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Interview SZN: Future M1 and Residents
131 Plays2 years ago
We're still in interview season! Join the conversation as Dr. Soumare and Student Doctor Isabella share their own experiences with past interviews, give some interviewing tips, address Seasonal Affective Disorder, Movember, National Healthy Skin Awareness Month, and teen scientist Heman Bekele!
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
AMEC Wilbert C. Jordan Research Forum Overview
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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.
00:00:07
Speaker
The 2024 AMEC Wilbert C. Jordan Research Forum, abstract submissions are not open. Abstract requirements must include the following. Must be 2,500 characters or less without spaces, not including title or author block. One abstract per person, no partners or groups will be accepted. And the sections to include are title, author, or author, background, methods, results, and conclusions.
00:00:36
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Case reports are not eligible for submission, and work should not have been presented or published previously unless significant changes or findings have been made since the previous presentation. Abstracts will be reviewed for completeness without error, so make sure you have proofread that. Use Grammarly or something like that. Selected entries will be notified on a rolling basis.
00:00:59
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Application deadline is Thursday, November 30th, 2023, at 11.59 p.m. PST. At the end of this month, an AMAC 2023 presentation will be held on March 29th and 30th of 2024. You can email wcjforum at snm8.org with any questions. Now let's get to the show.
Introduction to SNMA Presents the Lounge Podcast
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What's up, everybody? Welcome to SNMA Presents the Lounge. Whether you're in the student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare.
Medical School Interview Experiences
00:01:59
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I'm student Dr. Isabella, and since we are in interview season, right, to all my med students, aspiring residents,
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Our icebreaker today is let us share a shocking or the most cringiest moment you've had during your medical school and or residency interview and how you navigated it. So I will start. So honestly, I had a very mundane interview period for med school.
00:02:28
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The most I could think of, at least when it came to my current med school Penn, was, you know, usually they have the faculty interview portion and they have the student interview portion. So the student who actually interviewed me was a very, very good friend that I did research with at Penn during the summer. So it was like such a
00:02:47
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I guess, like welcoming surprise to see like, oh, I know you like you are somebody that I have a very good rapport with. So the interview just ended up going a lot more smoothly than I thought it would. So that was just kind of, I guess, like a good shocking. It wasn't like, thankfully, a bad shocking. But what about you, Dr. Aldi? Let the people know.
00:03:03
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You know, like, this brings back memories, you know what I mean? Like, I think about my med school interviews and I had quite several, I wouldn't say like anything crazy shocking, but I did remember that in one of my residency, one of my med school interviews, one of the interviews was getting at me for my low MCAT score. It was like,
00:03:24
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Yo, get off my, you know what I'm saying? Like chill, relax. Like y'all interviewed me. So y'all see that already that had a low MCAT score. And I took the MCAT three times, but it's like the point of like harboring overall. Did you study? Like she was asking questions like, did you even study hard? Were you playing around? No.
00:03:46
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I'm here to give you and learn more about the program. And you're giving me a very negative viewpoint and perspective. Right. This medical school. So it was, you know, at that time, you know, it was disheartening to experience that. And I got really I was like, yo, I'm not gonna get in. It's over for that. It's clip.
00:04:03
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So I'm a drop, but they end up giving me, they end up giving me, you know, an acceptance. But I think that, like, good, bad, good cop, bad cop kind of thing, you know, because it's too. Right. So that's the grilling. They could have left the grilling out. But OK, they still took
Residency Application Tips
00:04:19
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you in. But regardless, I was going to say you a whole doctor so we don't care about what.
00:04:25
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And for the residency, and I remember I had an interview at a program in New Orleans virtually and the chair of the department, he was out with some of the residents and he came on the interview with
00:04:39
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with all the other residents and they were out, like, getting lit, you know, type thing. You know what I'm saying? And I was like, oh, that's dope. Like, it was like meeting, it was a meetup, but still, like, the fact that he went out with the actual other residents said a lot. And I would say the last one would be when I interviewed at a
00:04:57
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uh more high school medicine for psychiatry residency the first time around and uh they're like yo we've been waiting for you we're like yo what's up like we've been talking about you since your second year of med school you know what i mean now i felt affirmed that was like yo i needed that energy you know what i'm saying right um
00:05:15
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But hopefully, you know, they give me a second chance. Morehouse, you know, you could give me an interview, please, this time around. I'm working out here. You see, you feel me, you feel me? But that's more on School of Medicine. I still love you. I regardless. Love it. Love it. Love it. Oh, by the way, shout out to, you know, I miss Erica. So we love you and we miss you. I still remember that episode. I was off, off. And that made me so happy. I was on the train listening and
00:05:44
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That, that, that the roles are reversed. Now it's you and me all the, and Eric is going to be listening to us. You know what time it is. It is time to run the list for preclinical students. Running the patient list on awards allows a team to address pressing matters of the day. In this segment of the show, we'll be discussing some recent events in medicine, affecting our communities and the populations we serve.
00:06:11
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Now, first off, as we mentioned, it is that time of the year. People is getting ready for residency applications already submitted, hopefully. And if you have not, make sure you do that ASAP Rocky, because you know, you behind on the
Interview Preparation Strategies
00:06:25
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eight ball, you know, but.
00:06:26
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There's so many things that's going on, whether participating in interviews, either for medical school residency or fellowship programs. As mentioned, interviews are typically sent out for medical school in late summer, early fall. I remember for medical school, my first interview was from Morehouse School of Medicine.
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And I was sitting in my genetics class in my second master's program. And I screamed out loud. And the teacher was like, yo, what's good, UI? I mean, they didn't say what's good, but you know what I mean? Like, the energy was like, I was like, yo. Yeah, do the roof. No, what y'all saying? That was my first interview after the third time applying. God bless. You feel me? And the same thing with residency, actually. My first interview invite was more at School of Medicine, but for a psychiatrist.
00:07:12
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Sorry, I'm just saying Morehouse a lot. But the fact that matters is that this is a special time. And what I want to really hear from your perspective, I know you're not yet in residency, but you will be. You're going to be an EM doctor. You already know we're claiming that. And I got some plugs here, no worries. Do you have any memorable stories from your interview days?
00:07:34
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memorable stories yeah like kind of harping on that like i i don't have the most memorable stories that i just remember though feeling having a good feeling at least like i can speak for my pen interview um having a good feeling coming in and seeing like a lot of like the black people i had seen you know during my research because i did research for two years at pen
00:07:57
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And just seeing faces that I knew and just all of us kind of with our, you know, attire on and we're just like ready to go. And we're kind of just exciting to start this new journey. So it was kind of nice to just have that coming together moment because like I had known these people at least for two years.
00:08:13
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And so for us to have gotten to the point where we're actually interviewing for medical school was like a big deal. So I just remember really feeling like a lot of pride and just like excitement, you know, to start the next chapter and be a doctor, which I had been working towards during my time at Howard and even a little bit before then. And I think it's so important too to just like,
00:08:37
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hone in on what we want our listeners to know when it comes to interviewing, right? Like, what are the biggest tidbits that they should focus on when it comes to preparing for interview season? Because I think people do downplay the interview season a bit, or they think, oh, like, you know, it's just another stepping stone. But that typically does determine whether or not the school will take you or not. So
00:08:59
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one thing I always tell people are hey like just make sure that you have your story down packed like what is it as to why you want to be a doctor and like be able to say that forwards and backwards because when you have a really good story that's going to
00:09:15
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you know, attract whoever you're talking to. And then two, your entire resume is fair game. So don't sit there and put something you only did for like two days and say, yeah, whatever. You can't speak on it because they can ask you anything on your resume and you need to be able to talk eloquently about it. So those are like the biggest points. I feel like I try to reiterate to listeners when it comes to
Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
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interview season. I don't know if you have anything else to add, but I felt like that was important to include in.
00:09:41
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Please, please, please, please do not be late for a virtual interview. My guy, my guy, like you, like it's a virtual interview. Make sure you set up your camera, your, your, your, um, your laptop beforehand. Um, and I think there's something to say. You mentioned something critical about how you look, how they perceive of you. So getting a quality camera, like right now I got my Mac book camera. It's grainy as trash. So I actually have a, another camera to actually use.
00:10:08
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for my webcam when I'm actually interviewing investors and you already invested you know for the residency and you probably invested probably a thousand plus dollars you know this year I invested twenty four hundred dollars to apply to programs you know I'm saying it costs money guys it costs money
00:10:27
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Add a little bit, you know, add a little bit to invest in a webcam and advance and be on your podcast. You hear me? You get you like ring light. Don't forget the ring light. Yo, the ring light, make sure your lighting is good for some people. I would even recommend, you know, having like in your background, something that you're passionate about, like a poster.
00:10:51
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that you're passing off. You know what I'm saying? So for me, I got a poster of meditation, like someone meditating. You know what I'm saying? I do. It's like the little subtle things that really will impress upon them when you're interviewing certain things, like make yourself stand out. You feel me? Right. Not even in terms of like your tie, like, you know, you don't got to be, you know, fancy and fly, but there's in surrounding your demeanor. Also, another thing I recommend also smile. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, your zygomatic muscles going to be feeling crazy. Like after. That's it.
00:11:21
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I was waiting for residency, and I had like over 20 interviews or whatever. And I was smiling at each of those interviews. Like by the end of the day, I'm like, smile. That's it. Exactly. My totally manic muscle about to rip off. You know? And research the institutions that you're going to. Like speak to people directly offline. They maintain a good idea of the residency program or the medical school. Because oftentimes, when you interview, you get a certain facade. You know what I mean? Like people will present to you
00:11:51
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the picture that they want to present, but not necessarily the reality. So in order to get to that reality, you got to spend that extra time. And also it helps because then you have people that could advocate for you if you so choose to really be interested in the program. And that's what I've been doing actually this year, like interviewing and stuff like that. So with that being said, you know, if you feel good, you look good, you will do good. But for many,
00:12:18
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For many people, unfortunately, they're not feeling good. They're not looking good. They're not doing
Personal Stories of Coping with SAD
00:12:23
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good. And as a result, we have people experiencing something that is very common, especially in places where it's winter, it's cold, it's dark, seasonal affective disorder. It's upon us. Now there's less light. Like right now it's dark in New York City, it's 6.30. I'm saying. It's dark. It's so dark out from my window. I'm like, what is this? It's called as dark.
00:12:48
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Right? You feel me? Like I get up and it's dark. I leave, it's dark. Like, you know what I mean? That you enjoy, you don't experience that vitamin D. Actually, 40 to 50 percent of Americans in America have low vitamin D and then low vitamin D insufficiency. But vitamin D is important for your mood. Your immune system is important for regulating so many different things. And how you could most naturally get vitamin D is through sunlight. But you can also, you know,
00:13:14
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synthetic photo light that you could use. But most of these symptoms are experienced, people experience them during the fall, early winter. And some of the symptoms include feeling listless, sad, losing interest in activities, having difficulty concentrating, sleeping too much or sleeping too little, weight gain, feeling worthless. And I think the main thing is to be able to recognize yourself, understand who you are,
00:13:39
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and also understanding that this is a commonality that has plagued so many different individuals. So if you're getting up and wondering, I don't feel like going to work today, it might be seasonal affective disorder. And it's not to say that there's anything wrong with you, but it's to say and be conscientious of what's going on and what are some of the coping mechanisms that you can employ or sad. But what are some of the things when you think about seasonal affective disorder, what are some of the things that
00:14:09
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like share with the audience. Honestly like I think that I don't know I so when it comes to seasonal affective disorder I actually think that there it's kind of been a journey for me honestly speaking part of it
00:14:27
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is like I was heavily affected by it when I was in undergrad. Like once it started getting dark, once it started getting cold, like I just wanted, I didn't want to be in the area, like I just wanted to be gone. And so like I remember like even to the point when I had the opportunity to graduate a semester early from I guess like, yeah, like graduate a semester early from Howard, a huge part was that I just wanted to avoid
00:14:55
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The winter season like I just didn't want to be there for the you know, the cold season I was like, yeah, I can't take another Cold season in undergrad and I just like that was part of the reason why I graduated semester early And it's crazy to think about it now because it's like well, that's how badly it affected me, you know So I I do I do a little bit of the vitamin D and everything What's it called the pills but I don't
00:15:24
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i don't know how like effective that has been for me honestly speaking like i do i don't know maybe i'm taking the wrong ones i take the trader joe's one so we'll just see if i need to switch over to vitamin shopper i don't know but i will say that like it's a real thing it's it's a real it's a real
00:15:42
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diagnosis, it's a real syndrome, whatever you want to call it. I think that especially Black people are probably really severely affected by it. I think we tend to have lower vitamin D levels than the majority of the population, so we're definitely affected by it.
00:15:57
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I would say that for me it's been a very real experience like seasonal affective disorder and I want to let our listeners know that there are like you're not alone in that situation. I was never formally diagnosed with it but
00:16:16
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I'm, you know, like I'm sure if I was to go to the doctor, it probably would be in alignment with that stuff. But I don't know if you necessarily need to get a formal diagnosis to probably, you know, keep it at bay. Probably try the vitamin D pills. Try the light. There's other ways to just generally keeping healthy, staying active, going outside, you know, eating well. Yeah, like just general things to that you would want to do for
00:16:45
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self care. So I do think that like, you may not necessarily have to get a formal diagnosis to try to curb it. And so I just encourage our listeners like, hey, like, you know, do what's necessary to, to, yeah, to just make sure that you're the best version of you during this cold, chilly winter season. And also another thing is with seasonal affective disorder, although it predominantly affects people in places where it's very cold, it also can affect people in places where it's very hot, where people can't get outside where they don't have access to
00:17:15
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EC where essentially you constantly feel uncomfortable to the point where it's like, oh, it's bacon. You know what I'm saying? Like isolate myself indoors to protect myself against harmful rays, the heat and heat stroke, exhaustion and things of that nature. So.
00:17:30
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is quite possible that those things happen. But in matter of fact, it's important for us to recognize those symptoms, as we mentioned, trouble sleeping, agitation, anxiety, decreased concentration. And these are things that you can certainly look up as well. And
00:17:48
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obviously reach out to a provider, a professional to seek help if it severely deters you from doing your basic necessities of life such as living, going to work, and things that nature. Paint that bill, all that.
00:18:04
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Yeah, you know, and, you know, seasonal affected disorder just ties into really the core of the podcast, which, you know, was a medical podcast and promoting health, promoting wellness.
Movember and Men's Health Awareness
00:18:16
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So of course, we'd be amiss if we didn't mention some of our awareness months, one being as
00:18:23
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fitting for the actual month of November is Movember or Movember. However, you know what, I'm going to leave it to the listeners. You interpret it how you want to do it. How you want to say that word. Okay, so I'm going to go Movember because apparently, it sounds like I guess, like November. So I'm going to say Movember.
00:18:46
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So this is an annual event founded 20 years ago in 2003. It involves the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, including but not limited to mental health and suicide awareness, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.
00:19:04
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So in regards to the, you know, just things surrounding Movember, one thing I want to highlight is the move for mental health, which pretty much is supposed to be a way to acknowledge the 60 men who globally die by suicide every hour. And Movember asked that participants
00:19:23
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honor and or acknowledge these losses by moving so you know i guess it's fitting you could also say move ember that's why i said i'm gonna leave it to you know up to the listeners how you guys want to say it but moving in general so walking jogging running whatever kind of physical activity you do for 60 miles over the course of the month um and so i think it's you know a little it's cute that they found that little connection with
00:19:44
Speaker
November moving mustaches like everything got mo in it like I don't it's all you know kind of connected um so I thought that was great to highlight but of course even more importantly the cancers that men can be affected by so prostate cancer being a significant one it is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men of the United States um
00:20:06
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For our listeners, I mean, we want to assume that everybody or people who are listening have a good medical foundation, but that may not be everybody. So we can talk a little bit about the prostate, which is a gland in the male reproductive system. It's just below the bladder, which is the organ that, of course, we know collects and empties urine and is in front of the rectum, which is lower part of the intestine. It's about the size of a walnut, so it's pretty tiny and it surrounds part of the urethra.
00:20:35
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which is a tube that empties urine from the bladder. So the prostate gland produces the fluid as well that makes it part of the semen. And so, of course, the prostate is kind of tied to men's, you know, I guess sexual identity, whatever you want to call it. I think the same way that women probably
00:20:52
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see our breasts or our vagina as things that make us feminine, men is prostate as well as the testicles. So prostate cancer, of course, is something that will probably be very detrimental for men who have gone through that. It's found mostly in older men. It says in the United States about one out of every eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. It's a pretty common cancer.
00:21:15
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But surprisingly, most men who are diagnosed with it don't actually die from it. They usually actually die from other reasons, but they may die with prostate cancer. And it does occur more often in African-American men than in white men. And African-American men with prostate cancer are more likely to die from the disease compared to white men with prostate cancer. So what are some ways that you can identify or have some symptoms with prostate cancer?
00:21:42
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difficulty starting urination, a weak urine flow or interrupted urine flow, pain or burning while peeing as well as painful ejaculation, just to name a few. There is no standard screening test for prostate cancer. Outside of just doing a digital rectal exam, there's not actually a formal screening process.
00:22:08
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There's also testicular cancer, which is another cancer that affects men. It isn't as common as prostate. It can happen at any age, but it most often happens between the ages of 15 and 45. The first sign is usually just like a bump or a lump that you find on the testicle, and then that will become cancerous and spread to
Men's Health Prevention Strategies
00:22:28
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other parts of the body. But it's actually pretty treatable, which is good, even when it has spread outside of the testicles.
00:22:36
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treatments they have right now for testicular cancer surgery as well as chemotherapy. It can be a bit hard to notice, but some symptoms that people can look for when it comes to it is a lump or swelling in either testicle, adult ache in the lower belly or groin, sudden swelling in the scrotum, back pain,
00:22:53
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Pain or discomfort in the testicle or the scrotum just you know for a few examples But some of the symptoms that they're actually highlighting can be confused for other medical diagnoses So that's why it is kind of important to be mindful of you know What you're feeling and how what's going on with your body essentially, but listen all the you're a man So I'm sure you can speak more about
00:23:15
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on this than I can, but I just wanted to give a rundown to our listeners who may not be as privy to the medical information. No, for sure. I think with conversations like this,
00:23:31
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Men empower yourself to learn about your body and learn ways in which you could protect and prevent diseases, cancer, and illness. And I think we don't oftentimes have enough conversations about that with ourselves and with our community.
00:23:47
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kind of taboo especially for black men was like going to the doctor he's gonna put he's gonna check me out down there like yo that's mad you know suspect all these kind of like wrongful thoughts because that thought engenders why there's high rates of death where people with prostate cancer that are black than white right although we don't make up most of the um
00:24:09
Speaker
Most of the population has prostate cancer, but we die at higher rates. Similar thing is found with black woman and breast cancer as well. So the main thing is becoming engaged with the preventative aspect and being involved with your health and talking to your health care provider and particularly your physician.
00:24:29
Speaker
about ways that you can create a healthy life for yourself. And these decisions not only impact you, but also impacts your loved ones. So being mindful and being conscious of that. And also, you know, even in regards to the testicular cancer, you got to show it to you, have a, you know, check you out too. You know what I'm saying? Every now and then. Okay. If you feel uncomfortable. Oh, you're taking it there. All right.
00:24:56
Speaker
I'm just saying, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's great. If that's, listen, yeah, you know, it's funny that you mentioned that and I don't, of course, mean to cut you off. It's funny that you mentioned that because I feel like a lot of men end up in the ED not because they're concerned, but because either their wife or their girlfriend are concerned. They're like, oh yeah, my wife, she said that there's this thing that like is concerning and she's just forced me here. Like it's just so funny to me because it's like women do honestly play a huge role
00:25:22
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in men like being conscious of their health. Like a lot of the times they just probably ignore it. Yeah, 100%. I mean, I had a patient once that
00:25:29
Speaker
um, had erectile dysfunction. And the reason why was because he had diabetes and diabetes can cause erectile dysfunction. So his wife was just complaining about, obviously for various reasons, but you know, the main reason. So, um, black men, do you think men in general, black men, please take care of yourself. You know, we currently have the lowest life expectancy in America at a, we're currently at 70 years old. Um, the average white man lives to about 74.
00:26:03
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So there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I think addressing these disparities and having these months where we could have this course about this can change the outcomes that we anticipate will happen.
Cold Weather Skin Care Tips
00:26:16
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I love it. Love it. And we got to keep going with the with the awareness months. I mean, November is chock full of them. You know, it's crazy because in the winter, I feel like what suffers the most is my skin. It just dries it out is I'm just looking chafed.
00:26:34
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So it's fitting that this is National Healthy Skin Awareness Month, OK? And I would like to bring that to the forefront because I think that it's important to emphasize the need for good skin care, especially during the colder months. And the American Academy of Dermatology actually launched the first National Healthy Skin Month in November in 1997. And since then, they actually have it as an annual event.
00:26:59
Speaker
in which they kind of discuss these matters. So here are some tips that our listeners can adopt for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails. So reducing wrinkles. Okay, listen, you know, on this podcast, we are of a darker hue. So we believe in, you know, black don't crack, but, but listen, we, you know what, we still got to prevent, I want to look like Cecily Tyson, okay? At 92. So I'm going to do whatever I can.
00:27:29
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So, reducing wrinkles. So basically when it comes to wrinkles, a big part of it is sun damage and age, but apparently sleeping on your back rather than your side can help lessen the likelihood of attributing something called sleep lines.
00:27:48
Speaker
And that actually works already for me because obviously put on my back to keep my lashes protected Okay, because I get my so I don't my lashes to be falling off So I already see put on my back, but it also works for wrinkles as well. So I was delighted to see that removing makeup
00:28:03
Speaker
while hydrating your eyelids. So basically if you want to take makeup off your eyelids you can use petroleum jelly which not only takes it off but it also helps to hydrate your eyelids. And I didn't even think about that because like eyelids are probably I would say like a part of the face that could easily get dehydrated or look dry. So I think that's like a way to kill two birds with one stone. Minimizing irritated skin when you start using a retinoid. So I actually have never used or have you ever used a retinoid? I've never
00:28:33
Speaker
use that I think use a retinoid no yeah I've heard good things about them but I've never used it it's basically vitamin A which I know is like that promotes like cellular differentiation so I can imagine why it's good for the skin but yeah I
00:28:49
Speaker
Mm-hmm so I never use it but basically they just set to make sure that you don't when you first start using retinoid that your skin is gonna be a bit dry and irritated so basically trying not to use it too much but rather just two to two or three times a week is enough and
00:29:06
Speaker
And then also lessening irritation that's caused by a retinoid. So before you actually apply it to your face, you can dab a small amount of petroleum jelly or hydrating moisturizer under your eyes to the outer edges of your nose or to the corners of your mouth. Relieving dry hands and brittle nails. So I feel like that's a huge thing for me because like, especially with like constantly washing your hands, you're going to get dry hands, you know? So I feel like
00:29:31
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moisturizer, moisturizer, moisturizer, you know, make sure you keep that thing on you. Okay. Keep the hands moist. So I feel like, um, an ointment is a very good, um, way to moisturize your hands as, as they recommended. Um, and it also helps with the cuticles as well. And yeah, so it also is something that serves two purposes, preventing nail fungus. So I, I've seen it, but I've never had it. I feel like, have you had nail fungus before Alden? I feel like.
00:30:01
Speaker
Or didn't you say you were after? Did you play sports? Yeah, I played basketball in high school. I did have bouts with nail fungus for sure, because, you know, especially when we talk about like when you're taking showers and things of that nature, not these, you know, if it's not sanitized.
00:30:19
Speaker
And you're sharing showers with other people that have fungus, like it's very possible that the fungus can then migrate into your nail bed and even your skin and cause like athlete's foot and same thing like wrestling and things of that nature with jocks, jocks itch as well. So I think taking care, like I said, taking care of yourself and doing what you can with no matter what environment you're in and just always being mindful of.
00:30:44
Speaker
situation scenarios that may increase your risk. Like if you know in a certain area, they're not cleaning or they're not doing the right thing, you know, wear sandals, you know what I'm saying? Like that you're providing yourself that service and decency to take care of your body, which is the temple.
00:30:59
Speaker
created from, you know, the one, if you believe in that. That's it. Right. Exactly. So yes. And last but not least, having healthier hair. So I also feel like my hair is something that is I have having my natural hair out during the winter time, I think is like just
00:31:18
Speaker
I'm setting myself up if I do that because my hair is going to be dry, Dandruff is going to be flying everywhere. So I do tend to wear, and I think a lot of black women know to wear protective styles during the colder months to protect their hair. But they do say that if you have your hair out, getting your hair cut on a regular basis will make it healthier because you're taking off the split ends of course.
00:31:40
Speaker
However, it's not going to make your hair, quote unquote, grow faster. Listen, that's not what my hairstylist told me. She told me, if you cut your split ends, it's going to make your hair grow faster. I don't know the science behind it. It technically doesn't make sense, but I can see why people believe that. So I don't know. I think it's the illusion. I think it's the illusion of the hair looking longer when it's actually like, yo, what article, like what research articles show that? Like, do you have any data? There's no data about it.
00:32:10
Speaker
0.05 or less. What's up? Oh my gosh. Yeah. So anyway, that is National Healthy Skin Awareness Month. And that is what the AAD recommends that we follow to keep our skin in the best possible health.
Innovative Melanoma Treatments
00:32:30
Speaker
And we have to, of course, highlight others in, I guess, either within the medical community or outside of the medical community who are still trying to search for answers or solutions that affect our well-being. And the youth are actually doing a pretty good job of it. There's actually a 14-year-old who has recently invented soap
00:32:55
Speaker
to treat skin cancer. He is a middle schooler, has been named America's top young scientist after developing a soap found to be useful in the treatment of melanoma, which is a skin cancer that's diagnosed in about 100,000 people in the US each year and kills approximately 8,000. He pitched this idea for a soap called the Skin Cancer Treating Soap made from compounds that could reactivate dendritic cells. I know you know that word, Aldwin. That brings me back to immunology.
00:33:24
Speaker
yes of course that's what it is oh you like immunology okay um and yeah reactivate dendritic cells that help to guard the human skin enabling them to fight the cancer cells his name is bekele um he is he actually grew up in ethiopia before moving to the united states at the age of four
00:33:45
Speaker
And yeah, he's doing, you know, he's doing God's work. He quotes melanoma treating soap or MTS is a compound based bar of soap and it's charged with different cancer fighting chemicals. The main one being this agent called imidazoquinolin. Okay, so it sounds like crazy. Yeah, it's like quinolone. I don't know if that's like, is that a steroid or?
00:34:15
Speaker
It's quite a mouthful but it's this drug that is commonly used for different antifungals and acne treatments and has recently been looked into in the field of skin cancer. I really realized that it was a viable option for topical applications like a soap. Using that drug as well as other components like a nano lipid based particle transporter that delivered the drug throughout the skin was actually a really effective solution for some cancer. So what do you think of this?
00:34:42
Speaker
Shout out to that guy, man. I mean, at 14 years old, like he's about to hit the jackpot. You already hit the ladder. You know what I'm saying? In terms of he's going to be financially endowed, but also he's going to be endowed in terms of creating a legacy that at such a young age, um, change the scope of melanoma. I still remember I was on my neurology rotation, um, years back, away rotation in LA. And I remember meeting a patient that, um,
00:35:08
Speaker
didn't even know, like he had melanoma and he had outbreaks of it several years. And now he had been admitted because he was starting to have.
00:35:16
Speaker
you know, changes in his mental status and found out they had metastatic melanoma, you know what I'm saying? And you could see the lesions in his brain and he just, you know, broke down crying in front of his family. But bringing that up to say like, this just brings me to that scenario where now we have a soap that could potentially prevent. And unfortunately, I would I highly doubt that he probably is alive to this day.
00:35:40
Speaker
But for individuals in the future, in terms of creating access to something like soap that is, we use it every day. It's something that is highly accessible to people as opposed to, if you don't got the bread, you got melanoma. I mean, it's pretty tough and it spreads very easily. As it pertains to black people, luckily we don't suffer from it.
00:36:06
Speaker
Um, as much, uh, you know, well, obviously I don't want anybody suffering, but luckily for our community, uh, one out of 100,000 for one, one per 100,000 black people are diagnosed with melanoma.
Melanoma Awareness in the Black Community
00:36:19
Speaker
each year. So with that being said, I mean, the United States, with that being said, I just think it's phenomenal that this young man is doing this and changing the scope of the game. He's doing God's work. And honestly speaking, I think it's so important, too, because I how I recognize melanoma is through what I learned in med school called like ABCD. Oh, yeah. And I feel like that's like if you remember that your gold and you can point out melanoma a mile away
00:36:47
Speaker
Borders and what is it? A is what? A is asymmetry. B is border. So like irregular borders. C is color variation. So if it's really just like you have like all these regular moles, you have that one dark like mole that's just there. D is diameter. So I think like 0.5 is where you get concerned or a little bit greater than that. E is everything else. I don't know what E is, but I'm not sure.
00:37:14
Speaker
yeah yeah look at school step one on deck i just i'm still kind of in the trenches of step like i'm studying for step two right now but yeah step one thankfully is it's a memory it's my way
00:37:30
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, that is, I think that, you know, for the Black community, sometimes we don't really take skin cancer as seriously because we just say, oh, we're melanated. We don't really see a lot of our, you know, family members or friends dying from it or having it. But it's, listen, like, nothing is impossible. I know that I think Bob Marley
00:37:53
Speaker
had died from some form of skin cancer. I don't know if it was melanoma or some other kind. Yeah, so it's like, I mean, he then again, he was in Jamaica, he was pretty light skinned. He was, you know, always in the sun. So I'm sure maybe he had some more risk factors. But still, like, I don't think we should take it lightly, essentially.
Conclusion and Audience Engagement
00:38:12
Speaker
So
00:38:14
Speaker
But that, that is really like the run the list for today. And, you know, I think we did a good job. And I think, I think so too. I miss Erica. Yeah. I know. But do you think, do you think Shouty?
00:38:30
Speaker
Listen, we support you wherever you're at, Erica, we support you. And we know we were so grateful that we could talk about medical stuff today in the month of November. So to our listeners, that is our show. Thanks again for joining us for this episode of The Lounge.
00:38:49
Speaker
You know the vibes, let us know your thoughts about discussion we had today or access questions for a chance to be featured on the show at podcast at SNME.org. Sorry, we have no financial corner this time, but you know, the corner will be back on the next episode strong and thriving. You know, I love the knowledge, the energy, the excitement. So stay tuned for that and be sure to follow the SNME on all social media platforms to stay up to date on upcoming events.
00:39:18
Speaker
So the outside Deuces baby. Love ya