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The Reawakening
23 Plays3 years ago
A lot of things are resurfacing in the latter half of 2022! The return of Beyoncé, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and, unfortunately the Monkeypox outbreak. Join us as we dive deep into a conversation about these topics, in addition to police brutality, colorism in Hollywood, female masculinity, and bring awareness to Psoriasis.
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Transcript
Introduction and Disclaimers
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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
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What's
Opportunities for Medical Students
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up, SNMA fam? The Regional Alliance for Leadership Development application is now open. The Regional Alliance for Leadership Development is a region-wide leadership initiative designed to provide motivated students in the 10 regions to learn more about SNMA, develop leadership skills, connect with past and current regional officers, and engage in personal and professional growth.
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Each participant, named a regional intern, will demonstrate a year-long commitment to the program through a longitudinal regional project designed to support the goals and initiatives of each respective region. Application deadline is August 13th.
Connecting with SNMA
00:00:54
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For any questions, contact regionalald at snma.org.
Personal Reflections from Dr. Samari and Students
00:01:28
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You know what time it is? It's the greatest show on Earth. It is...
00:01:29
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You know, whether you're in a student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home, you gotta get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare.
00:01:46
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You know who it is, it's your boy, Dr. Samari, Dr. Alden Samari, AKA White Co-Poppy, AKA Enriching Doc BX, AKA Bronx Neuro Underscore DO. You know, one thing I'm looking forward to in the month of August, I'm gonna keep it real with y'all, is not being on call.
00:02:02
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I got my next rotation, my infectious disease rotation. I've been working 70, 80 hours a week over the last several weeks. And now I'm going to be coming in at 9 a.m., starting in the middle of August and leaving hopefully by 4 or 5 p.m. My typical day has been ranging anywhere from getting in at 6 a.m., leaving at like 7, 8, sometimes I get out early. But I need that break. On my weekends, I'll be working, you know what I'm saying? I'll be putting that work.
00:02:28
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I'm looking forward to just having some chill relaxation, and I'm going to Atlanta this weekend for Invest Fest. Shout out to EYL, Earn Your Leisure podcast, trying to get my investing game and knowledge up. But what about the family? What about everybody else? What about Izzy? What about Erica? What's up? What's up? What's up? What y'all looking for?
00:02:47
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Hey guys, I'm student Dr. Isabella. So what I'm looking forward to in the month of August, honestly it's a couple things but you know let me just summarize it to one thing I'm just looking forward to being almost done with this clerkship year y'all I'm tired. I'm tired.
00:03:04
Speaker
It's been a long year and I'm currently on OB-GYN. I have about a week and a half left. I'm ready to take the exam. Shout out to all the OB-GYNs out there. You guys really do a lot. Listen, what you guys do is important.
00:03:19
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And it like, it really does affect people's lives. And I'm grateful to have been exposed to the field, but you know, I'm grateful to also be moving on to the next rotation and to be almost done as well.
Encouragement and Importance of Rest
00:03:30
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So I'm looking forward to just, you know, being one step closer to the year, kind of closing off and being done with my rotations. So yeah. That sounds good. Shout outs to you for pressing and for getting the rest that you need when you can.
00:03:48
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Appreciate it. So I am
Impact of Current Events on Minority Communities
00:03:51
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student Dr. Erica Dingle and what am I looking forward to? I would say
00:03:58
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Oh, yes. So I'm trying to do a social media fast with the intention of like kind of refocusing for the latter portion of the year. So I'm looking forward to getting refocused, rejuvenated. And I'm looking forward to something finding me that I didn't know was about to find me. You know, when you're like waiting for something and you don't know what you're waiting for exactly. Right. Yeah. So I'm hopeful.
00:04:27
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Something good will come find me. That's beautiful. That's about it.
Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' Album Discussion
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It will. Just claim it. You deserve it. I claim it for you, girl. And I claim it for our listeners, too. So let's begin.
00:04:43
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You guys know what time it is, right? The best part of the show, the meat of the show, it's time to run the list. So for our preclinical students, running the patient list on the wards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day. In this segment of the show, we'll be discussing some recent events in medicine and beyond affecting our communities and the populations we serve. You guys ready to get into all of our hot topics for today? Absolutely. Yeah, of course. Hey.
00:05:13
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Cool, cool, cool. So we know we have to start off with the Queen. The Queen, the one who stole our ears. Okay, as of this Friday, yes. Yep, this past Friday, Queen B, her new album Renaissance. Okay, people been, they've been struggling with how to spell Renaissance.
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I don't know. I mean, I'm going to spell it for everyone in case you guys want to spell it, but R-E-N-A-I-S-S-A-N-C-E. Don't get it mixed up. Don't mix work for me. Do not try and play her because she really came correct with this album. Literally, it had been six years since Lemonade Drop
00:05:56
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And I think like the way like Beyonce really just like just threw it all down on this album like she just like has a mix of every kind of sound on the album and it's like amazing how
00:06:08
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she kind of really honed in on what it means to have a sequence and a flow to music when you listen to it in the order that it was meant to be listened to. Because I feel like a lot of artists these days, they don't really focus on those little details with like, oh, I'm going to make sure that all the music flows when you listen to it in order. It sounds like it's supposed to go in that way. And she really did a great job with that, especially with Cuff from
00:06:32
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I think it was from cuff it to energy. It was that order. There was a really nice transition there. Then from plastic off the sofa to Virgo's group, that was a beautiful transition. There was just so many good transitions. But to those who haven't listened to it, basically it's 16 tracks.
00:06:49
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You have different kinds of sounds, 90s house, 70s funk, disco themes. And she just talks about different topics. And she also finds a way to spin some songs that she would think, oh, this title would mean this. But then you listen to it, it's like, nah, that's not what it's supposed to be. Church Girl was like, not about church. And I'll just say that. For me, if you know Beyoncé, though, you knew that wasn't about to be.
00:07:14
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Right, right. Exactly. Exactly. But you know, I like in general, the fact that she called it Renaissance, which means rebirth in French, this was clearly a rebirth of her sound, a rebirth of her entering a new era of like how she wants to express herself creatively. So it's beautiful. I mean, what are you guys thoughts on the album? Like, how did you guys feel kind of listening to it for the first time?
00:07:36
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Well, I haven't stopped listening to it. For so many reasons, this album hit for me. A lot of people are not familiar with
00:07:53
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the you know like there's so many sounds like there's house music you got the disco music there's funk and it's I know it's Renaissance means rebirth but what I found kind of touching was like imagine an artist like Beyonce who has
00:08:14
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How many years has she been out as a solo artist since 2002? Yeah. So since 2002 until 2022, she has played by the rules for what it's worth. And she is now coming into another level of womanhood. And, you know, she's cussing. You could just tell like she she really gave
00:08:40
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a hoot, but she really didn't give a hoot. And I think for so many artists, when you reach that level, it's like, imagine how many other songs like this she could have had in her that she did not give to the world because she was trying to fit in this box to make her career. But Baby is a mother. She is a wife. She feel like falling in love.
00:09:11
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When I tell you I am ready for this concert, this tour, I will be at least three of them. She gets all of my coins.
00:09:22
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I know there was a lot of controversy with one of those songs, Energy, with Calise, and as far as I know today, they took that interposed part. I hope I'm saying it correctly. They took it off the album. So if there's any streaming platforms, you will no longer hear
00:09:41
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that part of Kalisa's milkshake, I believe it was, in that song anymore, which is wild. I feel so many ways about that, but anyway. She was doing a lot. Yeah, Beyonce said, okay, you know what, yeah, that was the play, then let's just, we'll just scratch it, and the song is still hot. So your point is the transitions. I danced in my house for the entire hour and two minutes. It was beautiful. I did not stop.
00:10:09
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Um, so she did what we were all expecting her to do. I've seen a lot of rave reviews. I've seen a lot of piss poor reviews. The hive will not come after you. We do not care if you do not like it. Um, this is like a very cohesive layered piece of work. And she did that shout outs to her whole team. Cause it's a, it's a beautiful album in my opinion.
00:10:39
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Aldwin. I was looking at you like Aldwin, don't try it. You know, I'm impressed. You know, I did some research and the fact that she showed 395,000 units in the first week. I mean, that's like so impeccable to me. She did a presale.
00:11:03
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Oh, she did. Damn. But anyway, regardless, the fact of the matter is the Beehive is alive and strong, you know, several years after her last album. And then also the thing is, I love the album cover too. I ain't gonna lie, like, I don't know how Jay-Z feels about it, but she doing a lot. But she definitely has like,
00:11:24
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you know, utilize her platform and leverage like people's interests and peaked it in order to get these album sales in my opinion. And she's done a wonderful job of like putting herself in the culture, but then not putting herself in the culture, removing herself. So I can't speak much to the album. You know, I've been busy, you know, in the unit saving lives, you know, I don't know, Beyonce, how many lives she's saving, but you know what I mean?
00:11:46
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Let me tell you something. Are we going there? She saved my life. No, but she saved my life. Because I almost didn't make it this week until the album came out. I'm telling you, like, when music will do something to you, it really will. Right. No, it's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. Right. It really will. Right. You can't break her soul. Don't give me the singing. That was a different break my soul to. She added like a different flavor to it, like, which is crazy. But yeah, like, I definitely think that
00:12:16
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Her new album, I give it a 10 out of 10, despite what some of our co-hosts, our male co-hosts thinks on the podcast, I think it's a 10 out of 10. So we're going to give it to her. But given that we are on the topic of new things coming out, music coming out,
Anticipation for 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'
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especially music that's very much important and respected in the Black community, what about movies that we know of, such as Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, coming out? Did you guys see the trailer? Please note that you guys saw the trailer. Yeah. It was fire! I love it. I love it. Very, very much.
00:12:59
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Nah, yo, that trailer, like, honestly, how it made me feel was, again, re-empowering and reimagining, like, the melanin in me, right? Seeing all those women, like, you hear, you know, Bob's Marley cover the sample, you know, with terms on it, you know what I mean? And you see all the beautiful Black women representing and showing their strength and adoring what they represent for the culture. But also, in some of the scenes, you see them wearing white, and white is celebrating life, but also celebrating death.
00:13:28
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and this new venture that they have in facing the Atlanteans, whatever you call them, joints in the water. But I really like how they really emphasize black women fighting the struggle and taking control of their own personal destinies.
00:13:46
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And the Dora Milazzi, which are the warrior women that we are confronted with in the first movie and also in this second movie, who take a significant role. There are actually also concubines for Chadwick Boseman's character as well. People don't know. There are warriors, but also women that he
00:14:08
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How do we get there? I'm sorry. I'm just saying like the fact that they're carrying legacy filming. They carry his legacy man, even though he's not. I just wasn't prepared. I wasn't prepared for that part. I'm sorry. Like, I don't know.
00:14:28
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Nah, we have to give that background real quick. You know what I mean? I don't think Norah's putting me by the way. I'm just saying, that's what. We already got Jared's tagline in the beginning. We don't got to repeat it again. We asked some of our SNMA fam on Instagram what they thought about
00:14:57
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the trailer because so many people, you know, as soon as the trailer dropped, I forget how many views it got like in the first few days.
00:15:06
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some millions of millions. And people were, you know, oh, I cried and oh, it was this part that made me cry and oh, I'm going to be there dressed in white and I don't know how I'm going to respond, but I know, you know, I'm going to be there. So we asked some of our SNMA members on Instagram, like, what did they think? So we'll read a few. One of my favorites was from Dr. Underscore,
00:15:34
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Muzon Pied 17. She said, so powerful and heartfelt. There are so many layers to this movie, can't wait.
00:15:42
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Um, another one underscore Halep. She said, I don't know what the movie is about, but I'm gonna cry. I can't tell if that's a sis or bro, but I feel you. That's a sis. That's a sis. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate you. My eyes acting up and yeah, I feel, I feel exactly that. I don't know what it's about yet, but I know I'm gonna cry. Yep.
00:16:11
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And also Docks and Locks said, so many emotions drawn up at once, tissues will be needed at the movies. Annal.Smile said, crying the whole way through, no, this one is going to be powerful. So I think that definitely sums up kind of like everybody's thoughts. Like, who knows what's going to come of this movie, but we know that from the first movie, it just brought such a cultural like
00:16:31
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resurgence and like uplift for the black community and just even just like a appreciation of African culture and black culture. So I think that's going to be a really powerful sequel. And of course, you know, it's going to be powerful, but at the same time, it's going to be very nostalgic and sad considering that literally the hero of the movie Chadwick Boseman has since passed away in 2020 from colon cancer. And we talked about
00:16:54
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him and his his death and a previous episode and that really, you know, shook a lot of people across the world. So it's going to be definitely an adjustment to see how they do this movie without him and kind of like how they can't restructure the storyline and and everything about the movie. So, you know, but, you know, I think it's also going to be a great way to uplift his legacy because he was an amazing actor.
Monkeypox Concerns and Education
00:17:17
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He's my alum. He went to Howard.
00:17:19
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He's acting in so many different movies. I literally remember him coming to Howard when I was an undergrad because of a pre-screening of another movie he was in called Marshall, playing Thurgood Marshall. So kind of seeing him in person, all that stuff, it sticks with me. And since he's passed, it's just really sad to know that life is so transient. So I really hope that this... Yeah, I really hope that this sequel really honors his legacy.
00:17:48
Speaker
We're going to go see it together. Wakanda forever. Wakanda. I hope they bring Killmonger too. That'll be dope too, but that's a sign. Oh yeah. I hope we can go see it together as long as we don't have a next pandemic because the way Monkey Pots is out here, I don't know. Listen. Yeah. No, but think about it. Movie theaters? Come on, y'all.
00:18:14
Speaker
parts body parts on seats. Yeah. And just. But I'm gonna be looking fleek. Hey. You know. I'm gonna be looking chic. Hey. Why are we rapping?
00:18:29
Speaker
I'll do it. Is everything okay over there? You've been having interesting, interesting, you know, things to contribute. I like this energy. Are you tired? I'm probably tired, yeah. But I'm keeping my energy, you know what I'm saying? My brain a little tired. You know, I'm saving lives today, you feel me? Oh, it's the doctor energy. We love it. We love it. Both of y'all. So we got all Dr. Alwyn, who was, you know, doing his thing at the hospital. We got student Dr. Isabella, who was doing her thing at the hospital today.
00:18:59
Speaker
So let me let y'all relax for a second. I'll school our listeners on monkeypox just for a minute. Go ahead, go ahead. I'll let y'all chillax. I'm looping you in, so you got to stay sharp. Don't leave me. So exactly what is monkeypox?
00:19:19
Speaker
So monkeypox is a viral zoonosis in that it's a virus transmitted to humans from animals with similar symptoms to those seen in the past, like smallpox patients. So
00:19:34
Speaker
Let's take it to sketchy, right? It's an envelope or an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the ortho pox virus genus of the pox verde family. So that's our, we got the financial corner. There goes your medical school corner. High yield, high yield. Sketchy high yield. I'll show him on step. Yeah. And you know what, in, in, I don't know about your cities,
00:20:01
Speaker
But the cases are definitely rising here in New York. There have been total confirmed monkeypox, orthopox, virus cases, I believe 5,189. So you have New York, 1,345, California, 799, and then Florida, 373.
00:20:22
Speaker
Definitely seeing an increase in incidence of monkey pox. How is it transmitted now? We've been hearing a lot of different things on transmission. So let's try to kind of give you guys some education.
00:20:35
Speaker
So everybody knows monkeypox can be spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact. So this includes, but is not limited to, direct contact with monkeypox rash, scabs, or bodily fluids from a person with monkeypox. Also touching objects, fabrics, so we know these as inanimate objects, right? Clothing, bedding, towels, surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox.
00:21:05
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contact with respiratory secretions and the incubation period, which is known as the interval from which infection starts to the onset of symptoms of the monkey pox virus is usually from six to 13 days, but it can range from five to 21 days. So it can be longer.
00:21:24
Speaker
And then symptoms you would see, fever, headache, muscle aches, back aches. A lot of people say they've just been achy and just feeling like crap. Swallow lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion may see respiratory symptoms. But most pivotal is the rash that you'll see, the pox, which are located on or near the genitals or anus, but could also be on other areas such as the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth. Check yourself.
00:21:52
Speaker
Check yourself before you wreck yourself because this monkey pox is bad for your health.
00:22:12
Speaker
So in order to prevent this rash that first of all, we'll go through several stages, which can include scabs before healing. And then they can look like pimples or blisters that may be painful or itchy. Y'all wash your hands with soap and water, not just water.
00:22:32
Speaker
So, water, a vigorous club. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid close contact, skin-to-skin with people who have a rash that looks like monkey pox. Or just that looks like a rash. We can't be safe because it's presenting so differently now in so many people. Got a stiff arm. Yeah, there's a vaccine. There are a few vaccines.
00:22:59
Speaker
I don't want to mispronounce them. So there are a few vaccines. Um, but I will mention the name in the next and then in June. Um, I guess I can attempt this one. Jai Neos and then ACAM 2000. And then we have treatment as well. I feel like I'm doing this all by myself. Do y'all, do I want to tag y'all in or y'all want me to finish?
00:23:22
Speaker
Do your thing. Are you done? You finished or are you done? I'm neither. So treatment.
00:23:30
Speaker
is an antiviral drug called Tescoviramat, also known as T-pox 2Xs, which may be recommended for people who are more than likely to get severely ill, like your patients with weakened immune systems. And there's been so much misinformation about communities that are affected. And this is where I would really like to have a discussion.
00:23:55
Speaker
No, good. People think that, go ahead. No, I was going to say people think because the name says monkey pox that is transmitted by monkeys. Sir, ma'am, it's not transmitted by monkeys. We clearly went through this, right? And I think also there's something to say about miseducation and misinformation in our communities. We look at a word and then we also see that there are stigmas attached with it. The word monkey pox, right?
00:24:18
Speaker
Oftentimes, people associate monkeys, unfortunately, with Black people, and people are associating with the LGBTQ community as well, which it has happened in the LGBTQ community, I.A., plus, but also has happened in communities outside of that community. And we have to recognize and realize that it does not discriminate. It is a virus. It affects
00:24:39
Speaker
human beings, not people of specific demographics or people that live in certain areas, right? And we know that New York City actually makes up one out of four cases. So anybody that's planning to go to New York City, make sure you detour, you know what I'm saying? Go somewhere else in the next couple of months, couple of weeks, you feel me? No, that's crazy because I was really supposed to be in New York like on Saturday and the plans just fell through. You know what? These days when my plans fall through, I don't question it. I just think God above.
00:25:13
Speaker
I was gonna probably on the train and stuff like I probably was gonna really be on the move like I don't know where I was gonna really kind of I feel like it's different maybe if you live in New York and you probably know the area better than I would like I don't know like you know I don't know how I would have handled that
00:25:30
Speaker
I feel like the worst case scenario, you know, most people aren't going to die from this. Like, this is not like a deadly, super deadly virus, you know what I mean? So it's more so just the aesthetics of it, right? Which you mentioned some of the symptoms, which include like the headaches, muscle aches, but also like the actual rash that's located in general also could be on your, you know, oral area as well. So that could be a little embarrassing, but the fact that it matters, like,
00:25:55
Speaker
This is, again, just like coronavirus, this is something that this is a stage of humanity, survival, evolution, right? Viruses evolve, we evolve, and we're just going through another stage. And it's annoying, guys, but, you know, take the precautions at the end of the day and be careful, just like says Erica said.
Addressing Societal Inequalities and Racial Injustice
00:26:12
Speaker
Please, please.
00:26:14
Speaker
It's just crazy to feel like we're facing yet another public health crisis, like on the heels of COVID, which is still putting people in hospitals. And I know you mentioned all in that people are, this is likely not going to be fatal. I did hear that children are more, I can't, I don't think more susceptible to, to death in
00:26:38
Speaker
That doesn't sound right to me. But if somebody's going to die, I would likely be a child from this virus. But we're living in what feels like a new normal, where people are still wearing masks, people are still. I'll be taking my mask off when a certain area is in the hospital. Get mad if you want. I'm tired of them. I mean, yeah, I get it. Everybody sneaks, you know, a little breath of fresh air here and there.
00:27:06
Speaker
But what does it mean to our society to face yet another public health crisis?
00:27:16
Speaker
I just really hope, honestly, that this is not like, I mean, let me not even say it because that's what we said about COVID. And then lo and behold, like two years later. But it's like, man, this goes on your skin, guys. Like I can't deal with just walking around looking crazy. I can't wear my sickness on my body. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like my skincare routine is too expensive for this, please. I felt that on a cellular level.
00:27:45
Speaker
Make sure I check the episode out where we talk about skincare by the way. Isabella puts it down in the whole routine. Shout out to you. I just really like, you know, it's just really sad because it's definitely this virus is definitely affecting certain communities more than others. But I think we do this thing where we think, oh, because it hasn't touched this community yet. Like we're in the clear and then we find ourselves like not protected, not prepared. Like there's a vaccine rollout. I don't even really know how
00:28:14
Speaker
like rampant it's become or whether they've really been like super public about it. Like I just like really moving slow with this. And that's what we did with COVID and then like turned into years and years of this stuff. So I'm really hoping that we're a little bit more like on top of how we're going to come on with this virus. Because I like I said, this this whole skin thing is just that's what's really tripping me up. Like I cannot. So we really need to figure it out because it's it doesn't seem like people or the government is really getting serious about trying to figure out how to tackle and prevent
00:28:44
Speaker
from spreading even more. Don't look to Fauci. He said... I'm with Tyra, bro. He's Tyra. This is great. He said, I am out. Good night. God bless. He has a million dollar check from some spot in Europe, and he was like, I'm dipping. Oh, my God. He just stay protected, y'all. Just stay vigilant at the end of the day. That's all we can do. And be absent and behave. Yes. We have to be vigilant because
00:29:13
Speaker
Next thing you know, you find yourself in situations that keep on recurring, such as police brutality, people invading your homes just for being black. It's crazy. Like when you're not on your P's and Q's, you find yourself in situations that you never thought you would have been on. And that leads me to Brandon Callaway, a 25-year-old black man who was literally beaten up in his home by the police after a stop sign violation in Tennessee. See, you know, the thing is like, I'm not gonna come for anybody from Tennessee.
00:29:42
Speaker
But listen, come on, like, come on. The South is not really riding that much when it comes to racism already. So why are you guys just adding to what we already know about the South and the whole legacy of just racism? And racism, of course, is everywhere in the country. But even specifically in the South, it's very much known for having
00:30:04
Speaker
a horrible overt racist kind of culture. So the fact that this is happening there is just a shame because now I don't even have like, you guys don't really have much to write on. So okay, so now I'm not too bad about talking about the situation. So basically, he, Brennan was like driving, he didn't stop at a stop sign. He apparently he refused to pull over, he went inside of his home. So I didn't realize that like, just because you are a badge, like you
00:30:29
Speaker
people don't like ask for permission to come into your home now like you can just just walk in and just bust into somebody's door because they didn't stop but like I just thought that there was still like common decency even when like something with the law like unless you killed somebody but literally because you didn't stop at a stop sign like I thought there was still like let me knock on the door let me like ask permission but you just make like if you go and beat my you know I'm saying
00:30:52
Speaker
Yeah, like we just banged down this man's home. So I'm just wondering, like, once again, if this man was not black, what would that have looked like? Do you think that would have been okay to just bang somebody's home? So it wouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened. You know, literally. So they pursued him. They even taste him. They hit him multiple times. Like he ended up like being hospitalized with all these injuries. Like his face was bloody, son. Like he looked like you know what I'm saying? The rest of the cane with the red on.
00:31:23
Speaker
Right. It was horrible. So, you know, he's of course he's reporting that he still has like flashbacks and nightmares from this incident because I mean, who wouldn't be traumatized by this type of situation? So basically, you know, we're this this has led now to a conversation of, OK, so what happens when we have all these white men who literally go out and murder children in schools like they don't even like a quarter of what this man received just because he didn't stop at a stop sign, you know, like
00:31:52
Speaker
Once again, like I said, we keep repeating the same nonsense, the same like stories of people literally just having their human rights violated for being black. And I'm like very much tired of us having the same conversation. So, you know, shout out to Brandon Callaway. And we're, you know, we're praying for you from the podcast. And we're hoping that, you know, you recover from this traumatic experiences. This is unacceptable. I mean, this is really ridiculous. What are you guys's thoughts on the situation?
00:32:18
Speaker
It's my taxpayer money that's paying for you to have that job. So as a public servant, you have to be an individual that is catering to us in a way that is positive, that is encouraging, even if a man is committing a serious crime.
00:32:34
Speaker
you have no right as another human being to be him down. If he is relinquishing himself and giving himself up freely, right, without violence, right? And this is also important for us to also educate ourselves about what law enforcement can and cannot do, right? For instance, if a police officer comes to you and asks for your name, for your license, if you have not committed a crime, you have no
00:32:58
Speaker
right to give them any information if you have not committed a crime. You can remain silent, right? And so in regards to this situation, unfortunately, as a black man, we always have to look, you know, where are we at? Like, we have to look at what's happening in our environment as it pertains to police. We're always traumatized. We always see these
00:33:17
Speaker
instances happening in our media and I've never again I always reiterate this on this podcast like I've never ever felt comfortable around the police like I had a patient today that's having withdrawal seizures that's currently being detained in the hospital and there's a police officer sitting right next to the bed poles today and it's a woman black woman which I celebrate her but I'm still not comfortable being in that room with her you know I'm saying so when I'm examining the patient
00:33:41
Speaker
I'm listening to his tachycardia, his murmurs, I'm getting tachycardia murmurs. Like not even joking, like watching her be there. Cause I'm like, I don't know. She might slip up, might feel a type of way. I might do something. I might say something wrong. And that's just because I've been traumatized by everything I've seen, everything I've witnessed, everything I've heard. And so unfortunately for Mr. Callaway, you know, you know, we,
00:34:03
Speaker
This is not the first, and I hate to say it, but this is not the last instance of this happening. You know what I mean? And like Erica, I know you said you're tired, but we got to continue to push the envelope and talk about this and have these discussions. You know, it's important. I always mention that because if we don't fight for this,
Standing Up for Personal Beliefs
00:34:22
Speaker
then who will? If we don't come in support, we spend so much time
00:34:26
Speaker
listen to Beyonce's album, but we got to put our black brother on our pedestal. We got to put him on our back. We got to be there for him. And we got to sit in the court of law and fight this and educate and teach these white police officers that if you put hands on us, qualified immunity is not going to save you, bro.
00:34:43
Speaker
you gonna be going to jail, you gonna be going to prison, and there's equal jurisdiction to enact negative consequences on you, you know what I mean? We do certain things, like you mentioned, when we talk about a man could pull up and shoot a whole school of kids and come out
00:35:01
Speaker
with no injuries. It happened in Atlanta. We saw the guy that pulled up to all these Asian nail salons and all of that. The dude that shot up the people in Buffalo, the black community in Buffalo, comes out unharmed. But then they allow a black man that even if he's committing a crime, get his
00:35:22
Speaker
beat, right, bloody in all that. And the police, like these white men could do whatever without no, they walk away. Like it's nothing. This is something. And if it means something to us, then it got to mean something to the people up top, right? So it's a lot to say. And I wish this could stop, but there's a never ending cycle. It's a vicious cycle that continues to traumatize black men in all communities in all ages. And that's why we got to continue to bond together and fight against these tragedies, right?
00:35:52
Speaker
So that's not so about that. Yeah. And I think you made a wonderful point too about, you know, making sure that we stand up and advocate for these injustices, making sure that we speak up. And that's something I think that, you know, America is trying to do more and more as we keep finding ourselves in these horrible situations of government
00:36:13
Speaker
not caring, Roe v. Wade not caring, literally women are going to die. They're going to die because abortion is now illegal in some places. There are some people who are taking initiatives standing up against what they believe to be right. One place being the University of Michigan med school where they had a speaker
00:36:37
Speaker
Dr. Kristin Collier, who is a known anti-abortion doctor. And the med students were like, nah, we don't want someone who's anti-abortion speaking at our white coat ceremony.
00:36:54
Speaker
And like, basically, while she was speaking, the med students literally just got up and walked away. They didn't give her, they didn't even give her the time of day. Like, and I remember seeing that video on Twitter and being like, you know, like, this is what it's going to come to. Like y'all go sit here and spend time and resources on people who aren't even going to have an audience because you didn't have, you didn't formulate the thought to make sure that you were
00:37:20
Speaker
like, checking through who you're gonna have speaking at, you know, a ceremony. Given the climate of America right now, do you think it makes sense to put an anti-abortion person on the podium? Like, what were you thinking? And we're in, this is medicine, literally, abortion is healthcare. What, like, I, you know what, shame on, you know, what is it, University of Michigan, whatever school, yeah, University of Michigan, like, shame on y'all, because that's ridiculous. So,
00:37:44
Speaker
Basically, 70 people walked out. They ended up, they even tried beforehand to sign a petition. Over 300 med students signed it to replace her. University of Michigan didn't listen. So they just embarrassed her and the university and walked out. And it's like I said, shout out to people who are
00:38:05
Speaker
like not afraid to advocate for what is right and to make a statement even when, you know, you're probably afraid of receiving back. I mean, they could have been afraid to receive backlash like, oh, I don't know whether or not the school's gonna like come back at me or something. And they're just now starting school. Like it's kind of nerve wracking to wanna do something like that. But I think that at the end of the day, when you understand what's at stake here, which is literally women's lives, you have to call a spade a spade. So honestly, shout out to those people who stood up and walked out. Cause I would have done the same thing.
00:38:35
Speaker
University of Michigan, yeah, you're done up, like for real. And shout out, like you said, to those, it is your white coat ceremony. So when you think about, I look back to my white coat ceremony in 2017, it's probably the thing that you work for, like look forward to the most in your life to be able to wear your white coat, your friends, family, everybody's there. And for those 70 people to be like,
00:39:02
Speaker
Yo, this is a prior. This means much more to me than my white coat. This is a resemblance of something bigger than myself and me as an individual. And to take that courage, we got to really like celebrate them. And also University of Michigan, you know, that is a very, you know, a very renowned school for them to even have the gall to bring this individual up during this climate. It says a lot about them.
00:39:25
Speaker
I don't know if they did their background, their research. Maybe they're trying to put out a political ideation about how they feel about abortion. I don't know. Anybody applying to UM, I don't know. Yeah, I got a second guess what's going on. But I do want to like implore you guys. People and Erica, you mentioned Isabella, you put this like right on the mark. Like I feel like early on, we are so afraid of living in our own morality and living in our own integrity and medicine because we're afraid of the backlash, the consequences.
00:39:53
Speaker
Like, oh, they're going to kick me out. Or this residency program's not going to like that. Nah. I'd rather stand up as a courageous man than be on my knees like a coward. So I'm going to take whatever happens as a man standing up or a woman standing up, whatever the case, whatever you align yourself with. Because when you stand on your integrity, you have no regrets. But then when you sit in there like the sheep and allowing the wolf to eat you up,
00:40:19
Speaker
and allow your truth to be silenced, then that is when you lose. That is when our society, that is when our culture does not progress.
Critique of Gender Roles and Societal Expectations
00:40:28
Speaker
And we should be people of progression. And those 70 medical students, they are about that energy. So I really want to clap it up for them at the end of the day. Erica, how do you feel about that?
00:40:38
Speaker
I was going to say, I wonder if the 70 students listened to our last episode where we talked about how to advocate for yourself shameless plug for the podcast. Check out the last episode, the first episode of season. What is this three? Um, no, but you know, where we talked about taking a stand and the fine line of taking a stand. Um, I don't know how many students attended the 300. Okay. So over 370, what percent is that?
00:41:06
Speaker
that actually saw fit to take a stand and say, you know what, this is what I believe in. Yeah, so really kudos to them. The future of medicine, you know, this is the future of medicine, essentially. It makes you wonder, you know, is it in safe hands? Is it in good hands? And, you know, instances or actions like this make me feel a little bit better about it.
00:41:35
Speaker
Because like you said, is abortion is healthcare for what it's worth. Like, however you feel about it, it is an aspect, excuse me, of healthcare. And it's essential. Did we read what the petition said? So the petition said, while we support the rights of freedom of speech and religion, an anti-choice speaker as a representative of the University of Michigan,
00:42:02
Speaker
undermines the university's position on abortion and supports the non-universal, theology-rooted platform to restrict abortion access and a central part of medical care.
00:42:14
Speaker
Yeah. Like we're definitely on par. It's an essential part. Um, and you know, I'm, I'm getting a little bit, um, flustered with abortion affects everybody, right? But it mainly affects women. And I just, I'm getting a little bit spent with people's opinions of what women should do.
00:42:42
Speaker
how women should act in society. Um, I'm tired of our bodies being policed. I'm tired of our actions being policed because for what it's worth, everybody has a background. You don't know what my background is. I don't know what y'all know what mine is, but you know what I'm saying? Everybody has a story and you know,
00:43:03
Speaker
As a person who grew up in the church and who has very different views in this stage of adulthood on a lot that pertains to Christianity, it grieves my heart to hear things like what we're about to discuss. And you know, Bishop TD Jakes, he's the goat in my opinion. But there was a clip that recently surfaced from a sermon and the sermon title was called
00:43:34
Speaker
real men pour in, which he gave in honor of Father's Day. And I think this is great. Bishop Jake celebrated the men and fathers that pour into their children and families financially and spiritually. I think that is amazing. I really do. I support black men all day. But to the women in his audience, he said, we are designed to pour into you. He says that it hurts a man's confidence when his woman has to pour
00:44:02
Speaker
into him instead of vice versa. He also criticized our contemporary society for not quote unquote, or for quote unquote, not applauding women for their femininity, but instead for being mean, tough, rough, aggressive, possessive, mentioning that quote, we are raising our women to be men.
00:44:29
Speaker
Sorry sis. Aldo, why are you chuckling over there? Because he's doing a lot. That's why I'm like, wow. OK. I have my eye on you because you know.
00:44:41
Speaker
No, in contrast to the natural order of things as he sees it in which men are supposed to lead. And you know what? So much of what I've read and what I've said. I do feel like men are supposed to lead. I think it's great that men are celebrated as fathers that pour into their children and their families financially and spiritually.
00:45:04
Speaker
But my goodness, can we just over, let's think about the last, I don't know, 40 to 50 years of homes with single mothers that have literally had to do it on their own. It's almost like a slap in the face. You expect me, I'm not a mother, but I'm gonna put myself in the space of a mother with a son who has no father.
00:45:34
Speaker
And for unfortunate reasons, has no men around to raise him to be this tough man that he's supposed to be. And to be, I feel like men are supposed to possess the land, right? I think that might even be biblical. So in my instance, as a single mother, what am I supposed to do?
00:45:58
Speaker
to teach my son to be a man when there's no male presence. And it's a slap in the face for so many women who did not ask for this life. Like so many women did not ask to be bred to be mean or tough or aggressive or possessive. And I think there is a necessary undoing that needs to take place.
00:46:26
Speaker
Like man, in a church of all places, like with that type of delivery, you know, I always say you win more flies with honey or more bees with honey than you do with vinegar. I think it's all about delivery. And I'm not the only one that had an issue with this. I think there's a lot of women and men that were like, wait, what? No, like seriously. And it's, you know, honestly speaking, when it comes, like it's what TD Jakes is like, damn, like I always have to like,
00:46:55
Speaker
be careful because like my mom is a huge fan of him and it's like, why do you have to do that? This like Reverend Jakes, why couldn't you just stick to the sermons that had us feeling good? Like why did you have to take it there? And it's crazy because he's like such a pivotal person for so many like black Christian families, like his preaching and all of that. But then there's this thing where like now you're doing too much. Like first and foremost, like what you said, Erica, you know, with the whole
00:47:24
Speaker
concept of the single mom and like having to assume this role, which a lot of times they don't ask for it. They just like, they just have to assume the role. What are you supposed to do? Like, you're a parent, like some time that and that just goes with like, if we have to talk about say masculine versus feminine energy, you have to like assume that in so many different instances, like say, for instance, in medicine, a lot of times women have to assume a more masculine energy because if not, we take in
00:47:51
Speaker
Like as oh, she doesn't know what she's doing or oh, she's not competent You're going head-to-head with white male doctors who are looking at you to see what can you do and what you know? So you having this little feminine energy is not serving you in that space. So you have to almost come off masculine and
00:48:08
Speaker
So I feel like this whole concept of women having to be men, I think that in the end of the day, you have to adapt based on the necessity of the role. So if you're a parent and you have to put your foot down, are we calling that masculine or feminine energy? I think it's also about how are we describing this whole concept of women, men type thing. So I think it's also just a miscommunication of him trying to
00:48:32
Speaker
articulate what it means when a woman has to assume a space that may not necessarily be quote-unquote feminine in terms of however you choose to define feminine. Right, right. You know for me like Erica you mentioned like you know I grew up and many people I know grew up in single parent homes particularly with their mothers including myself and I look at that and I'm saying like
00:48:54
Speaker
It's not, we are raising our women to be men. It's the environment that's causing women to become more independent and becoming more in a position where they have to empower themselves to say, hey, I got to take control of the situation. I got to make sure my baby's fed. I got to make sure the light builds.
00:49:10
Speaker
And then you mentioned a huge point, which I agree with, is that the men should possess the land. The men should take control in certain aspects of the community and be leaders. And women can be leaders, too, as well, from a family dynamic, and be leaders in the community, too. But our men are missing. Our men are incarcerated. Our men are being killed. When we look at a demographic, 50% of homicides in America are black men. And so we are amiss.
00:49:36
Speaker
not understanding that the environment creates these kind of circumstances. And it's a more complex issue than women are aggressive or women are trying to be too independent or women are not being as feminine, per se.
00:49:54
Speaker
And also, it is dependent on the persons that are involved, too, femininity and masculinity. I think that, personally, they are interchangeable. And I think TD Jakes has gone a bit beyond far in regards to talking about how a man's confidence, a man has to pour into a woman, when oftentimes,
00:50:12
Speaker
Even for myself, I have troubles pouring like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I mean, not man pouring to a woman, but he says that it hurts a man's confidence when his woman has to pour into him. But it's like a man has trouble pouring to his woman. Like, I've had situations where I had difficulty expressing my emotions, I had difficulty being transparent.
00:50:32
Speaker
and pouring into a woman. And that hurt my relationship because I was scared. Like, I was scared because they teach us as men to be masculine, which means masculine for me not. But in our society, oh, be bold. Don't share your emotions. Keep it in. Be gangster. Keep it cool. When Shorty's mad at you, when, you know what I'm saying? Like, when she do something wrong to you, you just take that on a chin. You just look the other way. You P.I.
00:50:58
Speaker
Nah, you got to learn to communicate at home. You got to learn to be real just as much as she wants to be real with you. That dynamic is so important. And I feel like from a man perspective, like we're not taught that early on. Like when you growing up and you fall off the scooter and you hurt your knee and you get an abrasion, you know what I'm saying? Erethena, right? Non-alceration.
00:51:22
Speaker
Like they tell you suck it up, be a man, but as a girl or as a woman, tell you, babe, I got you. Everything's going to be all right. And we continue to have that notion as we enter into relationships, like, I got to be a man, I hide it. I got to suck it up. I got to conceal how I feel rather than controlling the dynamic of what I can control, which is what I say.
00:51:42
Speaker
what I appear to be, what I can proceed to be to my own partner. And we have control in that aspect, but I feel like TD Jakes is removing man's culpability and responsibility to be involved and integrated into that, but also
Colorism and Racial Biases Discussion
00:51:58
Speaker
lacking the awareness of what the environment does. Remember, in the 80s, crack, crack babies in the 80s, all that stuff, you know, a lot of drugs brought a lot of black men into the prison system. And then even today, you know, our educational system is very poor. A lot of people that grew up in these underserved neighborhoods, like, they trying to, it's pain and poverty. We trying to make it out these streets.
00:52:20
Speaker
We trying to avoid jail. We trying to get this bread, right? We trying to make sure that we good. And when we good, when a man is good, then he could take care of his family. But if he's not good, like, for instance, the man that was at the hospital today, he told me that he trying to get out of the hospital, you know, the guy with the alcohol withdrawal because his wife, his girl got recently had a baby.
00:52:44
Speaker
And I'm like, but bro, you just, you go on Xanax, you're taking these bundles of, you know, fentanyl and all of this stuff. How you think you're going to take care of her when you can't take care of yourself, right? Your fundamentals and your foundations is a miss. And a lot of black men, they missing that. And it's not again, do part to them, but it's in due parts of society in the system. Not telling them that you need to be loved and you need to be cherished. And you are just as important as anybody else. And you can do incredible things.
00:53:10
Speaker
And with those incredible things, you can usher in the black woman that will be a queen and build your empire together. We don't have that. A word from Dr. Aldwin. We love it. We love it. He'll be here all night, guys. He also has the financial corner coming up. But, you know, no, definitely I think that this week, you know, it was it's a point that we need to think of moving forward, because once again,
00:53:39
Speaker
it shames women and kind of like what we've been forced to do. And on a lighter note, I think we're also seeing women being celebrated, especially black women being celebrated after being dismissed and ignored for so long, especially after doing like some of the most amazing things. One person being Cheryl Ralph, who is a
00:54:00
Speaker
Now nominated supporting actress in a comedy series, Abbott Elementary, I knew her as the stepmother of Moesha on Moesha. And she was also in It's a Living Sister Act II. And she just has a career that spans longer than 50 years. And she's- She was an original dream girl. Yes. Cheryl Lee Ralph was an original dream girl. She was, yeah. So this has been a long time coming. Go back, yeah. She's been busy. She's been active.
00:54:29
Speaker
right yeah she's been like she's amazing so it's just i'm i'm happy to see and on top of that she's a dark skin black woman sorry i'm throwing that at throwing that out there now we will we will find out later on why i'm making that point but she's a dark skin black woman who's also receiving this celebration which i think is super important because that's like
00:54:46
Speaker
Another subsection of black woman who tend to go the most like to be the most ignored when it comes to receiving their accolades So congrats to Cheryl Lee Ralph, you know We support you and we are grateful that you are finally being seen for the work that you've done for so many years on the other end With another actress who is also a dark same black woman. Make it up
00:55:10
Speaker
Not so much, unfortunately, even though she has been on y'all TV screens literally since like 2005. So I don't know what's going on. Like, I don't know, like what memory loss has happened in this country, but... Transient amnesia. Yes. It is a due part to, you know, your frontal lobe, but...
00:55:30
Speaker
Okay doc, all right, all right. But you know, our good sis Kiki Palmer just got disrespected. They had a whole Twitter thread out here talking about, oh, her role in Jordan Peele's third horror movie, Nope, was her quote unquote breakout role. But sis has been acting since she was 10. So what's missing? What happened? Where did we miss the line of breakout role? Like literally her breakout role was her first on screen
00:55:58
Speaker
gig so it's just it's very concerning that like all of a sudden because you guys see her like in a Jordan Peele like film you are now recognizing her even though she's literally been on like kids shows and like we grew up with her so I just I'm kind of like it was very disheartening for me to see somebody who's literally been in the industry for so long being treated like she's a newbie and I just think that's like really disrespectful um but on
00:56:26
Speaker
I have something to say because I have some thoughts on perhaps why. I'm not saying that I agree.
00:56:38
Speaker
I feel like there is a very skewed view of things that, it's almost like it's distorted amongst specific generations. So who started this viral conversation? Was it the millennials or the exennials? Because they do a little bit of craziness when it comes to comparison, because they just don't know any better. Whoever, like the youngest generation is who I'm talking about right now. Like the ones that actually have, so Gen Z.
00:57:08
Speaker
Thank you, Gen Z. And, you know, we would really need to do an analysis because I don't see this type of combo being sparked by a Gen Xer. Maybe.
00:57:22
Speaker
maybe a millennial, but definitely like the Gen Z who may not have the knowledge of it. Was it Akilah and the Bee? Yeah, Akilah and the Bee was her breakout role. I think also when it comes to certain actresses, for example, and I'm not a big Kiki Palmer fan. I'm not saying that I don't know any of her work, but I just, I don't, I could not list movies that she's been in.
00:57:49
Speaker
maybe TV shows, but I think certain actresses over time, especially if they start out as childhood actresses, when they have their quote unquote breakout
00:58:01
Speaker
you know, breakout role young, it's forgotten. So that could be a part of it. Am I saying that is right? Absolutely not. I think people are crazy and they should have done their research before making this hoopla about, and especially with regards to pitting her against Zendaya, which we'll discuss. But when it comes to a breakout role, to your point is, I don't think this, from what I've heard, the movie is not breakout role.
00:58:29
Speaker
Uh, worthy worthy. Yeah. Somebody to get a breakout role. No shade. I think peak is appeal. Ken and Pia Jordan. Yeah. That was a show though. Ken and Pia got you Jordan. I love his work, but I just don't think it would afford an opportunity at this stage in that type of a movie for a breakout role. Oh, for sure. Like it's not get out. So yeah. So I think that might be where it's coming from, but bigger than that, I just think.
00:58:59
Speaker
Hollywood in general makes people act weird and that's my thoughts. Yeah, I definitely agree. I think that's actually a great point that you brought up, like differences in generations who are sparking the conversation and like leading, of course, into the bigger conversation that was had about colorism between
00:59:18
Speaker
you know, people saying, oh, like kind of trying to compare Zendaya with Kiki Palmer. Because, you know, like once I do agree, like with the whole generational thing, I do think that like, let's say if we were to say Raven Simone, right? No one can not say that they don't know Raven Simone. Like she, like she's been acting since the Cosby Show, which is even older. And that's why I do think that also ties into
00:59:39
Speaker
this larger conversation of colorism because Raven's light skin, she was on Cheetah Girls, she was even on to what I believe to even be smaller scale shows possibly than Kiki because I don't know if I can recall if Raven was on like a large theater type, like I think Kiki's actually been on more like theater type movies.
01:00:00
Speaker
Yeah, like Joyful Noise, she did the TLC movie. Raven was even more conditioned to just Disney. And that was really where most of her stuff was. And she's still, I think, more known than, say, Kiki. So I think that would be a better example of the differences when someone's light-skinned versus dark-skinned. But I still do think that the generational thing definitely plays a huge role.
01:00:20
Speaker
But yeah, to go back to the point, people were trying to compare Zendaya to Kiki, and Kiki, she wasn't taking it, she tweeted, she said, quote, a great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone. I'm the youngest talk show host ever. The first black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon.
01:00:36
Speaker
youngest and first black Cinderella on Broadway. And we didn't, but she also said, baby, this is Kiki Palmer. She said that and she put all caps for this because she knows that she can't be, you can't come for her. So, you know, I love the boldness is, I love the fact that you are telling who you are. Do not let anybody shortchange you or try to like tell you what your accolades are because no, you've been putting in the work and like, we know, I know who you are. And despite what these smaller kids are saying,
01:01:04
Speaker
you're relevant and we've like, we didn't know you're relevant. Exactly. So, and once again, I also want to like clarify that it wasn't Zendaya who made this type of pitting, right? Like Zendaya said back in 2017, how, quote, I feel a responsibility to be a voice for the beautiful shades. My people come in. Unfortunately, I have a bit of privilege compared to my darker sisters and brothers. So she made it a point, you know, that like, she has privilege in this space. She's a biracial black woman in Hollywood. She has a lot of privilege and she's recognized that.
01:01:33
Speaker
So this is not her trying to make the, this is like, you know, the people behind Twitter, Twitter and Instagram making all these like weird polls and like comparisons that don't exist. So I think we'll see to make that a point too, that like this is a, this is an issue that's more a larger scale of like America when it comes to colorism and we need to really check ourselves. Like why do we feel the need?
01:01:56
Speaker
to do dark skin versus light skin. Like it doesn't have to be like that. Like why can't we just celebrate black people in media and just then leave it at that?
Recognizing Dermatological Conditions in People of Color
01:02:04
Speaker
So I think that's like a really important point to make. But you know, isn't it crazy? Like, you know, like Zendaya's net worth is like 20 mil and Kiki's is like nine mil and I can't speak for the investment and all that, but Kiki been the game for so long and she's been so active and involved with talk shows and had so many opportunities to showcase herself, you know, and
01:02:26
Speaker
It really is a, you know, representation of the disparities and I think it truly is discrimination, you know, toward Kiki. I mean, she's so talented. This girl can sing. She can act like she ends and they can do so, you know, as well. And it's arguable, like who's better at what and whatnot. But
01:02:46
Speaker
Kiki's been like under the limelight for so long and I sat here and thought like why? Like this is a beautiful black woman. She should be celebrated. She talks about positive things. You never hear bad things about her. Like she's always trying to like get her back. She's always active. She's always
01:03:02
Speaker
being a community and always representing black women in such a good space. And there has to be something to say about that. And for America, when we look at our culture, our culture oftentimes, like, even when I was like, you see, like, I remember Shorty looked at me. I tried to holla at Shorty when I was like 10 years old. She had Dominican chick. And she was like, yo, you're too dark. You know what I'm saying? That shit.
01:03:25
Speaker
That joint just hurt me, you know what I mean? And it's like, we still got this inherent ideation of what you said, Isabella, it's either you're dark, you're light skinned, how about we just, we all black, we come in different shapes, sizes, and colors, but we gotta celebrate the power in our melanin, right?
01:03:45
Speaker
And we have to uplift and uproot each other. And that is something that we are so ignorant to. And as I even progressed, as I got older, it still became an issue. Like, why does it matter? Like, how dark someone is. Look at them based off their character and the content of the way they move through their life. And pay them based off of that. So.
01:04:05
Speaker
I'm proud of you for representing black women and celebrating and appreciating that you're not necessarily like your color and skin gives you and affords you something but also that you part of the crew. Yeah, it's crazy that all these years later we're still having
01:04:25
Speaker
When I say all these years, I think of like what we learned like in history class about slavery and et cetera. All these years later, we're still having conversations about colorism. We're still trying to push the bar and become black doctors, right? And increase the amount of black doctors in these spaces.
01:04:51
Speaker
The reason I'm saying specifically black doctors in these spaces, this is, um, so arises awareness month. And as you all know, when it comes to issues of the skin, they present so differently when it comes to black skin versus, or I'll say skin of color versus white skin. And the field of dermatology is still so heavily populated.
01:05:19
Speaker
or I'll say still does not have a heavy population of physicians who are of color. And in this awareness month, we're going to just discuss, or I mean, not even really discuss, just kind of give you some insight into what psoriasis is, which it's an autoimmune mediated or autoimmune disease, immune mediated disease that causes inflammation in the body.
01:05:47
Speaker
And it affects more than 3% of the US adult population. So essentially that's more than 7.5 million US adults. It can be very debilitating, depending on how many plaques and
01:06:03
Speaker
scales that you have on the skin, if they're inflamed or not. But the visible signs of inflammation are raised plaques and plaques are essentially like raised patches of skin. They may look different for different skin types, and they have an appearance of like a scale, if you would. And the inflammation caused by psoriasis can impact your other organs and tissues in the body.
01:06:26
Speaker
The causes of psoriasis are unknown, but we do know that the immune system and genetics play a role in its development. And I mean, I've seen people with psoriasis, chronic plaque psoriasis, and they live in agony. I know now there are way more treatments that are kind of making their way through the pipeline, like your injectables, biologics, et cetera. But there are some other therapies, such as topical therapy, your salicylic acids, retinoids.
01:06:56
Speaker
lifestyle management, so reducing stress, changing your diet, other medications, your steroids. And then if you are like in the alternative medicine category, holistic, you would want to look into aloe or extract or cream. And we do like to keep education alive here on the podcast. So yeah, that's very cool. And as someone who's like a chronic eczema sufferer, like, you know, I've had eczema since I was like a baby. So I think it's always nice when we talk about like skin conditions,
01:07:25
Speaker
especially like inflammatory type of skin conditions, because like, I feel like it affects so many different like ethnic groups, races, and it's like not really talked that much about, I think, especially with black skin. I also think that like going to a dermatologist is not really encouraged or kind of like seen as like regular, especially in black families, you know, like I just had to start going to a dermatologist when I had a really, really bad eczema outbreak that I couldn't fix with just like my regular
01:07:52
Speaker
lotion that I would just pick up from the store. Like I had to get steroid creams. And that's when like finally it went away. But it's like, if I had, like if it was normal for me to know go to a dermatologist, I would have been going right. And so I think it's like super important to bring awareness to something like psoriasis awareness month because
01:08:09
Speaker
it reminds us, it's okay to go to a provider when it comes to your skin. You don't need to do some thing you saw on TikTok or some type of DIY, whatever. You go to the doctor, it's okay. So that's a really important point to bring awareness to this medical condition. Absolutely.
01:08:29
Speaker
And it's also important for me to accept skins come in all conditions, and it doesn't detract from who you are and the character of the person. I think in our communities, we just shun away, especially as we mentioned, with skin, we're just so afraid to show it off. I've known men and women that they don't go to beach because they have a skin condition. They don't want to show off that skin condition, psoriasis, eczema, whatever the case may be.
01:08:56
Speaker
And it's like, that is part of you. That's inherently your beauty and what represents you as an individual. And I think that taking ownership of that, there is something miraculous about that, to be able to share that with the world and say, there's something I'm dealing with. Another person, another kid, another child, another individual, another adult, whoever it may be, may see that and say, oh, I should be able to share that, too, without someone judging me. Right?
01:09:23
Speaker
I think bringing that awareness is so key. And I love that on this podcast, we continue to elevate and enlighten people on this and not be afraid to inherently know that this is me and nothing's going to change about it. And you got to respect me and accept me for who I am.
Financial Struggles of Medical Residents
01:09:39
Speaker
Yeah. And that that's the point. That is that is the essence of Run the List. Accept us for who we are.
01:09:50
Speaker
and stay true to who you are. But this was run the list, everyone. Hopefully you guys enjoyed what we were talking about. We are going to transition to the next part of the show. Dr. Aldi, take it away. He already know, you know, what corner we on?
01:10:09
Speaker
I feel like, yo, we got to like do like a slow rap. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like a quick like 16. We wrapped already. Let's work on the bars on the next episode.
01:10:23
Speaker
You know what time of this is the financial corner where your boy brings the most interesting topics regarding finances as it pertains to medical students, residents, and attendance. And this time, this segment, I'm going to be real with you. And I'm going to bring a personal issue that I've been dealing with with residency. Actually, I went viral a week or two ago.
01:10:45
Speaker
I saw. You did. You did. I actually, on track, I DM'd Alden. I was like, Alden, did you see that you're viral? They posted you on Russo Doctor. I was like, don't let them not put credits for you. I tagged your name. You're like, listen. They tried to play my co-host. I went through hands. I DM'd them like, bro, you got to tag me, son. Let me get them followers so that we could get followers on the S and the main feed. Do you know what I mean? They was playing around, bro. I like the way you move. I see.
01:11:13
Speaker
For real. Nah, but yeah, so thank you. Shout out to you, you know, Izzie, like, for that. But real talk, like, I went viral because essentially what people don't know is that you work your whole life to be a resident. You work your whole life to become a physician. But then you're not guaranteed nothing. You're not guaranteed anything in medical school with the tremendous debt that you have. And by playing around, then there's mom. No, honestly, like, bro, like, you play around.
01:11:44
Speaker
But real talk, I had to expose the fact of, I worked so many hours, and I mentioned this early on in the episode, I started residency with somebody that started with me, she started a month before me, and I love PAs, but I don't care how anybody feels about this.
01:12:04
Speaker
She started mom before me. She's making more than me than working less hours, working 40 hours a week. And I was put in one week. I put in like 80 hours, bro. You know what I'm saying? So there is a discrepancy in regards to, OK, we have amount of money we can make once we finish residency. But imagine the sacrifices, the toil, the mental health. Like, I'm not working out no more. Your boy getting fat. I'm not like outside.
01:12:32
Speaker
No, no, honestly, like from a financial perspective, people think that you finished medical school and that you're going to get this bread, you're going to get paid, but don't realize the investment in time that you make to get to that level where you need to be. So in my post, I literally put up a picture of my first pay stub. I made like $1,740. Green tax?
01:12:57
Speaker
That was taxed, right? But yeah, that was taxed. But the thing is though that worked 143 hours for that. You know what I mean? So basically you looking at or anywhere around like $13, $14 an hour.
01:13:14
Speaker
And I worked as an ER scribe, you know what I'm saying? And I made more than that. You feel me? Like on average. And for people that don't know, when you graduate residency and you go into the match, you sign a contract that states that you will work and you have a salary and it's based and it's set.
01:13:32
Speaker
And I was looking into this, right? I'm going to get my spiel on, but the history of residency is that it started in the 1800s where there was a surgeon that essentially worked all times a night, all times a day. The residents that were trying to work with this surgeon
01:13:48
Speaker
Everybody in America that wanted to be a surgeon wanted to work with this dude. So what they would do was they would apply, go to John Hopkins, and eventually it would funnel down to each year there was one person, it'd be hundreds of people, trying to vie for this man's attention. But they didn't realize in the midst of him working 90, 100 hours a week, whatever the case may be, that he was also using cocaine, and that was what was keeping him up.
01:14:14
Speaker
And that man set the standard for what residency training is. And you look at places like Australia, you look at places like Sweden, they have a cap on them on hours, residence work, 48 to 50 hours.
01:14:29
Speaker
But I'm saying that to say, when you look at residency and the amount of hours you make, you have to be real concise and aware of the money and where it goes. And from a personal perspective, I'll be honest with you, I budgeted, but like I'm Ubering, like in the mornings, I'll be mad tired. I got to be at the hospital at six thirty. You know what I'm saying? I got a car here, but I joined malfunctioning. And sometimes I'm like,
01:14:52
Speaker
Nah, for real, Hartford, Connecticut. Like, I got to take my Uber. Like, I purposely walk, like, from the hospital home now because I'm trying to save money. I mean, it's the little things that count. When you start residency, you got to be in a position where you're number one, where you're saving money, which means if you got to stay with your parents, if you got to, you know what I'm saying, grind it out and be in a position where you're not putting money for Uber, for food,
01:15:20
Speaker
That's cool. Like I know a resident right now that's in anesthesia and she lives an hour away from our residency program. But it's like she got a kid. So imagine like on that residency salary you making 1,800, 1,700 every two weeks. How do you take care of a kid, right?
01:15:37
Speaker
And I'm bringing these logistics to all my med students and pre-med students like, oh, yeah, I'm finally getting my first check. Like, bro, your first check ain't nothing. My rent's $1,175. So that means that my check that I get after two weeks, which is $1,800, like,
01:15:55
Speaker
I'll have like six, 500 to spare. And then the next, the next check, I got $1,800, which means what am I going to use? I got to pay my, my loans off. Like I gotta, you know, save into my 401k. Like I gotta, I gotta be able to get groceries. So you have like a finite amount of money that you could pull yourself in. So learning how to budget, learning how to maneuver and navigate that could be a very tenuous situation.
01:16:21
Speaker
And they don't teach us that in medical school. They teach you, oh, work hard. You're going to get into residency, and everything's going to be all right. But what about the kid that just starts getting his check? What about the kid that's like, yo, I'm getting his bread. Let me go to Magic City and turn up. You know what I mean? There's a game behind this. That's why I employ you on this segment to get multiple streams of income, because
01:16:48
Speaker
these corporations and this is my personal opinion and you know that's what made me discreet but these corporations they're not doing right by us they're not doing what is necessary like i'm going i'm going to work every day putting my life on the line in terms of like i got patients with covid in terms of my mental health two weeks ago an intern at lsu committed suicide you know i'm saying in surgery because they couldn't like deal with
01:17:12
Speaker
what the consequences were with being in residency program. So I want you to keep in mind, it's more to it than seeing that end goal. You got to prepare yourself. You got to learn how to budget, learn how to put yourself in that position where you're not in danger in what you got going on from a financial perspective. So in medical school, yes, study hard, but also
01:17:34
Speaker
develop the skills that you need to be very successful, right? Whether it's merchandise, like if you know you could do a side job hustling during Uber, do that, whether it's, you know, getting real estate, whether it's even like investing in your own education, because again,
01:17:49
Speaker
You gonna be broke. Like, there's mad people I talk to that hit me up in my DMs. Like, bro, you speaking facts. Like, I could barely afford childcare for my kid. Like, I could barely, you know what I'm saying? Like, make ends meet. When I'm sitting here, you're trying to be comfortable, but it's like, bro, like, I got my light book. I got my, you know, like, just whatever the case may be. And like, you don't, you need emergency fund, but you can't save enough. Enough for the emergency fund.
01:18:15
Speaker
Ain't no emergency, right? But you need that fund to push you through. So you got to be aware and enlightened enough to say, how do I proceed through the steps so that I have that security? And for me, medicine does provide some security, but you got to make it through. But before you make it through, you've got to have a plan, a just and execute that outside of medicine. So I have a quick question. Yeah. Like, you know, you made like you posted about
01:18:45
Speaker
your experience, it went viral. To me, it was almost like a call for action, right? What do you think is the next steps moving forward? Do you think like residents just start speaking out about this, start like, you know, kind of petitioning for higher sell? Like, what do you think is the next steps?
Advocacy for Unionization and Collective Support
01:19:02
Speaker
Stop going to work. Like, honestly, and I'm guilty that I'm still going to work. But if we- What? No, because- All good. The nurses do it. Like, you know how many nurses go, like,
01:19:14
Speaker
Look at the nurses in New York, like they got unions that fight for them, like respectfully. Like I was on my headache rotation and they leaving early and the doctors like, yo, don't bother them. Like they got a union. We're not touching them. You know what I'm saying? And we waiting to get, we got patients that need nerve blocks and they left at 330 and it's like, we got a patient coming at four, they dip.
01:19:33
Speaker
And the nurses, you know what I'm saying? The doctors like, nah, you got to do what you got to do. But anyway, we got to be able to dance again and not be afraid of the consequences. That's why I put that post up, because it's like another day, I'm going to ride by my integrity. Again, I'm going to stand up as a man with courage. I'm never going to fall on my knees like a coward.
01:19:56
Speaker
So will whoever feel how they feel, feel how you feel? Because I'm going to speak my peace, you know what I mean? In and outside of the hospital, because what's wrong is wrong and what's right is right. And I feel like if we're able to collaborate, connect together, just like some residency programs in Cali, they negotiated to get $1,000 per month for housing because they realize that it's so expensive to be in LA. They negotiated to get $25 a day for lunch. Like while I was doing my away rotation at UCI, I got half.
01:20:25
Speaker
$500 for a whole month at UCLA. Wow. I had to, I was bringing food home. Some of the residents was like, my first day was like, bro, you need food, you need food. I'm like, yo, y'all must got money. Come to realize you get $25 from the program.
01:20:40
Speaker
So they go forward to get me lunch and then get them lunch for the day. You know what I mean? But a lot of programs don't do that. You know what I mean? Like I get $8 every couple of weeks for food. And apparently we get it in our salary. Like, come on. That's bogus. You know what I mean?
01:20:56
Speaker
So, with that being said, it's like an economy where inflation is increasing, but our salaries are not relatively increasing to inflation, and we are in a career where we're sacrificing for others, these corporations, particularly Medicaid and Medicare that pay for our salaries, they're not making the appropriate sacrifices for us, right? We are in an endangering position where we're working long hours. Actually, in 1984, there was a lawsuit that was filed against a resident because, unfortunately, a baby died.
01:21:25
Speaker
during this person's intern year. And that's when they impose an 80-hour legal limit on residency. So I know it's not necessarily about finances, but it is about the fact that you have to be attuned and aware that you're not gonna make money in residency. So while you're in medical school, you have to create opportunities where you could build the skills that are necessary to supplement your income so that you're not stressed and you're not worried about like how to move and how to navigate, right? Whatever the case may be.
01:21:54
Speaker
That's important. That what you said about building skills really like struck home or hit home for me. Like, I think that is important. So you mentioned call to action is I think it would be great to have some kind of summit or something with the SNMA just because everybody, I mean, all the doctors that come through there come through as members, you know, and then transition to NMA, maybe something joint because it
01:22:18
Speaker
You know, change starts with one person making noise, right? So imagine, yeah, listen, you got contacts. Y'all heard it here first, people. Build your skills while you're in med school, multiple streams of income. Thank you for the financial corner as always. And that is our show. Thank you guys so much for joining us on this episode of The Lounge.
01:22:46
Speaker
Let us know your thoughts about the discussions we had today or ask the question for a chance to be featured on consoles by emailing us at podcast at SNMA.org. And be sure to follow the SNMA on all our social media platforms to stay up to date on all of our upcoming events. Thank you guys so much for joining us on this episode of The Lounge and we will see you next episode.