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Halloweekend! Face your Fears!
52 Plays14 days ago
On this October episode of Run the List join our hosts, Dr. Samiza Palmer, MD, Dr. Isabella Ntigbu, MD, and Jared Jeffrey M.S. as they tackle one doozy of a list. Everything from vaccine frights to navigating residency interview season. This is one conversation you won't want to miss!
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To share your thoughts on our discussion 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 views expressed on this podcast may not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
Introduction & AMEC 2026 Announcement
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. AMEC 2026 will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from April 1st to 5th, 2026. This year, the conference is entitled Bridging Generations with Hope, Illuminating the Voices and Vision of the Future of Medicine.
00:00:22
Speaker
AMEC will bring together over 3,000 pre-med students, physicians, alumni, and healthcare professionals from across the country for a vibrant and empowering experience. Join us this year in Pittsburgh as we build bridges that inspire hope, strengthen bonds, and empower the bold visionaries who will transform healthcare for generations to come.
00:00:39
Speaker
To register, please click on the link in the description box below.
Podcast Introduction and Halloween Plans
00:00:43
Speaker
now let's start the show.
00:01:01
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 the SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare.
00:01:16
Speaker
This is future student Dr. Jared Jeffrey, and we have officially entered that... Ooh, spooky season. Now, i know medicine doesn't doesn't necessarily stop even during the holidays, but I wanted to check it in with the team and see, are yeah are you guys doing anything special for Halloween?
00:01:33
Speaker
How are you spending it? Might you be dressing up? Are you going to be on your service in costume? I'll start. My job is extremely enthusiastic about Halloween. Like, you know, I work in a lab, um clinical lab.
00:01:47
Speaker
ah We don't see patients. We just see samples. And so it kind of hits like the office, you know? It's like the medical version of the office. Everybody's really silly. And we have like a whole spirit team, spirit committee.
00:02:00
Speaker
And my third day last year was Halloween. And I dressed up and they were like so with it. They were like, oh my gosh, the new guy dressed up. It's it's lit. So, yeah, I'm going to be dressing up. I got to, like, bring it even more than I did last year.
00:02:13
Speaker
um Probably hit a little Halloween party. And, you know, maybe I'll do some trick-or-treating. Who knows? What about you guys? Trick-or-treat. You want to go, Isabella?
00:02:25
Speaker
Sure. You know, i we can kick it off. ah This is Dr. Isabella. and Come on. no Unfortunately, Yeah. he said her ah It never gets old. I never get tired saying that. you know We have to upgrade every time. Change it. this Listen, so this year, as you can imagine, i am a resident and residency does not necessarily care about holidays the way that I do. So I will be working on Halloween this year. I'm currently on my ortho rotation program. My role is to manage the floors. So more so making sure everything is good from medical standpoint. I'm not doing anything surgical because I did not sign up for that.
00:03:06
Speaker
But um I'm hoping that- You don't want to break a bone? me i don't want to break anything i'm hoping it's actually a silent night that night so i can actually enjoy whatever i have left of the holiday um it's actually like exclusively overnight so i'm gonna be there overnight um i don't know if the team that i'm on is gonna want to do anything maybe they'll want to bring candy or i don't necessarily know how they're gonna want to celebrate i was not planning to dress up because I'm going to be in ah the hospital overnight. That's to me not a time for me to be dressing up.
00:03:39
Speaker
You don't want to celebrate. I would like to celebrate if it would have been done from the confines of either my home or with, you know, friends, people that I spend time with outside the hospital, in the hospital, i'm just kind of like, I just want this night to be over. So I'm hoping that, that I don't have a long and stressful Halloween and it kind of just goes smoothly and I can enjoy whatever I have left of the holiday. So that's my plans. I'm going to make the best of it.
00:04:11
Speaker
Lose zombie makeup on the cheek. Never hurt nobody. Isabella don't want to dress up with the orthobros. That's crazy. Okay, listen, that's not my ministry. Let them, if they want to organize, they can organize me. I'm just going to show up as as myself and hope that ah the plans are already made.
00:04:28
Speaker
that's That's my... Come on. I'm kind of bang that. mad at you. Well, you know, actually, hey guys, it's Dr. Samiza. um Funnily enough...
00:04:40
Speaker
That's actually our resident wellness day. So I actually will be off. I love that. So there's like a whole day planned for us. We're like all off, I think, from like, don't know.
00:04:54
Speaker
like Thursday night or something. I don't remember, but we're off and they have events planned for us. And then I think there's a resident like Halloween party. So my co-intern told me I got to think of my my ah Halloween costume. So, you know, if anybody has any ideas, please leave it. I usually didn't celebrate Halloween that much because ah my dad's birthday was super close to Halloween. So I never... Had to think about it, but we're out and we're about.
00:05:27
Speaker
So let's do it guys. Find me ideas. Love it, love it, love it. Okay, now for what you guys are all here for, running the list.
Flu Season & Vaccination Compliance
00:05:38
Speaker
For our preclinical students, running the patient list on the wards allows the teams 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.
00:05:53
Speaker
So for our very first topic, I have the pleasure, displeasure of about flu season and vaccine recommendations, more specifically flu-related deaths. um So according to the CDC, they estimate about 1 million people were hospitalized with the flu last season. And that that was up to 130,000 deaths based on preliminary data from October through May Similar CDC estimates suggest that October through September there have been almost hospitalizations
00:06:33
Speaker
c three thousand coveredvin nineteen deaths um And, you know, not to get into the weeds of like how the vaccines actually work, because, you know, that there will be a whole topic on that. But all of the vaccines are going to be trivalent and they're going to be um targeting influenza A, H3N2 and H1N1, as well as influenza B. um And basically, they're updated every year in accordance with the previous flu season. So they're making sure that they're, you know, changing all those things for us. But, you know, me and my co-resident were actually talking today.
00:07:12
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And we were saying like the flu, like everybody kind of thinks of it as like a cold plus, but like it really be taking people out. Like it's like I think these numbers kind of showcase like how deadly and, you know, serious the flu can be. So, I mean, I guess for you guys in your, you know, work situation, in residency, like Do you feel like they're encouraging and providing access to flu vaccinations? um And how are you getting your flu shots this the season?
00:07:46
Speaker
I mean, my... residency program is definitely, or at least like the hospital in which I work under, um is definitely been very on it with the flu clinic. Like we have a deadline that's the end of this month that everyone has to be vaccinated against the flu. So like they've been very on top of it. So i have had access to the flu shot. I got my flu shot like a couple days ago at the hospital and it automatically like sends over when, um,
00:08:13
Speaker
Like it's done, like the documentation automatically uploads into your portal so they know that you're compliant. So they're very on it. And I think that's how it should be for working in a health facing setting. Like you're yeah being exposed to patients all the time.
00:08:26
Speaker
you definitely should be up to date on whatever mandatory vaccines are there if you're going to be interacting with people who are either sick or don't don't want to be sick again. So I hope that, yeah, that there's definitely things in place for people like us who are residents or anybody who's just like handling patient care definitely should be compliant. So yeah, my program is pretty good with that. So I feel like, yeah, no complaints from that standpoint. They've been really good with the the vaccine compliance.
00:08:58
Speaker
That's fire. That's fire. um Mine is not a hospital setting. So um I got to get my own flu shot. I'm going to like CVS to get it on my urgent care. Period. Yeah, they've already started like sending me the text. I just got to like schedule it one day when I'm free.
00:09:12
Speaker
um Now that the festivities are over, I can, you know, focus on important things like that. um Question. Are you guys updating your COVID-19 vaccinations too? and Let me tell you something.
00:09:24
Speaker
let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. I'm getting every shot they can give me. i'm This is just how feel about it. I understand everybody, you know, it was like, what why amm what am I doing this for? Yeah. Sorry, what am I doing this again for? But and and I don't think I kind of just look at it as like another flu shot. Like,
00:09:45
Speaker
if you're saying that the different strains that are coming out are like needing to be updated and you're sort of titrating it based on the, um like the trends from the last, ah from the previous season, like that's just sort of how I look at it. So I have gotten updated shots and I know that this is a controversial like opinion and people are like, Oh, like how many have you had? But I don't know. I think I,
00:10:13
Speaker
I think I just look at it as another flu shot versus like, oh, like whether not like really need it. But I know there's a bunch of people that haven't updated it if they haven't had to. Right. yeah i think yeah like agree yeah i think it's um it's good that to honestly stay compliant as well i i honestly don't even know when the covet boosters do and how much like i haven't looked all into all those details i mean if that was something that my program had said hey you guys should be getting this booster x y you know i'll follow that protocol but i'm just going based on what they're telling me so if i haven't heard anything i'm just going assume that my
00:10:50
Speaker
four COVID boosters now that I have or three, four, whatever I have. yeah yeah I got four. You know what's funny about it? I feel like because society is moving so different with COVID,
00:11:03
Speaker
yeah It kind of makes it like real. Not de-incentivized, but like it's not in the forefront of our heads like before. like yeah They were shutting you out of everything if you didn't get your COVID boost. You got your card?
00:11:16
Speaker
Exactly. You know you need that card. That card was your life. It was the second driver's license. Nobody's asked about card for so long. ah Right. You have to fly with that yellow card. that's if you but I think it's still in my backpack.
00:11:32
Speaker
yeah I got a picture version of it. All kinds
COVID-19 Vaccination Trends
00:11:36
Speaker
of stuff. you March 13th. got the dates. Don't even got to look that far. I know exactly where it's at.
00:11:46
Speaker
Don't even worry about that. I found It's there. telling you. I'm telling you. It's crazy. Yeah, no. But for sure. no and And then just like, I don't know, in general, like guys, just take care of yourselves. Talk to your local PCPs, urgent care, whoever.
00:12:06
Speaker
See if somebody will give it to you for free. Just there's no need. The flu actually do be taking people out. So be careful. takes people out. Like bad.
00:12:16
Speaker
and it really takes no prisoners. Five, seven days. Yeah. Yeah. And, yeah you know, don't be scared to go to urgent care and get it, like, you know, actually diagnosed, try to get a rapid
Diddy's Sentencing & its Aftermath
00:12:27
Speaker
flu, whatever the case may be. um Speaking of getting taken out.
00:12:33
Speaker
Dang. That was crazy. Um...
00:12:39
Speaker
um Person that we've been reporting on on this podcast for oh so long has actually been... going to say taken out, but you know his story has come to an end.
00:12:52
Speaker
Diddy has been officially sentenced for... the very long trial that he stood. um o lord Officially, he's been sentenced to 50 months.
00:13:05
Speaker
um the That's calendar years. Wow. Yeah, yeah. A couple calendar years. About four years. his um His charges do not include the racketeering that he was initially, like, you know, standing trial for.
00:13:20
Speaker
But he did get a two counts of transporting someone across state lines to engage in prostitution. One count was for his former girlfriend, Cassie, and the other one that was for a woman just identified as Jane. I really like that one. While we're on the topic, I would like to just throw in there... um that the SNMA does not condone domestic violence in any way, shape or form. And I just want to throw out the resource for the national domestic violence hotline.
00:13:49
Speaker
Um, the number is 1-800-799-SAFE. Um, if you don't want to call, there is a way to start a text chat with a live advocate. You can text start to 887-888. That is 887-888.
00:14:02
Speaker
that is eight eight seven eight eight um
00:14:10
Speaker
ah So, you know, going from this topic, you know, we kind of want to spin it right. We can go into what, you know, you could say the mental health of his victims might be. So like, like, let's say you're Cassie at the moment, right? Like, I remember her testimony included things like saying that.
00:14:28
Speaker
She would be fearful for her life if he was to not get convicted, if he was like, you know, be allowed to walk the street. She's actually expressed concern over like the fact that his sentence is so short and she's concerned about, you know, what might happen once he's back on the streets and once he's back able to do different things. So i just want to like ask you guys, like, what do you think the um the mental health of someone who has survived a long stint with domestic violence might be like and how they may like, you know, be able to like move forward?
00:15:00
Speaker
Um, I mean, I guess I can start. I think, i don't know if it was a run the list episode or unscripted, but I just remember at the start of this very long drawn out case how I think we were all skeptical that he would even get any sort of punishment.
00:15:18
Speaker
yeah um And I think we were jaded in the fact that we're like, okay, he's not going to get anything. So I'll just hold my breath until, you know, the end or the culmination of the case.
00:15:30
Speaker
So I guess in thinking about the mental health of the victims, I hope that there's at least some salt solace in the fact that he's being held accountable in some way, but I sort of, as she described, like, you know, is, is there ever a time limit that you can put to someone's safety once they've been like threatened by this person in that way, right? Once they've been exposed in the way that they've been exposed. So I don't know. i don't think you can say that full justice was served. I think this is maybe some form of a consolation prize, but I think in general,
00:16:12
Speaker
I think it's a big step that he got some sort of ah punishment. Agreed. Because Lord knows there's been many a many a many a woman, many a victim, no matter what gender, just left unheard.
00:16:28
Speaker
So yeah I think it's a step in the right direction. It's just obviously when you are the victim of it, like it could never be enough for what you went through.
00:16:40
Speaker
Right. I totally agree with that standpoint. I think that, um of course, he like four years was not sufficient time.
00:16:51
Speaker
From my standpoint, it was not sufficient time for the culmination of crimes and abuse that he placed onto other people for so many years that went unchecked. But if we're thinking about it from the context of the who he is and what he represents in the in society, this is, like Samisa said, a huge stepping point. Because a lot of times people can't just get a little slap on the wrist and then walk away scot-free. So the fact that he actually did get some form of accountability and justice in this situation, I think, is definitely...
00:17:29
Speaker
a big turning point in our justice system in terms of how we've come so far from people who are wealthy and have so much power, not being able to get away with things that they typically could get away with before. And of course my heart goes out to Cassie and the other victims who, who have to continue to suffer day by day by remembering what they went through back, back at that time. And i I think it's beyond just him being in jail, but I think like it just it's more so about how do we make sure that people like Diddy, who are in these spaces know that they you are not above the law, you're not above any anything when it comes to.
00:18:10
Speaker
how you're treating a fellow human being and what you're doing yeah on a day-to-day basis. So I just hope that, I hope it, what would actually be the best case scenario is that even whatever it's one year, two years, five years, whatever he's gotten, that he understands that this should be the first and the last time you decide to move like this. And you'll be very thoughtful moving forward because ultimately,
00:18:32
Speaker
what would be scary is if he was to go back and redo what he's already done, which I think is more so Cassie's like fears. Like what happens if he just like serves this thing and then goes back to being amendments? I would hope that jail would be the best reason why he should stay stay in check and not go back to whatever he was doing before. So that's my hope is that he learned something from this. It's not even just about the years, but it's like, even if you're spending five, six months in jail, jail is horrible. So you don't need to you don't be there forever to know how bad jail is so i just feel like that in itself should whip hopefully whip him back into shape i don't know i don't know if he's going to be in ah and a nice cushy jail i don't know where they're putting this man i don't know if it's rikers island or is it a private jail that's going to have all the amenities i don't know hey but fa benant
00:19:20
Speaker
but I hope in the end, once again, that like he just learns the lesson. And that's what I think is like what we can hope for from the situation, to be honest with you. I think what what I will say is like I can um compare this to like a landmark Supreme Court case, you know, the ones that determine that set a precedent for things that are to follow. Right. um yeah Here we have.
00:19:44
Speaker
Millionaire music mogul, somebody with larger than average amounts of money and influence, even among people in those spaces. Right.
00:19:55
Speaker
Yeah. That has seen his day in court and has been held accountable by a jury of his peers. Right. I think that is a plus for society. Like, I agree with the two of you. um I think it does also, like, you know, the the blanket publicity that the that the case had also contributes to things, you know? Like, I think definitely the victims were... um were very brave to be able to like you know take the stand and talk about things again in such a public case um but being able to see it through to the end you know will have i believe the right impact on things moving forward you know yeah 100
00:20:47
Speaker
I think it's just going to... It's definitely just going to take a... It's something that everyone can learn from. Diddy and his peers, right? Whoever has been rubbing shoulders with the guy who has also... Who knows? Because everybody knows what they've done in their past. Whether it's public or not. Before we even knew what Diddy did from a public standpoint, he knew what he did. And so the thing now... now it's Now it's public. Now everybody knows, oh, you did this thing. But there's other Diddy's out there, okay? And I'm not going to name names because... I'm not here to start conspiracy theories or to make alleged statements. I was about to say name names. Yeah, like I'm not here to name names. But know who's at the freak offs.
00:21:28
Speaker
Okay. Because I know those freak offs were not attended solo. I know there was an audience and there were members. So you know who you are, right? Let this be an example. so watching Exactly. You're not above the law. That's kind of just...
00:21:44
Speaker
how I see it. And I, and I hope that for casting other people, like people who have been victim to this, it's going to be a, ah it's honestly going to be a lifelong healing process for them. It's not going to be something that they're just going get over just because he's in jail for a year. It's going to be lifelong. So I, really I really, just pray that they find that and they, and whatever, whether it's therapy prayer, like connecting with their faith, like, I just hope that they find that way to rehabilitate from such trauma. Cause it's not easy, you know? So Yeah. um But, you know, our job being in healthcare, care being physicians, you know, we we we also try to advocate for people who are found in these spaces.
00:22:22
Speaker
um This is now the season, actually, that we've had new budding physicians applying into the specialty of the different specialties of medicine. That was us, Samisa, last cycle. And now um we've had another cycle come across.
Navigating Residency Applications
00:22:38
Speaker
Another cycle has passed. And there are new people who will be joining general surgery emergency medicine and all the other specialties out there um so residency applications are actually submitted about about a month ago i believe it was like september it's usually like late september end of september oh yeah end of september and um i know there were some new things that happened so i know ob-gyne had switched over to residency costs last year but usually um usually the main one is the double amc um amcast application am i saying what is the amcast right
00:23:11
Speaker
That's what I go with. Yeah. Yeah. Amcast. um But EM actually also ended up joining us in CCOS as well this year. So I don't know what that is because I didn't use it. So I have no clue the the platform maybe didn't end up joining us. So she can't really tell us what it is either. But I will say that what I've heard is I think it's a little bit, it kind of eliminates the fluff. It's a little bit more affordable for applicants. So I think it's nice to,
00:23:39
Speaker
if that platform supports those things, um that EM decided to join it. um The only thing is like now you're kind of removed from like what other applicants are using in terms of AMCAS being like the most common one. So I don't really know what changes happen. We tripping.
00:23:54
Speaker
We tripping, dog. Just because we finished our applications, we forgot it was it's the ERAS application. I was always was about to say, when is ERAS coming? I think going into...
00:24:05
Speaker
I was only going to ask, so what's the answer? I said, yes, it is. Absolutely. is here The way I just took it out of my brain, after I put an application, everything concerning is out of my, I left that one to God. I just.
00:24:22
Speaker
you know what's so crazy though so my fourth year like resident pgy4 she's like applying for fellowship bro why she opened up the eras thing i said oh nah like i never want not again and but i'm gonna see it again it's crazy but sorry let's get back to the residency eras all right so yeah i got a question i got a question for y'all um so somebody submitted their apps and like you know like let's say there's like a m4 that's listening to the pod right now um how can they navigate their interview process like do you guys have any tips to like interviewing or like how do you choose uh one program over another you know i'm saying
00:25:09
Speaker
Yeah. i I feel like we talked about this a little bit last year, but now having gone through the process, I think there are a couple tips that I have. One, obviously, it's we got y'all a little too late. So i would the first thing I would have told you is Don't like freak out and apply to like a thousand different programs. I ended up doing that. And honestly, I just spent a whole bunch of money that kind of was unnecessary for real.
00:25:40
Speaker
And I think another thing is to really be diligent in ah like what interviews you're accepting. Right.
00:25:51
Speaker
I think that's another, and that all comes apart with not applying to everywhere just to apply. Because then you feel compelled to take the interviews because, they're like oh, my God, they like me. Or, oh my God, like, why didn't this place like me? um So you end up interviewing everywhere because you're just like afraid and you want to make sure that you, you know, get residency spot. um So I would say just be a little bit more discerning and in picking where you're applying and then where you interview with. Because I think for me, i was blessed to have those interviews, but I do think I did too many interviews. And I think it is very difficult to stay on top of, know,
00:26:31
Speaker
you know researching the program, researching the people you're talking to. And for me, I was doing sub-I's all up until, i I want to say, like to January, February. So I was doing sub-I's and interviews, and it was just a very tiring process, probably more tiring than I could have anticipated. um Yeah. So then just like other concrete things, like in terms of like doing interviews, I would do like, you know, in the beginning places that you're excited about, but like aren't your tops. I would do your top choices in the middle and then, you know, sort of wherever else, anywhere else falls. Like that's how I would do.
00:27:10
Speaker
schedule them and then I wouldn't schedule like a whole bunch of interviews back to back like within a week um because most interviews especially they're virtual still um will require you to go to a mixer the night before then you go to the interview and if you're doing that five days in a row think about that you're doing it something at night in the daytime night in the daytime night in the daytime for four days in a row right so I'm speaking from experience don't do that I'll I was about to say, sis, you setting up one-on-one calls? Like, you setting up coaching? I'm about set you up doodle link something like that. Let these M4s get on your you. Yeah, man. I can tell you from... I can tell you what not to do from what I did.
00:27:55
Speaker
Got you. I have a really bad experience from and from interview season, but I'll keep that for another time. Go ahead, Isabella. Isabella, what about you? I mean, yeah. I mean, honestly, to be brief, I will say, like...
00:28:09
Speaker
I think the biggest thing when it comes to like choosing ideal program, and even just nugg knowing where you want to land is one, trusting your gut um when it comes to how how you rank your programs. I think that ultimately you need to have first and foremost, like what are your negotiables and your non-negotiables for like how you're ranking your program? So is it based on location? Is it based on like how you feel like you gelled with the people during the interview? Is it based on like diversity? like You just have to have like the things that you aren't gonna be you're not going to move on and then kind of tailor that to how you choose to rank. Ultimately, honestly, the rank process is going to take you wherever. So you can do all that and you still might not end up right at your like and on your top half of your list. Thankfully, i was like I ranked within the top half of my list, but like ultimately like it's still...
00:29:00
Speaker
doesn't necessarily always go the way that people expect it to go. So I think you have to be prepared for that as well. But the best thing you can do is just really trust your gut and like, kind of stick to like how you feel like you want to rank and don't really, don't be pressured on ranking on other things that people may tell you like, oh, rank based on how you feel like how much they liked you. Like I had someone who I knew personally, like it didn't really work out in her favor. And she thought like, maybe she should have like tailored her questions certain way or like who maybe acted more interested than she really was. But I'm like, I don't think that would have made a difference. It's ultimately, They know who they want. You know what trying You can't force people to like. You can't force people to vibe with you. You just have to be yourself. Like me, I was myself on every interview.
00:29:37
Speaker
Didn't change. Didn't act different. Didn't sing ah a dance in a song. I was consistent. And the thing is, like I let the energy be what it was and flow how it flowed. and allowed that to kind of determine where I felt like they fell. So even if I, like there was Brown, funny enough, was like my, my actually my best interview. So that's why I find it so funny that I ranked, like I matched there because that was actually like my top interview. Like I felt like that went the easiest, right. But like, it wasn't the only thing I was thinking about. there's other factors i was thinking about too, when I made my rank list, but like, that was something that like I wrote down because after every interview, I always wrote down how I felt about the place of how things went. So that was something i actually wrote down about them. So I do think that like the match kind of really does work the way it's supposed to work. So like, trust that, but you know, it like, it's not going to go in everybody's favor, but I think ultimately it's going to work out the way it's supposed to work out. So don't be frustrated if in the end you don't maybe get close on the top of your list. Cause like, I think ultimately like it's going to, it's going to happen the way it's meant to happen. You have to really just trust the process. So that's kind of how I would go. But I think people try to like kind of skirt around, know,
00:30:39
Speaker
like how, where you rank, where you match, all those things, they s skirt around it, but it does matter because people do like have, you know, complaints about and people do are still kind of like upset about how it went for them. um So I think that's something that you kind of have to also be like mindful of like, okay, you can try your best, but like ultimately the match is not just a one-sided thing. It's both sides. So you have to be open to that too.
00:30:59
Speaker
So yeah, that's kind of how I would advise people. Yeah, I definitely agree. And like, i I kind of agree with you, Isabella, in that like LSU for sure was one of my best, if not my best interview.
00:31:16
Speaker
um And I think you shouldn't limit yourself like limit yourself For sure. i think i went into interview season like trying to be very open. and like I said, obviously, like don't overdo it and like go to a bunch places that like for real, like, you know, you're never going to go to. But um i think for the places that you're like, I don't know if I have people there or i don't know if I.
00:31:41
Speaker
you know, have ever been to this place. Yeah. Like this might be one of the last times you get to make a new change in your life. So just go ahead and do what you got to do, bro. And have fun.
00:31:54
Speaker
it can be really fun and you can meet a lot of people on the interview trail that are just like amazing. Right. Okay. So I got one more question. You both mentioned that you knew The program that you're at was, coincidentally, one of your better interviews.
00:32:12
Speaker
Could you name a couple things that let you know it was one of your better interviews?
00:32:17
Speaker
I think the biggest thing for me was like the energy between everybody I interviewed felt very natural. It didn't feel like I kind of had to force the connection or force the conversation. It just flowed.
00:32:28
Speaker
And we just seemed to just naturally understand each other. it just It just felt easy. You know, like when something doesn't feel like you have to kind of like find other ways to keep the conversation floral, like be creative at all. Like how do I kind of Let this turn into like something more interesting. Like you don't really have to do much. You just, you, you say something, they say something. And then somehow the conversation just becomes something that's very like more profound, but you didn't really look for it. It just kind of happened that way. That's kind of how I felt. And I felt like the energy felt very genuine.
00:32:57
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Like just genuine energy, not no one forcing anything like each person being themselves. It felt very authentic. And I think that's how I knew it was like a solid interview. Gotcha. Gotcha.
00:33:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think it was a lot of things. One, this was one of my only in-person interviews um that I did. so I think that helped me feel out the culture a lot.
00:33:20
Speaker
um Also, like, there were just, like, random little things. was like, oh, that's, like, weird. Or, like, there's this connection. Like, one of the residents was also a Drexel alum and, like, was just very nice and just super um welcoming when I, like... Got to interview day. um So I think that was a really big part of it. I remember like during the social and during the interview process, like my that my co-applicants that day were great. And honestly, a two ah two of them are now my co-residents, two of the co-applicants from that day.
00:33:56
Speaker
So I think that was a good vibe. And then I just remember like on every interview I had, there was something that I could connect with, like actually with like every person I spoke to.
00:34:07
Speaker
And I don't know, it just felt like a good day. Like I didn't have any complaints about it. Like there wasn't a time where even if the question that was asked was like, oh, this is a little difficult or i don't know. yeah Like it felt like this there was something to learn or something I could talk about with each one of these people. so And I remember like telling everybody afterwards, like, you know what? I don't know. Like I kept bringing them up.
00:34:29
Speaker
Like, even if I was like, oh, like I've, you know, done sub-is here. I've done sub-is there. I just like, but I really did like my LSU interview. Like, I just kept saying it. like And I think another big thing was um the pede surge situation. So one of the people down here, like, they knew my mentor from a different place. And it was just, it felt like serendipity. And I think when I opened my envelope and it was LSU, was like, oh, okay, for sure.
00:34:57
Speaker
Let's do it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Okay. Okay. I like that. well I feel like there's some M4 somewhere that's going listen to this and they're going to resonate. And you're like, I knew I wasn't bugging.
00:35:11
Speaker
I knew it. yeah Yeah, man. Thank y'all. thanks Brighter side. Right? On the brighter side. On the brighter side of celebrity parenting. um Rihanna successfully delivered her daughter, Rocky Irish Mayors, um somewhere around the last week of September. ah Rihanna and A$AP welcomed their daughter.
00:35:32
Speaker
ah This is their third child, and she joins older siblings RZA and Riot. So congratulations to them. Love And because they're so not problematic, there's nothing else to talk about there. But what we can do is use this as an opportunity to discuss maternal health outcomes that affect black and brown
Maternal Health Disparities
00:35:53
Speaker
communities. Right. So just a couple of statistics. Black women in the United States experience significantly higher rates of maternal mortality and morbidity compared to white women.
00:36:03
Speaker
These disparities are rooted in system systemic racism, social determinants of health with implicit biases in the health care system. So like just to give you a couple, um black women are three to four but times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women.
00:36:19
Speaker
Black mothers are more likely to experience postpartum hemorrhage, preeclampsia and other severe complications. Black infants are twice as likely to be born preterm or with some form of low birth rate.
00:36:33
Speaker
ah And there's a whole other plethora of things that I can get into in terms of the social determinants of health or implicit biases. But I wanted to get guys' perspective on whether you think we are trending. And this is, you know, completely subjective from your own personal viewpoints.
00:36:55
Speaker
Do you believe that we're trending in any kind of positive direction? Really, Wiz Dumei B was here for this. Do you think we're trending in a positive direction with regard to, and I'm going to broaden the scope and say women's health in general. Do you believe that we're broadening, that we're moving in any kind of like,
00:37:15
Speaker
positive trajectory because i speak with a lot of my female friends women between the ages of 25 and 35 and there is a quite clear consensus that um women's health in this country leaves a lot to be desired so oh for sure let me know what think um
00:37:35
Speaker
I don't know. I'll just go first real quick. I've personally dealt with this topic, this issue, like remotely and very recently. And I now with the medical knowledge that I have, it is so...
00:37:53
Speaker
It's crazy because you're like, damn, like, what was it? Was it, you know, all the things that we learned about, like, the four T's and all that stuff? um But I think it's just so disheartening that Black women, people that look like me, people that my age or a little bit older or a little bit younger are dying from something that's seemingly so preventable, right? Mm-hmm.
00:38:16
Speaker
it makes me scared to have a child in this country. it Truthfully, like i like I talk about it all the time. Like one, just going through med school and like learning about how everything can really go wrong during pregnancy. And then you hear about TikTok and the list and, all the girl with the list and all those things, right? It just makes you very afraid to just engage in the practice of being pregnant. But I think that that that fear is heightened as a black woman because you know that money can't save you, education can't save you, and it is scary to go into a ah process that you know is something that you want, but that could very well kill you, right? And leave...
00:39:05
Speaker
such a big gaping hole in the lives of the people that you leave behind. So I don't know. I think it's very scary. It makes me want to stay abreast of things that are important to OB be because like at the end of the day, I want to advocate for the people that...
00:39:23
Speaker
are not just, like, me and, like, my family, but, like, my friends or anybody that I can help so that they're not dealing with that just intense grief um in this process. Because, trust me, it is very real and it is very, very sad. Yeah.
00:39:39
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, on my OB rotation, I definitely... saw a lot. um Thankfully, most of them were like great outcomes. I do think there's definitely still disparities that exist when it comes to like black women in terms of how plugged into care or the rates of kind of medical conditions associated with pregnancy, like preeclampsia or gestational hypertension and all of these other things that can affect the health of the baby. Definitely maybe more towards black and brown women that I was seeing. I do think though that from what I saw, at least from the, because I did my rotation within the emergency department at Women and Infants Hospital, which is like a solely obstetric and gynecologic hospital focused hospital.
00:40:26
Speaker
place so it's an ed that really just sees women mostly and so that was a unique experience where i got to spend time actually like learning how to manage both pregnancy non-pregnancy related complaints whether it was vaginal bleeding or if it was due to like hypertension um during pregnancy like just kind of how to recognize those things and how to effectively manage those things and like the right labs to get to make sure we rule out dangerous things like preeclampsia with or without severe features like all of these things so i think that there's definitely places and systems that I think may do it better than others. Cause like at, in Brown system, we have a hospital that's dedicated to that, but not every hospital system will have something like that. So it might just go to a general ED where maybe the physicians there don't have as much exposure, seeing women who are pregnant or knowing how to like effectively manage and triage those patients. So there could be disparities from that sense. Right. So I do think it's even a resource um standpoint too, that can actually affect the care that women get. But I will say that, um,
00:41:25
Speaker
I think it's more so just figuring out how do we like equalize those things? Like how do we make sure that the places that don't necessarily have certain resources catered towards women who are going to be pregnant or maybe just not even pregnant, just the fact that they are women and that they're going to a place that i will actually know how to treat them and have like that focused care. I think it's something we have to just continue to be mindful because once again, when you are a demographic that's not necessarily at the forefront or deemed as that important, sometimes people don't want to invest in those things. I think it's really investing in that, in those resources that's needed to kind of make sure that we have better outcomes, because that's how you get better outcomes is that you invest, right? Make sure that you have things in place to treat those patients. So I think there are some places who are that are probably doing it a little bit more better than others, not necessarily because they don't want to, but just because they have they've already put the effort and the money into it. And I think we just have to like make sure that we advocate for that being done at other places. like That's kind of how I would see it. So I can't speak for other places because I only know my system so far, but I would hope that people are being more mindful of it, especially during this administration, right? Where-
00:42:29
Speaker
yeahp yeah We don't know if people above care. So we kind of have to advocate for ourselves at this point and make sure that it's it's getting done. Yeah. And I know that, you know, as residents, we so sort of complain about work and just like, it's very hard. It is very hard. But yeah one thing i am never upset about is my patient asking me a question, right? It is, the onus is actually on us to explain things to you.
00:42:57
Speaker
So what I will say and what I will empower everyone to ever say to a doctor is, I don't understand what you're saying to me. Explain it again until I understand it. If anything feels wrong...
00:43:12
Speaker
question it it's okay that's literally why we learned how to do this sometimes you don't have to question it rudely you don't have to question it and yell at me but you can question it right and and i will always be okay with you doing that so please do that do that for yourselves do that for your family it's fine we have to explain it to you no go ahead isabel And like health literacy is clearly something that is not going to be equal across the board. Like we clearly are going to know more than the general population when it comes to our health. And, you know, thankfully there's actually other avenues and ways that people are trying to bridge that gap.
The Pit: A Medical Drama
00:43:50
Speaker
And we, something as simple as media and television is another way that people have been trying to bridge that gap. The pit on HBO max has been a great, a great,
00:44:01
Speaker
segue into how we are starting to do that a little bit more. And I'm really, really very honored to be a part of the emergency medicine profession. um especially since the inception of this show. And I think it's so nice to, so I'll just talk a little bit about the show for those who do not know, um, the pit on HBO, it actually came out, I believe it was early this year, like January of 2025. And I was excited about it. Cause this was literally like in the middle of me interviewing to be an emergency medicine doctor. So I was like, Oh, that's so cool. Like there's a show that's going to be centered on this. It's actually a spinoff from ER. which is an old show from the 90s that was also all about the emergency department and work. And that was like kind of during the golden years of EM where like it was still a newish specialty, but it had more structure at that point. And people actually kind of got exposures like, what do EM doctors do? What does it look like? And um through media and through television, people were able to tell the stories of the emergency department. So it actually inspired a lot of people to go into EM at that time when it was out. um COVID happened. And then we had kind of like ah a huge disruption in the healthcare system. People were trying to avoid the ED because that's where we're at the front lines of medicine. People are sick. And so it it ended up like collapsing a lot of EM, but now, you know, we're back, baby. We're rebuilding from COVID we are in a better place. And I think what I loved about the pit
00:45:24
Speaker
is that this is a spinoff so actually the person who plays dr robin who is like the attending physician he actually was the med student in yeah er back in the 90s so it's kind of like a continuity yeah of this training um so it's really cool to see um but it's nice because the pit is different from i would say a lot of other shows medical shows that we have like grays and chicago med and whatever the resident it's different in the sense of like this is something that they've used real like medical literature bonafide and like um kind of reviewed by people in the fields so like this is not um fairy tale medicine this is real medicine let's dramatize it's gonna be like like uh
00:46:10
Speaker
It's realistic. More accurate. Yeah. There you Correct. And even outside of the drama, cause there's drama, but the drama is like based in real authentic things that happen in the emergency department. So our drama is like a girl coming in to get an abortion because her mom doesn't believe in it and comes to the emergency department to get it done. Our drama is a mass casualty happening. Our drama is um healthcare workers getting abused by patients, like physically abused you know in the emergency department. Real things that are happening, that's the drama, but it's actually real. It actually happens. And so they're shedding light on these things that...
00:46:45
Speaker
first line providers are kind of working or fighting against every day at work. um But the beautiful thing is that the people who create like who are writing the scripts and actually showing the medicine aspect, these are real emergency medicine doctors like Dr. Mel Herbert, who made MRAP, like the founder of MRAP, which is like the emergency medicines podcast. actually was one of the main consult, like medical consultants on the show. So this is like real stuff. Like we're not seeing fake medicine like we see in some of these, these other shows. So I think. So so they're holding, they're holding up a lens to the, the, the current state of the the emergency department.
00:47:17
Speaker
Oh, 100%. And they're even showing light into COVID-19 and like kind of flashbacks to when they had to work during it and seeing like how that was traumatizing for a lot of people who had to work in the emergency department during COVID. So just like real things. And so it's really nice because I think it got its flowers. It won multiple Emmys this year. um And I think it's nice- Deserved.
00:47:39
Speaker
Yeah, it was deserved because I feel like it's not only kind of giving flowers to people who show up every day to work and maybe at times don't feel appreciated or feel like what they're doing is meaningful, but like now you're seeing it in a, in the big screen and you're seeing actors doing it, but they're effectively,
00:47:55
Speaker
like doing what you actually do really. And it's being praised and not looked down on. And like people actually see like, Hey, like what they do every day is important. And they're making a difference like in people's lives. So I think it's really nice to know that what won an Emmy wasn't like, what would be like the dramatized grades, but something that's like rooted in authentic, authentic medicine. And I think that's really cool. So I don't know. Have you guys watched the pit? um Do you have any? Oh, it's bad for me. I'm but i'm about to watch.
00:48:24
Speaker
No, you got to go back. You got to watch it. i It was bad for me. My TikTok was destroyed for a couple months because was watching it bad. and Yeah, yeah. um I don't usually look for shows on HBO. I'm going find somebody with a login.
00:48:40
Speaker
I'll check in with y'all next month and let y'all know what it was like watching the pit. Is that serious? I'm to send you my login. Is that serious? That's it right there. Group economics. You feel me? What y'all know about that? It was really cool. I like the verve with which you talked about it.
00:49:06
Speaker
I can tell, you know, even after you've only been in the field, what, four months at this point? But I can tell that you are speaking from a personal place, right, where you seem like you...
00:49:19
Speaker
have been personally recognized by the show being recognized. you know um Medicine is often a thankless job, and it sounds like the acclaim that the show got represents a kind of metaphorical thank you to the profession.
00:49:37
Speaker
The real people who show up every day. hold its Every day. whole Authenticity. It's ah it's, it, it makes it that much more meaningful. That was, that was really cool. Like I like the energy that you had in your voice.
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it. But yeah, if you haven't. Okay. Listen. So if you haven't watched the pit, go ahead and watch it. They actually are already making the second season. I believe it should be coming out. I believe sometime this year or no sometime next year, I believe. So. If you haven't, I highly recommend the show. I think if you want to do medicine, even you don't do EM, like in general, it's applicable to just medicine in general because medicine in so many capacities have areas where it can be thankless. Some people don't know what you actually do. People don't actually know what your day-to-day looks like. And I think just having that understanding of like, this is what it can look like. This is like what you have to sacrifice to be in this field It's nice to know that they tried to capture that on television and they did a pretty good job, to be honest with you, they a pretty good job. Yeah, fade that up. Also, pretty much everybody goes to the ED, every other service. You see a bunch your patients in the ED, a bunch of your consults, whatever. So I think it was cool that they showcased that as well.
00:50:52
Speaker
um Yeah, and I think it it just spoke on a lot of topics that were pertinent, and I think especially during, like, fourth year. um And ah just a personal Drexel connection. i'm pretty sure it's filmed at one of the places we rotate at. So, like, my friends would tell me, like, oh, like, they was there whatever.
00:51:11
Speaker
So that was camp. Period. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. But that I was so deeply into the show that I started watching clips of ER. r like that's that That's how deep it was. i went back. I just watched a clip today.
00:51:28
Speaker
a hundred for say And, you know, it's definitely understandable, you know, in this nation, like, you know, money is one of those important things. It stresses you out. It puts a lot of people in a state of like, a you know, franticness crisis. There are even people that might, you know, try to take their lives facing like um some kind of financial burden.
00:51:52
Speaker
Well, it's a good thing that we have Bears quarterback Caleb Williams that is putting suicide prevention on the map this year. ah He chose to use his platform with the Chicago Bears to help put national suicide prevention in the spotlight. He took to the field this month with 988 painted on his fingernails. And no, that's not a fashion statement. He was trying to put the number for the suicide and crisis lifeline on display for millions of viewers. And the small but powerful gesture sparks the conversation about mental health, demonstrating that athletes can utilize their platforms to break down stigma and remind people that help is just a three digit phone call away. And I think that that's something that's so powerful. You know, um I write remember when Logic made the song about ah suicide prevention and, you know, named the song the
00:52:49
Speaker
phone number for the ah for the suicide prevention hotline and I think it's important to like you know keep perspective with suicide especially when it comes to the black community you know because like some of the statistics around it can be a little unsettling like for example in the year 2022 suicide was the leading cause of death for black Americans between the age of 10 and 24 that's according to the Centers of Disease Control by the way
Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Initiatives
00:53:18
Speaker
Um, there's also another statistics by the Kaiser Family Foundation that says a health policy research that says ah suicide in the black community increased 58% from the year 2011 to 2021. And you know, these are just like a couple of the things I'll give one more.
00:53:36
Speaker
um Data shows in the past two decades that suicide attempts by black adolescents have increased by 73%. And in that same time period, suicide deaths among black men increased by 25%. These are all CDC um statistics. So, you know.
00:53:57
Speaker
suicide is one of those things that no one likes to bring up it's one of those things that no one likes to talk about it's an uncomfortable conversation every time however as health professionals people that desire to be health professionals it's kind of like the onus is on us to help people in every sense you know so What would you guys say or might you have any advice for someone that's listening that feels that that may have discussed with someone that said like, oh, like I've considered suicide or anything of that nature?
00:54:36
Speaker
um I will say that within medicine, actually, I do think that there is higher rates suicide. mental health burden, even suicide than we would like to talk about. We've had, and I mean i think we've talked about in past run the list episodes that we've had
00:54:59
Speaker
resident physicians, people who were in their training take their life because of the huge mental burden and just like stress and just fears that overcame them during their training. And so I do think that, um, when I, when I hear people like Caleb putting a a spotlight on suicide prevention, that's really inspiring because there's other very taxing fields that also should be putting that spotlight as well and and kind of championing mental health. I mean, I don't think medicine is, uh, uh, stranger to that. I think that is another field that's, it's very relevant to think about those things. Um,
00:55:36
Speaker
Now that I'm a resident, I can definitely see what could lead someone to that path when you are exhausted and you've worked 12 days straight in a row and you are getting critiques from all sides, from nurses, from attendings, from your colleagues, like every day, like every day it's something. And then you still have to have this pressure to perform so you don't kill anybody. um Yeah, that could push someone to suicide. Like, I don't think that's crazy. So um I think what is most important is thinking about what are the tools that you have in your toolbox to help mitigate burnout, help kind of keep ah your mount your mind as sound as you can and your support systems. And I think it's so important to have support systems during that period of time, particularly during training. definitely um Because it's a lot. It's just a lot. Thankfully,
00:56:29
Speaker
i'm have not reached that point, but I definitely know people who have articulated to me like how stressed they've been so far in the process. And everybody manages stress differently. Everybody manages like burnout differently. For me personally, what it is is that I don't go beyond what I believe is my limit.
00:56:47
Speaker
So once I've checked out, I've checked out and you can't bring me back from that point. And I stay checked out. That's just what it is. i don't have to put on for anybody. If I'm tired, I'm going to sleep.
00:56:58
Speaker
I'm not pretending to stay up to act like I'm the world's best resident. If there's nothing going on, I'm going to bed. And I don't care whether or not that looks, unpro I don't care, I'm going to bed. it but So I think it's like, you just have to have the things that you're going to do to make sure that you protect yourself. Because if not, no one's going to care to you know advocate for you. That's just really what it is. um but i'm glad you know kudos to caleb for putting a spotlight on something that's so important and that people typically try to skirt around out of fear of looking weak and all because it's like it happens it can happen to anybody and i think it's just being honest and open about how can we kind of help to prevent this from happening to other people is is the best course of action i think it's also worth mentioning that um
00:57:43
Speaker
he made this ah this this demonstrative display as an NFL player. all yeah Not to say that the NFL does not support these things, but it's been more difficult for players to kind of get behind different activism as members of the NFL. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
00:58:05
Speaker
The NFL has often like scrutinized or find players who... might try to ah put on for some for some kind of cause or anything like this. So kudos to him for, you know, taking a stand and trying to stand up for something that he believes in. So just wanted to give him his flowers in that regard.
00:58:24
Speaker
um Yeah, I'll just say i think it's always a great thing when um somebody that has a big platform uses it to talk about something that's very taboo or isn't normally spoken about. um i think Even as like health professionals, I think this is something like I still struggle with in terms of I'm not doing psych or I'm not necessarily the prime person in the hospital that talks about mental health issues. But I think it's very, i think it's a good setup that we learn how to do that when we go through our psych rotations. and um like our EM rotations, because I think I've been faced with that in both my EM rotation and even literally like this week when my patient like couldn't take her psych meds because she was NPO from surgery.
00:59:20
Speaker
Like I still had to learn how to do that sort of deeper interview. And I think having those skills is important. I think being able to talk about suicidality Openly is very important, right? Like, I think that's one thing that they empower you to do on psych. Like, don't just like, oh, like, are you good? like no, like, hey, plan. What are you trying to do? Like, what are the s steps that I need to do to ensure your safety? um So I think even in a non-medical person's life, like, you should always feel empowered to, like,
00:59:54
Speaker
check in on people. And i think, you know, if you see that somebody that you look up to, like a quarterback in the NFL is looking out for people, then hopefully everybody else feels the same way too.
01:00:06
Speaker
100%. totally agree. And I think, I'm glad Caleb stand stood up for what he believed in and was vocal, just like other people in other
Reflecting on Influential Figures
01:00:17
Speaker
historical figures in the past who have continued to stand up for what they believe in. Asada Shakur, may she rest in peace, was a pioneer who stood for what she believed in. um She did pass away recently. She actually passed away on Saturday night.
01:00:32
Speaker
September 26th in Cuba. She was 78 years old. We know she's a huge political advocate. She dedicated her life to liberation. She's known to be... should This should be Tupac's mother, correct?
01:00:45
Speaker
Yes. Okay, that is Tupac's mother. And I think, yeah and of course, like she was we know that Tupac came from a family of like a long line of Black Panthers. She was definitely a member of the Black Panthers. And I think there's, of course, a lot of controversy society-wise as to like, oh, what do the Black Panthers stand for? How did they kind of...
01:01:06
Speaker
use their influence to kind of get the initiatives that they wanted actually made. And of course, we have the more conservative ones who maybe didn't really necessarily agree with what they did, but then we have ones who may not be as conservative who actually saw a lot of what they did. i know of something that they were known to do was like definitely speaking out against mass incarceration, um trying to, I think they actually did a lot of things with schools in terms of like making sure to provide kids with like lunch and if they didn't have money for lunch. There was just a lot of things that they did from, I would say, whether you vibe with them or not, um they did a lot of things to at least help their fellow human being back when they were active. And um that was a part of her legacy and a part of a lot of people in Tupac's legacy. And yeah, she very much was just like a huge symbol of resistance, a symbol of making sure to stand up for um marginalized communities, particularly Black communities, And, you know, rest in power to her.
01:02:07
Speaker
um remember her for her her fearless way of conducting liberation in her in her own right and making sure to inspire others along the way. And yeah, I definitely just want to shout her out. um And Tupac, and even in his own way, we probably know him a little bit better, at least from a standpoint of mainstream media. But I think in his own way as well, he took after her with his music and in his hip hop, a lot of times talking about how to kind of continue that resistance. And so, you know, rest in peace to Asada Shakur. Yeah. um Yeah, I think she, you know, obviously...
01:02:57
Speaker
one created one of the best rappers ever, but also i think in her own right, just is sort of like a visionary of resistance and, um and just but fighting for what you believe in. And, you know, the fact that she's been sort of in asylum for so long, I think that probably made like some people like not, you know, and really know the history of everything she contributed to the party and just, you know,
01:03:27
Speaker
activism during her time, but I think it's good that we reflect on those people, especially um just how much they've contributed so that we can have the freedoms that we have now. So like you said, rest in peace to her.
01:03:41
Speaker
um But yeah I mean, just to keep it on a sad note, I guess.
01:03:51
Speaker
On a sad note. On a somber note. Sorry, that sounds little bit better. On another somber note, D'Angelo, R&B singer from Philly, also passed away from pancreatic cancer.
01:04:07
Speaker
No one really knew that he was sick, um but his family and you know his team did let everybody know that on October 14th, he did pass away from pancreatic cancer after a very prolonged battle with the disease. He was only 51.
01:04:24
Speaker
he didn't publicly disclose his diagnosis before his death. Like I said, his family confirmed his passing in a statement and noted that he had a prolonged fight with pancreatic cancer.
01:04:35
Speaker
um Before this, the last thing we know is that he was working on new music and was scheduled to perform at the Roots picnic, which is this summer festival that happens in Philly every year. um And he was supposed to be there this year, but he canceled due to unforeseen medical delays from surgery.
01:04:54
Speaker
um And just so you guys can know a little bit more about pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer is a serious health concern that disproportionately affects black men. According to the American Cancer Society, black men have a higher incidence and mortality rate from pancreatic cancer compared to other racial groups in the U.S. Black men are 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with it than their white counterparts, and their five-year survival rate is about 7 in comparison to 10 for white men. um Some of the risk factors are smoking, diabetes, obesity, family history, chronic pancreatitis. But I think what I will say about D'Angelo is that he was a pioneer in the field of like neo soul and that movement in the early 2000s.
01:05:41
Speaker
I don't think anybody could ever forget his video for Untitled. How does it feel? um Just really good music. And I think it's just so sad that, you know, he lost his life so soon. And I mean, I think I just my heart goes out to him and Andrew Stone's son, because Andrew Stone recently passed away as well.
01:06:03
Speaker
And it's just a really sad diagnosis um for sure. ah And I think all of us being in medicine, we kind of know the gravity of a pancreatic um cancer diagnosis, but I think it's you know probably bringing light to for a lot of people that just like how serious this is. i mean, we've had a couple of celebrities over the years that passed away from pancreatic cancer, but I think it's just so sad every time it happens.
01:06:30
Speaker
It's a really hard diagnosis to deal with for sure. Yeah, no, honestly, um rest in peace to D'Angelo. um i think it's so important that we're talking about just these things that we should be mindful of when it comes to our
Breast Cancer Awareness & Disparities
01:06:45
Speaker
health.
01:06:45
Speaker
Of course, every episode, we always try to tie in our Health Awareness Month. This is the month of October. This month, we were talking about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which we know breast cancer is a disease in which Of course, malignant cancerous cells, another way to say it, develop in the breast tissue. There's different types. We have invasive ductal carcinoma. We have invasive lobular carcinoma.
01:07:05
Speaker
There's all these different kinds. um there's these There's risk factors that we think about with breast cancer, or whether you have the BRCA gene. So if it's a genetic mutation, if there's a family history, early have getting your period early, having a late menopause, obesity, alcohol consumption, hormonal factors, all of these things. And then what symptoms you look out for for breast cancer?
01:07:26
Speaker
Lump or thickening in the breast, change in breast size or shape, there's nippled ah abnormal nipple discharge, skin changes such as dimpling or redness, any pain in the breast or armpit. um And of course, that's why prevention is so necessary. We want to encourage people people to get the regular mammograms, know how to do the breast exams with typically your PCP will show you how to do so that you be mindful of whether or not you may detect a lump, making sure maintain a healthy weight, limiting any alcohol consumption or smoking, getting vaccinated against HPV is another very significant one. Typically, this is diagnosed by physical exam. And then once again, if you have a concerning physical exam, you would um like upgrade to a mammogram, or an ultrasound depending on age. I think typically it's like if you're 30 or younger, they try ultrasound. And if you're above 30, you then go straight to mammogram and then put and then biopsy um can go with either or to to confirm. So I think it's like you can do like a needle aspiration if you um want to see if it actually will resolve um when you do it. And if it doesn't, then that's when you would probably go to the mammogram. So there's different modalities as to how this gets...
01:08:38
Speaker
worked up. But I think the biggest thing is just knowing what to look for. And if you find something suspicious, always go to your primary care provider to figure out next steps to make sure that you're not dealing with breast cancer. um Treatment, there's different treatment modalities. Surgery, whether you get lumpectomy, which is just removal of Some of the breast tissue where there's the cancer is located versus like a mastectomy where you're actually taking out the entire breast.
01:09:02
Speaker
um You can do radiation therapy, do chemo. um So there's different, once again, treatment modalities that you can do. Prognosis is variable in terms of how, like what the five year survival rate, that's typically how it's measured in terms of,
01:09:17
Speaker
someone's chances of kind of getting through the breast cancer, which typically overall is about 90%, according to the American Cancer Society. And it's dependent on the type, the stage. So that kind of is like, of course, some of our general surgeon would know more. If you wanted to add anything more, stage versus grade and all these things that I so vaguely remember from medical school, but I typically do not say too much of now in EM training. But yeah, m that's kind of like broad strokes.
01:09:49
Speaker
Yeah. Well, mind everybody. I have not done my breast rotation. I've never done a breast rotation. But the overall point that I would like to just tell people is one, anyone with breasts, not just women. I know people think about that a lot too, but men can get breast cancer as well. Anybody that has breast tissue, which is everybody. um So just doing regular screening um on yourself, like self exams, like you know your body best, especially if you're at an age where screening isn't typical. So sort of like what Isabel was saying, if you're like not in that 30 to 40 range, depending on what guidelines you're on, like you're not going to be getting regular screening.
01:10:28
Speaker
like ma mammograms. So if you're younger, um just making sure that you're looking and feeling and making sure that your breast exam seems the same to you. And if there's anything different, no matter how minimal it might seem to you, tell your doctor, tell your provider.
01:10:46
Speaker
um especially if you're younger, if you have a family history of people with breast cancer, then I would definitely make sure to get yourself checked out earlier because there may be different screening protocols that you need to go through. Sort of like what she was saying, when you're younger, you sort of go more towards ultrasound versus breast cancer.
01:11:04
Speaker
versus the mammogram first. And especially if you have dense breast tissue, you might need to do a breast um MRI and that screening might happen at different intervals than people with without an increased risk have to do it. So just like I said earlier, always empower yourself, always ask questions.
01:11:23
Speaker
um I for sure have had people in my family that have been diagnosed and have died from breast cancer. um So just always, always listen to your body, always be your own advocate um and don't let anybody give you no for an answer. If you think something's wrong, then you should always, always, always um just feel empowered to say that for yourself.
01:11:47
Speaker
um Yeah. And, you know, even if something's not breast cancer, maybe there's another problem that you need to get taken care of. You could have mastitis. That's, you know, anything that can get infected. Just always make sure just check in on your health, no matter what it is, for sure.
01:12:02
Speaker
Right. And I definitely want to highlight the way that it affects black women in particular, because of course we are focused on newrepresentation um underrepresented minorities and even more particularly black people. And so even though black women, according to cancer.org, have a 4% lower incidence rate of breast cancer than white women, they do still have a 40% higher breast cancer death rate. um So that is pretty important information. It means that there's something happening in between diagnosis and treatment that's not necessarily being accounted for, whether that is
01:12:35
Speaker
being diagnosed late stage, later stage than they would have their white and women counter-mort. So is that an issue of screening, that a screening lapse, that black women are not being screened at the same level or rate as white women? Or like, you know, once again, or is it something to do with disparities in care in relation to be having insurance or having a ah PCP that they're able to see or being able to afford the treatments or you know having the access to to to the to the options to kind of help treat the breast cancer. So I think all those things can play a role. So just thinking about Once again, advocating for marginalized populations who may be at a disadvantage when it comes to this diagnosis compared to our white counterparts. So just thinking about those women who are in those situations as well. Yeah. I just want to add that um just so that people know that a lot of um people of African-American descent, Black women, um do tend to get diagnosed with triple negative um breast cancer a lot. So um there's like certain tumor markers or hormones that are produced by breast cancer. So estrogen receptor versus progesterone receptor versus um Herceptin or HER2 receptors, right? um And um
01:13:56
Speaker
um Sometimes if they're positive, they can be treated by hormone therapy that we have developed, so like tamoxifen, things like that, transfusimab. But if you have triple negative, so your breast cancer does not have any of those positive markers, you can't utilize those hormone therapies. And in the Black community, we tend to have a lot of diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer. So that can sort of relate to the prognosis that we have where you know we do have more aggressive cancers that aren't necessarily being treated by hormone therapy. so If you ever hear that word thrown around, like that's sort of what it relates to. But sorry, back to what you guys were saying. That's that' sort of a deeper cut, but could also help with just understanding what you know you are or your family member is facing a little bit more.
01:14:47
Speaker
100%. I think that's super important. And um once again, this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And so we definitely want to give awareness to anybody out there who either knows someone who's been diagnosed with breast cancer, who's lost a loved one to but breast cancer, or who may be facing their own breast cancer journey. We're definitely thinking of you and our our thoughts and prayers are with you. And we hope that talking about it can give us a little bit more understanding of what it actually means to have this diagnosis. Yeah, this was a loaded run the list, but we got through it.
01:15:18
Speaker
We talked about everything under the sun, but that is our show. Thank you so much for all of you joining us for this episode of The Lounge.
01:15:30
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 snma.org. And be sure to follow the SNMA on all of our social media platforms to stay up to date upcoming events.
01:15:48
Speaker
Bye, guys. That's our show. Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Catch you next time.