Today we’d like to introduce you to 3 MD’s
Hi 3 MD’s, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We all started medical school in 2018, not sure of what it would entail but determined nonetheless to succeed. The African American male presence in medicine is rare, and we knew that we were blessed with the opportunity to be on this journey together. Understanding that there are many minorities who aspire to pursue a career in medicine, we decided to do our part by showing them that it was possible. To reach our audience, we started a YouTube channel to create an authentic experience for like minded individuals and show that aspiring to practice medicine is indeed possible. Representation matters, and often times you don’t know who you can be until you see someone you relate to in that position. We are normal people who do what the average 20 something year olds would do in Houston, Seattle, and New York… we just happen to be in medical school. We strive to keep it real by being vulnerable and explaining our paths leading up to medical school! Additionally, we made it our goal to ensure all the knowledge we’ve gained through trial and error can help someone who who needs it the most. Ultimately we want to show that we are products of similar environments from people who look like us, talk like us, and think like us!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Kennedy: I took the MCAT 4 times, applied twice, and took 2 gap years before getting into medical school. That was my biggest hurdle. Though it was a struggle I never felt incompetent, I believed in myself and my ability to one day become a physician. My belief in my self translated into making the conscious decision to get back up and continue grinding remembering that this path is not meant to be easy and that EVERYONE has a story. I still continue to face challenges in medical school but understanding where I came from has given me the fuel to keep going no matter what. Trevor: My journey here has been far from easy, I was raised in a single parent home, my mother had a GED and my father was incarcerated until I was 19 years old. Navigating my way through high school, college and medical school was a challenge itself and required me to learn how to leverage the frugality of resources afforded to me. I’ve had to learn not only take advantage of opportunity when it was presented, but also create it. Derrek: My path to medicine was not easy and I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to achieve my dream on the first try. I am the first person in my family to attend medical school in America and as such that came with it’s fair share of challenges. There was no specific rulebook for me and as such I had to surround myself with people who believed in me and were able to spread a wealth of knowledge. Being an immigrant and seeing my mother struggle to give us the opportunities I have today have always served as the fuel I needed to make sure I saw my goals through.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our goal in medicine first and foremost is to be great doctors who can advocate for all of our patients and bring our best to the table everyday. Ultimately we intend to break down barriers just as those who came before us did. The stark truth is that we need more people of color in medicine to care for a truly diverse population. Another major goal of us as a collective, is to make up for the gaps in knowledge that our counterparts have been exposed to in terms of financial know how. Knowing the position we will be in the future it is incredibly important to be aware how to handle being a high income earner and be on the road to building generational wealth Lastly we want to show that we’re here and fully melanated in this space that has historically put up barriers to people that look like us. The goal is to inspire and motivate.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Medicine has been around since the days of the ancient Egyptians and will continue to be here albeit evolve. Like almost all things around us, technology is blurring the lines of what it means to be a physician! We hope to partake in all the radical changes that will be coming in addition to advancements in drugs and procedures. Medicine as an industry is looking incredibly bright but we must be aware of how changes in policy and advancements in technology will bring changes to the landscape for better or worse!
Contact Info:
- Email: threemedicaldocs@gmail.com
- Website: https://linktr.ee/threemedicaldocs
Image Credits:
@photosamyam
