WEBVTT 00:00:12.910 --> 00:00:15.830 Welcome to Our Voices Our Future, the podcast 00:00:15.830 --> 00:00:17.949 where we amplify the voices driving change and 00:00:17.949 --> 00:00:20.350 equity within medicine and beyond. Brought to 00:00:20.350 --> 00:00:22.510 you by the Gender Equity Task Force, a committee 00:00:22.510 --> 00:00:24.710 of the American Medical Women's Association, 00:00:25.129 --> 00:00:26.910 we're here to challenge norms, break barriers, 00:00:27.170 --> 00:00:30.030 and ignite conversations that matter. I'm Megan 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:32.570 Utzi, and in each episode we'll bring you candid 00:00:32.570 --> 00:00:35.409 discussions with leaders, change makers, and 00:00:35.409 --> 00:00:37.310 advocates working to create a more inclusive 00:00:37.310 --> 00:00:40.039 and just world. No more silence, no more waiting. 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:42.439 You're listening to our voices, our future. Let's 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:45.840 get into it. Today we're welcoming Rhea Manohar, 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:48.340 an incredible friend that I met through AMWA 00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:50.740 and a third -year medical student from St. George's 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:53.859 University. Rhea holds a master of public health 00:00:53.859 --> 00:00:56.439 with a concentration in maternal and child health 00:00:56.439 --> 00:01:00.000 from George Washington University's Milken Institute 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.719 of Public Health and a bachelor of science in 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.560 microbiology and immunology and another in public 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:08.540 health from the University of Miami. She served 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:12.120 as the Co -Vice President of the OB -GYN Education 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:14.719 Committee for St. George's University Women in 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.140 Medicine chapter in Grenada, where she developed 00:01:17.140 --> 00:01:20.140 and implemented hands -on workshops focused on 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:22.579 reproductive health and strengthened medical 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:25.340 students' abilities to navigate physician -patient 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:28.140 communication. Prior to medical school, Rhea 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:30.400 worked as a research associate at Forest Marsh 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.219 Group, leading qualitative and quantitative public 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:35.579 health research and campaign development for 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:39.599 federal agencies such as the CDC, NIH, DHHS, 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:44.159 and CPSC. Rhea is also a very active member of 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:46.719 our Gender Equity Task Force and the Reproductive 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:48.700 Health Coalition within the American Medical 00:01:48.700 --> 00:01:51.790 Association. And when she's not pursuing medicine, 00:01:52.310 --> 00:01:54.870 she enjoys reading, exploring her artistic passions, 00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:57.430 and spending quality time with friends and family. 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:01.870 Thanks for being here today, Ria. Thanks. So 00:02:01.870 --> 00:02:04.269 to start us off, can you share a bit about your 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:06.569 journey into medicine? What kind of inspired 00:02:06.569 --> 00:02:09.849 you to pursue this path and how have your experiences 00:02:09.849 --> 00:02:13.039 along the way kind of shaped your why? Yeah. 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:17.620 So I think my why has kind of changed over time. 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:20.000 When I was a kid, it was like, I want to be a 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.419 doctor. I loved going to the pediatrician, seeing 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.659 how the different tools worked, understanding 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:31.460 what was going on with the science as I grew 00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:36.250 up. As I moved to college and did undergrad and 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:39.830 then my master's, I think I gained a better understanding 00:02:39.830 --> 00:02:43.810 of what medicine was. Specifically at Miami, 00:02:44.349 --> 00:02:47.610 I kind of came out of the bubble that I was living 00:02:47.610 --> 00:02:51.250 in and I got a better understanding of cultural 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:54.389 inequities and socioeconomic inequities. And 00:02:54.389 --> 00:02:57.289 that kind of led me to understand that medicine 00:02:57.289 --> 00:03:01.750 is not necessarily in that bubble. that a lot 00:03:01.750 --> 00:03:04.310 of people perceive it to be it's not necessarily 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:07.689 just like a person comes into the clinic and 00:03:07.689 --> 00:03:11.990 they are affected by like whatever disease that 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:14.550 they're encountering right now. It's not just 00:03:14.550 --> 00:03:19.189 strep throat. It is like them becoming a part 00:03:19.189 --> 00:03:24.449 of a greater world that affects their medicine. 00:03:24.449 --> 00:03:28.240 And to me, That's what I'm interested in at this 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.740 point. How does the clinical medicine tie in 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:36.860 with the greater perception of the world with 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:39.800 like socioeconomic issues? That's very deep. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.599 I love that. I actually was just rotating like 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.180 last week and one of the residents was like, 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:47.860 you know what, I feel like we need more education 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:51.060 on like socio determinants of health. Like these 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:53.520 things really matter. And you don't really, some 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:56.580 people don't see that until you start practicing 00:03:56.580 --> 00:03:59.539 as a doctor, right? You are lucky you have your 00:03:59.539 --> 00:04:01.419 background in public health and you've gotten 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:03.659 to kind of explore that. And I think that that's 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:06.099 probably going to make you a better doctor because 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.780 you've had this experience and passion within 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:10.780 it. But yeah, they're so like intertwined with 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:14.599 each other. Yeah, specifically like at Miami, 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.480 I understood just how little education, both 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.180 I had and patients had about different things. 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.699 For me, it was always like, I knew nothing about 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:29.220 reproductive health. I came from Tennessee, I 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:33.100 got the very subdued version of health education. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.120 And then for me, it was like, I need to teach 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:40.160 myself, I need other people to learn this. And 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:43.819 then I saw it in clinic, like it's on the clinicians 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:48.019 and a lot of times to teach the patients about 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:51.100 what is going on with them as well as like what 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:55.420 are the opportunities available for them with 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.879 their own health. Yeah, absolutely. So kind of 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:00.839 talking about this background that you have in 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:03.699 public health with your MPH focusing on maternal 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:07.019 and child health, how has that public health 00:05:07.019 --> 00:05:10.000 foundation kind of influenced the way that you 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.279 have approached your medical education and plan 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:14.639 to approach your patient care in the future? 00:05:15.050 --> 00:05:18.269 Yeah, I think I kind of just talked about this 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:25.149 a little bit. But I think for me, public health 00:05:25.149 --> 00:05:29.910 is now a huge part of my medical education. As 00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:34.029 I'm learning about different diseases, like infectious 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:37.540 diseases or even different pathology. you understand 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:40.860 a little bit more about who is getting these 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:44.199 diseases, who is more at risk for these diseases, 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:49.240 and what can we do about that. So for me, public 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.220 health is what does this look like in the broader 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:56.300 landscape? What kind of advocacy do these people 00:05:56.300 --> 00:06:00.100 need in the future? What kind of educational 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:03.079 resources can we provide? What kind of systemic 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.439 issues are affecting why people are getting certain 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:13.519 diseases? I love that. So as a co -VP of your 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.899 OB -GYN education committee for the women in 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.860 medicine chapter, you developed these workshops 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:21.100 that kind of focus on reproductive health and 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:24.379 communication. Can you kind of share like what 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:27.240 even motivated you to get that position and then 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.459 continue the work and what you've kind of learned 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:32.120 from those experiences. And I want to add like, 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:35.480 especially on the island and not in the States, 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:38.540 like somewhere that things are very different 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:43.680 than they are back in the US. Yeah. So for me, 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:48.839 Since about midway through undergrad, OB -GYN 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:51.100 and reproductive health has kind of become a 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:55.079 passion of mine. It really intertwines all those 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.779 pieces of medicine and public health that I love, 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:02.399 from advocacy to clinical work and to understanding 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:07.120 those systemic changes. I have a long background 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.959 in health education now. It's something that 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:15.089 I'm specifically super passionate about. for 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:18.290 the OB -GYN committee, I realized that a lot 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:22.430 of medical schools, particularly at SGU, we have 00:07:22.430 --> 00:07:26.769 these like OSCEs and these different clinical 00:07:26.769 --> 00:07:29.110 scenarios in which you're supposed to be understanding 00:07:29.110 --> 00:07:31.850 how to talk to patients. But you don't necessarily 00:07:31.850 --> 00:07:36.279 get to do that with a lot of like hot. topic 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:38.779 issues and reproductive health is definitely 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:41.740 one of those. Maybe it's because a lot of people 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:45.139 may not have those conversations in their clinical 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:47.360 life. Maybe it's just something that the school 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:51.759 doesn't want to touch on. But it's such an important 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.000 thing for people to understand because those 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.980 are such personal decisions. So one of the things 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:02.990 that I really championed was kind of an Oski 00:08:02.990 --> 00:08:06.970 speed dating situation in which we gave people, 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:10.850 uh, different little like clinical situations. 00:08:11.029 --> 00:08:15.149 Um, like if you had somebody coming in for genetic 00:08:15.149 --> 00:08:20.850 testing and they were more, they, the genetic 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:22.850 testing showed that their child would be more 00:08:22.850 --> 00:08:27.970 at risk for like Down syndrome or PKU. Um, other 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:31.149 situations where like, people coming in for cervical 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.210 cancer testing with pap smears. How do you have 00:08:34.210 --> 00:08:37.970 those conversations with people? So different 00:08:37.970 --> 00:08:40.750 students went around to the different stations 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.470 and kind of got to talk through that. And I think 00:08:43.470 --> 00:08:45.250 that's something that you don't necessarily get 00:08:45.250 --> 00:08:47.889 to do in a medical situation, medical school 00:08:47.889 --> 00:08:50.529 situation until you get to much further down 00:08:50.529 --> 00:08:54.649 your line. And I think as I've been in clinicals, 00:08:54.669 --> 00:08:57.090 I know you're not like to that threshold, yeah, 00:08:57.149 --> 00:09:00.330 but I am somebody who has wanted to like seek 00:09:00.330 --> 00:09:02.269 out those conversations because it's very true, 00:09:02.590 --> 00:09:04.549 like how do you have these conversations with 00:09:04.549 --> 00:09:06.909 people? How do you approach it? How do you start 00:09:06.909 --> 00:09:08.830 it? Like I want to see this in action by other 00:09:08.830 --> 00:09:13.269 people, however understandably it's a very private 00:09:13.269 --> 00:09:14.909 conversation and then when you get to clinicals 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:16.940 they're like well we don't really want like med 00:09:16.940 --> 00:09:18.779 students staring at this conversation. You know, 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.059 like sometimes it's uncomfortable as well. I 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:23.860 know like when I'm in the ED, I try to go whenever 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:26.039 like a trauma comes in and the doctor goes to 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:27.940 update the family. Like I want to go with them 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:30.059 to the family because I want to see how these 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:32.360 interactions happen. I want to be able to form 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:35.080 a great way to have these conversations in the 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:38.559 future. However, it's very true when I rotate 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.159 their OB -GYN. This is a very private thing and 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.759 I feel like most of the places that we do rotations 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.539 at are within like underserved communities where 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:52.159 residents serve as well and those people are 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:53.919 a little more scared because they may be a little 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:55.980 less educated on the subjects and they usually 00:09:55.980 --> 00:09:58.139 don't want an audience when these conversations 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:01.639 are happening and so that's so important to be 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:03.860 able to seek out these opportunities where we 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:07.580 have the ability to know how to say these things 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:11.620 because who wants the doctor who's having this 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:13.940 conversation for the first time and who's never 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.620 experienced how to have this conversation? No. 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:19.759 And I think reproductive hair specifically is 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:23.919 so unique in that it is shaped by these private 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:26.620 conversations, but these private conversations... 00:10:26.649 --> 00:10:31.590 are so multifaceted. It's from like how you believe 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:34.230 either religiously or culturally ties so much 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:36.490 into those conversations, what's going on with 00:10:36.490 --> 00:10:41.769 you specifically. So it's like not just the education, 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:44.450 it's also where people are coming from and what 00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:47.539 they want to do with their health. Yeah, that's 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:49.700 so important. That's so cool that that's something 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:52.220 you tackled for students. I think that's incredible. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:57.159 And now to continue on to your active memberships 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:01.460 within the Gender Equity Task Force and the Reproductive 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:04.519 Health Coalition. I have seen your work and I 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:07.580 know you do so much and you're very passionate 00:11:07.580 --> 00:11:09.539 about it. So tell us a little bit about the work 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:13.259 that you do with them and how has being a part 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:16.340 of these initiatives kind of shapes your perspective 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:21.960 as a future provider, physician. Yeah. So I think 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:24.960 definitely the work with the gender equity task 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.460 force is what I've kind of put my whole heart 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:33.259 into right now. Because before medical school, 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:36.240 I was out of school for a little while and I 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.789 was working on public health work and I saw Like 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:42.990 I was working on these public health campaigns 00:11:42.990 --> 00:11:45.590 and understand the research and talking to people 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:48.350 about why they believe these things. And we put 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:52.909 out campaigns to help educate people or we'd 00:11:52.909 --> 00:11:57.409 put together like CDC documents for doctors to 00:11:57.409 --> 00:12:00.149 be like, these are the kinds of conversations 00:12:00.149 --> 00:12:02.669 that you want to have. But for me, it only went 00:12:02.669 --> 00:12:06.929 so far. Like I love. getting to understand why 00:12:06.929 --> 00:12:09.690 people work in certain ways and why we need to 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:13.169 have these conversations. But I also wanted to 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:17.669 be part of those conversations. So I think for 00:12:17.669 --> 00:12:20.429 me, being able to work on the gender equity task 00:12:20.429 --> 00:12:23.450 force is kind of the beginning of the merging 00:12:23.450 --> 00:12:27.730 of those two worlds for me. I get to utilize 00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:30.669 that communication and public health and advocacy 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:34.129 aspect of my life. and put it together with the 00:12:34.129 --> 00:12:37.429 clinical knowledge that I'm gaining through school. 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:40.210 That's so cool. How full circle, and you get 00:12:40.210 --> 00:12:43.269 to see it come together before like practicing, 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:46.370 you know, like you're not even there, but you've 00:12:46.370 --> 00:12:49.330 collided you two worlds beautifully and you're 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:51.710 making a difference doing it, right? You're educating 00:12:51.710 --> 00:12:53.909 people, you're doing a lot of great work, so 00:12:53.909 --> 00:12:58.379 that's super exciting. So with the Gender Equity 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:01.019 Task Force, you've engaged in issues like the 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:03.600 intersection of gender, advocacy, and access 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:06.960 to healthcare. Let's talk a little bit more about 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.919 the gender equity efforts and how they influence 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.460 medical education and practice. What are some 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:15.580 of the trends you've seen through your work and 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:18.600 misinformation and things that you think have 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.799 been big in what you've been tackling and important 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:26.440 issues? Oh gosh, I feel like every time I work 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:28.559 on something for the Gender Equity Task Force, 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.919 I'm learning. And that's a really cool place 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:35.399 to be in. One of the main things that I work 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:39.919 on is the Gender Equity Task Force blogs that 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:44.220 we put out with the weekly blogs. The topics 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:48.419 can really be anything. A lot of the ones I work 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:50.500 on are reproductive health focused, but we've 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:54.039 also tackled different topics. Some of them are 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:57.080 tech related. Some of them are communication 00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:02.500 related. And every time I sit down to write a 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:05.019 blog, I also have to sit down and educate myself 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:11.409 about what's going on. I think that everybody 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:16.529 doesn't necessarily have the opportunity to sit 00:14:16.529 --> 00:14:19.509 down and do that research, but through the gender 00:14:19.509 --> 00:14:22.529 equity task force and through these communication 00:14:22.529 --> 00:14:24.389 and education initiatives that we're putting 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:27.909 out, it's giving people a little Snapchat of 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:31.889 that research and kind of starting conversations 00:14:31.889 --> 00:14:37.269 that maybe were just in people's heads. So for 00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:42.639 me, it's really just been interesting to see 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:48.659 how much gender affects how the world works in 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:51.960 different ways. Like I would never have perceived 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:55.639 certain things. And especially as technology 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.899 moves on, we were just working on an AI related 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.879 one. And I was like, I hear about AI in the greater 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.460 space, but what does that mean as we move forward 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:10.779 into a healthcare space? Yeah, I love it. I think 00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:13.340 that the work is so important and it's so there 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:17.480 and I I I love the gender equity part of it just 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.159 because I think that the world is oblivious to 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.840 the fact that there are still gaps. And yeah, 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:25.720 it's been so cool working with you and kind of 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.179 getting to educate ourselves. I think in some 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:31.139 respectives, I was oblivious as well. I mean, 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.659 there's many facets that there's just so many 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:37.080 places in which I know that there are gaps in 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:41.820 all of our education. And I think that in so 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:45.580 many ways that almost makes us better students 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:50.600 because we have that understanding when we go 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:53.659 into clinical settings of like people don't want 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:56.980 to be misinformed. People are misinformed because 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:00.240 of the educational resources and the conversations 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:04.769 around them. So being able to kind of Be aware 00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:07.990 of that bias. I think a lot of people go into 00:16:07.990 --> 00:16:10.309 these conversations are like people are just 00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:13.490 miseducated. People are just misinformed. But 00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:15.889 why are people misinformed? It's not that they're 00:16:15.889 --> 00:16:18.070 just putting on blinders for the rest of their 00:16:18.070 --> 00:16:22.529 lives. I love that. I think that's a very great 00:16:22.529 --> 00:16:25.029 outlook onto things because I think a lot of 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:28.330 times in these more like controversial topics, 00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:31.450 people kind of point fingers at each other. But 00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:33.649 looking at it from the perspective of people 00:16:33.649 --> 00:16:36.110 don't want to be misinformed. It's just something 00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:39.590 that happens as a nature of our world we live 00:16:39.590 --> 00:16:42.750 in is a great way to look at it. I love I love 00:16:42.750 --> 00:16:45.960 that perspective. I think it brings a lot of 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:50.039 grace to the topic of the misinformation and 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:53.299 help shape how you kind of attack those situations 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:57.039 as a future provider. So all this work you've 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:59.879 done, balancing the research, the advocacy, your 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.840 medical student and training, it takes a lot 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:04.920 of passion and resilience. How have you kind 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:07.819 of like stayed grounded and found this balance 00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:10.460 while pursuing all of these goals that you have? 00:17:11.370 --> 00:17:16.190 Um, I think a lot of that comes from before when 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:20.250 I was doing when I was working as well as doing 00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:24.589 my MPH I had to learn that balance a different 00:17:24.589 --> 00:17:27.529 way like as a full -time student and a full -time 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:30.769 career professional You go to school early in 00:17:30.769 --> 00:17:32.869 the morning or you're at school at night and 00:17:32.869 --> 00:17:35.960 you still have to put your best foot forward 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.680 when it comes to both of your work products, 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.019 your school work products, and your work work 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:45.519 products. So it gave me a better understanding 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.920 of timeliness. Like how much time does it really 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.279 take for me to do these things? And tackling 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:56.880 that in different ways of like I am very tied 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:59.960 to my calendar. I have so many to -do lists at 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:03.819 this point. So understanding like I am okay. 00:18:04.029 --> 00:18:06.650 with getting these things done, but it's okay 00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:10.509 if I don't get to these other things today. And 00:18:10.509 --> 00:18:13.450 giving yourself grace is a lot of it. You won't 00:18:13.450 --> 00:18:16.630 be able to do everything every day, but there 00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:19.650 are times in which you can focus more on something 00:18:19.650 --> 00:18:23.369 and let something else slide a little bit and 00:18:23.369 --> 00:18:26.509 then come back to it. And it's not going to be 00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:30.599 the end of the world. So can you finally just 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.099 give us some advice to other students, especially 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:36.180 women in medicine or men who are advocating for 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:39.140 women in medicine, and how to just get involved 00:18:39.140 --> 00:18:41.619 in this advocacy work and who are trying to find 00:18:41.619 --> 00:18:43.880 the voice that they want to have within the field? 00:18:45.579 --> 00:18:48.740 I think that those voices are constantly evolving 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:53.759 and that there are so many opportunities if you're 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:57.539 willing to seek them out. I think specifically 00:18:57.539 --> 00:19:01.240 medical students feel like they can't put their 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:04.019 voice out there or they don't know who to reach 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:07.480 out to. And I think AMWA has been a really great 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:09.839 space for that. You get to connect with other 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.700 medical students who are passionate like you 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:16.160 are, and you get to connect with physicians who 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.019 are really interested in mentoring and amplifying 00:19:20.019 --> 00:19:23.420 the voices. of students or these issues that 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:27.880 you're working on. So I would say as a student, 00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:32.259 like find your people, find your space, and there 00:19:32.259 --> 00:19:37.039 is always room for you to explore your passions 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.599 and advocate and find that niche of medicine 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:42.680 that you're really interested in. You just have 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:45.930 to search it out. Find your people. I love that 00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:49.250 so much. Thank you, Ria. Your work is inspiring, 00:19:50.150 --> 00:19:52.690 and having this talk with you today has been 00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:55.109 great. I appreciate you being with us today. 00:19:55.849 --> 00:19:58.930 Of course. So that's a wrap on this episode of 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:01.490 Our Voice is Our Future. We hope today's conversation 00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:04.170 inspired you, challenged you, and reminded you 00:20:04.170 --> 00:20:06.329 of the power of raising your voice. The fight 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:08.490 for equity doesn't stop here. Join us in the 00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:11.079 movement. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, 00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:13.319 and if you love this episode, share it with someone 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.180 who needs to hear it. Until next time, stay bold, 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:18.420 stay vocal, and keep the conversation going. 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:20.299 This is Our Voices, Our Future.