And just, you know, depending on where you are,
01:03:47
Speaker
in SNMA in terms of getting your hotel room and stuff like that is dope. It's a great view and stuff. So I just was soaking all of that stuff in. I'm sure Renee, you probably got- No, I mean, that is one of my best memories and we got elected.
01:04:03
Speaker
into our positions that year. Right. So I was elected pre-medical board member at that particular chairs banquet is when I found out and he got elected. Yeah, I was regional director like the night before. Yeah, the night before. The night before. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah.
01:04:22
Speaker
You guys are making me excited for New Orleans. I was telling Dr. Nee, it's going to be my first time going, so I'm looking forward to just what that area has to hold. I'm going to be there for the beignets. I'm also going to be there for the professional part too, but I can't.
01:04:38
Speaker
I can't ignore the other parts of NOLA. I gotta represent for that too. And hopefully you guys are going to be excited to make new memories with us. This is our third episode with you guys. We've talked to you since January and now we get to sharing something different this year. You won't talk about that?
01:05:04
Speaker
Yes, I'm going to tell them about that. We're going to talk about it. Y'all want to caucus first? Y'all want to caucus first? If you want to tell them as you, go ahead. Do I have a choice? You might have to caucus first. My fault, my fault. Go ahead, dancers.
01:05:23
Speaker
That was the secret. Well, the secret, it's coming out, right? It's coming out. This is the surprise. We have a surprise for our listeners. If you listen to our podcast, this is the part that we have never done before. Jared can attest to one of our favorite things every time we go to AMEC is to do our live AMEC session. We do it every year. Absolutely. It's usually a solo
01:05:48
Speaker
So, carried out by the lounge, yeah. Yeah, by the lounge. So, this is going to be a little bit different this year, where we are looking forward to you both joining our live session at AMEC, entitled Media and Medicine. So, we're not going to go into too many details, because Jared, you know, I don't want to upset Jared, but we're not going to go into too many details. Thank you. Yes, I appreciate that.
01:06:12
Speaker
So you're going to have to check out our next episode to all of our listeners when we have a recording of our live AMEX session. But can you guys just, as a little prelude, because it is going to be about media, can you just tell us the importance of mass media when it comes to medicine or just the tool as a physician and how you use it?
01:06:32
Speaker
That's a good question. Yeah. I mean, you know, listen, this, we're, we're, this is 2024, right? Like the role of the doctor, the role that we all grew up with doctors at the top, you know, it's kind of changed.
01:06:47
Speaker
you know, a little bit. A lot of it has to do with the way how medicine is kind of corporatized. A lot of it has to do with student loan debt. A lot of it has to do with just in general, like, you know, what we see on social media and everybody having a voice. So if everybody has a voice, then the people who are really important, and if they're not trained to have a voice, then you know, they get drowned out.
01:07:10
Speaker
And I think that that's a problem, right? So a lot of times you'll see people talking about a lot of things that are healthcare related, but they don't have the training that someone in medical school or a resident or just in general, a healthcare professional may not have. But because they have such a large audience of people behind them, and even just having a blue check by their name, that's important enough to say that this person is enough to carry enough of an expert opinion on that.
01:07:38
Speaker
So I think it's really important that people who come and listen to what we're going to say really understand that if you don't talk, if you don't put your information out there on the internet, so to speak, that's the new way in which we communicate.
01:07:53
Speaker
You know, and a lot of times, you know, we, the doctors, a lot of times people think that if you just advertise and you have a billboard at the top, you know, people will come like people aren't paying attention. They're not looking up. They're looking down on their cell phones, you know, or they're listening to podcasts or they're looking at Instagram reels, you know, or they're looking at TikToks. You better be there.
01:08:13
Speaker
right? Like we talking about BBLs and now you know there's a famous you know doc from Meharry who's on it right? You know he's on it right now and he's doing his thing and at least he's educating folks and he's doing the thing where he's working with a cardiologist to make
01:08:28
Speaker
sure that if he's doing these type of surgeries, that he's selecting out the patients who really, you know, can tolerate the procedure. And he has a cardiologist there with him. So those are really important things. And he looks like a lot of those people down in Miami. That's important, right? So media is a big deal, folks, like the old ways of just thinking I'm a doctor and people are going to come.
01:08:51
Speaker
Or just in general, if you're a healthcare professional, whatever it is, and people are going to listen to you, or they're going to pay attention to you, that's not the case anymore. And it's really important that people learn to understand how media works, to really understand that you got to talk down to, not talk down, but you got to talk at where your audience is at. That's really important. So I'm really excited to be teaming up with y'all. We are excited to be teaming up with y'all so that we can give two perspectives, the perspective of
01:09:17
Speaker
being right at the pre-med to medical student transition, medical student transition, and then obviously 10 years out, and we can give you the real deal of what it looks like afterwards. I think that those are perspectives that are lacking a lot, that combination. I think we're going to knock it out the park. I'm excited. Absolutely going to knock it out the park.
01:09:41
Speaker
It's always a movie with you guys. We always have so much fun. I loved our episode last month, the love episode. That was a great one. So it's going to be the same. I just feel like our energy together, it's unstoppable. They're going to love us. I can see it now.
01:10:01
Speaker
We should we should be we should be raising ourselves to the highest level because what we do a lot of people don't do Okay, we're we're putting on for a lot of people. So I'm gassing us up today. I am I go bless your chops no more I
01:10:21
Speaker
I also think y'all need to give yourselves credit because, you know, just in general, what y'all are doing and how y'all are doing it, how y'all talk, you know, the lingo that you use, the topics, the interaction that really bodes well with just the average SNMA attendee, medical student attendee or someone who's trying to get into medical school. It just makes them feel like, oh, they just like me.
01:10:45
Speaker
And having the conversations in the way in which you have the conversations and decoding some of the things. That's why I asked her, what is your example of an elevator pitch? Helps folks to really understand, OK, it's more than just buzzwords. I really like to just go home and practice X, Y,
Closing Remarks and Future Engagements
01:11:03
Speaker
and Z. Or when people talk about student loans, it's like, OK, you may not be warned about student loans as a med student. You don't have time to worry about that.
01:11:11
Speaker
But then we can tell you 10 years down the line when you have to worry about it, what it does to your life, right? Like those are the things in the ebb and flow of these conversations that I think whether you are in pre-med or you're at our stage, you can learn from. 100%.
01:11:27
Speaker
You know, we can talk for hours with you guys, but unfortunately, unfortunately, because we don't want our listeners to get scared by the time stamp that they see, they're gonna be like, oh, an hour, an hour, 30 minutes. I don't know. So I want to scare the listeners.
01:11:45
Speaker
I don't want to scare them, but as we begin to close, is there just any last thoughts you guys want to leave our listeners, whether it's about AMAC or just about other tips or just what you're looking forward to, like anything else that you guys want to drop? So as you can see, if you're looking on video, we are wearing
01:12:06
Speaker
these shirts that say becoming... What is it? Me becoming a doctor is Black History. And since we're talking about AMEC that's going to be in New Orleans, these shirts actually were given to us by Dr. Russell Lede, who is from New Orleans, went to school in New Orleans as well, and is one of the founders of the 15 White Coats.
01:12:35
Speaker
And he's doing a lot to give back to the community. So I just wanted to shout him out because what we talked about today I think is just so relevant to what he is doing. And I think, again, just like I talked about with
01:12:56
Speaker
you get so much from SNMA, you've got to give back. And there are so many ways to give back. So I just want people who are listening or watching this episode to think about what are the ways in which they could give back very meaningfully. And that doesn't necessarily mean you have to start a program or you have to do something. Maybe that just means that you donate. Sometimes that's actually the best way that you can. So with that said,
01:13:22
Speaker
If you are a doctor and you are listening to this, if you are a resident and you are listening to this, consider donating to the SNMA. Consider donating to the SNMA. Go to SNMA.org. Go to the little thing on the right upper corner where it says donate or whatever it is and donate. It doesn't have to be a large amount, right? It doesn't have to be. It's tax time. It's tax time, right? It doesn't have to be a large amount.
01:13:49
Speaker
out. It is a tax, right? It's a tax deduction potentially for you. If you're doing BBLs, you need something to write off. I see you on IG driving that Rolls Royce. You saw that? You need to write something off. Donate tax in the May.
01:14:08
Speaker
Donate to SNMA. That's a call to action, if I ever heard of it. That's a call to action. Doing BBLs, donate to SNMA. OK? That's the call to action, OK? But yeah, I think that that's really important. I hope you guys make that a clip, because we really need to get the word out there for people to donate. And it's never too late to donate. If you don't get to donate for the 60th, it's fine. SNMA always taking donations. It's OK.
01:14:38
Speaker
We'll take your buddy at any point in June, July, August, September, October. You just keep giving. Right. So, yeah. Do that. Yeah. Love that. I love that. I love that for facts. Dr. Nee, anything? Outside the BBL part?
01:14:59
Speaker
Is that what he had to say? It's up to you. Whatever you think is necessary to add. I'm not going to pressure you. No, I'm good, man. If you're making a lot of money, right? If you're doing well, man, just donate. Come on, you need that tax deduction. SNMA needs that.
01:15:17
Speaker
Let's make it happen and go for it. So win-win. Let's not make it harder than it has to be, man. Right. That's win-win. Don't make it harder than it has to be. You know me already. I'm very straightforward. Like, don't make it harder than it really has to be, you know? And sometimes, you know, sometimes... Like, y'all got $1,000. You know? And I think sometimes, you know, there are times where, you know,
01:15:34
Speaker
You remember like several years ago, there was this big thing about 501c or whatever, you know what I'm talking about. You know, these organizations, you give money and like you end up doing, when they do like an audit of these companies, they find out like the majority of the money goes to paying for staff.
01:15:50
Speaker
right? Like, you're not having that problem here in SNMA, right? Like, you know, directly, like, a lot of this stuff is going to programs, it's going to scholarships, people who got to take a Greyhound, you know, to the right, like, some of that money may go to get them some tickets, right? So they got to take a Greyhound, maybe they can take a plane, and they don't, right? Yeah.
01:16:11
Speaker
But we joke, but it's the truth. SSA will not be paying for your transportation. I know, but I'm just saying, if they get a scholarship though, if they get a scholarship, that is something that they could do to help them out. And I think that it's important for people to really understand that there's a tangible, like you can tangibly feel the amount of money that you donate.
01:16:36
Speaker
or that you pledge is directly going to help somebody or help some type of program that can help a community that's in need or help a student that is going to end up helping that community. We can keep talking about this forever, but I just think that that's one thing for people to really consider. I like that. I like that. So we're not paying for Greyhound?
01:17:06
Speaker
Can we all Greyhound down together? I feel like that would be a fun ride. I would be taking a flight. We could pod on the Greyhound. I would take a pod. You can't even pay me to take a bus from one coast of the country to the other.
01:17:22
Speaker
And all y'all like, and all y'all like that movie. What's that movie? The 100, what's the one? The Million Man March. What was the movie by Spike Lee? The Million Man March. Get on the bus. Get on the bus. And everybody talk about it, but they don't want to do a Greyhound. I got y'all. I got y'all. No, I got y'all. Everybody talk about that movie.
01:17:39
Speaker
Dr. Renee, on behalf of the lounge, we want to thank you for being here with us again. We are excited to do an session with you guys at AMAC. And to our listeners, you got to let us know your thoughts about the discussion that we had today. It's going to be a post about this episode on Instagram. Drop a comment on Instagram. When you see, let us know what the discussion was heading for and drop any questions that you may have. Dr. Nia, Dr. Renee may just reply to you.
01:18:05
Speaker
And be sure to email us at podcast at SNMA.org if you want to ask the host a question directly and you have a chance to be featured on the show. With that, we're going to bid you farewell. And we will see you all. Wait, we're not going to bid anyone farewell because we have to do a special thanks to the national president, Veronica Mize and Dr. Levinani for bringing this collab about. We have to do a great shout out to them because without them it wouldn't be possible. And yes, I also want to echo Jared.
01:18:34
Speaker
Thank you, Dr. Neat. Thank you, Dr. Renee, for joining us just for these past three episodes. We've had a ball. We've had a great time. And I also just want to say to make sure that everybody follows us and all of our social media platforms to stay up to date on upcoming events. And we're going to see you at the 60th.
01:18:50
Speaker
annual medical education conference in New Orleans. So make sure to get your money ready, eat some vignettes. You know, if Mardi Gras passed, so we can make a Mardi Gras part too. Okay. Don't worry, don't worry. Thank you so much guys. Ain't no party like an AMEC party because an AMEC party don't stop. Don't stop. He's going to see you guys in New Orleans. Peace out. Bye everyone.