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It's Getting Spooky...
84 Plays5 months ago
Things are definitely getting spooky on Run The List!
How many “veneer specialists” are posing to be legally certified dentists? Are sperm donors actually considered parents? Are residency interview rollouts truly all made equal?? Find out more on this scarily special episode of Run The List!
Click this link to register for AMEC 2025 in St. Louis, MO: https://snma.org/general/custom.asp?page=AMEC2025
Be sure to stay tuned to all of our programming being released here on The Lounge!
To share your thoughts on our discussions or if you have any questions to ask our hosts, email podcast@snma.org for a chance to be featured on the show!
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
Introduction and Disclaimers
00:00:00
Speaker
The views expressed on this podcast represent only those of the hosts and do not represent the views of the Student National Medical Association. Registration for AMEC 2025 is officially open. The AMEC theme for this year is higher, surpassing, optimizing, advancing and reimagining our purpose.
00:00:17
Speaker
The conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri from April 16th to 20th, 2025. Don't miss out on securing your ticket. As you know, they can go fast. To register for AMEC 2025, click the link in the description box below. Now let's start the show.
Podcast Introduction and Theme
00:00:48
Speaker
Welcome to SNMA Presents The Lounge. Whether you're in the student's 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 health care.
Halloween Plans and Costumes
00:01:06
Speaker
I'm future student Dr. Jared Jeffery, and we have reached that spooky season Halloween. Woo! Oh, scary. Now, I know we may all be a little bit on the older side on this pod, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with holiday festivities. So, you know, today's question, I got to pose to you all. How is everyone planning to celebrate Halloween this year? I'm going to jump in first. I'm absolutely dressing up in costume and walking around all day for special activities. I am going to these places of business.
00:01:43
Speaker
and I am going to be in that business dressed up as something silly, spooky, goofy. I didn't decide yet because I got a lot of options. I got a pirate wig. I got some some anime cloaks that I could throw on. i might I might choose to do Frankenstein. I don't know. I don't know how I'm feeling just yet, but I'm definitely dressing up for my place in business. What about you guys?
00:02:04
Speaker
Yeah, I'm gonna be in the ED overnight tomorrow. I'm working from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. So ah I'm gonna be Who is this? What's your name? like dad heard you you are I heard your voice in months. You just talk about I'm gonna be here. I'm gonna be there. Like, yo, yo, no, no, no, chill. I'll do what's their last month. Right. Let me bring it back. Let me realize that my bad family because he don't call me no more. He go on residence. He can stop calling me.
00:02:32
Speaker
yeah i would Everybody you know me but oh i'm attack With you, you know said But this is a this is a Dr. Alduin Sumahri back on the track. Diggy, diggy, diggy. But ah like I said, I was rudely interrupted by these two creatures.
00:02:54
Speaker
ah But anyway, so yeah, I'm being ED. You know, I got a couple of costumes I'm thinking about just like Jared. I might be the black Goku tomorrow. We're going to see. I might dye my hair yellow. So I'll be like Super Saiyan type hair. I'm going to say something.
00:03:09
Speaker
Did you not hear, dude? Tinnitus or some electrical conduction? I don't know. But anyway, so I don't know, man. I'm going to see what's up with what I don't know. I might be Tyreese from Baby Boy. There's a lot of different options that I got right now. You feel me? So we'll see. I'm going to let y'all know. I'm going to post it on IG. But I'm looking forward to working the ED shift overnight, because you never know. It's like the craziest night. I work at a community hospital in Nashville. I'm actually in a zip code where they had the highest rate of incarcerated black people. Oh, wow. Black men, excuse me. In 2017, 2018, they did a whole document on it in CNN, and people began to shout out, stabbed up, all of that. So don't want that to happen to people, but I'm kind of looking forward to seeing something crazy and spooky. How about you? How about you?
00:04:04
Speaker
Hello, everyone. This is student Dr. Isabella. um I apologize in advance for my voice. I am currently fighting a cold, so I might sound a little nasal. I'm sorry for that. But what I plan to do on Halloween is what I typically do, which is nothing. But this year, it might change. So there's a silver lining. I usually don't dress like dress up. I don't really do like the trick or treating. I think it's only if there's like an event going on, then I take the time to say, Okay, let me do a costume. But I'm an interview season right now. I'm not really thinking about that. Like, I'm not really trying to do all of that. So I'm just gonna go to a
00:04:42
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just going to go to a Halloween party tomorrow. um It's happening like in a cafe somewhere. So we'll see how it goes. I think it's supposed to be like all of black pen is supposed to be going. So but I'm going to show up as myself. So might be underwhelming for some because they're talking about a costume contest and all these things. and I'm like, wow. Yeah, I don't know if I have the bandwidth for that. But yeah, yeah, that's really all I'm doing is the Halloween party.
00:05:08
Speaker
Sorry, that that's, I kind of just, yeah, that's all, but you know, I will say I'm jealous of you all, Gwen, because you're gonna be EV. You know, it does. it's a I mean, I'm not even a party personal. That's the thing. Like you guys know how I move. I don't even know. That's how but we went. I'm impressed. Yeah. Well, when we went to Brooklyn, I was telling everybody, let's go back home because I was like, I don't want to go to this party. Oh, yeah. I remember that. Like me parties, we don't mix. I'm sorry. Like I not like kickbacks. You know, House Party House Party is a little bit different depending on that. That's really a vibe.
00:05:44
Speaker
Yeah. like I feel like you still turn up, but you need a certain situation scenario and scenario. And you got like a bandwidth. So probably like one or two hours. That's what it is. And after that, she's like, I'm good. Love. Enjoy like all that. That's how you were taking me all around town in Nola. I say, yeah, take me back to my hotel. We're we're we're going past the limit.
00:06:06
Speaker
Oh, my God. man' Great. so yeah yeah You know what there's no limit on? You know what time it is? There's no limit.
Homecoming Experiences
00:06:14
Speaker
for run the list because we are limitedly ready to run the for pre-clinical students, running the patient list on the wards allows the team to address personal matters of this day.
00:06:33
Speaker
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. Y'all know it's October, so homecoming is going all the way up. HU, Hampton, Howard, all of the HBCUs, they outside active. You know what I mean?
00:06:52
Speaker
For students, alumni and faculty alike, homecoming is just its more than just a weekend of festivities. It's an opportunity to reconnect, reminisce, remember, and see what's up, what HBCUs represent. We got football games, we got people pitching, we got people popping off, tailgating, alumni reunions, spirit competitions, and pep rallies. Unfortunately for myself, I didn't get a chance to attend, although I'm at an HBCU, but they won't be moving. You're at Beharie. They don't have homecoming at Beharie?
00:07:22
Speaker
They don't be moving like that. chair la ma ah lie So is a medical college homecoming is for football teams. Yeah, exactly. okay Okay. Yeah. So that lie has said, okay. So, okay. Yeah. oh Let's go. fine Okay. So I didn't get a chance to attend any cause I was working, but did any of y'all get a chance to attend any homecoming this year? Cause I know mad people was turning up and showing out, especially on my timeline. I was like, and i'll I'll let, I'll let miss H you have the floor first. period because you already know what it is. You know, I was wanting to talk as soon as you mentioned it all coming, you know, and big byity um coming to the white house soon to be coming to the White House. Like it's just our time. This is our time. Like this is Howard's time. you know just
00:08:13
Speaker
So, um, I did attend Howard Homecoming this year. It was our centennial. It was our a hundredth year anniversary. Wow. Really? It was. That's why I was knock on on it. and Yeah. as he was yes i was passed Yeah. It was very active. Now I was expecting more from the yard for us. I'm not going to lie to you. They did make it an RMB kind of thing. And I was like, yeah, this is a hip hop university. We don't do that. So I was, I was a bit confused about that.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah, but otherwise everything else about it was super fun. We went to, so for some reason they didn't have tailgate this year. And I think it's because Howard sold the lot. So they had like made their own private tailgate at some place called like bullpen. I didn't go because apparently those tickets sold out faster than Beyonce's concert. So we went to University of Maryland's black tailgate, which was like a good time. It's usually fun and it's usually packed. And then, um,
00:09:02
Speaker
after that we did like parties in the night time one party okay and you guys are tired one party one party right and then um Sunday we always do brunch and we usually do it at focus which is like It's almost like a mix between a brunch and a day party, and it's ah in a very scenic area, so it's always a good time. But that food made me sick. I was throwing up the next day. i don't They had some rancid kind of food in there, so that was not fun. um But bottom of samosas, it was a vibe. It was a vibe. So I'm glad I went like went out to Homecoming this year. I go every year. And despite
00:09:39
Speaker
It not always being perfect. I'm always going to be at my alma mater. Like it's just, just once you see that third weekend of October, don't hit me up about nothing. I'm not going to be around. So, so, so that's, that's, that's very funny. yall That's very funny because that third weekend of October is always my birthday.
00:09:56
Speaker
And Isabelle would be trying to be like, oh, Jared, what's the birthday moves? And I'd be like, yo, don't ask me that, because I know you're going to be at home. You don't even have to pretend it's all right. As for the question, though, I did make it to homecoming this year. I actually, though, instead of going to my undergrad homecoming, I went to my graduate school's homecoming, just because it's a little bit close to the home. I wasn't trying to go too far.
00:10:20
Speaker
um And I had a great time, a lot of you homecoming was a very good time. I saw a couple friends that I didn't see since graduation. ah you know i'm I'm one year removed, so you know I still got some people on campus, I got some people off campus. I had a good time, it was cool. And you know me, I like to grill. I had my grill out there, I was doing my thing. My my my chicken might have been the biggest winner that day. we did win No, we didn't win that game. My chicken was the biggest winner that day.
00:10:49
Speaker
I'm not serious about you. I'll vouch for the Jared bro. You could grill bro. You set that join up, bro Wait here. Did you throw at a time that I was not pre one? Did you gross for his birthday? Oh And you see you see how you would have beat him because that's crazy so Because I definitely, I definitely, I definitely invited you. Yeah. Oh yeah, you did. I'm not Goho. You did. But you know what? Like we talked about it, right? And I know her feelings. You know her feelings. I can't, I can't compete with Howard. It's fine. one day what we don't kick what day we one day You can. can decide to celebrate your birthday on Howard's campus and that'll be...
00:11:30
Speaker
you know You know what's funny, Isabella? I actually used to do that 16, 17, 18, 20, 16, 17, 18. I did my birthday weekend at Howard every one of those years. We probably crossed paths, for real. No. Well, no. we Oh, we probably will. We actually
Unqualified Veneer Specialist Arrested
00:11:45
Speaker
probably did. Because I was definitely at Howard all those years. So that's yeah that's possible. That's very possible. Yeah, man. I used to be out there cheesing.
00:11:54
Speaker
cheese in. You know what? Cheese in is a crazy terminology because ah there was someone out here that was responsible for a lot of cheese in.
00:12:05
Speaker
He was responsible for a lot of cheesing, but in reality, he wasn't qualified. He was never certified. He had no degree. Hey, my gosh. So let's get into this guy, um Brandon Dillard. This is a man based in Atlanta who was ah recently arrested for posing as a veneer specialist. Atlanta is not a real place. It's not real. That's a fact. It's not real. I mean, so let's just break this down, right? We have MDs and we also have DDS and DMDs, right? Dentists. right They are the ones responsible for doing veneers, but somehow we've branched out to people who are calling themselves veneer specialists who don't even have a, like they don't even have a certification, let alone a dentistry degree. So this man was calling himself the CEO of A-List Smiles. And I don't know how they caught him, but apparently he is facing very serious legal trouble for allegedly practicing dentistry without a license. Reports indicate who's involved in the installation of veneers, a cosmetic dental procedure without the necessary qualifications as we've already stated. And so between January of 2021 and September of 2024, he allegedly installed veneers for the cost of $5,500 putting countless smiles at risk. Not only was he performing these illegal procedures, but he was also profiting by even making training classes to inspire to other to basically create a cohort of other quote unquote veneer specialists who are not even carrying
00:13:32
Speaker
one degree And he was charging 6K per class. So he was very popular. I actually saw him pop up because there's this character who's on reality TV show called baddies. Her name is Rollie. And she got work done by Mr. Diller. And she was out here flashing this new smile. I mind you. She looked great. My sister's great. But I was going to ask, what does his work for? Because he's looking crazy, bro. Like, I'm not going to hold you. That man should have enrolled in dentistry school. I don't know why he missed his calling in life.
00:14:07
Speaker
you know he could have like i don't know this is my question to you guys do you guys feel like the fact that he's facing legality you know proceedings is the appropriate step or do you think that maybe there should have just been like he's on bail and then we're encouraging him to go to because I'm like, isn't this like a waste of talent? Because like you learn how to do veneers and you never even stepped foot in a dentistry class. And what do you guys think about problem is that he is promoting this to other people to do, although he may be talented, there's a step in process that you got to go through. You know, I'm saying like, You can't ask a first year medical student to then just hop into urgent care and just start treating patients, right? Like there's a whole process everybody goes through it in order to be ah you know licensed and in order to have that knowledge and skill Because a lot of things that he may do it may be he may be very successful But then what about the things that aren't successful, right? You gotta have that we're with all to deal with all the challenges that come with and that's why we go through the training process That's why we go through medical school
00:15:08
Speaker
residency and fellowship so that we can own in and be the master of our craft and he's a master of nothing. Yes, you have done it over four years, but you know what I'm saying? No, but it's just real talk, bro. Like it's putting liability on people and we know there's other issues that that's that stem from mouth related issues. You know what I'm saying? like endocarditis, all these kinds of other things. So you got to be really aware. You know what I'm saying? And there's been some terrific, horrible pictures of people that had these veneers done. You know what I'm saying? Teeth falling out, people having it done, having infections, abscesses, all these kinds of things. You know what I mean? So I think they're going along the right route because if you don't stop this right now, there's going to be other people in Utah and Arizona, in New York City. You know what I mean?
00:15:51
Speaker
I got it. I got it. I got it. So is he is he right to get arrested? Yeah, he got a hundred fifty eight K on the grand. He's on his Dr. Miami vibes, like posting the actual surgeries, and stuff not Dr. Miami. But yeah, don't roll you know how you're not going to get called the little bits of his s surgery. Yeah. Like you can't be on you don't know what I'm saying. You can't be doing it and then posting it to like, that's crazy. And I wanted to throw in that he actually has but Among his charges, so he got charged with a couple things, right? Among his charges, he actually has a regal. One of his counts is violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. crazy hey mike They brought it down on him, bro.
00:16:34
Speaker
He technically has a Rico charges, he got eight charges. Four counts of felony practicing the treatment of license, two counts of death by deception, one count of criminal solicitation to commit a felony, one count of Rico. So ah yeah, bro, you you fake tweaked. And you know, I feel like it's one of those things, you got 158K on the gram, life is life.
00:16:54
Speaker
I'm a butter, I'm a butter, I'm a butter lord. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. No, you're not. Yeah. And you know now, now you probably don't even got the opportunity at a chance at dentistry for real. Like. That's the sad part. Like this is actually, I would actually say you could look at it from another way in that this is a talented black man who learned a skill without even the parameters of school. But he went about it in a very corrupt.
00:17:20
Speaker
and wayward way. That's the issue. And, I mean, it's unfortunate, but you're right. Nobody is above the law. Unfortunately, no, especially not a black man from Atlanta. Now y'all are definitely not above the law. Okay. Absolutely. Let's, let's be clear with that. Dang skipping. Delayed gratification, man. Nobody understands that process. And that's why we in the industry that we in, man. Everyone want to get that hustle. They want to get that bread real quick, but there's a price you got to pay in order to do what you want to do sometimes.
00:17:47
Speaker
And even though he's jailed, right, I feel like we're missing some people who really do belong in jail because I can think of a couple characters in Love is Blind DC that they really belong not in jail, but under the jail. OK, after the stuff I saw this past season. Yeah, it's it's actually getting crazy. It's getting crazy. It's getting so I don't know. I mean, it's not love is blind DC because this has been a crazy season. season You guys know I was in DC for four years of my life. It's a city that I hold very dear. But Love is Blind, man.
00:18:18
Speaker
couldn't get more accurate than what I saw on that television screen. Could not get more accurate. It was just mess and drama and lies and deceit. But I will say I'm going to hone in on one character's story, which is Marissa and Ramses. And so basically they are, or I'm saying Marissa and Ramses. So that's the wrong couple. um Tyler and Ashley, sorry. So Tyler and Ashley. I feel like I heard about them.
00:18:43
Speaker
Yes, they're they're very they're they're actually trending everywhere because it was found out that Tyler's just so he's a bold-faced liar and Ashley It seems that she's still with him despite the lies that have come out about him. So basically there was a scene that happened where Tyler come like basically comes to Ashley with this Huge reveal that he never once mentioned in the pods that's like where they were dating first before they then Got she got proposed to and then they got engaged and are now like so going towards marriage basically He told her hey, I have three kids by virtue of being a sperm donor. That was the storyline what ended up happening though is that
00:19:28
Speaker
The real baby mama and the baby mama's wife, right? Because he's actually a sperm donor of a lesbian couple. That baby mama came out saying that Tyler was an actual father to those kids. That it wasn't just a sperm donor situation. He actually wanted to step up and play an active father role.
00:19:45
Speaker
and then eventually ditch the father role. So there is now kind of like this whole debate going on, not even that happened within the show, but that happened outside of the show with commentary from people who have watched who found out about Tyler's lies through TikTok. There's all these TikTok, you know, influencers who actually have dirt on certain characters. And they found out about Tyler and what he him his lies surrounding this quote unquote being a sperm donor when he's really just a deadbeat dad.
00:20:12
Speaker
um It kind of led to the question now of, okay, we know sperm donation and what that typically entails. It can usually be, you can get it from a sperm bank. Sometimes you can ask a friend or a family member or something. Well, no, not a family member. God forbid. A friend. We're not doing incest. We're not doing incest
Modern Parenthood and Sperm Donation
00:20:33
Speaker
here. Sorry. Yes. Or a family member.
00:20:35
Speaker
but I think the question now that kind of people were having after that episode came out is, are sperm donors just really genetic contributors or can they evolve into something more in the context of modern parenthood? So I don't know, what do you guys think?
00:20:51
Speaker
i think it depends on a scenario to be honest i i keep want on this part couple years back i ain't go lie i had i was broke bro like i needed a bread so like i did was looking at like going to some of the spots in new york and donating my sperm i actually showed up and I did my thing You feel me? At the office. And um after that, I told my mom about it. And she was like, you crazy? You know, she's, you know, she's an African, you know, parent. They're like, are you all right? You're going to have like kids walking around. You don't even they don't even know you. You don't know them. They might pass you by and you, you know, you're not even heavily involved in their life. But the thing is, when we talk about um fertility, like infertility issues, like six out of 10 families in America suffer from infertility issues. And that could be from
00:21:42
Speaker
the woman's side that could be from the man's side. So I think about that. k that Yeah, you can look it up. Yeah, like it's is it's a real issue, you know, and a lot of it, even they've looked at the amount of sperm and men currently versus like in the fifties and sixties. And they've noted that there's a decrease in African decrease in the amount of sperm cells that men contain. I heard I heard is the cell phones in the pockets.
00:22:06
Speaker
probably is, bro, in a stress tool, you know, all of that information, all of that kind of stuff. So my perspective has kind of changed over time with that. Like initially I was like, oh no, let me just chill for that. But even when we talk about like black families that are looking for black donors, like black male donors, for instance, like if you have a lesbian couple and and and stuff like that, non-binary or whatever the case may be.
00:22:27
Speaker
They may be looking for a black male. um And oftentimes we're underrepresented in a lot of like donor places. So my perspective is that I think it's important for us to be well represented because if people are looking for us, like it's I think there's nothing wrong with having an opportunity to help somebody give life to a child. That's where we're met. But the question was, though, let's say you did help give life. Do you show up to Junior's first birthday party?
00:22:57
Speaker
You gotta, that's why they be having contracts bro. I'm trying to be serious. Don't laugh. Bro, but it just depends on the scenarios. Cause sometimes you got like the open and closed firm donation. Like they have scenarios where they can reach out to you that and you can reach out some after they turn 18 bro. You feel me? Nah, I don't know about like before that. I'm trying to be, I'm trying to be there when he graduate kindergarten.
00:23:20
Speaker
That's what I'm asking about. Are you? I would want to be there bringing. Are you a parent? Like, are you being like, are you? Are you. to say' a death heat I know that you don't got to be Debbie. It don't got to be Debbie, you know, because you said you're not going to be there. So like, OK, you know what? Let me because some families, they don't want the person there, though, like in the child. No, no, no. I don't think anybody wants the sperm donor.
00:23:46
Speaker
ah put
00:23:52
Speaker
ro theyre like yo We have our union all we need is the genetic material Oh, but yo oh alderman like look at shooting will be oh yeah, he's a tall black man. That's a doctor jimmy me does sperm this he a less ah oh no no no ah you know more basically That was not the only conversation that was had in Love is Blind. Let's put it into another issue that also arose in the episode. So there was another couple, Marissa and Ramses, and this couple was also, yeah, yeah, and a lot of these two. They were crazy, but basically there was a conversation that happened where
00:24:33
Speaker
This man says he doesn't want to have kids, right? um For the next maybe like five to seven years. That's what they discuss in the pods. She was now saying a shorter timeline because, you know, she's in her early thirties. She doesn't want to really have, ah you know, a kids super late because of course it's more risks involved with that. and yeah and And basically she was like, yeah, I'm kind of like thinking I want to do it a little bit sooner, but we can probably figure that out as it comes.
Birth Control Decisions in Marriage
00:25:00
Speaker
And then she was saying, well, if you want to still kind of wait, we need to start discussing birth control. So he was very much like saying, yeah, like,
00:25:09
Speaker
I know the pill might be an option, but she has a lot of illnesses like she has vitamin D deficiency. I think she also has like an immunodeficiency. So she can't really be on stuff that could tamper with her hormones and you know, the chemical balance of her system. So basically, she said, Hey, babe, we may just need to use condoms. This man will sit here and say at his grown age of 30 something.
00:25:29
Speaker
No, yeah, baby, you know, condoms, though, they just don't feel as good. And that was his excuse for not wanting to use condoms in his his marriage because it doesn't feel as good. But his sick wife should go and put herself on birth control. So that caused a huge.
00:25:47
Speaker
Disruption in social media and everyone was calling this man selfish and like come on like you're grown like you use a condom So I don't know What are you guys's thoughts in terms of when it comes to the the decision of birth control? How can couples really navigate it and make it a shared responsibility rather than just oh you do this or you do that? Maybe where you are Very ha ha ha ha yeah shoutouts shoutouts to do maybe I actually can't wait to hear What this topic is gonna hit for on unscripted if y'all don't know unscripted is the new show that we just released That takes our run the list topics and gets into them even more in depth And I just know that those girls is gonna have some ish to say about this one. It's gonna be a great convo It's gonna be us Right, I'm a jack
00:26:38
Speaker
And you know, I've been seeing this more and more and more lately that women's health is a nightmare. ah Women's health yeah is a nightmare. Yep.
00:26:51
Speaker
the things that women have to go through the, the, the amount of different ways that birth control gets inserted in front of them, the ways that, you know, physicians are kind of, you know, this is no knock to the field. Well, physicians are kind of playing a round of like, you know, we'll try this and see if it work and try to see if it work. And you know, without too much of regard for what can happen, either way, I think men do have a little bit more burden that they can bear, especially in something like a marriage.
00:27:21
Speaker
to say well then well maybe you know condom is not the worst thing in the world you know maybe we can uh explore the concept of a vasectomy our vasectomy is reversible guys come on se to me yeah so so my yeah I feel like a reversible vasectomy for the purpose of contraception fertility though when you do it though okay okay they reverse well you know like and the baby is not reversible that's the thing a baby is not reversible the same way the same way that when you decide to leave your partner, right? That is something that will change the course of whether a child is in the picture or not. And unfortunately, unfortunately, we do have an example of a couple who decided, hey, let's just jump into the baby making.
00:28:10
Speaker
and Forget about those necessary steps that are and are needed in a relationship and on all oh no No, no, I'm talking about how each italian i love youie okay okay okay okay you lost me this mistake you got me back now you got yeah Yeah, sorry, you know, maybe I should have led with that but I feel like i got would your Here goes all that father again with with the uncalled for statement that no one asked for it
00:28:41
Speaker
I'll be that stepfather, Hallie. Just holler. Oh my gosh. Again, I'm starting to interrupt. OK, Hallie. I hope you're listening, because all of a sudden, he's off the market. OK, we got you. Anywho, so my good sister, Hallie Bailey, ah one half of the Bailey sisters, Hallie and Chloe, Chloe and Hallie. Yeah, Chloe and Hallie. She has had a lot of success. You know, her and her sister were proteges of Beyonce.
00:29:09
Speaker
They then were able to get into their music career and be very successful, then even got into their solo music careers or are both individually successful. And Howie even started getting into acting as she was the little mermaid. So she even became a whole Disney princess, which is like a very big feat. But how did we then get from Disney princess to baby mom? Like what what's going on? And, you know, I don't like that narrative.
Societal Perceptions of 'Baby Mama' Culture
00:29:33
Speaker
I don't like the narrative either.
00:29:36
Speaker
I don't like the narrative either. it It doesn't sit well with me because I'm just like, when in our society did this whole baby mama culture start blowing up? and i just it's that It doesn't sit well with me, but I think the issue here, first and foremost, is people were asking, hey, like this breakup that happened between Hallie and DDG, it almost sounds like, were people expecting them to break up? um like Who broke up with who? Because it's kind of like,
00:30:05
Speaker
They seemed rock solid. Everybody was tough. They had so many. I guess rumors were just positive public appearances and stuff. Yeah, you know, and despite the backlash or the the negative things they were hearing from the public, they still seem to stay strong, even had that baby hid the baby from the world. And a couple of months later, then they had the baby on socials and stuff. Yeah, everything seemed to be sweet. So it's kind of just like.
00:30:30
Speaker
ah the break The breakup is interesting. i don't really know you know I actually don't really think it matters who broke up with who. The reality is that they're broken up. But I will actually say this, let's get into baby mama culture. Because you know what? We don't have to speak about who broke up with who. It doesn't matter. like They're not a couple anymore, right? Let's get into baby mama culture. So that is a term that actually has evolved from what it used to mean before. Before it just used to mean someone who's like an unmarried mom, but now it's a very loaded phrase, often highlighting a woman's maternal role at the expense of her other achievements. So like we just said, Hallie's this very successful woman, she's done so much, but like baby, like you're a baby mom. yeah
00:31:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it's's it's almost like it's trying to stigmatize a woman for having a child out of wedlock without stigmatizing a man. yeah You know what I'm saying? yeah And I feel like the concept and institution of marriage has progressed a little bit in society to where, you know, everybody is not on board. The institution of marriage is very much a financial decision, a financial contract. And with the rise in divorce, the rise in you know, divorce rates, the popularity of divorce, the way that marriages don't be working out. Some people decide, and especially like you said earlier, how having children later in life comes with more complications. Some people kind of decide like, yo, I'm willing to have my children early regardless of my marital status. And you know, like that marital status might just be something that comes later. And I, I don't see nothing wrong with that for real, for real. What do you think, Aldi? yeah
00:32:07
Speaker
Yeah, man, I mean, I just, it's, it's complicated, you know, with this process, you know, they were, it seemed like they was in love. I mean, they probably were, and they were just showcasing their child and, you know, being engaged. But I feel like, ah like Jared, in a bit of a way, um saying,
00:32:24
Speaker
With marriage, institutional marriage is no longer regarded with respect. you know we Divorce rates are you know over 60% of marriages. And then divorce every day or every other day or every three days, we see somebody split. Like today, I seen somebody split up. I forgot who it was.
00:32:40
Speaker
but chattel to single two days ago, split up yeah he was with with Cheryl 23. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? He inspired me because, you know, he inspired like he the first day he took of the McDonald's chat or show single inspired you. Okay. Let's go to McDonald's. So that's how you guys do, bro. But anyway, so conversation let's move it.
00:33:01
Speaker
The conversation is over. The conversation is over. The chat or your single inspired you. Hey, OK. So now with this baby mama thing. So I want to actually know what this situation, right? When it comes to this particular when people get into these baby mama roles or whatever like that, what is it about marriage that is somewhat seem to be a more like a very hard decision compared to having a permanent kid. Like why is that something that
00:33:35
Speaker
People like especially men men for some reason marriage is like, oh my gosh, I gotta be ready. I gotta be I gotta have everything ready. My money, my data, this that the third and then a baby. Oh, well, if when the kids come, they'll come, I'll step up. What's going on? The first you can. as a friend yeah I mean, I feel like, you know, we come up in a culture in America where most of us, like I mean, at least for myself, like coming up, I didn't see like a lot of marriages, like from my own perspective living and and also in my neighborhood, like a lot of single mothers.
00:34:05
Speaker
And so if the institution of marriage isn't upheld in your community, in your environment, then that's not something you're necessarily thinking about. But a lot of the Caucasian kids that I used to go to like high school, for instance, I just went to high school at a more um affluent neighborhood. That's not your basketball, whatever. but And a lot of those kids, they saw their parents be married 40, 30, 40 years. And now they, they my age, most of them married, they have kids. You know what I mean? They're following along with what they see. We are what we see. So if that is not what you see, then you're not going to normalize that. If you see.
00:34:38
Speaker
Yeah, the homies, you know, they doing stuff, whether to get in, you know, whatever money, you know, moving weight in the streets, whatever. That's what you're going to do. So I feel like we got to come back to the centerpiece of our communities and understand the integrity that comes behind having a family. Right. That is being able to build and procreate being able to afford opportunities for our children, and not necessarily just raise our children, but our community's children so that we can build businesses, we could build mosques, churches, build more opportunities overall. So we just have to have that inside education. Okay. Jackie, your point there that the mass incarceration movement and the removal of black men from communities may have been the catalyst for
00:35:27
Speaker
baby mamas in general, right? There may have been, you know, less men available than there were kids to go around. And you know, one man might have three women pregnant. He can't be a father in each of those homes at the same time. You know what I'm saying? Today in 2024, though, the institution of marriage, I will say, is something that is not sought after by a lot of my peers. Period. I agree. I agree.
00:35:57
Speaker
period As for the reason a lot of my peers give because I'm i'm seeking marriage. I'm not gonna lie. um hey lot boy hurts you
00:36:09
Speaker
However, I do think that, you know, my counterparts that do say they aren't interested in marriage, they are they they have the reason that usually ah there's not much reward in it for them. You know, they're saying that there's much more to give than to receive. I have to give up, you know, my friendships. I have to give up my time. You have to become the primary thing in my life. And more so when men see it as these days, men see it as giving up their freedom. And you know, I think To me, I think that's sad. um I think it's a little bit of disheartening, rather than sad disheartening. Because, you know, I ain't going to get too religious up here, but he who finds him a wife finds him a good thing. Period I'm personally very excited for for the idea of you know Forming a union building with someone getting to something, you know better than Whatever you get, you know, I'm not gonna lie piss in the streets. Yeah, I was pissing this dating pool The dating pool is in the bottom pits of hell. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I Don't know too many married couples, right? But I do know a couple I
00:37:23
Speaker
They're living. one married I know one couple that was together since they was 14. They got married 10 years later after she graduated college, he graduated college. They just bought a house. They just bought a house in their 20s and they got two kids. What? They they are living. yeah They are so light years ahead of us. They are finna live out of like live life. And I'm just like, yo,
00:37:48
Speaker
How can I as a black man be on that type of time? You know what I'm saying? Like me as a black man. Baby girl, come take me off the market, baby. Baby girl. Kamala has a plan for you, Jerry. Kamala has a plan for you. She- The market. Kamala, come take me, baby. Tell us. Tell us.
00:38:05
Speaker
right to up with land she gotta if i so Like I said, Howard keeps on giving. Howard is the gift that keeps on giving. And you know what? It gave us Howard. It gave us people of Howard. It gave us Howard culture. And one of that too is Kamala Diddy.
00:38:23
Speaker
the now he's not a graduate. Let's keep that clear. He did two years and he dropped out. So we don't claim him. He got his honorary, whatever revoked. So don't worry. we're back Oh, okay. Yeah. you vote Yeah. they took They took it back. And so yes, but Kamala has, she's heard your cries, Jared. She's heard your cries. She is making an opportunity agenda for black men.
Kamala Harris' Agenda for Black Men
00:38:45
Speaker
And she announced how this agenda actually aims to support Black men in accessing educational, economic, and healthcare resources with initiatives intended to tackle challenges unique to their communities. And so she's focusing on these historically underserved areas as a way to hopefully remove longstanding barriers that prevent many Black men from fully engaging economic and entrepreneurial opportunities. Economic, right? They're saying these babies cost money, these families cost whatever. Yeah, Kamala said, I got your back. Okay, so now let's talk about
00:39:16
Speaker
you know, the question that some people have been having, which is, is this agenda actually meant to protect or minimize black men? And so I'll just kind of list out some of the things that the agenda states. And you guys let me know if you feel like this is something because that's two black men on the call. I'm hoping that you can answer. Yeah. So let's see what she's got.
00:39:37
Speaker
So it says that this path-breaking agenda includes one, providing $1 million loan ah one million dollar loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business, two, championing education, training, and mentorship programs that help Black men get good paying jobs in high-demand industries and lead their communities, including pathways to become teachers,
00:39:58
Speaker
Three, supporting a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets, so black men who invest in and own these assets are protected. Four, launching a national health equity initiative focused on black men that addresses sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate cancer, and other health challenges that disproportionately impact them. And five, legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for black Americans to succeed in this new industry. Thoughts? What do you guys think?
00:40:26
Speaker
So you see how I just mentioned before mass incarceration was a reason that black men weren't present. Yep. Some might say why target only black men with these things? Why not give these things to everybody?
00:40:40
Speaker
In my eyes, this is an attempt to right those previous wrongs. The doors that were closed back then that have systemically trickled down and left opportunities off the table for black men. I think this is an attempt, an attempt, because, you know, all we can do is attempt things. Right. I think this is an attempt to right the wrongs of previous generations. I'm jacking it. Love it. I like the agenda.
00:41:08
Speaker
Will it happen? It's a real question, though. OK, you got me in the first half. You got me in the first half. You're face is crazy, like, yo, you what? Because it was it was sounding a little like, yeah, I like it, but the voice was was giving, but I have questions. OK, yeah, let's continue. No, I mean, honestly, when we speak about the plight of black men in America, you know, I love Jarrah talking about mass incarceration, but, you know, for yeah for instance, over 38% of black men, right, ah um of people in the prison system are black men, and it's a billion dollar industry, you know, that we need to speak more to that, how there's a ah gap, right, um between the educational opportunity, the financial opportunities that we have in certain neighborhoods in the Bronx, New York City, urban environments, versus other demographic groups. um I love the one million loans that she wants to give to black entrepreneurs, but is that
00:42:06
Speaker
Is that something that's going to be passed by Congress? and and You know, I mean, I think about these things beyond her because the president is a figurehead, right? And everything that they do and say. doesn't necessarily mean that that can be done. You feel me? Like, there's a lot of people behind that that has to support it. So yeah, it's cool to have these agendas. But does she really have the intent to support and push that? Right? Does she have the backing to be able to do that? You know what I mean? Like, Congress potentially, you know, we could potentially lose our positioning as a, at least for me, I'm a, you know, Democrat.
00:42:41
Speaker
um in in the Congress and Senate, so there's a lot of work to be done, and I'm i'm very skeptical about if this can't really happen, but I still support Kamala Harris, and I love the agenda, but is it really feasible, is a real question for me. um I did listen to Charlotte Maine interview, she did, and she did an amazing job, right? um But I'm still wondering Is she really, really for us, or is she really for us in this present time? Wait, wait, wait, hold on. This is where you wanted to bring up that kind of question towards you. At this point in time, it's where you want to bring up this kind of question. This is a black woman from Oakland who went to Howard.
00:43:25
Speaker
You think if she really forced it anybody asked Obama this half whatever this one that grew up in Hawaii and went to two Ivy Leaks that anyone asked her that him that question Why are we asking an HBCU grab whether she's really for that me as a fellow Howard a love I'm even taking her pain of what you just of what you just said I'm feeling that may and I that, but the thing is, like oftentimes these politicians, they'll placate to certain groups. like but she knew She knows she needs the black men right to vote because what we saw was that in the last election, black men represented, I think it was ah for Democrats, I think it was like in the high 70s or low 80s in the percentile for voting Democratic. right
00:44:09
Speaker
They're seeing that there's a decreasing trend of the percent of black men that are voting Democrat. So I think there's a ah role to play in terms of that in terms of coming out with this agenda. Like I said, why not agenda for other people? Why not? Because you guys need help. You guys need help. Black men need help.
00:44:27
Speaker
and so many avenues and i think that her i didn't see obama do this and i would expect him as a black man to push something like that and i feel like and her even taking that time to think about you i feel like ali speaks more to even what an actual black man who was the president could have done as a black man. So I don't know. We'll table this. We can agree to disagree about whether, you know, we can agree. But, you know, I think that at the end of the day, episode she's doing a lot more than somebody who's out here trying to sling patties around in McDonald's. Okay. Unscripted. Handle this one. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscripted. Unscript
00:45:10
Speaker
So Trump, you know, we're going to try too hard not to bash him because this is a nonpartisan um organization. And, you know, we try to we try to be as balanced as we can. So we'll just say what happened. Right. So Trump, he you know, he decided he wants to be a fry cook for the day. I don't know. Maybe he's having a change of heart in this presidency thing. He pulls up to ah McDonald's in Feasterville, Trevos and Bucks County. Where is Bucks Bucks? Where is that?
00:45:37
Speaker
Let me go ahead and search that of Bucks County. Trump be outside. I'm going to lie, bro. He was in the Bronx like two, three weeks ago. He just be all over. Oh, that's in Pennsylvania, baby. It's in rural Pennsylvania. OK. Oh, yeah. So battleground state. That is a battleground. yeah He knows what he's doing. That's where a lot of Trump supporters reside. And so, you know, this new fry cook, Trump decided to hold an impromptu news conference.
00:46:02
Speaker
you know, they decided to hold this impromptu news conference via the drive-through window and they used the opportunity to repeat his claims that Kamala had been lying about working for the fast food chain in her college years. Oh, so this man was a troll. He decided to do a photo op trolling thing because what does Kamala got to do about McDonald's in bucks? Like, OK, anyway, so.
00:46:22
Speaker
It actually seems like his little stunt hat like benefited him um because there was a poll that came out saying that a total of 39 percent of Gen Z, which is people born between 1997 and 2012, said that Trump's not made him look that made them like him somewhat or much more, according to Newsweek. um I don't know what what y'all think about this photo op that Trump had. You know, it's all pop again, bro. He know what he doing. He's like a marketing genius, um a trolling presidential candidate.
00:46:54
Speaker
Yo, he's a marketing in genius. I ain't gonna lie between the assassinations. No, but it's for real. like Everything that's going on. Him holding his fist up with the blood going on his ear. you Okay. different He got sued one song. I forgot what song was, but a family like sued him. It was a popular like black like song. They sued him for that. like He's just doing whatever. Pulling up Amber Rose, random celebrities.
00:47:20
Speaker
Like I said, he was in the Bronx, pulling up with Joe Rappers. Like, he's just doing whatever to get seen, you know, me and now doing this. And so, um you know, his you know what he's trying to do, bro? He's trying to get that attention from his base. 75 million Trumpites are in America currently.
00:47:36
Speaker
and whatever he can do to excite them, to engage them, he's going to do. And he knows that a lot of Americans, there's a lot of people that's working on wage working jobs at McDonald's. So that allows them to relate to that. Because most Americans in this present space, they're not millionaires. you know They're not even in middle class. The average American makes 45, 50K a year. So um I think it's part of his agenda in order to you know um garner more votes and You know, I mean, you're right, like that most Americans don't make most Americans don't make millions of dollars, but people like Elon Musk who do can actually use that as a way to influence voting voters. And unfortunately, that's what that man is trying to do. OK, Elon Musk actually announced recently that he was going to have a $1 million dollar giveaway for voters who signed petitions in battleground states.
00:48:27
Speaker
Oh, I'm glad. Well, mar I haven't even gotten into the points that I'm glad we already know what's illegal and what's not illegal because apparently it's not obvious. It's not clicking. Apparently it's not clicking. So just to give some background, ah Musk initially launched the petition and referral offer in early October. His America PAC released a petition which is in support of the Constitution's first and second amendments. The offer grew this week from $47 to $100 for registered but Pennsylvania voters, and on Saturday, Musk unveiled the $1 million dollars giveaway at a town hall event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Elon Musk's Voter Giveaway Controversy
00:49:00
Speaker
He said that on on Saturday that the goal is to get between 1 million and 2 million voters in battleground states to sign the petition
00:49:07
Speaker
Because quote, I think this sends a crucial message to our elected politicians to, you know, care about the outcome in battleground states. Maybe who does who does Elon Musk support? Trump. Whoa. OK, so now now that we've we've already touched on legalities. Right. Why do you know one question I actually want to know?
00:49:31
Speaker
Why does this man, why is he even involved in politics? Like, I feel like this kind of came out of nowhere. Do we have any idea where this politics drive came from for him? It's all about money, man. People to be in office so he could do whatever you want. oh And isn't either he worried about the tax cuts, bro? yeah that Keep all the bread as much as possible and promote his anti-DEI.
00:49:55
Speaker
You know, he knows that Trump is like anti-DEI and all that. Right. They're along the same lines. Oh, yeah, he's racist, too. And we know as white South Africans, we know the history behind that. So, yeah, that shouldn' be either exactly yeah should be That should be a surprise. Now, is he going to face any legal consequences because this man is a celebrity? He's very financially clearly well off. Like, who does he who does Elon Musk answer to? That's what I want to know. Does he answer to our government? that he got too much bread at that level So it would have to be like like doesn't doesn't he just get like subpoenaed doesn't like the the whatever so whatever state he does this in can't they just like Block the payment from going through or like once the payment goes through like boom slap the cuffs on them Cuz like in a way like not election fraud, but it's like you can't like put something like it's a incentive
00:50:52
Speaker
He's putting out an incentive for people to vote, you know, not letting them naturally do this thing, you feel me? Yeah. And that can, it's a conflict, you know, kind of thing. Like right if you could do that, like what about on the other side, like for the other candidates, right? Even though technically all the candidates are getting hundreds of millions of dollars to get supported, but to put that out there is iss kind of like, yeah, it's wild.
00:51:19
Speaker
It's just really sad to see the disconnect in our country about who gets reprimanded versus who doesn't and what people can do versus what people can't do. So I don't know. I think that this election is just way too important um for us to be dealing with rivalries. But ah Elon Musk, you know, I bid you good, good day or I bid you good night, good night because I can't. oh Why are we on the Elon Musk topic? What you think about cyber trucks? You like them?
00:51:48
Speaker
they ugly that i have the tesla joint a man tell the ya lot you a cybertrus wait Let me look it up I thought I thought you would have had some strong feelings all the what you think bro oh this thing i see my about them guys you see him all over like i did see that They look so free is that why that's what yeah made them saw tesla i said this is the test that's a my god Someone they've already made Hot Wheels.
Tesla's Cybertruck: Futuristic or Unattractive?
00:52:20
Speaker
I'm actually screaming because of what is going on now? I'll say that you do get a environmental tax break if you got a Tesla, so this lock me me get an extra bread this man i sell a threat like no you um I'm sorry. That was just a little sigh. I'll just curious what you think of it.
00:52:38
Speaker
Yeah, they look ridiculous. And cars he thinks we're car he thinks we're in the year Like they look like spaceships, like cars that can fly. I don't know. It's it's giving. um Yeah, it's really, it's not doing its thing. um Aldwin, you are a doctor of osteopathic medicine. So, you know, you represent all the DOs out here. Shout out to the DOs, period. Right, right.
00:53:04
Speaker
ah You know, this is, although you said, you know, it's giving previously, like, this is not giving. So, you know, we're in the residency process. Nah, I'm just like being real, being wanted. Like, we ain't you know, people's applying and whatnot.
00:53:19
Speaker
And um the NBLME, which stands for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiner, which they so evil to me. Every time I take them comments to exam world, like after them exams where I want to throw their hands, I don't condone violence, by the way. But them exams is hard. But anyway, so ah they accidentally sent level one, which is kind of similar to step one scores for people that are listening that don't know.
00:53:46
Speaker
to residencies when applicants had pass-fail. And that recently was instituted, I think, ah three, four years ago. I think it was a year after NVMe initiated the pass-fail system. NVMe followed along with that, too. right But the numerical scores for the Complex Level 1 were mistakenly made visible, in particular to the OB-GYN residency programs, which I've known, man, I know, like five, six people in my time. you know um that I've tried again to get into OBGYN residency and have had troubles getting in because of the, you know, cause of the complex exam. You know what I mean? um And being a DO, there's a lot of discrimination for a lot of deals and variety of fields. I have a homie who it took her three years against a plastic surgery residency.
00:54:36
Speaker
I mean, being a deal. So but anyway, going back to this, the national board of osteopathic medical examiners, which runs a complex, notified students in the email, they had learned on October 7th of a technical issue, uh, that impacted the delivery of your complex USA level one. I'm going to, I'm going to put my bets on this, that this is going to significantly decrease the amount of of deals that match into OBGR and residencies. But basically, they delivered the three-digit score. um And the score, I think, ranges from 200 to 900 or something like that. The passing score is, I think, over 400. I think it's 400. Over 400, don't quote me on that, but it's about around that area.
00:55:23
Speaker
you know i mean but ah Many residency programs, they don't know how to navigate the scores, but it's very easy for them. with oh we got it We had a whole week. they It was a whole week until the NBA only realized like these scores were out to a residency program. They had a whole week to be like, oh, there's a numerical score. Let's see, let's tabulate. It's very easy to go on Google and be like, what is a 500 on a complex level? What does that equate to? like What is the percentile and stuff like that? You know what I'm saying?
00:55:53
Speaker
ah So anyway, these was this was made available to the OBGYN program directors. um And unfortunately, in my opinion, I feel like ah the question is, how can this be rectified? and I feel like this is not a situation that could be rectified in this present moment because a week is a very long time. And for deals, a lot of deals I know, they have significant issues trying to like navigate, get into OBGYN residency. I mean,
00:56:22
Speaker
and Not able to see that I was like, yo we gonna curve that um my question would say Jared how it' like she Was Becky to speak I was like i look at all gra like how How are they gonna be held accountable this this is not going I don't think and who's gonna hold them a accountable bro. No one who's go who's going hold them accountable not Honestly, this is this is what I'll say right Jared you'll come to understand medicine is a dirty dirty game. There's no one's your best No, no, they don't care. They'll leave you out there to drive bread I've already experienced it and I go into details, but it's not for this podcast But they'll leave you to dry you going through
00:57:06
Speaker
Mental health issues you think oh i'm gonna get through this that you get a one eval somebody Say something bad about you on the eval finish you you feel me? and I want to make this clear, right? I am applying to residency. So any future pd who listen to this? I I still love medicine. I want to match clearly it's Emergency medicine just give that disclaimer let me not i get where i'm at right because i had a couple of p say hey i listen to your guys yeah yeah yeah i love you guys but i but i just want to be sure But I want to be transparent right like I think the day
00:57:42
Speaker
Like in medicine can be a very anxiety inducing process because you just cannot predict how things will go you can't predict how someone's going to interpret your Application how somebody's gonna interpret like your you know, whatever you you you represent yourself to be as your brand You can't interpret whether or not so like whether you score a certain score you get is gonna make the difference between whether they want to you know Have you interview with them or like there's just so many things that go into play and so I just want to be transparent that like medicine can be like not fair, and that's kind of the point I'm trying to make. and so what So when Jared's saying all this, oh, um who's go they might have no one hold them accountable, that's the reality. Honestly, that is the reality, and I wish it wasn't, but... You know, Joshi said it made a good point, like you know having a panel of residents and other clinical staffs that don't have access to scores to help access the applications blindly. I think blind applications are like I've had interviews in the past where you're like, tell me about yourself. I didn't see application and allow somebody to like really tell their story and help people really get feel connected. Cause yeah, it's going to be about scores, personal statements, later letters of recommendation. But I feel like it's important also to innately like know somebody without all of that. Cause that causes discrimination in my opinion, like in certain instances, you know, when you're looking at,
00:59:00
Speaker
certain applicants that all this person has a score on a complex they got a 20% out they don't think you know i'm saying for some program assist what it is this programs in OBGYN my homie told me they don't interview no deal applicants for OB like certain program I'll name them I could but I'm not gonna do it They don't interview any D.O. applicants. People applying, they don't even know that. You know what I'm saying? And you could have a top, you could have a 2,000 on the U.S. Assembly Step 1. They still would not interview you. You know what I mean? So it is definitely more than tests. It's definitely more than scores. But medicine is hopefully transitioning toward that way and being more holistic.
00:59:39
Speaker
I know in a variety of other industries in medicine, they are doing a psychiatry, family medicine, things of that nature. so And just like you said, right, they're moving away from scores tests. And I think actually the interview process has become very integral to how they're choosing applicants. And so let's talk a little bit about that. Because I think, I mean, I'm currently interview season, you are also currently an interview season. And I know that there are different old doubts there are there's a different culture surrounding interviews and like what is appropriate versus not appropriate to do for interviews. And even before the interview, what should you be doing? After the interview, what should you be doing? So we could talk about maybe say the formats of how
01:00:19
Speaker
programs even release interviews. So we have rolling interviews, right? So that means that like, they have a date that they'll plan to send out their first interview and then it'll continue to roll like throughout the cycle with hopefully maybe an end date in mind of when their last interview will be. Then they also have at least EM has that I know a couple of other specialties have it as well is unified release date, which is a particular date that you should expect a big bulk of programs to be releasing their first initial batch of interview invites. And a lot of times that's like the day that most people get majority of their interviews. For me personally, that wasn't really the case. I had actually more interviews before the unified release date than I did on the actual day. And I don't know, maybe that was just based on the programs I applied to the fact that a lot of them probably didn't participate. I mean, i actually, no, a lot of them did, but I also didn't apply to that many. I only applied to like 28 programs. So because you were being that's why
01:01:11
Speaker
You know, listen, I just, i didn all that i I was trying to save my coin. I said, listen, baby, God's going to put me where he wants to put me. That's it. And i I have faith in God with that. But yeah, so that that is pretty much what that is. And so.
01:01:26
Speaker
What do you got? I can probably ask you Alden because you're going through right now. So Jared, yeah, I'm gonna keep this on the back burner for you, you know, when you start going. Don't worry, Isabella. I got questions for you too. It's okay. I got some. I'm listening to these conversations. Keep going. Keep going. Okay, got you. All right, Aldi. But what do you think now? We're both going through the interview cycle. Would you prefer, like, do you prefer the rolling?
01:01:48
Speaker
format do you prefer the unified release date I don't really know how it works for psych but what are your thoughts I guess not they don't have a ah ah unified release date are we joined us I know last year they did I think they do this year too i but I think that it takes away the apprehension because there's certain scenarios where you're applying, you know what I'm saying, and you're trying to wait, you're trying to hear from certain programs. you Like I looked last year at programs, there's a program that sent me an interview invite um at the end of ah early
01:02:19
Speaker
or early us on december and i'm saying and there's another one like late november like last year so you're thinking osu! and in november i'm curved like they're not gonna interview me no you just never know but it just it makes it very challenging because you're going through it like y'all only got is the beginning of November, that's probably the only program that I'm going to get, you know, and you have the expectation in a lot of scenarios. But I think having a unified release date makes it like very easy to know like, yo, am I going to get curved? Like, I don't got no interviews. I i got to think of plan B, whatever the case scenario may be. You know what I mean? Start applying to other programs and things of that nature. yeah But, um,
01:03:00
Speaker
Yeah, there's like, there's benefits, there's advantages to it. And I mean, everyone gets, there's still people that still get interview dates, like after the unified release date too. I mean, so it's really about your network and tapping into, cause there's been scenarios for me where you email, you send your network and you get responses quick and a lot of people will vouch for you. And I just want to say a quick shout out to people that have been putting me on this process, um, with the interviewing and like connecting to programs and stuff like that.
01:03:28
Speaker
I won't say any names, but people really been looking out for me. And I'm so thankful for that because my scenario has been very, very challenging. I ain't gonna lie, I keep wanting it on y'all. You know what I'm saying? It's been challenging, but people, you know what I'm saying? We're moving through these interviews. We had a concern about it in our last group list, and I really appreciated how transparent you were about just kind of your whole journey, because I think it's really important for our listeners to hear that. They should know, hey,
01:03:55
Speaker
There's there can be some bends in the road, but it's still possible on top cuz you're gonna come out on top, baby We go home match 20 School program too my time i'm again one my shot oh jared that is her something to shine silence From from a very very very far back perspective Um, let me know, is it worth it to send a residency program a letter of intent?
01:04:27
Speaker
Well from my perspective um I think that it can like it can be useful depending at least for emergency medicine I've heard different things about I've now that we have something called signals so signals is Something that you allocate to a certain number of the programs that you choose to apply to and that lets you know Hey, I'm particularly interested in your program every specialty has their own separate amount of signals that you are allowed to have. So for EM, it's five. I know for dermatology, it's like 28. So some people actually just only apply to 28 programs because like, basically, the culture is known that if you apply outside of 28 programs, that's not signaling, it's low yield, like you're likely not going to get an interview. So
01:05:11
Speaker
It all depends on the specialty. So I what I've heard for EM is that, you know, if you send a letter of intent, but then you didn't signal the program, it's kind of like, well, if you like this so much, then why didn't you signal? So like it's almost kind of giving some ingenuity, like not being genuine and.
01:05:28
Speaker
I think it's hard now. I think signals has made things complicated a little bit in terms of, when is it appropriate to send a letter of interest? I've also heard, well, you know you take ah you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so you should probably still just send it. Maybe you could talk about how throughout the cycle, your interest in that program grew. I'm not going to hold you. I've been tempted to maybe send and a letter of intent for some programs like, oh, I didn't know you guys had this, like but I only have five.
01:05:52
Speaker
you know, and by God's grace, I mean, I thank God for all five of them, give me a chance to interview. But I think that it would have been nice to really have known how much signals could impact the trajectory of your application, if that makes any sense. And so, yeah, I don't know. um What do you think, Aldi? I think letters letters of intent can help. I mean, when I was first going through this process, I did send a letter of intent to a program in 2022.
01:06:19
Speaker
that didn't match up. I thought, you know, I was really interested in, but I still think that they see that and and they recognize your passion, you know, and they recognize, like, hey, I think the signaling game, because when I first applied, there was no signaling, you know what I'm saying? Psychiatry, you got 10 signals. Last year was five signals, you know, and I think OB, again, maybe you could like check me on this, but I think last year it was like 16%. It's just because I had a homie that was trying to get through it.
01:06:47
Speaker
last year. So I was kind of tapped into that. um So every like resident, every like pro um specialty you applied to is going to be different, you know, with the signaling and somehow like gold, silver tier, all these different tiers, psychiatry, that they didn't have any of that, you know, was just like a straight, like 10, you just shoot them out. And that can increase your chances of getting an interview at these, at these programs, you know.
01:07:11
Speaker
um But I do believe like letters of intent. You got to be very careful because you don't want to send them to like every program. You know what I mean? Because they're going to be looking at you like, bro, like you kind of a thought. You know what I mean? Like you send it to everybody. You know what I'm just being honest. They're going to be looking at you like, yo, why are you sending it a week? Because for them to record, they talk, bro. They talk. That's a good way to put it.
01:07:36
Speaker
Yeah, you gotta set it's a program you really rock with that you appreciate and I mean and I know if I let y'all go Yeah, I will talk about this all day because all the facts that mr. Resident extraordinaire so i' pivot this Just a little bit and make sure that we talk about our health awareness month for my dear beloved birthday month of our Thank you. and we We're going to actually not go with the well-known cliche. wow okay I can't call it cliche. The well-known, very well ah celebrated and appreciated one of breast cancer awareness. We're actually going to go for pregnancy and infant loss.
01:08:12
Speaker
awareness this month. I love that. I love that. And I think that it's, so you you all, all of our listeners may be thinking, why pregnancy and infant loss awareness month? But listen, we're not predictable here on the podcast. are We always switch it up. We switch it up because we are, you know, we're we're not predictable. And I think that we should bring some more diversity into what we're highlighting when it comes to our health awareness
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness
01:08:37
Speaker
month. So if you guys may not be as tapped into Demi Lovato, but you know, I am a de Demi Lovato stan since the Camp Rock days. Okay. All my don't forget girls stand up. Now Demi, she had her era of really
01:08:51
Speaker
um She's gone through a lot. She's gone through addiction issues. She's gone through a lot of trauma and she talks about that very transparently. But anyway, she does have a sister who actually is also an actress. ah um She was she played the daughter of a housewife on Desperate Housewives. And so she has her own platform. But unfortunately, it's been but note like it's basically been released that she lost a pregnancy. um So she was featured in Demi Lovato's documentary that came out recently on Hulu. And she was very much pregnant in that documentary. They were all expecting the child with her partner, Ryan Mitchell. And so it was kind of just heartbreaking to see Demi post, you know, I lost my niece and you know, rest in peace to the niece and all of that. And apparently it happened after she underwent um emergency c-section a month prior to her due date. So
01:09:46
Speaker
or sorry, a month prior to when it was announced on October 26. And so basically the statement she made on her social media, um and sorry, Debbie Lovato sister's name is Maddie de la Garza, that is her name. ah She made a a statement on social media that their daughter, Zio Mara, did not survive. They said on the evening of September 27, after emergency c-section, Ryan and I held our little girl for the first and last time.
01:10:11
Speaker
Madison 22 wrote on Instagram. Thank you, Ziyomara, for making us parents to the most perfect angel in heaven. Mommy and daddy love you, sweet girl. This is from e well this is from her Instagram page. hey don'es That is extremely heavy. We held our daughter for the first and last time.
01:10:28
Speaker
yeah oh Yeah. Yeah. And you know i think it's um I think stories like that one, and it's just important to know like you know that is just one story of so many that that men and girl tragically end like that. you know right And that's particularly the reason why we wanted to use pregnancy and infant loss awareness month just as an opportunity to acknowledge families who have experienced pregnancy loss or even people that are battling like fertility issues or issues with IVS, IVF, anything that has led to some kind of pregnancy loss. You know what I'm saying? right
01:11:01
Speaker
right and man i think about Sorry, but it makes me think about how blessed we are to be in our position. So many different things can happen while you're in utero. You know what I mean? Right. You can have meconium aspiration. I mean, you can have so many things. Y'all know medical school and everything, what can happen, even from a genetic perspective.
01:11:27
Speaker
Um, and we're blessed to like, really like fully be able to get out our mother's wombs and then be out into the world, be productive members of society. And it's so sad that, um, you know, this young child was, wasn't able to to be in that position, but it's important also to remember the legacy of this child, although it was short and limited. It gives me a sense of humility. Like God gave me the grace to continue my life. And even if things are going wrong or I'm questioning my life.
01:11:54
Speaker
you know I'm still able to breathe, I'm still able to take the action, take the step to move forward.
Public Figures and Fertility Struggles
01:12:00
Speaker
This child wasn't unfortunately able to do that, but I know reading about this, you know eight you know that transference is so important too with that process.
01:12:09
Speaker
And I think it's important to highlight other, you know, public figures such as Maddie De La Garza, who have publicly shared their experiences with miscarriage and fertility and, you know, IVF, Gabrielle Union, Michelle Obama, Meghan Markle, Beyonce, Rami Ma, Tyra Banks, Candy Burris, Mariah Carey, Tia Mowry and Tamara Hall. And this is just write a short list of a very long list of women. And, you know, I think it's also important for us to acknowledge this as we know that some people have questioned even Kamala Harris's choice to not have any biological children of her own. And a lot of people don't know that women are facing these silent battles that they may not even speak about, right? There's so much that goes into carrying a pregnancy to term and we don't, you know, and so I always encourage us to be mindful about the narratives that we try to paint of women and and their connection to
01:13:02
Speaker
being a mother or not being a mother or being a biological mother versus being and a stepmother whatever everybody's. Story and everybody's role is valid and it's not our place to judge people because of that. I think I think this is a good rule of thumb to go by um the next time that you're gonna ask a woman about her fertility don't.
01:13:25
Speaker
the Next time you're gonna ask her when she's ready to have kids when the kids are coming when she's even even if she has kids Oh, when's the next one? Don't do not do not Silence. It is always a sensitive subject if that woman is not your partner. A hundred percent. And, you know, it's it's we don't always like to end our run the list on a somber note, but I want this to also be a point of encouragement that we're standing with all women no matter your story. And we support you regardless. Right. So well, anyway, that is our show.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:14:02
Speaker
Thank you all so much for joining us for this episode of The Lounge.
01:14:07
Speaker
Let us know your thoughts about the discussions we had today or ask us a question for a chance to be featured on the show by emailing us at podcast at snm8.org.
01:14:21
Speaker
Be sure to check out Unscripted for a longer, more in-depth conversations on our most high-yield subjects from this show. And be sure to follow the SNMA on all our social media platforms to stay up to date on upcoming events. That's our show. Have a happy Halloween, everybody.