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Homecoming SZN
27 Plays5 years ago
Work hard, play harder! Homecoming szn lives on despite a pandemic. Join us as we pay homage to the HBCU Homecoming experience.
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Transcript
Introduction and Greetings
00:00:00
Speaker
What's up SNMA? It's Brittany, your national chairperson of the board of directors and me and my girl Arthur in the lounge today to wish you all a happy founding day and of course in this season a happy homecoming even though we're all going to be celebrating at home.
00:00:17
Speaker
look it might be a virtual homecoming season but i will still be getting cute we got zoom we can delegate somebody be the dj and we could get it popping okay we do not have to let corona virus okay stop us from being raped because i will not
00:00:39
Speaker
But anyways, hey everyone, my name is Asise. I'm the national president of the SNMA. I just wanted to stop and to tell you a little bit about what the SNMA means to me. I will say for me and my journey through medical school, just even getting to medical school, SNMA has been a lifeline. Like that might sound a little dramatic, but...
00:01:03
Speaker
I think we all know what it means or hopefully we all know by now what it means to have a family that supports you through hard times. And that's what SNMA has been for me. SNMA has been the plug. I am so grateful to be a part of the SNMA family and now have the honor to lead it. But enough about me and my love for the SNMA.
Purpose of SNMA Presents the Lounge
00:01:27
Speaker
I want y'all to enjoy this homecoming edition of the lounge because they got some good stuff for you planned. Have a good one.
00:02:27
Speaker
get into it. So hey everyone, welcome to SNMA Presents the Lounge. Whether in the student lounge, the doctor's lounge, or we're just lounging around at home, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare. I'm student Dr. Isabella and homecoming means to me empowerment
00:02:51
Speaker
and community just getting to come together as Black people celebrating our uniqueness and our greatness and having a good time about that.
00:02:59
Speaker
I'm Susan Dr. Aldwin. This is Dr. Get Fly Flies Dr. On The Block.
Importance of Homecoming for HBCUs and Black Culture
00:03:04
Speaker
Homecoming means to me everything. It means black passion, black love, black connection, black empowerment, as mentioned, and the struggle for freedom and the struggle to be the greatest version of ourselves. So shout out to all the HBCUs. Homecoming we here, baby. Period.
00:03:22
Speaker
What's up everybody this is student. Dr. Erica dingle and homecoming Means a couple things to me, but mainly it means family and healing every time I've gone back to our yard of Hampton University I've left enriched I've left feeling like I could take on the world and I've left just feeling I mean just good like I went to church but for like maybe an entire day's worth of
00:03:52
Speaker
of worship and praise with my family from
Run the List: Current Medical Events for Minorities
00:03:57
Speaker
Hampton, right? Hallelujah. So y'all know what time it is though, right? It's time to run the list. For our preclinical students, running the patient list on the wards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day. So in this segment of the show, we're going to be discussing recent events in medicine affecting our communities and the populations we serve.
00:04:22
Speaker
Let's get into it. Homecoming. We love it. I know. It's the homecoming episode. It's exciting. What an exciting time, and I swear 2020 took homecoming from us, y'all. I don't know how I feel about that.
Impact of HBCUs on Black Medical Professionals
00:04:39
Speaker
We need to shine some light on how important HBCU's historical black colleges are to our communities.
00:04:48
Speaker
period. And there's so many HBCUs, but we got to shout out those four HBCU medical students because they're doing the real work, right? So shout out to Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Charles Aldrew at UCLA. Thank you guys for the work and the continued efforts you guys have been putting into providing service to the undeserved. We appreciate y'all and we are honoring you guys today in honor of Homecoming.
00:05:15
Speaker
Absolutely. Shout out to the HBCU medical schools. But you know what's crazy too? Black people make up 13% of the population, yet only 5% of medical doctors are African American. That doesn't make any sense to me. Why is there such a discrepancy? We got to do something about that. We got to change that.
00:05:37
Speaker
definitely encourage the younger generations. Absolutely. Exactly. Exactly. And like, even to like thinking about it is even with that small number of practicing medical doctors who are black, though most of that comes from HBCUs, right? So
00:05:52
Speaker
Two of the oldest HBCU medical schools, Meharry and Howard, have combined to produce over 80% of African-American doctors and dentists practicing
Xavier University's Success in Medical Education
00:06:00
Speaker
today. So that's just crazy how they're creating more than half of Black doctors, even with the small amount that we have. So we have to give them their kudos. They're doing a lot of good work, and they're going to be what helps the future move forward in terms of having Black and Brown doctors.
00:06:16
Speaker
Four out of the five black doctors you come across come from HBCU med school. So that's really powerful. You know what I mean?
00:06:25
Speaker
HBCUs are actually important producers of black physicians at an undergraduate level as well. I know you guys have heard of the illustrious Xavier University of Louisiana, which is known, yeah, it's known for, or they're known for success in sending black students to medical school, so. Right. We gotta wrap.
00:06:49
Speaker
As a Howard undergraduate graduate, gotta love and give my kudos to Xavier because that's a big thing. Like being able to push so many young people out there to becoming doctors, especially at an HBCU. Like that's just a saying a lot. And so kudos and shout out to Xavier University of Louisiana.
00:07:09
Speaker
When I was first going to college, I remember they sent me a shirt, number one school to send African Americans to medical school, gave me a whole scholarship. That was my dream school right there. I'm so disappointed. My mom didn't let me go because I was too young.
00:07:24
Speaker
She was like, nah, you're staying in New York. I want you going all the way. She knew he was going to get too lit. She knew he was going to get too lit. Listen, HBCU is going on. Now she knew better. That's probably facts. I probably wouldn't have never made it to med school, though. If I would have went, now I would have made it to school. But yeah, mom know me best. But shout out to them, though, doing some amazing things. I know they will continue to propel African-Americans into medical schools. And I think that's a beautiful thing, you know, where to come across.
Cultural Significance of HBCU Homecomings
00:07:52
Speaker
Now y'all know HBCUs and Homecoming is a little different, right? So for those that may not know, unfortunately, and I'm so sorry you didn't get to experience it, but no, seriously, it's an experience. I'm so sorry for you. So sorry for that, man.
00:08:11
Speaker
Sorry to that man. Let's talk about what exactly homecoming is and, you know, just the history of homecoming at HBCUs.
00:08:23
Speaker
I mean, it's a deep history, right? So, HBCU homecomings were really just intended for alumni to just show school spirit during a football game, right? And that's actually what it is at most homecomings, even at PWIs. But at HBCUs, you know, it's got to be a little different. I've got to add the twang to it. So... Always. You got to add that little spice. That's some, that's some, that's some flowers. That's seasoning. We got to add it.
00:08:50
Speaker
right so like since the 1920s though like that college event has grown into something that was a one day experience into like a seven day experience right so now you have not just the football game but you have like the parades you have the coronation event you have the concerts like everything is like literally a beautiful experience of just
00:09:11
Speaker
coming as a community and just getting to experience Black excellence as a unit and just not having to worry about school for a week, right, too, because I know that my HBCU, everything was shut down during homecoming week. I wasn't worried about a textbook. Like, literally, it's just that one time you could kind of just you could just kind of let go, let loose and just kind of have a good time. So it's definitely grown from its original intention and it's been doing a lot of good work.
HBCU Pageants and Leadership Culture
00:09:35
Speaker
And I'm sure we can even talk about the event of coronation, right? Was any of you guys ever in coronation or did that event?
00:09:41
Speaker
I definitely participated. I was Miss Sophomore at Hampton University. I will not tell you the year, but I definitely had my time as a campus queen, whatever you want to call it. But pageants are so vital to the culture at HBCU Homecomings. And the big thing with pageants now is you have your mister and your miss of the school.
00:10:10
Speaker
Ebony magazine has been doing an amazing job at publicizing for HBCU queens and kings over the last, I want to say like six years or so. But it just, it kind of promotes. Or six years, girl, 60 years. They've been doing it for a minute.
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, Ebony has been- Okay, there you go. 60 is my bad. Yeah, girl. Because I know because I was looking at some archives and they've been really publishing a lot of work or a lot of documentation of HBCU homecomings for a minute. So it's definitely been a long time.
00:10:41
Speaker
So every April, you're getting basically like a rundown of HBCU queens and kings and just kind of celebrating them and their work that they're doing at their school. Now, Erica, I would love for you to continue with what you were talking about with being a queen, because I know that there's work that even comes outside of that, right? In regards to like community work and all of that. Yeah.
00:11:01
Speaker
Yeah, so you kind of take on obligations to create campus initiatives and host and attend programs that are off campus. You can put on fashion shows. I know that was one of the main initiatives
00:11:17
Speaker
for the Miss Hampton University and Mr. Pirate, I want to say, they participated in the homecoming fashion show. We had Miss National Council of Negro Women. Oh, yes. I wasn't involved in that. We had everything. We had Miss American Red Cross. I was Miss American Red Cross one year, so it just gives you opportunity for a platform. It's really great to get involved into
00:11:43
Speaker
you know, just be there amongst everybody. And then you get to be crowned in front of thousands of people and take a walk and you have your court. And it's just a beautiful experience. It's one of my favorites, actually.
00:11:57
Speaker
I love that. I mean, but besides coronation, y'all, come on, this is homecoming. Like, let's
Personal Experiences from HBCU Homecomings
00:12:01
Speaker
get into these stories. Like, come on, what's the tea? What was y'all doing out there? You know, back when we was still in person, no masks, shenanigans. Aldwin, come on, first start, because I know you was, I know, you all got to tell me twice. Aldwin was in those mean streets of Atlanta, July. Why I got to do this to me?
00:12:23
Speaker
Like, on the road, so it's crazy. Like, we're homecoming though, because as you guys know, I went to Morehouse School of Medicine.
00:12:29
Speaker
Most of my time was spent actually in the books, but I did turn up from time to time and homecoming. Of course you did. Special moments when I needed it. Like we mentioned, toss the book out. Yeah, I tossed it inside the library and just ran out like, oh, we lit, we out here. But just being able to, you know, I don't have any crazy specific moments, but one of my favorite things was just being in the yard and just being able to just interact, go up to people, connect, network, you know, grab some drinks, like have a smooth conversation, you know, check some shorties out.
00:12:56
Speaker
Ayo, Sheldon, it was fine. The rest is history. But I think one of the most important things is feeling like you're just entitled to something great, you know, and that you're empowered in such a special way.
00:13:11
Speaker
and that you're in a unique opportunity for yourself and individuals that are surrounding you. And I wish that homecoming was every day, like not just that day or that weekend, but like every day. I would have failed. How do we go do it every day? You want me to fail?
00:13:28
Speaker
I think now we feel like that. Of course, when you're actually undergrad, you don't feel like you want homecoming every day. But now, 2020, give me homecoming every week and I'll take it. True. With COVID, I will take all the fun I can get and that's on period. No, for real.
00:13:45
Speaker
homecoming is really like, I would say a very memorable time. And it's definitely different from PWIs, because whenever they talk about homecoming, they don't talk about it in the extent that we do. I remember homecoming for me just being like this one time that I just saw people in my space in my usual campus area that I just never saw my life. And just like feeling really like, I guess, like moved by that and empowered by that and just wanting to meet everybody that I could and make all the connections that I could. But
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah. Homecoming. I'm not going to tell you all the stories because, you know, it may not be appropriate for the air, but just know that your girl had a good time. And yeah, that's that's that on that. Nah, you got to lay down at least one story now. I mean, don't be scared. Oh, my story isn't my story is PG, but it's kind of like go ahead, girl. We don't hear the PG version. You guys don't need to worry about the other version. Yeah, we keep it. We keep it. Isabella's story on lock. I got it. You ain't going to take that.
00:14:41
Speaker
I don't know if at your schools, if you had curfew, but at Hampton University, every freshman has to undergo curfew for the first six weeks. We had to be in our dorms by 11 during the week and one on the weekend. And my freshman year, I will never forget, we were all getting ready, getting our hair done, kitchen beautician style.
00:15:07
Speaker
Yes. And I just remember being like, I was free. I didn't have to return. And, you know, it was really amazing going to these, we called them soirees at the time, getting dressed up and
00:15:24
Speaker
The ages mingle. It wasn't just 18-year-olds and the people that were undergrad in a specific party, like the queues through a party, and everybody could go. So then you see all of these, now I'm an old head, so I could say all the old heads coming back.
00:15:42
Speaker
And it's like, yo, these people really do come back. They come back year after year to be with their homegirls. It's an experience that you don't get after the four years that you live with each other. You grow up together. And both of you use the word empowerment. And that's exactly how I felt when I left. I felt so empowered every time I left homecoming, whether it was a PG or a rated R story.
00:16:09
Speaker
I still left feeling empowered. So I'm thankful for my homecoming experiences. Absolutely. I love that. Yeah. And, you know, black colleges, they do so much more than just homecoming.
HBCUs' Commitment to Community Service
00:16:23
Speaker
We don't just party, right? Black colleges are all about uplift. They're all about getting our people out there prepared. I probably would not be who I am today had I not been a student at Hampton University.
00:16:36
Speaker
And one of the missions of a number of our HBCUs are based in service. And I'd like us to kind of talk about that and how...
00:16:49
Speaker
HBCUs just, they, they promote service, service to everybody. And it's in our motto. It's in a lot of the HBCUs motto, right? Like I know once again, I'm always going to refer back to Howard, no matter what the occasion is. Y'all know, even being a whole mess student, like the way I always talk about Howard and like put into my, my little personal statements, like Howard has contributed this.
00:17:08
Speaker
I never let it go because it's like I can't talk about who I am without talking about Howard, right? Because it's shaped me more than me in so many ways. So I completely understand what you're saying, Erika. I can't talk about who I am without mentioning my HBCU. The two are intertwined.
00:17:26
Speaker
But yeah, I really going into that, though, I really want to talk about, you know, HBCU service based mission. So I know at Howard University College of Medicine, as well as with Howard Hospital, they have the Freedman's Clinic, which is a free just student run clinic, which is affiliated with once again,
00:17:41
Speaker
HU Hospital and HU College of Medicine, and they just provide overall care for the community, right? And that includes just giving a lot of screening, different screening tests, strong community outreach, and also they've even incorporated some Durham Knights and OBGYN Knights to help kind of bridge those disparities within those fields too, right? So that's like really important just having
00:18:03
Speaker
like resources like that, like these clinics that can help not only the people within, I guess, the school or even within the hospital, people outside of the community, right? Like people who actually need the care. And we have so many examples of that even outside of HBCUs. And I want to give a quick pin though to Meharry too, because Meharry also, they do a really good thing for Nashville where they give like an uncompensated $26 million each year for medical and dental care to the local Nashville community.
00:18:32
Speaker
at no cost to the patient, right? So I definitely want to plug that in too. But there's other, like I said, programs out there that's really helping to emphasize care across the board and care where the person is at. What do y'all know about like, I guess, different locations that care can be provided at? Because, you know, a hospital is not the only place that can be done or a clinic.
00:18:52
Speaker
Right. Yeah, so there's this thing called a contest project. And essentially what's happening with that is an initiative that was starting by an individual to allow mental health education to be integrated into the barbershop. So oftentimes, you know, when you get in your cut, you know, you get in lined up and everything and you talk in your barber like, oh, my baby mama did this and that.
00:19:14
Speaker
or, you know, my next is trash, which is true, you know, all these kind of things that are certainly affecting you. And in a way, it's such a tremendous medium for you to connect with your barber and connect with the world within that barbershop and feel entitled to something that's very special. And so what this project is doing is essentially just teaching barbers how to interact, how to look at cues, how to help facilitate a positive experience for
00:19:41
Speaker
the patrons in the barbershop, especially in communities of color. And I think that's so, so, so powerful. And for me, I would love to do that in the future, right? Like being a future psychiatrist, being able to come to the forefront and say, hey, I'm just like you. I'm a physician, but I'm a brother. I got the J's just like you. I talk like you. I listen to Jay-Z and Nas just like you. You know what I mean? So I think that's incredibly important to highlight is that we got to go into the community. Now, it's great to be in the hospital, but it's also
00:20:09
Speaker
beautiful to actually be there on a one-on-one basis and say, Hey, I'm here. Like I'm the face of medicine, but also I could be the face of the community too. You bring up a good point, like the service is just as important as the learning that we're doing as medical students. And I think being in those spaces can kind of help to push the narrative against the mistrust that our people have with the healthcare industry.
00:20:37
Speaker
Shameless plug, we were graced with the presence of Dr. Maybank and that is some really good dialogue just about the mistrust in the black community with regards to COVID and a number of other topics. So if you are able to check that out, send it to your family members because we want to get our family members healthy and we want them to stay healthy.
00:21:02
Speaker
But yeah, our patients that are going to look like us, they need to be able to identify with us. And it's important for us to occupy those spaces. And to your point, again, about the barbershops, this is another avenue, I think, barbershops, churches, beauty salons, where you can actually plug ideas about screening. Sometimes you don't even
00:21:31
Speaker
talk to your doctor about it if you don't think to actually get screened. And they need the screening the most, right? Black populations need the screening the most. Even if we don't talk about, I guess, the disparities, the disparities still exist. Sometimes we just assume, hey, they're not going through it just because they're
00:21:49
Speaker
Coming in and
Healthcare Access and Black Communities
00:21:50
Speaker
getting these screenings to know what they actually have right so I do think that we need to emphasize and push like hey go get screened for you know your blood pressure go get screened for Your colon and all these things especially because according to the data colorectal cancer and hypertension are the two leading causes of death and
00:21:53
Speaker
not
00:22:07
Speaker
among African American males over 50, but yet remain undeserved by basic diagnostic procedures, such as blood pressure checks or cancer screenings, right? So it's like, we're suffering from it the most, but yet we're not getting checked out. So I definitely agree with your point, Erica, about
00:22:24
Speaker
having to make sure that we go out into these spaces and just make sure that we provide the care. And if it's not at a clinic, cool, let it be at a church, let it be at a barbershop, let it be at a place where the person can feel comfortable and want to easily just get that care done. So definitely want to...
00:22:40
Speaker
It just needs to get done. I can appreciate that. And you bring up colorectal screenings. We got to show some love to the recently deceased King Chadwick Boseman. And you know, somebody who was young, um,
00:22:57
Speaker
We're not talking the age range that these screenings usually occur in. He, right, 43 years old. And some of us, we just don't do well when it comes to our own personal health. Right. And we're not invincible. I wish we did better as a unit, but are you all doing, come on.
00:23:21
Speaker
Yeah, being in med school, I haven't seen a physician while in med school until like three weeks ago. All the way. It should be mandatory, like healthcare should be free for med students, but that's another topic for another day. For another day. Especially since we got the orange guy in the office. It's another topic for another day.
00:23:48
Speaker
No, no, no, no, no. Let's not talk about that, dude.
00:23:54
Speaker
And I think also important is dispelling the myths about, especially when we talk about colorectal cancer and undergoing that kind of diagnosis and stuff. For Black men, number one, it's like, bro, bro, you're not doing that to me. And I think it's important to create that discourse, that conversation, and say, hey, you've got to take care of yourself. If you're not taking care of yourself, then nobody else will. And we've got to beat the statistics. We've got to beat the odds.
00:24:19
Speaker
And we can't continue to undermine the importance of seeing our doctors and learning to trust them and understanding that during our most vulnerable times and not vulnerable times, they're here to diagnose, treat us and put us in a better position.
00:24:32
Speaker
Right. And it's not easy to be done, right? Especially because we can say that there's not that many black families that have doctors, right? In their families. So sometimes they just don't have that information readily available. But thankfully, with initiatives like the barbershops and the churches and just going to where they're at, that should hopefully help to bridge that gap, right? And get that care that's so necessary.
00:24:54
Speaker
Yeah, definitely agree. But we know we did, we touched a little bit on, you know, politics in regards to, or I at least I touched on it to make sure I gave a little gave a little plug by Trump. But with that, I want to talk about, you know, the recent passing of the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg, right? Right, right, right.
00:25:15
Speaker
And she has been just such a huge force, right within all things regarding equality, especially with women's equality. She influenced like huge models like Gloria Simon, who was like was the lead of the feminist movement. And you know, she's just done so much in regards to making sure that equality is done not on everything regarding gender, race, no matter what, everyone should get that.
00:25:37
Speaker
Care everyone should get that their voice heard and with her passing, right? We know that her views and her ideals and not mesh with the current administration so that is an issue and her passing does have a little bit people a little bit not at ease because Affordable Care Act was something that was
00:25:57
Speaker
kind of in the works or has been in existence under the Obama administration and it's been under recent attack with Trump. And so with her passing and not really having her representation of making sure to advocate for it, I mean, what do you guys how is this going to affect the Affordable Care Act? I mean, so many people are under this and it what's going to happen, I guess.
00:26:21
Speaker
I actually did some reading up on it because I really want to know what the future is for our people. Like I'm so listen, all black, everything we got to do better. We got to lift each other up. I'm on that all right now. We got to uplift each other.
00:26:38
Speaker
But no, according to NPR, at least 20 million Americans and likely many more who sought coverage since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, who get insurance through the Affordable Care Act or have Medicare, could actually lose health care coverage. And that's crazy to me. You know how many people that is?
00:27:05
Speaker
20 million Americans. That's New York City plus. Right. It's just this elimination would affect more than just patients. Honestly, you're talking about insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, drugs. It would affect so many more people than I think
00:27:24
Speaker
our president considers, but I'm just, I'm praying until election day. I'm just praying. And speaking of elections, yo, we got to make sure we go out and vote and put the right people in the position of power to make the right decisions that directly impact us.
Voting and Healthcare Policy Impact
00:27:42
Speaker
And the Affordable Care Act, as you mentioned, is very, very important to so many individuals across the United States.
00:27:49
Speaker
for the potential for it to be repealed is so scary and daunting. But we have the power, the power, the balls in our court, you know, and we got to move forward positively with this. Right. And, you know, the Affordable Care Act decision was definitely a huge hit. But thankfully, with the hit, there's always a win. Right. So W.
00:28:07
Speaker
We talked about this, I think, a little bit last episode with the Crown Act,
CROWN Act and Ending Hair Discrimination
00:28:12
Speaker
right? So that is creating an open and respectful workplace for natural hair and, you know, just a really quick history on that again in case y'all didn't listen to the last episode. But it was just a survey that was done between 2,000 women, half black, half non-black.
00:28:29
Speaker
The ages were basically from 25 to 64. You have to be employed full-time in an office or a field sales environment, or you have to have worked in a corporate office within the last six months. Essentially, they just found out that black women were just a lot more likely to be made aware of a lot of things that white women don't have to go through. Feeling like they needed to change their hair from its natural state to fit work, they were 80 percent more likely was black women. Black women were also 30 percent more likely to be made aware of formal workplace appearance policy.
00:28:57
Speaker
So all of these, these are just two examples, right? But then there's so many other things that comes with natural hair discrimination. So thankfully with that, they recently passed the Crown Act to the House, right? And so now the next step will be, yep, so making a little bit of a move, right? And the next step, of course, would be trying to get it to the Senate, but at least they're one step closer to that. And some states have already actually even
00:29:18
Speaker
passed this within their own legislation. So California, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and Maryland, they've already had this established. So I guess the next ball is just trying to push it even more forward, right, and have it passed in all states because all states need to be made aware of this. So yeah. I love the Crown Act initiative.
00:29:41
Speaker
just the idea of ending hair discrimination. Listen, this is an entire topic that could be talked about in an episode in itself. In fact, I was graced with the presence of Dr. Magdala Sherry, and we talked about professionalism in the workplace.
00:30:00
Speaker
regarding just black medical students, black doctors, and the issues we face regarding our natural hair. It's a really, really empowering interview. If you haven't checked it out, please do. She lit me off fire that day. But it's just crazy to know that we all go through this.
00:30:26
Speaker
It's good to just see thank you to the Crown Act, like the people who started this, who signed up to participate because we need to move this forward. They've even tried to expand it to Crown 2.0 Initiative, where they're going to go into systemic racism as well. So they want to also reduce systemic bias and discrimination.
00:30:45
Speaker
reimagine public safety, supporting safe and fair voting access and even driving economic equity. So they're trying to just push this even past natural hair and just talk about all the hits we got to we got to focus on right in regards to black people and what we're going through. So
00:31:01
Speaker
Just want to put that quick plug. I'm glad. Thank you. Cause no, it's, it's more than just our hair. Like be clear. It's, you know, we're shapely, we wear clothes, we get pointed out because you know, my skirts tight. Well, guess what? My skirt is going to fit like this because this is how I'm shaped. Sir ma'am. Chill out.
00:31:19
Speaker
Like, I love that this crown act is being put into place because, like, oftentimes I hear, like you guys mentioned, about discrimination happening in the workplace, whether it's your hair, whether it's the way that someone is professing their, you know, physical identity through their clothes. Like, it's just, it's just unfortunate. Like, I think medicine should revolve around individualism and letting people be who they want to be. If you want to show up with blonde hair, like one of our producers, shout out DeAndre, I'm about to get my blonde hair done now.
00:31:45
Speaker
I'm gonna do it too, you know what I mean? So like, do your thing, y'all. I don't wanna know why. I'll come for the boss, though. I wanna go for DeAndre. No, he inspired me, so I'm coming next. Anyway, I just really truly believe in this, and I love that it's gonna make the health workplace more equitable and more fair for all the people that are involved. Right, and honestly, I didn't wanna be the one, but y'all, Trump got COVID.
00:32:14
Speaker
What's going on? He sure does. He sure does. You know what we know? He's not behaving like he got COVID. I think he leaving right now at that way. Check it out. He left AMA. It seemed like to me, because I would think that he would stay longer. I mean, you're in that critical range of 70 to 80 years old. And obese. I'm sorry. I had to throw it out there. They called me obese. They definitely called me obese.
00:32:44
Speaker
But it's like, he was getting a whole cocktail of drugs, which I don't even know are regulated.
Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis and Implications
00:32:54
Speaker
And the rem, you need to actually be in the hospital for, I think it's five days. So.
00:33:02
Speaker
not really sure what they're doing. And then on the press releases and the, um, the interviews I saw with his doctor, they, they're given such vague information. So, okay. It's against HIPAA for you guys. Well, first isn't consistent, but okay. So it's against HIPAA for you to disclose certain information, but you're out here whole telling us
00:33:23
Speaker
about his remarkable, or is it unremarkable, imaging for his lungs? Like, what are y'all doing? And then he's riding around trying to get it in a clown car. No, literally. It's been a mess.
00:33:39
Speaker
And all the people in the car is getting exposed too. So like, bruh, do you not, you got corona, those people got families, like you're exposing them to that too. So like, what kind of rhetoric are you trying to pursue in terms of like being the leader of the free world? You know what I'm saying? Like how are Americans supposed to perceive of that?
00:33:55
Speaker
You know, Trump is just a great example. Trump is just a great example of just white people, white people, right? Like just doing whatever they want and not taking accountability. Like we know what the Minnesota thing we talked about last last episode, the guy who when it's just got drunk on a whim, decided to go spray paint George Floyd's whole statue. Right. I'm confused. But yeah, like that's another example. And I don't know if we have any real, real updates. But I know, Alden, you have we talked about this before. You mentioned that
00:34:25
Speaker
What's his name? Because I love the people who know his name. What's his name? Daniel Michaelson, you will not ever enter medical school. I pray you will never ever enter medical school ever in your whole life. So apparently he was suffering from depression and from everything that was going on with what was going on with the pandemic. And he said he just took a drink and wanted to go out and enjoy himself. And that led him to doing these disastrous acts, which is still
00:34:51
Speaker
unacceptable. But the school stated that he is no longer personally enrolled at the school, but they will not provide any further updates. If he was still enrolled, somebody was going to try to unroll him on their own. I mean, that's what it's going to come down to. Either you unenroll or someone's going to try to unroll you by force. We're the flu out there, man, real deep. Like, yo, you coming out of the school, bro, like on some journey. Yeah, I want it. I want that smoke.
00:35:17
Speaker
Um, yeah, I just, I don't, I don't know. I'm glad he's unenrolled and. Yeah. And on the flip side of the coin, right? As a white person is just getting, getting out, right?
Breonna Taylor Case and Systemic Change
00:35:30
Speaker
We have a black woman who still never got her justice. Once again, the name of Brianna Taylor, who just, there was a hearing and they just decided that her death was not even a part of the situation. And actually they're going to charge him about
00:35:44
Speaker
the shots being fired next to a different apartment or the shots being fired in general, but no focus on her, no justice for her. Once again, a black woman just getting pushed aside when other people are accounted for in their own lives. And essentially, if you've been living under a cave, then you probably didn't know.
00:36:03
Speaker
that literally someone was sleeping in their home, Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend was also present and police apparently said they had a warrant or trying to serve a no-knock search warrant to figure out some type of narcotics investigation. And so they were looking for drugs and cash and they suspected that Taylor was holding it for an ex-boyfriend, right?
00:36:23
Speaker
So, the police claimed that they had announced, quote-unquote, announced their presence before using this battering ram, essentially, to just break into their door. But the boyfriend said that he didn't hear anyone say anything, and he just fired a warning shot because he thought someone was trying to break in, right? You're trying to protect your home. And then, apparently, the bullet had hit, like, I think one of the cops in the thigh, and then the officers just returned fire, mind you, at the sleeping woman behind him, or next to him, or wherever Brianna was located.
00:36:52
Speaker
time. And I'm just, you know, every time I say it out loud, it just makes less sense to me. But yeah, y'all, the summaries just go vote because we clearly have people of lower intelligence in the office. And so we need to change that. We definitely need to change that.
00:37:11
Speaker
Let's end this on a high note though, shall we? That was heavy because our amazing Student National Medical Association celebrated our Founders Day.
Celebrating SNMA Founders Day
00:37:25
Speaker
So happy Founders Day to Student National Medical Association, which was on October 4th.
00:37:31
Speaker
Love that. And you know what, again, we just want to say from our homes to yours, because nobody is going to the yard. All of our HBCUs to yours. All of our HBCUs at home. Happy homecoming season. Yes. When Ms. Rona is still here, but when she leave, y'all, it's turn up time.
00:37:52
Speaker
Right. Once again, shout out to the four HBCU medical schools once again. Shout out to Howard, Meharry, Morehouse, and Charles R. Drew. We love y'all. Thank you guys for doing the work and happy homecoming once again. Before I let go, boom, boom, boom. Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay
00:38:21
Speaker
What's up, y'all? We hope you're enjoying the episode thus far. We want you to check out the Blue and Gold Marching Machine of North Carolina A&T State University.
00:40:01
Speaker
MUSIC
00:40:26
Speaker
Whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy, the special obligation I felt as a black man like you to help those who need it most, people who didn't have the opportunities that I had, because
00:40:50
Speaker
There but for the grace of God go I. I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me. So it's up to you to widen your circle of concern, to care about justice for everybody. White, black and brown. Everybody, not just in your own community, but all across this country and around the world.
00:41:20
Speaker
to make sure everyone has a voice, and everybody gets a seat at the table, that everybody, no matter what you look like or where you come from, what your last name is, where it doesn't matter, everybody gets a chance to walk through those doors of opportunity if they are willing to work hard enough.
00:41:40
Speaker
So everyone, you know, at HBCUs, Black Greek letter organizations are lit. So it's time to sound off for all of the D9 organizations. What's up, that's what it made. My name is Dante Sanders from the new new chapter, the Alpha Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. You know, if you ain't first, you last. Shout out to all my Divine 9 out there doing that thing in med school, undergrad and grad school. It's homecoming season. 06 out. Greetings.
00:42:07
Speaker
My name is Erica Dingle. I am a member of the Theta Iota Omega chapter of the illustrious Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
00:42:25
Speaker
What's up, y'all? It's Dre, E.P. in the building, here to give a good shout out to the Smooth Brothers Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. I also want to give a special shout out to the home chapter, Iota Kai, down at the U. Yo!
00:42:41
Speaker
What's up, SNMA? And shout out to the Med School Greeks. My name is Chris Gully. I'm a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, home of, you know, the cute dogs. That's what y'all know it says. I graduated from Florida International, so my chapter is 88. Shout out to my home team. And right now, I'm in my second year of medical school at UAB in Birmingham. And so welcome to Homecoming season.
00:43:10
Speaker
What's up, y'all? It's your girl Brittany from the devastating chapter of Rollada, of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, wishing you all a happy homecoming.
00:43:24
Speaker
What's up SNMA? This is Faith. I'm from the new Theta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorori Incorporated. I just want to shout out to all my stores, especially because of Centennial. And you know, 2020 has been crazy, but it's still Centennial, still a year. So let me just do a quick shout out for y'all. Yay!
00:43:50
Speaker
What's good, SNMA fam? This is Kendra Moore, and I'm Helen from Savannah, Georgia. I'm a member of the awesome, also great Sigma Gamma Rose Sorority, Incorporated, where everything is great around these parks. We know y'all don't get to experience the homecoming field this year, so we want to bring that to you. I want to shout out to my stores.
00:44:12
Speaker
Y'all know what's going on in this guy, and we hope you all have a great time with this podcast, and we hope you all continue to grow in SMA. Peace out. What's good, SMA family? My name is Ashley Savera from the GEMO Crown Chapter of I Outify Their Fraternity. Shout out to all my fraternity brothers, they're at home from the season.
00:44:37
Speaker
We wanted to take the time out to shout out the Florida A&M University Marching 100. Take a listen.
00:46:01
Speaker
the the
00:46:32
Speaker
Hear me well on this day. This day when you have reached the hilltop and you are deciding on next jobs, next steps, careers, further education, you would rather find purpose than a job or career. Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history.
00:47:02
Speaker
Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.
Choosing Medical Schools: Influencing Factors
00:47:17
Speaker
Welcome back to the lounge. Today, I'm going to speak to some amazing residents here in the lounge. So we're going to talk about the distinct differences between HPCUs versus PWIs. As most of you all may know, HPCUs have a different culture from PWIs, and we would like to talk about that today, especially about how it has shaped us as individuals. And so I'm going to allow the residents to introduce themselves.
00:47:44
Speaker
Hi, my name is Suzette Akajani and I am a second year emergency medicine resident. I obtained my undergraduate education at the University of Miami and completed medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
00:47:58
Speaker
My name is Aziz Osho. I'm a second year internal medicine resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. I completed my undergraduate education at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. I completed my medical school education at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. So to begin, what influenced your decision to apply to or attend your medical school?
00:48:22
Speaker
I think the biggest thing for me was truly location. I knew about anything else that I wanted to get an out of state experience. I was born, raised and educated in Miami, Florida. And after having gone to the University of Miami, I knew I wanted to get out and experience something else and challenge myself in that way. The other big factors for me were cost and kind of the needs of my family at the time.
00:48:47
Speaker
So I applied pretty widely. I didn't feel attached or grounded to really any place outside of Florida. So I felt like I could branch out and really gain experiences elsewhere. And truly Texas offered me both the least when it came to cost. It was cheaper for me to go to Texas as an out of state student than it was for me to stay in state in Florida.
00:49:11
Speaker
And that's even with all the scholarships that I had obtained. And I think that's what worked best for my family at the time as well. So those were the big things that came into play. And I don't regret that decision at all.
00:49:24
Speaker
When I was applying to different medical schools and going through the application process, I applied to both HBCU and PWI medical schools. I found that my experiences interviewing at the HBCU medical schools just felt a little bit more comfortable for me as opposed to the PWI. I'm not saying that the PWI medical schools made it feel like it was maybe malignant, but I just felt more comfortable interviewing at the HBCU medical schools. And I think it was mainly because I saw a lot of the faculty, staff,
00:49:54
Speaker
the physicians, the medical students that were there that looked like me and it made me feel like I was more welcome there.
00:50:03
Speaker
Specifically when I interviewed at Howard and at the end of my interview day after I completed all of the activities scheduled for the day, right as I was leaving the building there was a third year medical student that stopped me as I was walking out and he introduced himself to me. He was not a member of the admissions or the recruitment team affiliated with Howard University, he was just a medical student there.
00:50:25
Speaker
And we just spoke about Howard and just our lives in general and why he felt Howard was such a great institution and just really kind of broke down to me what he thought it meant to train at Howard University for medicine.
00:50:43
Speaker
And that has still stuck with me to this day because I think that's one of the ultimate reasons why I decided to come to Howard. And as a gentleman, he didn't even know me just to take the time out to do that. I thought that was just very genuine of him to do. And it really showed the family aspect of Howard and of HBCUs as well too that most people want to go to those schools to learn from.
00:51:09
Speaker
In transitioning between undergrad and med school, what differences did you notice in culture and or community? I think the first thing I noticed was just the difference in culture. So I, again, went to the University of Miami and I was used to being around people from all walks of life, all different cultures and all different experiences.
00:51:33
Speaker
and kind of like a melting pot, so to speak. And I think that while I had found a niche for myself at the University of Miami with a lot of like-minded people, I could still acknowledge that everyone was pretty different. Everyone had different majors and interests and all of that stuff. And I think once I got to medical school, it was kind of like being with all the nerds at the front of the class all at once. And everyone was super focused on school and didn't really want to focus on anything else besides school.
00:52:02
Speaker
And that's just not really what I was used to. I kind of felt like I wasn't as dedicated or as focused as everyone else. So that was kind of a different experience for me. The other big difference I noticed was
00:52:16
Speaker
a lack of organized support for minority and first generation students.
Transitioning from Undergrad to Med School
00:52:22
Speaker
So where I went to undergrad, it was very, very much organized. We had a whole office dedicated to the success of our minority and first generation students, and that structure was completely lacking at my new institution. So trying to navigate these new problems in a new city,
00:52:39
Speaker
and under new pressures was really challenging for me initially where I didn't really feel like I had resources to go to or blueprint to follow where I would have had that feeling in undergrad.
00:52:51
Speaker
For me, transitioning from an HBCU undergraduate school to a HBCU medical school, I didn't see much of a difference in the culture. I think that the family aspect is definitely prevalent amongst HBCUs across the country and that everyone wants to be very close with each other. I would say the community aspect was probably more
00:53:17
Speaker
with going to Howard for medical school and I say that mainly because when you're an undergraduate and you're going through undergraduate studies there's a lot of people in your major and a lot of people kind of learning the same topics so everybody's kind of sometimes doing their own thing it's kind of hard to really centralize everybody in one place. As a medical student
00:53:41
Speaker
There's only but a finite number of medical students in your class that are going through the same thing as you and literally having the same classes or very similar rotation. So you kind of all know the struggles that go along with going through that.
00:53:57
Speaker
Rotation that you're doing right now or going studying for that exam that is Supposed to be the hardest exam in medical school and everybody kind of relates very similarly to that so I feel that
00:54:13
Speaker
The community aspect is just a little bit greater just going into medical school and I think that's just on a graduate school level only because the amount of people in your cohort are usually smaller as opposed to if you're in an undergraduate level of education. If you attended an HBCU, why was it important for you to attend an HBCU?
00:54:36
Speaker
Attending Howard was a great experience for me in that it gave me the confidence to be able to be where I'm at now and being able to train and sit amongst other physicians of my caliber that might not necessarily look like me but have the same knowledge base.
00:54:55
Speaker
Imposter syndrome is very real and sometimes you can feel like you don't belong, but I felt that Howard really gave me the tools to be able to feel that I belong amongst other physicians that might not necessarily look like me, but I have the knowledge base and the capabilities to be able to achieve, if not more than what they are, at least on the same level as them.
00:55:16
Speaker
I also feel like seeing minority physicians and specifically physicians that look like me practicing medicine in many different capacities on a day-to-day basis. And that exposure, being able to have that exposure was just very beneficial for me to be able to have the confidence to be able to practice medicine in the manner that I am now. If you did not attend an HBCU, did you consider HBCUs when applying for medical school?
00:55:45
Speaker
So HBCUs were actually my first choice of a medical school experience. I initially really, really wanted to go to an HBCU. I was a fee assistance program applicant and for anyone who doesn't know what that is, kind of simply put,
00:56:01
Speaker
It's a program that you apply for and you have to submit some documentation to support that subsidizes your cost of your application cycle. So the general application fee, the secondary fees, there are resources that are provided to you. The MCAT is charged at a lower cost, et cetera. And along with that came with the majority of programs waiving their secondary fees, which was really something that I needed at that time.
00:56:28
Speaker
And when I was very, very excited to apply to the HBCU programs, essentially none of them waived their secondary fees. And I just wasn't in a position to kind of make that sacrifice at that time. Not to say that it still wasn't a desire of mine, but that's kind of what precluded me from pursuing that route. What were the relationships like amongst your classmates at HBCUs and PWIs?
00:56:57
Speaker
So my classmates and I were very close knit from jump. So my class started out with nine black students, my medical school class, and five of us wore black women. And at our orientation, the way it works is we all met up to go to this like camping site or whatever, for whatever reason, because they thought that would be enjoyable for us.
00:57:19
Speaker
And immediately, all of us sat together and found each other and that was it. From that moment on, we were each other's resource. And there was never an air of competition or anything like that. I always knew that if there was something that I was struggling with, either academically or personally,
00:57:37
Speaker
that I could go to any one of them and they would be a source of support and reassurance for me, both personally and very tangibly when it came to helping to study resources or whatever else was needed. When it came to the rest of my classmates, I don't think that I had any issues with them directly. I would definitely say it wasn't a very close-knit relationship with the rest of my classmates. I was pretty much just close to the black students and that was okay with me.
00:58:06
Speaker
But I loved feeling like I had these people that I could sit next to in class so I could count on to catch me up on notes or things that I missed. And if I had to miss a class, it was just, it was a really nice safety net to have a feeling like you had a family there in the classroom.
00:58:25
Speaker
And these same classmates of mine turned into lifelong friends. So even now that we've all spread out across the country for our different residency programs, they were, you know, my former roommates and they continue to be my lifelong friends. And that's not a relationship that I take lightly.
00:58:44
Speaker
Man, I can talk about this question for as long as possible, but I love all of my classmates. We're all pretty close as a class. We speak to each other regularly. We have a group chat that we can discuss things related to medicine or not related to medicine. They're just reminisce on old times that have happened while we were in med school together and experiences that we've had funny times, hard times, and
00:59:10
Speaker
I think it's always great to have these kind of relationships with people that you've trained with because they will probably understand a lot of the struggles that you deal with as a physician better than most other people, sometimes even better than your family. I love all of my classmates that I went to medical school with. I wouldn't trade them for the world. HUCM class of 2019, you guys are the best.
00:59:37
Speaker
Do you feel well supported as a young black professional? How? And I want you to think about classmates, faculty, leadership. Most definitely I feel that HUCM or Howard University College of Medicine definitely provides the resources and the opportunities for medical students to be able to excel clinically and as leaders in the field of medicine.
01:00:02
Speaker
We have a lot of faculty at HUCM that really encourages and pushes the students to excel. I can name a couple off the top of my head, specifically Dr. Esther Forrester in the pediatrics department that she will really talk you up and let you know that you belong in any field of medicine that you want to be in and you are more than capable of excelling.
01:00:23
Speaker
Another physician I had the pleasure of learning from during my time at HUCM was Dr. Terrence Fulham from the Department of Surgery at Howard University Hospital. Going into my third year clerkship, specifically my surgery rotation, I had no interest in doing surgery. However, I will say that when learning from Dr. Fulham,
01:00:45
Speaker
He actually made me strongly consider wanting to pursue a surgical specialty for the time that I rotated on his service. He really takes time to really teach the medical students and have them critically think, but have them do it in a very open and comfortable environment to really facilitate learning and overall education in the surgical specialty.
01:01:10
Speaker
Of course, I ended up going into internal medicine, but I would definitely say that that was one of my favorite parts of third year being able to learn under him because he really pushed me as well to be better as a medical student wanting to be a physician.
Support Systems for Minority Med Students
01:01:27
Speaker
So I think it depends on what I classify as support and where that came from.
01:01:33
Speaker
So when it came to my classmates, absolutely, I felt as though I was part of a club of people who are working towards the same goal. And even though we all had things individually that we were exceptionally good at or that we struggled with, I felt like we were a collaborative community where we were able to provide each other with resources to succeed despite whatever limitations or weaknesses each of us had.
01:01:59
Speaker
With regards to other areas of support, like I think faculty for me were hit or miss. I had some amazing relationships with certain members of faculty who were really invested in not only my success, but the success of my other black classmates as well.
01:02:17
Speaker
whether or not those individuals were actually black themselves or just took a concerted interest in the success of us as students. There were some people that I think were really exceptional in trying to push forward our success.
01:02:33
Speaker
And then with regards to like more of the organized support when it came to the leadership and kind of like the higher ups, I don't think that that was something that my institution did particularly well. Our essentially diversity and inclusion office was relatively new and I think in particular when one of my classmates who was my roommate and I tried to push forward
01:02:56
Speaker
kind of pipeline programs and foster kind of the programs through the SMA chapter there. We met a lot of resistance which was kind of disheartening. It didn't stop us by any means but we did meet a lot of resistance and I think that that added to some of that like minority tax of the experience that we had while we were
01:03:19
Speaker
there in medical school. Not only were we trying to become competent doctors, we were also trying to pave the way for those who would come after us and make it an easier journey to navigate. And we met a lot of resistance trying to do that. So that was a little a little disheartening. Did your experiences and your feelings about being a part of a community in medical school influence your search for residency programs? How so?
01:03:46
Speaker
absolutely a thousand percent ten times over. My experience when it came to being a minority in medical school had a lot of weight on deciding where I would end up and how I ranked my programs that I interviewed at for my residency. I think the the best way to describe that is kind of touching base on the minority tax. The
01:04:13
Speaker
tasks and work and labor that we do as minorities, tasks on us by the simple fact that we are minorities in medical schools seeking out higher education and a terminal degree, we're required to do labor around that. Things like recruitment and retention and interviewing people for diversity positions, things that are our counterparts who are not minorities aren't tasked with doing.
01:04:42
Speaker
And I think my experience at my institution really made me feel like the tax was too high and I was only willing to pay it to a certain degree. There was a level of labor that I felt comfortable doing that I didn't feel like would hinder my experience or be an added layer or an added obstacle on trying to become a competent physician.
01:05:06
Speaker
And anything above that, I just wasn't willing to tolerate. So that meant for me that I had to look for programs where this was already being fostered, where kind of the groundwork was already being done, either that or the efforts to lay that groundwork wasn't being thwarted and actively undermined or heavily resisted. And that can be hard to tease out like on a very nuanced, you know,
01:05:31
Speaker
six to eight hour interview day. But I really tried to put forth the effort to touch base with the people that were there, like the residents that were already going through the program to get an honest and open perspective because I didn't want to end up somewhere that I would be uncomfortable for four years. That was really important to me and it was important for my wellness. And it was kind of like I had a zero tolerance policy for it. Like if I went somewhere and felt
01:05:59
Speaker
uncomfortable even for a moment or if I felt as though someone said something that was off color or microaggression or those sorts of things transpired and I could acknowledge that and notice that on my interview day absolutely not you were off the list and that was that was it and I didn't I didn't shy away from that feeling because I felt as though
01:06:21
Speaker
It was a big commitment, picking a residency program. And it's a commitment that you can't really stray away from. Once you match, it's a legally binding contract and you have to show up on day one. So I wasn't willing to tolerate anything less than what I considered to be what was going to be appropriate and beneficial for me.
01:06:42
Speaker
There was a time during my medical school journey that I was part of a group of students that were helping to develop a new required course in our curriculum that was surrounding the social determinants of health and disparities regarding social identifiers, things like race, identity, gender, etc.
01:07:03
Speaker
And I will never forget this, being in a curriculum meeting, kind of leading up to the approval of the course and the curriculum itself, and meeting so much resistance, not with the faculty members on the committee. I was actually going back and forth with a student who was on the committee, not on the committee working on the curriculum, but the actual standing curriculum committee.
01:07:28
Speaker
And the student was just so gung-ho about whether or not this was important enough to be considered a required part of the curriculum as opposed to just elective. And I remember sitting there thinking, the student and I are literally, you know, like voices were raised, like attentions are very high, emotions are high. And one of the faculty members like subsequently stepped in and kind of interrupted the conversation. And I was like,
01:07:55
Speaker
There are students that navigate medical school never, ever, ever having to think about race, never having to think about ethnicity, never having to think about gender identity, never having to think about sexual orientation, never having to think about their economic status. Like, that is crazy to me. And I remember thinking like, wow,
01:08:21
Speaker
I imagine that experience is so beautiful. Literally the only thing you're thinking about is sketching my girl and the test. And you don't have to think about anything else. You don't have to think about what's going on in the world. You don't have to think about your setting in the world. You don't have to think about how all of
01:08:39
Speaker
the lenses of your social identity will affect your entire career moving forward, no matter how well you do on your exam or how many degrees you have. And that sealed the deal for me. I was like, yeah, no, I'm just, I'm not gonna be walking that walk in residency and feeling this way while working, you know, 80 hours a week. I just wasn't gonna do it. And that was important to me.
01:09:04
Speaker
I definitely think so. I feel that I wanted to be at a program that valued community and being close with your co-residents because ultimately similar to medical school, this is going to be something that you're going through the trenches with your co-residents for.
01:09:19
Speaker
three, four, five plus years and you wanna be able to feel that you can lean on your residents or your co-residents whenever you might not be having the best day or if you just have questions about things and you might not have the best answer to it but you can just talk with them and maybe have an idea or get their idea of how they would approach something. And then just overall being able to be around them, I think that's very important. And HBCU Medical Schools, specifically Howard did a good job of
01:09:48
Speaker
really cultivating that feeling of community. And that's something that I really wanted to really gravitate towards to my program, UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. As large as my program is with the number of residents that we have in our internal medicine department, I feel that my program does a good job of being able to connect residents among each other using subgroups so that whoever's in your subgroup, you usually tend to rotate with those individuals and you get to create really long lasting and great relationships with.
01:10:19
Speaker
What qualities about your program influence who you are as a physician today? Fluential quality of my program and the way I practice medicine now is the patient population that we see. In the internal medicine department at UT Southwestern, we have different patient populations that we interact with based on which hospital we work at.
01:10:38
Speaker
One of the hospitals that I work at is called Parkland Hospital and is considered the safety net hospital. And you'll see a lot of underinsured and uninsured patients that come to this hospital to receive treatment. And it's actually a very good opportunity to work with these patients to kind of really understand the ins and outs of trying to treat a vulnerable population.
01:11:01
Speaker
So in an effort not to sound too negative, I think I did gain a lot of very positive and very necessary skills through my experience at my medical school institution. I think the big ones are
01:11:19
Speaker
Having dealt with the lack of kind of structured protections and structured resources around the minority experience, I did gain quite a bit of confidence in my ability to navigate uncomfortable situations in the workplace. I think that is something that kind of comes second nature to me, where I no longer feel
01:11:39
Speaker
kind of embarrassed or hesitant, or I don't shy away from having to advocate for myself in the workplace. And that comes directly from having to do that while in medical school. Not saying that I would have preferred to, much would have preferred to not have to do that, but now that I did have to do that and I gained that skill, it's something that I continue to use even through my journey through residency.
01:12:06
Speaker
where I'm able to speak up for myself, speak up for my patients in ways that prioritizes my needs and the needs of those who come after me, who look like me. That's important. Along those same lines, I think I have gained the ability to create a safe space for myself, no matter what. Outside of the assigned mentors and
01:12:33
Speaker
kind of the people that you're going to work with as your colleagues, those are things that are outside of your control. I think that even beyond that, I'm able to create a safe space for myself amongst friends, amongst people outside of medicine. And that comes from having to do that. That comes from having to say,
01:12:51
Speaker
you know, these five black women are who I can lean on and who I can trust. And even though all skinfolk ain't kinfolk, I won't like, you know, pretend that that's the case. I have kind of hold my ability to tease out who's going to be for me and who's not going to be for me, who's going to advocate for me when I'm not even in the room.
01:13:15
Speaker
And how can I foster my relationship with that person? How can I leave this space as an ongoing protection for both myself and the other person? And I think that's an important skill to have when you venture out into kind of your professional career as a physician.
01:13:34
Speaker
You know, it's it's no surprise that you will be the first or the only and that's not something that I'm unprepared for. I'm very prepared for that. And I.
01:13:46
Speaker
I'm proud of that. I'm proud of all the experiences that I've had thus far. And I don't regret any bit of it. And I think that every walk to medicine brings value and has valuable things that you've learned along the way. But those are the things that I think have really had an impact on me and continue to have an impact on me through my training. So I'm really proud of that. Thank you again to our amazing residents for a great discussion. We'll be right back.
01:14:15
Speaker
To bring this home, we have the mighty marching hornets of Alabama State University. Go off, y'all.
01:14:44
Speaker
Oh, oh, oh, oh
01:15:18
Speaker
Oh.
01:16:02
Speaker
Thank you guys so much for joining us for this homecoming episode of The Lounge. Let us know your thoughts about the discussions we had today by emailing us at podcast at snma.org.
01:16:18
Speaker
And be sure to follow the SNMA on social media to stay up to date on upcoming events like next episode, right? I just told y'all we're going to be discussing the election. This is probably one of the most important elections we are going to have in a very, very long time. And so make sure to reach out because we want to hear your thoughts. Thanks again so much for listening to the lounge and hope to see you guys next episode.