SEND US A TEXT MESSAGE!!! Let Drs. Nii & Renee know what you think about the show!
Balancing a job while preparing for medical school can feel like an impossible task. It's a rocky terrain many pre-meds must navigate. We start off with Dr. Nii giving his own story of being rejected from med school twice and how he changed his strategy and later got accepted. We then lay out practical strategies for pre-meds juggling work and study. So whether you're working while studying or facing other challenges on your medical school journey, tune in and take some notes.
FREE DOWNLOAD - 7 Considerations Before Starting Locum Tenens - https://darkos.lpages.co/7-considerations-before-locums
LINKS MENTIONED
Q&A and Suggestions Form - https://forms.clickup.com/9010110533/f/8cgpr25-4614/PEBFZN5LA6FKEIXTWF
Send us a Voice Message - https://www.speakpipe.com/docsoutsidethebox
WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!
Have a question for the podcast?
Text us at 833-230-2860
Twitter: @drniidarko
Instagram: @docsoutsidethebox
Email: team@drniidarko.com
Merch: https://docs-outside-the-box.creator-spring.com
This episode is sponsored by
Set For Life Insurance. What the Darkos use for great disability insurance at a low cost!! Check them out at www.setforlifeinsurance.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Previously on Docs.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Outside the Box.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
We got a question from Jay Hi.
I'm currently in my second gapyear, studying for my MCAT while
working a full-time job.
So this is an overnight gig onthe ambulance as an EMT.
That's busy.
I am planning to apply thisupcoming cycle.
It has definitely been astruggle balancing studying and
working for a department withsuch a high call volume.
The longer hours can take atoll on my studying, but cutting
(00:24):
back hours is not possible dueto my financial responsibilities
.
Do you have any suggestions onhow to balance working while
studying?
My story was I applied tomedical school while I was in
college, the first time.
We can talk about specificsabout how bad my strategy was,
but I didn't get in and I didn'tmake a plan for what I was
(00:45):
going to do when I graduated.
I was just that devastated.
And the other reason too is Iwas on a wait list up until like
June or July of finishingcollege and when I possibly
could have gone into medicalschool.
So I was just kind of had allmy eggs in that basket and when
it didn't come through I waslike all right, well, I got to
find a job.
(01:06):
And I'll tell you right nowy'all like I was looking for a
job everywhere Like I worked at.
Compusa doesn't exist anymore,but I was selling computers and
computer warranties.
If you want to know what my jobwas like, go watch the
40-year-old virgin.
Hit it, alfred.
If you don't take this MichaelMcDonald DVD that you've been
playing for two years straightoff, I'm going to kill everyone
in the store and put a bullet inmy brain.
(01:27):
Get back on the floor.
Seriously, that was my job.
Right, like in the morning.
You know you're setting up andit's the same soundtrack from
the morning until the evening.
There's all thisinter-departmental politics and
people dating each other andwho's going to sell the most
extended warranties, and allthis.
I'll give you a free printer ifyou buy this warranty.
(01:47):
It's just, it's crazy.
People hanging out after.
It was crazy, but I realized Iwas like I don't belong here.
Then I worked at SportsAuthority selling sneakers and
dunking on a basketball beforepeople.
You know people are coming in.
It was, it was nuts.
Oh yeah, no, you weren't.
Listen.
We lowered the basketball hoop.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Oh, OK, it was.
It was nuts.
Oh yeah, no, you weren't Listen.
We lowered the basketball hoop.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh, okay, I was going to say yeah, okay, tell the
truth.
We lowered the basketball hoopright and we dunk in and you
know.
Next, you know a um, a customercomes in and you're like what
man?
What man, I'm playingbasketball right now, um, but
then that was like that for likea good six or seven months.
And then at the same time, mysister was working I think she
was working at AT&T.
I forgot what she was doingwith them, but she tried to get
me a job with AT&T and you haveto take this test.
(02:28):
I failed this test.
I remember there was time whereI was trying to take a test
with Sears and, like these, Ifailed to get a job at.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sears, I was struggling, and this is someone
with a bio degree from LehighUniversity.
Right, I was struggling.
Let me ask you a question Doyou think that you failed these
tests because you actually knewthat this is not the job that
you wanted and you just didn'tput the effort forward to do
well on the test?
Speaker 1 (02:54):
No, I didn't know how to take the test Right.
These are.
These are tests that are likeasking you questions about
basically want to know if you'regoing to steal from the job.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So the answer was yes , you were going to steal.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
But they would ask like different types of
questions in different types ofways.
It was like these psychologicaltests that I didn't understand
Right Like she's a psychopath.
They kind of were right,actually, I didn't belong there,
right, it's true, I didn'tbelong there.
So I struggled, you know, Ididn't know what to do and
eventually I reached out tobecause I knew that my college,
(03:30):
like my coach, they didsomething called graduate
assistant work where you can goback and you can be a graduate
assistant where you can helpcoach, whether it's track,
whether it's football, whateversport it may be.
I decided to go track and crosscountry and then they would pay
a significant portion towardsyour classes that you took.
So for me, I didn't Coach.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Dev.
Thank goodness for Coach Dev.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, I didn't go into a what do you call it?
Coach Dev?
Shout out to Coach Dev.
You know, like I didn't do aformal program but in essence I
did a DIY kind of post-bacprogram also.
So I took out a little bit of aloan to kind of live on campus
or to live off campus.
My rent was like two hundredand ninety bucks a month and I
had a closet.
(04:13):
Basically it was really smalland I was with most of the
people who were.
I lived in a house, a trackhouse that had, you know, all of
the people who I knew when Igraduated, you know, weeks
before or months before.
So I knew all these people andI did that.
And I did it for about a yearand a half and I was kind of
moving in a direction of gettinga master's.
(04:34):
And then, you know, I wasapplying to med school.
I got way more strategic and Igot in, you know, and I look
back at those two years and youknow, and I look back at those
two years and you know, for mesame thing, like I just decided
that look like I got to figureout something, but I got to get
a job that's going to pay meenough that I can take care of a
little bit of expenses, butalso, at the same time, I got to
(04:57):
focus myself on getting towardsthe goal.
And that's what we're saying toyou, jay, is that listen, man,
like, if you really want this,you're going to have to do
something completely drastic,right, and you're going to have
to really make this work.
I don't know if you want to addanything else.
I made a little bit of a list,um, other things I have on here
is protect your time and energy,right.
So I have, like you, gotta bevery strategic with how you say
(05:20):
no.
I'm talking about social events, even with you, jay.
Extra work shifts they ask youfor that.
You have to say no Commitmentsthat don't align with your goal.
You got to.
You got to limit those.
Be super, super smart aboutthat.
Avoid burnout, right.
Schedule at least one rest dayper week Right, and you got to
get sleep Right.
(05:40):
So I get it.
You got to study for this test.
You got to study for gettinginto med school, but you also
got to get it.
You got to study for this test.
You got to study for gettinginto med school, but you also
got to remember that you got tobe smart about it and don't burn
yourself out and things likeeating right, like sometimes
creating or making dinner can bea big deal that it kind of
demotivates you.
Yo sundays or saturdays mealprep, you know, keep your.
(06:02):
Keep it very simple.
Follow a simple menu every weekand go from there.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, I mean.
The other thing that I wouldadd is, you know, kind of like
with my situation and thesituation that I had with one of
my students who just got intomedical school shout out to Tara
, she's going to PECOM but oneof the things that she and I had
(06:30):
similarly was that we had theoption of living at home with
our parents.
The difference with her, though, was that, at one point, she
was kind of living on her own,and she didn't want to have to
have that reliance on her motherright to go and live with her
mother, and you know she.
(06:52):
I asked her.
I said well, is your mothersupportive?
And she's like oh yeah, mymother's supportive.
She tells me come home all thetime.
I'm like then what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (07:03):
go home like just promise.
Promise her free healthcarewhen you get into med school,
you be all right.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I'm like go home, right, it's super, super
important to take to recognizewho is supportive of you.
Right, and really really takethat support.
You don't have to do this alone.
You really don't.
There are people out there whoare out there willing to support
(07:28):
you, and if you keep rejectingtheir help, you're just going to
make things harder for yourself.
You know, and I know sometimesyou know you feel like, well, no
, I'm a certain age, I should beable to, I should be this, I
should be that.
You know what no one is too oldto get help.
No one is too old to get help,and that's something that you're
(07:50):
just going to have to learn andbecause that is not just a
lesson for now, while you'retrying to get into medical
school, that is going to be alesson for the rest of your life
, but certainly you are going tosee this in medicine.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
So real quick, real quick, before you go on.
So she said Coach Deb, guys,coach Deb, that was my track and
field coach for the 400, 800mile.
He was my track and field coachfor three years mile.
He was my track and field coachfor three years.
If I did not go back and tellher coach, I'm having an issue
(08:29):
with getting my goal of being adoc.
I think that you know thisgraduate assistant job.
Is it possible that I can?
I could fit into that, right,if I didn't mention that to her,
yeah, I would have still beenworking at these different jobs
and, to be honest with you, mygoal of becoming a doctor would
have been prolonged, right?
So, yes, I have to shout herout.
You're right, renee, like wegot to shout her out.
I got to shout her out becauseif I didn't ask for help in that
(08:50):
situation, I would have justbeen like standing on my pride
and I would have been stilltrying to figure all this stuff
out.
So, I'm sorry, go ahead, you'reright.
You're right.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No, yeah, I mean, it's things like that right,
sharing, sharing your story,sharing your plight with people
who you know care about you.
You know and would be willingto help you, but you have to be
able to ask for that help.
You've got to ask for that help.
So I would say you know to Jay.
Look around you, say Jay.
So I would say you know to Jay,look around you, say Jay.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
What Say Jay?
I know you want to get a medschool, no, no no, no.
That's another bar.
That's another bar.
That is not a bar.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Say, jay, you want to get a med school.
Ain't nobody taking you tocourt for that one?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I didn't say say Drake.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, I said nobody taking you to court for that one
.
Nobody taking you to court forthat one, nobody.
But anyway, yeah, look aroundyou see who around you would be
willing to help.
You've got to be able to figureout how you're going to do this
so that you can get to yourultimate goal of getting to
medical school.
And, like Nita said, you'regoing to have to do something
(09:54):
drastically different.
If you want drasticallydifferent results, jay, check
this out.
That's just what it is.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Check this out, Jay, you got to stay accountable.
Here's another thing Got tostay accountable, Renee, you got
to talk to them about this.
So I got in here.
Three things Join a study group, Jay, you know you got to
(10:21):
figure it out Something that youcan someplace, somehow,
somebody, something that's goingto be able to make sure that
you can check in and dosomething to keep you motivated,
Right.
Then I don't know if you needto use a coach Renee's on my
left-hand side, I think ormentor, Right, so that you can
continue to discuss your goal ofmoving forward.
So one thing I didn't let youknow also is my, your goal of
moving forward.
So one thing I didn't let youknow also is my.
My nephew was an Alpha Phi.
(10:42):
Uh, was it Alpha Phi, Alpha?
He's a, he's an Alpha um, andvery, very successful people in
that.
So when he finished fromcollege, he kept in touch with a
lot of folks who you know werevery successful in that
fraternity, a lot of them beinglawyers and judges.
So he was letting them knowabout his progress and they were
keeping him accountable.
A lot of them would give them,would allow him to have some
(11:02):
jobs where he could, you know,do some work and make some some
money doing that type of stuffin the law field.
So basically, what I'm sayingis you know, see if you can find
someone who can keep youaccountable or something that
can keep you accountable, andthen you need to be able to
track your progress.
Renee, I don't know if you wantto talk about that, but he
needs that, Like he can't justsay I'm just going to take, you
(11:22):
know, one job, slow down andreally focus, but how do you
make sure, how does he make sure, that he's progressing towards
the goal right, the deadline,you know?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So my advice to you, any pre-med out there, if you're
out there and you're like Ineed to get to medical school
and I'm so far from gettingthere, but I need to get there,
write it down, and I don't meanget on your computer what I'm
talking about.
Use your hand.
Remember.
Do people still use paper andpen?
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Not many people use paper anymore.
Everybody writes it down, theyuse Notion, they use Google Docs
, they use the notes on it.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
There's something about seeing your plan written
in your handwriting, somethingabout writing out that plan.
You know, having your brainliterally make the motions right
, Help your, help, your hand tomake the motions, that
solidifies that plan in yourbrain, you know.
(12:22):
That will help you toessentially manifest it.
That is extremely important,you know, and I think we've kind
of lost the art of that, butthat's what I would suggest Get
yourself a notebook of something.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, cause if you don't write it down, it's just a
, it's just a dream.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Is that what they say ?
Yeah, like you're, you're,you're never going to manifest
it and it's going to be floatingaround, you know, in cyberspace
somewhere.
Right, write it down, go back,write out what's going on,
journal it, you know, figure outwhat you need to do, but I
would strongly recommend thatyou write down your plan.
I wrote down my plan.
I would go back to it.
I had a notebook that I woulduse.
(13:03):
I would check things off, Iwould write how I felt about
things.
I manifested it and it happened.
So that's what I would.
That's what I would recommendto Jay and all the other
pre-meds out there who arelistening.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Big thing, too, I have is creating a realistic
study schedule.
You talk to your pre-meds outthere who are listening.
Big thing, too, I have iscreating a realistic study
schedule.
You talk to your pre-meds aboutthat right, oh, my God, yes.
Quality.
I got quality over quantity.
You know.
Focus distraction-free two-hourstudy blocks.
Use a calendar, set weeklygoals.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
That might be better than daily tasks.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, I think setting weekly goals will help kind of
allow that flexibility but alsokeep you on task.
But the realistic studyschedule let's talk about that
really quickly, because if youdon't have a realistic study
schedule then you're essentiallyengaging in an exercise in
(14:01):
futility, Right, yeah, I've hadpeople jam-pack their schedule
with work and then say I'm goingto study here and it's like
okay, that's great.
When are you going to sleep?
When are you going to eat?
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Just because there are hours Right.
That's what Snickers are for.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right, Just because there are hours that are free on
the calendar doesn't mean thatyou are going to have the energy
to study.
You have to limit youravailability to essentially this
goal.
You cannot go off and be like,oh well, you know, we need
(15:00):
somebody to work overtime.
I do it.
Let me ask you a question Canyou work overtime, Let me ask
you a question Real quick.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
This is a little curveball, because sometimes I
think we got to throw in someexamples those really work.
So I was really intentional.
So, guys, I had the opportunityto go to medical school at the
osteopathic medical school inNew Jersey and I lived in New
Jersey versus go to medicalschool at the osteopathic school
in Kansas City, kansas CityUniversity right now.
(15:29):
At the osteopathic school inKansas City, kansas City
University right now, and I wasreally.
They even offered me ascholarship to stay home in New
Jersey and I deliberately saidthat I was going to go out to
Kansas City.
The one main reason was Ididn't trust myself being close
to home and studying forsomething that I always wanted
to do for my entire life.
Seriously, that's what itboiled down to Shout out to your
(15:49):
sister.
Oh, my sister also.
The school in Kansas cityaccepted me first, Right?
So she was like listen if theywant you, and they were able to
let you know so quickly like Ithink within 48 hours, they let
me know that I was accepted,Whereas the school in New Jersey
, I think they had me on waitlist, right, I don't remember if
they had you on waitlist, butit took a while.
They had me on waitlist or ittook a while, but eventually
(16:10):
they said you're in and here's ascholarship and it's you know
now it wasn't like don't get,don't get Dr Nee wrong.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
It wasn't like a full scholarship, it was like five,
five G's.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, it was.
It wasn't a full, but it wassomething to sweeten the pot.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah Right, it was something to sweeten the pot and
I and, by the way, they hadgiven you that scholarship after
you turned them down.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Was that true?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yes, because by then you and I knew each other.
We were talking on the phoneand Renee also, and just low key
, low key.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Also, renee got happened, renee, renee also got
that scholarship also after Iturned.
But, but I told, I ended upsaying I'm gonna go to Kansas
City.
I wanted to go to Kansas Citybecause I really wanted to focus
on becoming a doctor, like I.
I, there was no way that,obviously, this 21 hour drive
away, you know, I didn't.
I just knew that if I was inNew Jersey and my friends wanted
(17:04):
to go out, they want to go toAtlantic City, where I, where I
would live, where I would be inmed school, they going to stay
at my place and then go, youknow.
So how are you going to comeparty with me while I'm trying
to study and then I'm not goingto go with them.
I'm going to go with them,right, or?
Um, just all these differentthings.
So I deliberately or familystuff and I deliberately said no
, let me do Kansas city for fouryears.
(17:24):
And it was great, you know.
So, um, there's some smalllittle sacrifices that I had to
make, but it was worth it.
My family really helped meduring that time.
Me and Renee became reallyclose.
She became my family, so tospeak, you know, and it was a
great decision.
So, yeah, there are times whereyou just have to really take.
You know you have to limit howpeople can get to you in order
(17:47):
for you to really study.
I'm not saying become a monk,but you may have to, right.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, no, that's a really good point.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
What about a long-term timelines, right?
So, for example, like if you'reworking, instead of doing like
a three-month timeline for theMCAT, should you consider like a
five to six-month timeline foryour MCAT?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I mean realize that you know you're going to have to
make adjustments, right, Justthe way you're going to have to
make adjustments, you know, tobe able to do your post-bac work
or you know anything else thatyou're doing to get to the point
of applying to medical schoolsuccessfully.
Yeah, I mean, your MCAT studyplan is probably not going to
(18:33):
look the same.
My MCAT study plan was a verylong and ongoing study plan very
long and ongoing.
I remember being at HunterCollege and I'd have like, let's
say, if I had a class in thelate morning but then my next
class wasn't until, you know,four hours later, right In the
(18:56):
late afternoon, I would use thattime, right, I would use that
time very wisely.
I'd go down to the library, putmy head down, you know, and
just focus, figure out what Ineeded to learn, do some content
.
Then I started doing, you know,practice questions.
I would do practice questionsall the time, Right, and that's
(19:17):
one of the things that Irecommend to all my pre-meds,
right, Don't wait until youfinish doing all of your content
to start doing practicequestions, Do your content.
So I'd probably do like maybean hour or so of content and
then, you know, maybe I'd go getsomething to eat really quickly
, Then I'd come back do mypractice questions, you know,
and I became so efficientactually at doing that that
(19:39):
there, there was at one point intime that I joined MAPS, right,
Minority Association of Pre-MedStudents.
Right, the SNMA portion, that'sthe pre-med portion of the SNMA
and I became so efficient atbeing able to study and just
figuring out my schedule that Iwas actually able to join MAPS,
(20:02):
start to do activities, you know, even became the MAPS chapter
president at one point, and soit didn't disrupt my studies,
Right.
So you know, once you get intothe groove and you start
realizing what your priority is,it becomes easier and easier,
Right, the learning curve of howto do that becomes very you
(20:26):
know, is very steep at first,but after a while you're just
kind of cruising and you knowyou can do it.
Jay, you can do it.
You're just going to have tomake them some tough decisions.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Hey guys.
So remember, in the beginningof the show we're talking about
famous CUNY graduates.
We got Ed Koch.
How am I doing?
Ed Koch graduated from CUNY.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Jonas Salk.
So for people who don't know,Ed Koch used to be NYC mayor.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yes, then you have Jonas Salk, really the polio
vaccine.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Polio yeah, Look at that.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Upton Sinclair, right , famous muckraker, right.
He wrote a book, a major book,the one that I always think
about, but I was forgetting, buthe passed away recently.
Um, we have colin powell, um,we tony curtis, henry kissinger,
stanley kubrick, you know.
So, uh, cuny, uh, it has, itputs out some really famous,
(21:24):
notable people out there.
So, but listen, jay, this is agreat question.
Thank you for writing inanybody else who wants to write
in.
Um, you know how to right,renee, you want to tell text us
or you can go to our websitedocs outside the boxcom and
(21:56):
leave us a question.
All right, y'all, we'll catchyou guys in the next one.
Peace.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Good luck Jay.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Good luck Jay.
Previously on Docs.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Outside the Box.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
We got a question from Jay Hi.
I'm currently in my second gapyear, studying for my MCAT while
working a full-time job.
So this is an overnight gig onthe ambulance as an EMT.
That's busy.
I am planning to apply thisupcoming cycle.
It has definitely been astruggle balancing studying and
working for a department withsuch a high call volume.
The longer hours can take atoll on my studying, but cutting
(00:24):
back hours is not possible dueto my financial responsibilities
.
Do you have any suggestions onhow to balance working while
studying?
My story was I applied tomedical school while I was in
college, the first time.
We can talk about specificsabout how bad my strategy was,
but I didn't get in and I didn'tmake a plan for what I was
(00:45):
going to do when I graduated.
I was just that devastated.
And the other reason too is Iwas on a wait list up until like
June or July of finishingcollege and when I possibly
could have gone into medicalschool.
So I was just kind of had allmy eggs in that basket and when
it didn't come through I waslike all right, well, I got to
find a job.
(01:06):
And I'll tell you right nowy'all like I was looking for a
job everywhere Like I worked at.
Compusa doesn't exist anymore,but I was selling computers and
computer warranties.
If you want to know what my jobwas like, go watch the
40-year-old virgin.
Hit it, alfred.
If you don't take this MichaelMcDonald DVD that you've been
playing for two years straightoff, I'm going to kill everyone
in the store and put a bullet inmy brain.
(01:27):
Get back on the floor.
Seriously, that was my job.
Right, like in the morning.
You know you're setting up andit's the same soundtrack from
the morning until the evening.
There's all thisinter-departmental politics and
people dating each other andwho's going to sell the most
extended warranties, and allthis.
I'll give you a free printer ifyou buy this warranty.
(01:47):
It's just, it's crazy.
People hanging out after.
It was crazy, but I realized Iwas like I don't belong here.
Then I worked at SportsAuthority selling sneakers and
dunking on a basketball beforepeople.
You know people are coming in.
It was, it was nuts.
Oh yeah, no, you weren't.
Listen.
We lowered the basketball hoop.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Oh, OK, it was.
It was nuts.
Oh yeah, no, you weren't Listen.
We lowered the basketball hoop.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh, okay, I was going to say yeah, okay, tell the
truth.
We lowered the basketball hoopright and we dunk in and you
know.
Next, you know a um, a customercomes in and you're like what
man?
What man, I'm playingbasketball right now, um, but
then that was like that for likea good six or seven months.
And then at the same time, mysister was working I think she
was working at AT&T.
I forgot what she was doingwith them, but she tried to get
me a job with AT&T and you haveto take this test.
(02:28):
I failed this test.
I remember there was time whereI was trying to take a test
with Sears and, like these, Ifailed to get a job at.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sears, I was struggling, and this is someone
with a bio degree from LehighUniversity.
Right, I was struggling.
Let me ask you a question Doyou think that you failed these
tests because you actually knewthat this is not the job that
you wanted and you just didn'tput the effort forward to do
well on the test?
Speaker 1 (02:54):
No, I didn't know how to take the test Right.
These are.
These are tests that are likeasking you questions about
basically want to know if you'regoing to steal from the job.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So the answer was yes , you were going to steal.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
But they would ask like different types of
questions in different types ofways.
It was like these psychologicaltests that I didn't understand
Right Like she's a psychopath.
They kind of were right,actually, I didn't belong there,
right, it's true, I didn'tbelong there.
So I struggled, you know, Ididn't know what to do and
eventually I reached out tobecause I knew that my college,
(03:30):
like my coach, they didsomething called graduate
assistant work where you can goback and you can be a graduate
assistant where you can helpcoach, whether it's track,
whether it's football, whateversport it may be.
I decided to go track and crosscountry and then they would pay
a significant portion towardsyour classes that you took.
So for me, I didn't Coach.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Dev.
Thank goodness for Coach Dev.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, I didn't go into a what do you call it?
Coach Dev?
Shout out to Coach Dev.
You know, like I didn't do aformal program but in essence I
did a DIY kind of post-bacprogram also.
So I took out a little bit of aloan to kind of live on campus
or to live off campus.
My rent was like two hundredand ninety bucks a month and I
had a closet.
(04:13):
Basically it was really smalland I was with most of the
people who were.
I lived in a house, a trackhouse that had, you know, all of
the people who I knew when Igraduated, you know, weeks
before or months before.
So I knew all these people andI did that.
And I did it for about a yearand a half and I was kind of
moving in a direction of gettinga master's.
(04:34):
And then, you know, I wasapplying to med school.
I got way more strategic and Igot in, you know, and I look
back at those two years and youknow, and I look back at those
two years and you know, for mesame thing, like I just decided
that look like I got to figureout something, but I got to get
a job that's going to pay meenough that I can take care of a
little bit of expenses, butalso, at the same time, I got to
(04:57):
focus myself on getting towardsthe goal.
And that's what we're saying toyou, jay, is that listen, man,
like, if you really want this,you're going to have to do
something completely drastic,right, and you're going to have
to really make this work.
I don't know if you want to addanything else.
I made a little bit of a list,um, other things I have on here
is protect your time and energy,right.
So I have, like you, gotta bevery strategic with how you say
(05:20):
no.
I'm talking about social events, even with you, jay.
Extra work shifts they ask youfor that.
You have to say no Commitmentsthat don't align with your goal.
You got to.
You got to limit those.
Be super, super smart aboutthat.
Avoid burnout, right.
Schedule at least one rest dayper week Right, and you got to
get sleep Right.
(05:40):
So I get it.
You got to study for this test.
You got to study for gettinginto med school, but you also
got to get it.
You got to study for this test.
You got to study for gettinginto med school, but you also
got to remember that you got tobe smart about it and don't burn
yourself out and things likeeating right, like sometimes
creating or making dinner can bea big deal that it kind of
demotivates you.
Yo sundays or saturdays mealprep, you know, keep your.
(06:02):
Keep it very simple.
Follow a simple menu every weekand go from there.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, I mean.
The other thing that I wouldadd is, you know, kind of like
with my situation and thesituation that I had with one of
my students who just got intomedical school shout out to Tara
, she's going to PECOM but oneof the things that she and I had
(06:30):
similarly was that we had theoption of living at home with
our parents.
The difference with her, though, was that, at one point, she
was kind of living on her own,and she didn't want to have to
have that reliance on her motherright to go and live with her
mother, and you know she.
(06:52):
I asked her.
I said well, is your mothersupportive?
And she's like oh yeah, mymother's supportive.
She tells me come home all thetime.
I'm like then what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (07:03):
go home like just promise.
Promise her free healthcarewhen you get into med school,
you be all right.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I'm like go home, right, it's super, super
important to take to recognizewho is supportive of you.
Right, and really really takethat support.
You don't have to do this alone.
You really don't.
There are people out there whoare out there willing to support
(07:28):
you, and if you keep rejectingtheir help, you're just going to
make things harder for yourself.
You know, and I know sometimesyou know you feel like, well, no
, I'm a certain age, I should beable to, I should be this, I
should be that.
You know what no one is too oldto get help.
No one is too old to get help,and that's something that you're
(07:50):
just going to have to learn andbecause that is not just a
lesson for now, while you'retrying to get into medical
school, that is going to be alesson for the rest of your life
, but certainly you are going tosee this in medicine.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
So real quick, real quick, before you go on.
So she said Coach Deb, guys,coach Deb, that was my track and
field coach for the 400, 800mile.
He was my track and field coachfor three years mile.
He was my track and field coachfor three years.
If I did not go back and tellher coach, I'm having an issue
(08:29):
with getting my goal of being adoc.
I think that you know thisgraduate assistant job.
Is it possible that I can?
I could fit into that, right,if I didn't mention that to her,
yeah, I would have still beenworking at these different jobs
and, to be honest with you, mygoal of becoming a doctor would
have been prolonged, right?
So, yes, I have to shout herout.
You're right, renee, like wegot to shout her out.
I got to shout her out becauseif I didn't ask for help in that
(08:50):
situation, I would have justbeen like standing on my pride
and I would have been stilltrying to figure all this stuff
out.
So, I'm sorry, go ahead, you'reright.
You're right.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No, yeah, I mean, it's things like that right,
sharing, sharing your story,sharing your plight with people
who you know care about you.
You know and would be willingto help you, but you have to be
able to ask for that help.
You've got to ask for that help.
So I would say you know to Jay.
Look around you, say Jay.
So I would say you know to Jay,look around you, say Jay.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
What Say Jay?
I know you want to get a medschool, no, no no, no.
That's another bar.
That's another bar.
That is not a bar.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Say, jay, you want to get a med school.
Ain't nobody taking you tocourt for that one?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I didn't say say Drake.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, I said nobody taking you to court for that one
.
Nobody taking you to court forthat one, nobody.
But anyway, yeah, look aroundyou see who around you would be
willing to help.
You've got to be able to figureout how you're going to do this
so that you can get to yourultimate goal of getting to
medical school.
And, like Nita said, you'regoing to have to do something
(09:54):
drastically different.
If you want drasticallydifferent results, jay, check
this out.
That's just what it is.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Check this out, Jay, you got to stay accountable.
Here's another thing Got tostay accountable, Renee, you got
to talk to them about this.
So I got in here.
Three things Join a study group, Jay, you know you got to
(10:21):
figure it out Something that youcan someplace, somehow,
somebody, something that's goingto be able to make sure that
you can check in and dosomething to keep you motivated,
Right.
Then I don't know if you needto use a coach Renee's on my
left-hand side, I think ormentor, Right, so that you can
continue to discuss your goal ofmoving forward.
So one thing I didn't let youknow also is my, your goal of
moving forward.
So one thing I didn't let youknow also is my.
My nephew was an Alpha Phi.
(10:42):
Uh, was it Alpha Phi, Alpha?
He's a, he's an Alpha um, andvery, very successful people in
that.
So when he finished fromcollege, he kept in touch with a
lot of folks who you know werevery successful in that
fraternity, a lot of them beinglawyers and judges.
So he was letting them knowabout his progress and they were
keeping him accountable.
A lot of them would give them,would allow him to have some
(11:02):
jobs where he could, you know,do some work and make some some
money doing that type of stuffin the law field.
So basically, what I'm sayingis you know, see if you can find
someone who can keep youaccountable or something that
can keep you accountable, andthen you need to be able to
track your progress.
Renee, I don't know if you wantto talk about that, but he
needs that, Like he can't justsay I'm just going to take, you
(11:22):
know, one job, slow down andreally focus, but how do you
make sure, how does he make sure, that he's progressing towards
the goal right, the deadline,you know?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So my advice to you, any pre-med out there, if you're
out there and you're like Ineed to get to medical school
and I'm so far from gettingthere, but I need to get there,
write it down, and I don't meanget on your computer what I'm
talking about.
Use your hand.
Remember.
Do people still use paper andpen?
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Not many people use paper anymore.
Everybody writes it down, theyuse Notion, they use Google Docs
, they use the notes on it.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
There's something about seeing your plan written
in your handwriting, somethingabout writing out that plan.
You know, having your brainliterally make the motions right
, Help your, help, your hand tomake the motions, that
solidifies that plan in yourbrain, you know.
(12:22):
That will help you toessentially manifest it.
That is extremely important,you know, and I think we've kind
of lost the art of that, butthat's what I would suggest Get
yourself a notebook of something.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, cause if you don't write it down, it's just a
, it's just a dream.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Is that what they say ?
Yeah, like you're, you're,you're never going to manifest
it and it's going to be floatingaround, you know, in cyberspace
somewhere.
Right, write it down, go back,write out what's going on,
journal it, you know, figure outwhat you need to do, but I
would strongly recommend thatyou write down your plan.
I wrote down my plan.
I would go back to it.
I had a notebook that I woulduse.
(13:03):
I would check things off, Iwould write how I felt about
things.
I manifested it and it happened.
So that's what I would.
That's what I would recommendto Jay and all the other
pre-meds out there who arelistening.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Big thing, too, I have is creating a realistic
study schedule.
You talk to your pre-meds outthere who are listening.
Big thing, too, I have iscreating a realistic study
schedule.
You talk to your pre-meds aboutthat right, oh, my God, yes.
Quality.
I got quality over quantity.
You know.
Focus distraction-free two-hourstudy blocks.
Use a calendar, set weeklygoals.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
That might be better than daily tasks.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, I think setting weekly goals will help kind of
allow that flexibility but alsokeep you on task.
But the realistic studyschedule let's talk about that
really quickly, because if youdon't have a realistic study
schedule then you're essentiallyengaging in an exercise in
(14:01):
futility, Right, yeah, I've hadpeople jam-pack their schedule
with work and then say I'm goingto study here and it's like
okay, that's great.
When are you going to sleep?
When are you going to eat?
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Just because there are hours Right.
That's what Snickers are for.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Right, Just because there are hours that are free on
the calendar doesn't mean thatyou are going to have the energy
to study.
You have to limit youravailability to essentially this
goal.
You cannot go off and be like,oh well, you know, we need
(15:00):
somebody to work overtime.
I do it.
Let me ask you a question Canyou work overtime, Let me ask
you a question Real quick.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
This is a little curveball, because sometimes I
think we got to throw in someexamples those really work.
So I was really intentional.
So, guys, I had the opportunityto go to medical school at the
osteopathic medical school inNew Jersey and I lived in New
Jersey versus go to medicalschool at the osteopathic school
in Kansas City, kansas CityUniversity right now.
(15:29):
At the osteopathic school inKansas City, kansas City
University right now, and I wasreally.
They even offered me ascholarship to stay home in New
Jersey and I deliberately saidthat I was going to go out to
Kansas City.
The one main reason was Ididn't trust myself being close
to home and studying forsomething that I always wanted
to do for my entire life.
Seriously, that's what itboiled down to Shout out to your
(15:49):
sister.
Oh, my sister also.
The school in Kansas cityaccepted me first, Right?
So she was like listen if theywant you, and they were able to
let you know so quickly like Ithink within 48 hours, they let
me know that I was accepted,Whereas the school in New Jersey
, I think they had me on waitlist, right, I don't remember if
they had you on waitlist, butit took a while.
They had me on waitlist or ittook a while, but eventually
(16:10):
they said you're in and here's ascholarship and it's you know
now it wasn't like don't get,don't get Dr Nee wrong.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
It wasn't like a full scholarship, it was like five,
five G's.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah, it was.
It wasn't a full, but it wassomething to sweeten the pot.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah Right, it was something to sweeten the pot and
I and, by the way, they hadgiven you that scholarship after
you turned them down.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Was that true?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yes, because by then you and I knew each other.
We were talking on the phoneand Renee also, and just low key
, low key.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Also, renee got happened, renee, renee also got
that scholarship also after Iturned.
But, but I told, I ended upsaying I'm gonna go to Kansas
City.
I wanted to go to Kansas Citybecause I really wanted to focus
on becoming a doctor, like I.
I, there was no way that,obviously, this 21 hour drive
away, you know, I didn't.
I just knew that if I was inNew Jersey and my friends wanted
(17:04):
to go out, they want to go toAtlantic City, where I, where I
would live, where I would be inmed school, they going to stay
at my place and then go, youknow.
So how are you going to comeparty with me while I'm trying
to study and then I'm not goingto go with them.
I'm going to go with them,right, or?
Um, just all these differentthings.
So I deliberately or familystuff and I deliberately said no
, let me do Kansas city for fouryears.
(17:24):
And it was great, you know.
So, um, there's some smalllittle sacrifices that I had to
make, but it was worth it.
My family really helped meduring that time.
Me and Renee became reallyclose.
She became my family, so tospeak, you know, and it was a
great decision.
So, yeah, there are times whereyou just have to really take.
You know you have to limit howpeople can get to you in order
(17:47):
for you to really study.
I'm not saying become a monk,but you may have to, right.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, no, that's a really good point.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
What about a long-term timelines, right?
So, for example, like if you'reworking, instead of doing like
a three-month timeline for theMCAT, should you consider like a
five to six-month timeline foryour MCAT?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I mean realize that you know you're going to have to
make adjustments, right, Justthe way you're going to have to
make adjustments, you know, tobe able to do your post-bac work
or you know anything else thatyou're doing to get to the point
of applying to medical schoolsuccessfully.
Yeah, I mean, your MCAT studyplan is probably not going to
(18:33):
look the same.
My MCAT study plan was a verylong and ongoing study plan very
long and ongoing.
I remember being at HunterCollege and I'd have like, let's
say, if I had a class in thelate morning but then my next
class wasn't until, you know,four hours later, right In the
(18:56):
late afternoon, I would use thattime, right, I would use that
time very wisely.
I'd go down to the library, putmy head down, you know, and
just focus, figure out what Ineeded to learn, do some content
.
Then I started doing, you know,practice questions.
I would do practice questionsall the time, Right, and that's
(19:17):
one of the things that Irecommend to all my pre-meds,
right, Don't wait until youfinish doing all of your content
to start doing practicequestions, Do your content.
So I'd probably do like maybean hour or so of content and
then, you know, maybe I'd go getsomething to eat really quickly
, Then I'd come back do mypractice questions, you know,
and I became so efficientactually at doing that that
(19:39):
there, there was at one point intime that I joined MAPS, right,
Minority Association of Pre-MedStudents.
Right, the SNMA portion, that'sthe pre-med portion of the SNMA
and I became so efficient atbeing able to study and just
figuring out my schedule that Iwas actually able to join MAPS,
(20:02):
start to do activities, you know, even became the MAPS chapter
president at one point, and soit didn't disrupt my studies,
Right.
So you know, once you get intothe groove and you start
realizing what your priority is,it becomes easier and easier,
Right, the learning curve of howto do that becomes very you
(20:26):
know, is very steep at first,but after a while you're just
kind of cruising and you knowyou can do it.
Jay, you can do it.
You're just going to have tomake them some tough decisions.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Hey guys.
So remember, in the beginningof the show we're talking about
famous CUNY graduates.
We got Ed Koch.
How am I doing?
Ed Koch graduated from CUNY.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Jonas Salk.
So for people who don't know,Ed Koch used to be NYC mayor.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yes, then you have Jonas Salk, really the polio
vaccine.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Polio yeah, Look at that.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Upton Sinclair, right , famous muckraker, right.
He wrote a book, a major book,the one that I always think
about, but I was forgetting, buthe passed away recently.
Um, we have colin powell, um,we tony curtis, henry kissinger,
stanley kubrick, you know.
So, uh, cuny, uh, it has, itputs out some really famous,
(21:24):
notable people out there.
So, but listen, jay, this is agreat question.
Thank you for writing inanybody else who wants to write
in.
Um, you know how to right,renee, you want to tell text us
or you can go to our websitedocs outside the boxcom and
(21:56):
leave us a question.
All right, y'all, we'll catchyou guys in the next one.
Peace.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Good luck Jay.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Good luck Jay.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.