August 4, 2025 • 29 mins
What happens when a physician notices something seemingly small but deeply meaningful missing from patient care? Dr. Nekaiya Jacobs Pratt, a pediatric critical care physician, transformed hospital culture by addressing a gap that affected her patients with textured hair.
During the isolating days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Kay found herself questioning her place in medicine. The emotional weight of caring for critically ill children had always been balanced by the joy of seeing them recover, but something was missing. When she noticed hospitalized children with textured hair weren't receiving appropriate hair care products, she took matters into her own hands, literally. She began bringing products from home and braiding patients' hair on her days off.
This personal mission evolved into something remarkable: a hospital-wide initiative providing culturally appropriate hair care products across six states and a children's book called "The Magic Bonnet" that serves as her "love letter" to this work. The impact runs deeper than appearance; it fundamentally changes how patients experience care and how providers see their patients.
"When patients feel seen and they feel like you are not just the lab result or the CT scan...they participate in their own healing," Dr. Kay explains. Through education involving mannequin heads with various hair textures, she's transformed a hushed subject into an opportunity for connection. Healthcare providers who once avoided conversations about different hair types now confidently advocate for their patients' hair care needs.
Dr. Kay's message resonates beyond pediatrics: "Bring your whole self to work." By embracing our unique perspectives and lived experiences, we address healthcare disparities and provide care that honors patients as whole people. Her story reminds us that meaningful change often begins with noticing what others have overlooked and being brave enough to do something about it.
Join us for this inspiring conversation about finding purpose in medicine, the power of cultural competence, and how small acts of dignity can transform healthcare from the inside out.
For more about Dr. Kay
> please visit her at www.heyitskaymd.com
> and check out her book The Magic Bonnet
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Shadow Me Next, a podcast where
I take you into and behind thescenes of the medical world to
provide you with a deeperunderstanding of the human side
of medicine.
I'm Ashley, a physicianassistant, medical editor,
clinical preceptor and thecreator of Shadow Me Next.
It is my pleasure to introduceyou to incredible members of the
(00:22):
healthcare field and uncovertheir unique stories, the joys
and challenges they face andwhat drives them in their
careers.
It's access you want andstories you need, whether you're
a pre-health student or simplycurious about the healthcare
field.
I invite you to join me as wetake a conversational and
personal look into the lives andminds of leaders in medicine.
(00:44):
I don't want you to miss asingle one of these
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which will automatically notifyyou when new episodes are
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me next, where we will reviewhighlights from this
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upcoming guests.
(01:04):
Dr Nakia Jacobs-Pratt is apediatric critical care
physician who doesn't just showup for her patients she
advocates for them in ways thattruly transform care.
During the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic, she started
noticing something that manyoverlooked Hospitalized children
with textured hair weren'treceiving the basic products
(01:27):
they needed to care for theirhair.
It may seem small, but to thekids and families she serves it
meant everything.
Fueled by her own frustrationwith the emotional weight of
medicine during that time, dr Ktook initiative.
She brought products from home.
That time Dr K took initiative.
She brought products from home,braided hair on her days off
(01:53):
and created something that's nowbecome a system-wide movement
across hospitals in six states.
In this episode we talk abouther path to medicine, the
emotional intensity of caringfor critically ill children and
what it means to bring yourwhole self, culture, identity,
lived experience and all intothe hospital room.
Dr K is living proof thatmeaningful change in healthcare
(02:16):
often starts with noticing thesmall things and being brave
enough to do something aboutthem.
Please keep in mind that thecontent of this podcast is
intended for informational andentertainment purposes only and
should not be considered asprofessional medical advice.
The views and opinionsexpressed in this podcast are
those of the host and guests anddo not necessarily reflect the
(02:39):
official policy or position ofany other agency, organization,
employer or company.
This is Shadow Me Next with DrKay Jacobs-Pratt.
Dr Kay, thank you so much forjoining us on Shadow Me Next.
This is going to be anincredible conversation because
you are an incredible person, sothanks for being here, thank
(02:59):
you.
Dr. Kay (02:59):
Thank you for having me .
Ashley (03:01):
Before we dive in to the incredible way that you're
not only providing life-savingmedical care to your patients,
but making them feel cared for,which is just incredible, I
would love to talk about how youended up in medicine in the
first place.
So go back to the beginningwith us.
Did you always know you wantedto be a doctor?
Dr. Kay (03:24):
No, I didn't.
I didn't always know that Iwanted to be a doctor.
I am really blessed to have hadparents who exposed me to a lot
of different things.
I played the piano, I danced, Iplayed sports, did all of the
things and I knew I was reallygood at science, just kind of
naturally gifted at science Notso much at math, but I could get
(03:44):
by and I didn't know where Iwas headed.
But my parents really were likeyou know what, do your thing,
you'll figure it out.
And I thought for a really longtime that I was going to be a
dancer.
I love dance, I still love todance.
And for a bit of time I'm likeyeah, this is what I'm going to
do, I'm going to be a rockette,this is going to be phenomenal
and I'm going to be on abillboard.
And then here we are now Incollege I was like you know, I'm
(04:06):
going to major in sciencebecause I enjoy biology, and
that led me to marine biology,because that was like the thing
to do at that time and I quicklyrealized I didn't really want
to be on the water, those typesof things.
I got motion sick really fastand I had to like pivot yet
another time, and that's when Ifound medicine through some
(04:27):
really great mentors and I mean,it has just been a journey and
I am so happy that all thosepivots happened.
Ashley (04:34):
That's incredible.
I love that story, you know,and the marine biologist who
doesn't want to be a dolphintrainer marine, but at some
point right that was arequirement, dr K.
Tell us how, tell us how schoolwas for you, and let's let's
focus really on medical school,but not just that, schooling all
the way through, because a lotof pre-health students I've
(04:55):
talked to recently one of theirprimary reasons for avoiding
medicine is the length ofschooling.
So to become a medical doctor,it's an extensive amount of
studying, right, and it doesn'tjust end after med school, which
is four years.
It is much longer, as you know.
Tell us about that, yeah.
Dr. Kay (05:14):
You know, when you decide you want to pursue
medicine and I'm just going tospeak from the physician
perspective, because that's whatI do you have decided to be a
lifelong learner.
So I always encourage peoplewho are considering this to
think of it as milestones, butthat you never stop studying,
you never stop growing, younever stop learning.
It's just a continuum of life.
(05:34):
So once you have accepted thefact that you will forever be a
student in some capacity, thenit's a much better pill to
swallow, or easier to swallow,because it's a lot of schooling
and it's not easy.
There will be times that youstumble, there'll be times that
you have to start over, andthat's okay.
That's my journey as well too.
I didn't go straight through tomedical school After I was done
(05:56):
with college.
I didn't do well on the MCAT.
I took it again and didn't doany better.
So I actually entered apost-bac program which I which
was phenomenal and exactly whatI needed to do Did excellent in
my post-bac program andmatriculated into medical school
, did great in medical school,made it through and was like you
know what I want to dopediatrics and just decided this
(06:17):
continuum of learning was goingto be what it was, but up until
getting into residency it wasnot easy.
There were a lot of hard days.
There are a lot of really greatdays, and the day I finally
accepted that you will foreverbe studying, you will forever be
in a book and you will foreverbe humbled, it was the day I
really said you know what Sitdown and study like?
That's reality and you chosethis and it's a really, really
(06:39):
great career.
Ashley (06:40):
I love the way you framed that, because you're
absolutely right.
If you look at it like it's acontinuum, if you look at it
like it is a true journey andnot really one with the
beginning of medical school andend of medical school, beginning
of residency, end of residency,beginning of fellowship, so on
and so forth, it's all workingtowards where you're at right
now, which I would imagine.
Where you're at right now, asincredible as it is, there
(07:02):
probably is still a next stepfor you, and maybe you are right
now as incredible as it is,there probably is still a next
step for you, and maybe you arestarting to think about or have
thought about that next step.
That's a really great way ofthinking about it.
Thanks for sharing that.
That's perfect Now.
Right now, you're practicing inpediatric critical care
medicine, which is just it'ssick kids.
Dr. Kay (07:21):
Yeah, it's very sick kids, very sick kids.
And this is a strange space inmedicine sometimes because
people who haven't really beenthere have a hard time fathoming
a child being that level of ill.
And that's the space I exist inthose kids anywhere between a
few days old up to 18 who are inthe hospital with a
life-threatening illness.
(07:41):
That's my bread and butter.
Ashley (07:43):
Wow, how do you navigate the emotional weight of
caring for those children?
I mean, you seem like the mostvivacious, beautifully sold,
happy person.
Thank, you.
And you see some tough stuff.
I mean people on their veryworst days, and not just theirs,
but their children's worst days.
How do you manage that?
Dr. Kay (08:04):
It's so interesting that you say that, because if
someone had to ask me to justgive a one-liner of my job, it
is that I meet families on theirworst day.
A child is ill and that kidfeels that, and the parents feel
it.
No parent would not switchplaces with their child, so to
them it is their worst day,regardless of the level of
illness that that child isfacing.
I could be dealing with a kidnext door.
(08:29):
That is in a very differentposition, but it doesn't matter,
because each and every roomthat I go into for that family
it is their worst day, and thatcan be tough.
But I try to remind myself ofthat, even when I'm like my most
tired self is that these peopleare depending on me to show up
at my best self and that everyday I go to work, a child gets
to live.
If I don't do this job, ifothers in this field don't do
this job, then that isn't thecase.
(08:51):
So every day that I get up outof bed and I say you know what?
This is what I've been trainedto do and I'm a great vessel to
do it is a day that someone getsto take their child home and to
me that is beautiful.
In med school I knew veryquickly I was going to do
pediatrics.
Like very fast, I thought Ifeel for these kids they don't
deserve what's happening to themand I want things to be better
for them.
And I just knew that you know Iwas going to do P's.
Ashley (09:20):
I didn't know I was going to do ICU medicine but I
speaking as a healthcareprovider who can't possibly
fathom a life in pediatriccritical care, it is so nice to
hear you say I understand howsick these kids are.
I understand that these parentsare so upset.
(09:40):
I would be upset if this was me.
But I have the training, I havethe experience and I have the
tools to make a difference andhelp these kids and keep these
kids alive.
So I think a lot of timespeople look at especially
physicians and think they'resuperheroes.
These things don't phase them,they're just.
This is a job, this is whatthey do and it's really, it's a
(10:02):
calling.
I mean you, you feel like thisis where you belong and it's
where you've worked towards.
Dr. Kay (10:09):
It is truly a calling and the amount that I care is
just.
It's so interesting.
I was in a super stressfulsituation recently and shortly
after it kind of settled down,my aura ring said did you just
work out?
And I thought to myself I mean,I felt like I did, but that
reaction of having the highheart rate, being nervous and
(10:29):
scared, just as the parents wereto say I have got to fix this
now, is real and the fact that Istill get to feel that at work
really just shows me that Istill really care and I love
what I do.
Each day that someone getsbetter or I get to see a kid
leave the hospital, I'm justlike this is why I'm here and
that feels really good.
That's why when people ask me,like you know, are you exhausted
(10:51):
or tired?
Sure, I work day shift andnight shift and I'm up at 2 am
sometimes, but the feeling thatI get when that kid waves at you
and you know that that was notthe kid that came in is just I
mean, it's priceless.
There's nothing like it.
Ashley (11:03):
It just fills your cup all the way back up, you know
when you see something like that.
I love it.
Tell us, if you can, what doesa day gosh?
What does the day in the pickylook like?
Is it?
Is it always sad?
Dr. Kay (11:18):
No, no, it's it's.
Some days are sad I won't sellit as not sad some days, but for
the most part it's really,really awesome.
So we start the mornings with,you know, finding out from our
team members how the night was,if I'm on a day shift and we sit
, we talk about all of thepatients and our plans and
thoughts for the day.
We go around, we dofamily-centered rounds and we
talk to the families about thisis what I'm thinking, this is
(11:40):
what I want to do.
I'm blessed to be at a hospitalwhere I have residents and
fellows, so it's really great tolike give them some autonomy,
to make some decisions and somemoves.
And then I start to see thepatients and weigh in on the
things I think we should dodifferently.
And then, after that, begins thefun things.
We get new admissions, we getto do procedures which is why I
(12:00):
went into ICU, because Iabsolutely love using my hands
and love doing procedures andthen we tie up things, we take
care of things, we fix things,we change medication plans, and
then there's always that unknown, because you plan your day out,
but it's the ICU.
Anything can happen at anygiven time.
And so when the overhead pagecomes and someone says they need
me stat somewhere and I have togo.
(12:21):
That's the excitement that Ienjoy and that comes in spurts
and waves and it feels good andyour adrenaline gets up and you
go and you do all the thingsthat you've been trained and you
know how to do and it's just alot of fun.
So I would say that it isfast-paced, you think a lot and
if you love physiology, it'slike the perfect place for you.
Ashley (12:40):
Oh, that does sound very exciting.
I'm selling it.
I'm selling it.
You mentioned something that Iwant to touch on just for a
minute Family-centered roundsand on any time you're working
with a pediatric patient.
I can't imagine there isanything much more important
than this.
Tell us what that means and howthat might be different from
(13:00):
just rounding like we hear abouton TV and in the textbooks and
things like that, yeah,family-centered rounds really
re-centers the focus on theactual family and the thing
about when a family's in the ICU.
Dr. Kay (13:15):
There's that feeling of helplessness and it comes
because you have someone come inthat says your child is sick
with X, whatever it may be, andthese are the things that we
need to do to get them better.
And as a parent or a familymember, what else do you say?
But okay, you don't really feellike you have equal parts in
(13:35):
what happens next.
Many times You're taking theinformation you aren't really
processing it because it's kindof a trauma response, right?
If I asked you three days laterif you remember my first
conversation with you, you'regoing to say no, I don't.
You came in, you said badthings and that's all I have,
and you said this is what we hadto do and I trusted you and you
did it and we got better andthat's great.
(13:57):
But family-centered roundsreminds families that they are
equal parts of the team.
We rely on our parents and ourfamily members so, so much and
it is our time to honor that, toinvolve them in the
conversations, to allow them tohear what we're saying as the
medical team, so we may come byyour room and say, hey, we're
going around now We'll pullwhatever.
(14:18):
Family members areparticipating in rounds and the
team talks about everything.
The nurse gets to talk, theresident talks, the fellow talks
, the pharmacist, physicaltherapy Everyone gets to say
this is how the child is doingand get on the same page, come
up with care plans and hear fromthe family and answer questions
.
So I think Family CentralRounds really just reroutes the
care in actually the family andit reminds us that the patient
(14:41):
is a human.
During COVID man we moved so faraway from that which we had to.
That was just the nature of thebeast.
But it was easy to take a faceoff of the patient when all
you're doing is looking at thepaper of what's happening.
But when you stand at that doorand you see the family, it
really reminds you that theseare people and we have to weigh
that into all of our decisions.
Ashley (15:02):
We have to weigh that into all of our decisions.
That was beautifully stated andyou're absolutely right.
I think we can get bogged downin the data points and the
billing codes and the diagnosesand what's next, et cetera, and
then you just have to pause andrecenter and look at the bed and
look at the parents, the otherfamily members that might be in
(15:22):
the room.
The patient is a human.
You said that, and and this isjust such a perfect segue
because, dr K, you mentioned somany of the things that you do
medically on the day to day andyet, in the middle of all of
this, of all of the chaos ofgetting paged, of running to
rooms, of doing procedures, etcetera, you noticed something
(15:43):
about your patients and theircare that maybe wouldn't have
its own diagnosis code, orperhaps there's not an actual
prescription that you wouldwrite for, but you found a
prescription for it and I'mgoing to hold it up, and it is
this absolutely incredible book,incredible book called the
magic bonnet, and this, this iscare that you have given, given
(16:04):
not just to your patients, butto other patients and to parents
and to clinicians.
I've learned so much readingthis as an adult and as a
clinician, even working indermatology, which is hair, skin
and nails, you know.
So tell us a little bit about,tell us a lot of it about this.
Dr. Kay (16:21):
I would love to, because it's such a fun part of
what I'm doing right now, but Ifeel like I got to go back to
the backstory of how I evenlanded at the book, and it was
honestly during COVID.
I feel like you know, in GoldenGirls, when Sophia says picture
it Sicily, I feel like that,picture it COVID 2020.
And medicine was hard for me.
We started you know, HealthcareHeroes, here's your discount,
(16:45):
all the things.
And that held me over for asmall amount of time and I
slowly found myself moving intothat feeling of isolation.
It was those drives in themorning where and I live in
Chicago a normal drive youencounter thousands of cars.
You don't remember them.
During COVID it was the samepeople.
(17:05):
I remember vividly a blue Mazda, every morning that I saw same
person and I remember onemorning I didn't see her.
Then the next morning, the nextmorning I didn't see her and I
remember praying, thinking Ihope she's okay because it was
that few of us going somewhereand I'm like we.
It felt so lonely and in that Istarted to question medicine.
(17:25):
I had questioned what I wasdoing, why I was there, why no
one told me when I said I wantedto do ICU that I would need to
be prepared for this particularmoment and it was hard for me
and I really needed to recentermyself in medicine.
And I found something superpersonal to me, which was hair,
(17:48):
and said you know what this isimportant?
And I started to look aroundand saw that there's not a lot
of people in the hospital thatlook like me.
I've known that in my journeyand our patients don't have a
big voice in that sense.
So when I started to seechildren with hair like mine
suffering from baldness or nothaving their hair taken care of
because we didn't have theproper products, I said, you
(18:10):
know what I'm going to bring inthe right stuff.
So I started ordering travelsize things off of Amazon and I
would come in there on my daysoff and do hair braids, all of
these things.
And the kids just loved it andI loved it and it was what I
needed.
It's what I needed.
(18:30):
And one day the hospital said,hey, we got a patient
satisfaction survey and we lovewhat you're doing, we want to
support it.
And I said, okay.
And they said what do you need?
And I said, oh, I need money, Ineed products.
And fast forward to two yearslater, we developed a whole
(18:50):
product line that is availableacross our entire healthcare
system.
So six states of products forpeople with hair like mine
bonnets, shampoo, conditioner,all the things.
Bonnets, shampoo conditioner,all the things and it has just
been I mean, it makes meteary-eyed to even like think
(19:10):
about coming from during COVID.
Like how do I get out ofmedicine was a thought I had so
often to now being like oh mygosh, like you are medicine,
this is you.
You are medicine to this, andthe book is my love letter to
that work, and that is what theroot of the book is.
Ashley (19:30):
And what a beautiful love letter it is.
It really is it.
Just it touches on so manythings that are so fantastic.
You mentioned, when you weredescribing family centered
rounds.
You mentioned the care team.
All of the people that areinvolved in the care team.
They're in this book, you know.
You've mentioned them.
You've mentioned, oh gosh,every patient that comes in,
(19:51):
that comes in through your ICU,is unique, and you've mentioned
unique preferences andhairstyles in this book that
patients might have.
You know, it's just everythingin medicine.
You can take it and apply it tothis.
In non-medical terms.
It's something that a childwould enjoy reading.
It's something I deeply enjoyreading, and I think it's just
such a testament to the ministrythat you were, were and now are
(20:15):
still serving these familiesand their children.
I'm sure you have taught somany people in the hospital
where you work about this sortof thing too.
Tell me what that means to you.
I mean, there's huge culturalgaps in healthcare.
We know that but just in seeingpeople as well, tell me a
(20:37):
little bit about that and how wecan do better.
Dr. Kay (20:40):
This is probably one of my favorite things to talk
about when it comes to hair andI love talking about it because
this whole, all of this work,really showed me the importance
of talking about hair andunderstanding people's identity.
Like hair is just kind of afigure in the world of who we
are as people, or a part of ouridentity.
When I started this project,one of the first things I did
(21:02):
was a needs assessment and inthat needs assessment I asked
people.
I said hey, how comfortable areyou with other hairstyles?
And people were like not at all.
I asked people could you namethis hairstyle?
Nope, not at all.
And they said I said how do youfeel about approaching a
patient who has different hairthan you do?
They were like oh, I justwouldn't, I would avoid it or I
(21:25):
would wait until someone broughtit up.
And as I started to find out andtalk to people about like why
is that the case, I reallylearned that hair is so personal
that we almost swung thependulum to a direction where
people said you know, don't evenask me about my hair, don't
touch my hair, these types ofthings and that led to people
not even trying to understandhair and one of my favorite
stories is there's a nurse whocame to me and said I'm so glad
(21:48):
you're doing this work.
Can I ask you a question?
I said sure, and she said whatis your hair?
And I thought I've been herefor five years and you never
felt comfortable asking me aboutmy hair.
We have gone to you know dinnertogether, we have been in a
coat together, all these things.
I have sent you know yourchildren Christmas gifts and I'm
(22:09):
like you never felt open, likeI was open enough for you to
talk to me about hair, and shewas just like you know.
I felt like it was culturallynot appropriate to talk to you
about your hair.
And that was the day that Isaid you know what?
We're going to change this,we're going to fix this right
now.
Ashley (22:24):
Now Dr K and I did not have the opportunity to discuss
a quality question, but thiskind of bold, thoughtful action
that Dr K is demonstratingbrings up an excellent interview
question that you might hearduring one of your pre-health
professional school interviews.
Can you share a time when younoticed something that wasn't
(22:47):
working and took action, even ifit wasn't your responsibility?
Keep listening to hear how Dr Kdemonstrated this when she
brought hair products to herhospital and turned a personal
act of kindness into system-widechange.
Keep in mind that there's moreinterview prep, such as mock
(23:08):
interviews and personalstatement review over on
shadowmenextcom.
There you'll find amazingresources to help you as you
prepare to answer your ownquality questions.
Dr. Kay (23:18):
I started bringing in mannequin heads and different
types of weaves and things likethat for people to understand
different textures of hair, andthe amount of people that walked
up to that cart that said, Ihave been waiting to feel this
type of hair was mind-blowing.
And we went from people sayingI don't know about different
types of hair to people passingtheir hair quizzes, to people
(23:42):
saying I want to be a curly hairchampion, I want to tell other
people about this work and Imean it's just like completely
full circle.
So I love the education portionof it because it has made me
personally feel closer to myteam and it makes me feel like
they have another piece of me.
That is so, so important.
Ashley (24:10):
We did.
We have made theseconversations taboo, which is
where we're talking so muchabout how other things are
becoming less taboo and how toapproach.
You know discussing obesitywith a patient and abuse with a
patient and things like that,but you know there is no
different.
Dr. Kay (24:28):
Exactly, it's no different, no different.
So to see people go in and talkto a family and say, hey, I see
, how long have you had yourbraids in?
Do you want a bonnet?
Things that I know that theywould have never done before
it's just amazing to watchsomeone advocate for their
patient's hair when someone'scoming to take out the EEG leads
and they're like no, youactually can't take the leads
(24:50):
off of this type of hair.
That way.
It's just.
I mean I don't have to doanything anymore.
I mean they beat me into theroom now and I'm like this is
great.
Ashley (24:59):
I love that.
That's incredible.
That is really incredible.
And, dr K, you will have toconfirm.
But I would imagine that a lotof these kiddos that leave the
hospital, yes, they're going toremember getting poked.
They're not going to rememberhow many times, but what they
might remember is, hey, that.
But what they might remember is, hey, that nurse knew about my
braids.
That white nurse knew about mybraids.
She knew what locks were.
(25:20):
She knew how I needed to carefor my.
I can't, oh my God.
The teenage girls that are inthere must just, they must just
feel so seen.
Why is it important forpatients to feel seen in
medicine right now, especiallyour young ones?
Dr. Kay (25:35):
Yeah it's.
I mean, it's so important whenpatients feel seen in medicine
right now, especially our youngones.
Yeah, it's so important whenpatients feel seen and they feel
like you are not just the labresult that you got back or the
CT scan that you got back andyou're taking care of them as a
person.
They participate in their ownhealing.
And I tell people all the timethere's but so much medicine I
can give someone.
That body has to give back anda body that can't give back
(25:57):
can't survive, because if thatwas the case, no one would ever
die right.
But your body has to give backand in order to give back, that
body has to trust you.
It has to trust that you seethem and it has to believe in
you.
And people do not believe inyou if they think that you don't
know who they are, if they feellike you just treated them like
another person, you don'tunderstand them, you can't
(26:17):
relate to them.
All of these things and that'strue because literature shows us
I mean, there are so manyhealthcare disparities, there's
so many different ways that wecan do better for people in
medicine, and all of that isrooted in knowing the people who
we serve, and this is a majorpart of that who we serve, and
(26:37):
this is a major part of that.
Ashley (26:38):
And you know, that's not just applicable to our
youngest patients, that'sapplicable all the way
throughout their entire life,from from womb to tomb.
So they say you know, it'sliterally everybody in between.
Thank you for seeing that andthank you for being so bold as
to step in and say you know, Ican do this.
Somebody needs to.
It's going to be me.
(26:59):
What would you say to encourageother people to kind of step
into these places where theymight see an issue and they
might be very well equipped todeal with it, but perhaps
they're just they're, they'repausing.
What would you tell them?
How would you encourage them?
Dr. Kay (27:14):
just they're pausing.
What would you tell them?
How would you encourage them?
I would say you're not just anumber and sometimes, when
you're in a huge team or a hugesystem or a huge world of
medicine, you feel like you know, oh, maybe I'm just a body or
I'm a part of this team andyou're not.
You're not just a number.
There is value in who you are.
(27:34):
There is value in your livedexperience.
There's value in your opinion.
It's up to you to put yourselfout there and to give it a shot
and try.
People deserve your try,because if you don't and we
don't ever see what comes out onthe other end you don't know
how many people you could havehelped.
So I would say that don't seeyourself as a number, don't see
(27:57):
yourself as a worker bee.
See yourself as a part of thechange, because that's why we
went into medicine.
We want to help people livebetter lives, and that requires
us to be the people that we are.
If we all just contributed whatwe learned from a book, it
would be the same thing.
I read the same chapter youread, so we know the same thing.
What makes us different is whatwe contribute as ourselves.
(28:20):
So bring your whole self towork, not just Netter's Anatomy,
not just your physiology bookLike bring your whole self to
work, because that is theessence of what we do, that's
how we change the world andthat's how we move the needle in
the direction it needs to go.
Ashley (28:39):
Yeah, Dr K, that's a beautiful, beautiful way to end
this.
Thank you for what you do.
Thank you so much for this book, the Magic Bonnet.
You can find it on Amazon.
Where else can we find you?
How else can we support you andwhat you're doing?
Dr. Kay (28:53):
Thank you for that.
I'm on Instagram.
I'm at heyiskmd, so like heyisk, which is how I answer the
phone in the hospital.
Everyone asked me how I came upwith this name is because when
people call to pick you up, I'mlike heyisk.
That's just my tagline.
It became a thing, so it'sheyiskmd on Instagram.
You can also find me at mywebsite, which is wwwheyiskmdcom
(29:16):
, and all of my contactinformation is also there.
Ashley (29:19):
Thank you so much and I will link all of that in the
show notes below.
Dr K, you are such a gift tomedicine and it has been such a
pleasure having you on Shadow MeNext today.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Dr. Kay (29:30):
Thank you for having me .
This has been wonderful.
I so appreciate you.
Ashley (29:34):
Thank you so very much for listening has been wonderful
.
I so appreciate you.
Hello and welcome to Shadow Me Next, a podcast where
I take you into and behind thescenes of the medical world to
provide you with a deeperunderstanding of the human side
of medicine.
I'm Ashley, a physicianassistant, medical editor,
clinical preceptor and thecreator of Shadow Me Next.
It is my pleasure to introduceyou to incredible members of the
(00:22):
healthcare field and uncovertheir unique stories, the joys
and challenges they face andwhat drives them in their
careers.
It's access you want andstories you need, whether you're
a pre-health student or simplycurious about the healthcare
field.
I invite you to join me as wetake a conversational and
personal look into the lives andminds of leaders in medicine.
(00:44):
I don't want you to miss asingle one of these
conversations, so make sure thatyou subscribe to this podcast,
which will automatically notifyyou when new episodes are
dropped, and follow us onInstagram and Facebook at shadow
me next, where we will reviewhighlights from this
conversation and where I'll giveyou sneak previews of our
upcoming guests.
(01:04):
Dr Nakia Jacobs-Pratt is apediatric critical care
physician who doesn't just showup for her patients she
advocates for them in ways thattruly transform care.
During the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic, she started
noticing something that manyoverlooked Hospitalized children
with textured hair weren'treceiving the basic products
(01:27):
they needed to care for theirhair.
It may seem small, but to thekids and families she serves it
meant everything.
Fueled by her own frustrationwith the emotional weight of
medicine during that time, dr Ktook initiative.
She brought products from home.
That time Dr K took initiative.
She brought products from home,braided hair on her days off
(01:53):
and created something that's nowbecome a system-wide movement
across hospitals in six states.
In this episode we talk abouther path to medicine, the
emotional intensity of caringfor critically ill children and
what it means to bring yourwhole self, culture, identity,
lived experience and all intothe hospital room.
Dr K is living proof thatmeaningful change in healthcare
(02:16):
often starts with noticing thesmall things and being brave
enough to do something aboutthem.
Please keep in mind that thecontent of this podcast is
intended for informational andentertainment purposes only and
should not be considered asprofessional medical advice.
The views and opinionsexpressed in this podcast are
those of the host and guests anddo not necessarily reflect the
(02:39):
official policy or position ofany other agency, organization,
employer or company.
This is Shadow Me Next with DrKay Jacobs-Pratt.
Dr Kay, thank you so much forjoining us on Shadow Me Next.
This is going to be anincredible conversation because
you are an incredible person, sothanks for being here, thank
(02:59):
you.
Dr. Kay (02:59):
Thank you for having me .
Ashley (03:01):
Before we dive in to the incredible way that you're
not only providing life-savingmedical care to your patients,
but making them feel cared for,which is just incredible, I
would love to talk about how youended up in medicine in the
first place.
So go back to the beginningwith us.
Did you always know you wantedto be a doctor?
Dr. Kay (03:24):
No, I didn't.
I didn't always know that Iwanted to be a doctor.
I am really blessed to have hadparents who exposed me to a lot
of different things.
I played the piano, I danced, Iplayed sports, did all of the
things and I knew I was reallygood at science, just kind of
naturally gifted at science Notso much at math, but I could get
(03:44):
by and I didn't know where Iwas headed.
But my parents really were likeyou know what, do your thing,
you'll figure it out.
And I thought for a really longtime that I was going to be a
dancer.
I love dance, I still love todance.
And for a bit of time I'm likeyeah, this is what I'm going to
do, I'm going to be a rockette,this is going to be phenomenal
and I'm going to be on abillboard.
And then here we are now Incollege I was like you know, I'm
(04:06):
going to major in sciencebecause I enjoy biology, and
that led me to marine biology,because that was like the thing
to do at that time and I quicklyrealized I didn't really want
to be on the water, those typesof things.
I got motion sick really fastand I had to like pivot yet
another time, and that's when Ifound medicine through some
(04:27):
really great mentors and I mean,it has just been a journey and
I am so happy that all thosepivots happened.
Ashley (04:34):
That's incredible.
I love that story, you know,and the marine biologist who
doesn't want to be a dolphintrainer marine, but at some
point right that was arequirement, dr K.
Tell us how, tell us how schoolwas for you, and let's let's
focus really on medical school,but not just that, schooling all
the way through, because a lotof pre-health students I've
(04:55):
talked to recently one of theirprimary reasons for avoiding
medicine is the length ofschooling.
So to become a medical doctor,it's an extensive amount of
studying, right, and it doesn'tjust end after med school, which
is four years.
It is much longer, as you know.
Tell us about that, yeah.
Dr. Kay (05:14):
You know, when you decide you want to pursue
medicine and I'm just going tospeak from the physician
perspective, because that's whatI do you have decided to be a
lifelong learner.
So I always encourage peoplewho are considering this to
think of it as milestones, butthat you never stop studying,
you never stop growing, younever stop learning.
It's just a continuum of life.
(05:34):
So once you have accepted thefact that you will forever be a
student in some capacity, thenit's a much better pill to
swallow, or easier to swallow,because it's a lot of schooling
and it's not easy.
There will be times that youstumble, there'll be times that
you have to start over, andthat's okay.
That's my journey as well too.
I didn't go straight through tomedical school After I was done
(05:56):
with college.
I didn't do well on the MCAT.
I took it again and didn't doany better.
So I actually entered apost-bac program which I which
was phenomenal and exactly whatI needed to do Did excellent in
my post-bac program andmatriculated into medical school
, did great in medical school,made it through and was like you
know what I want to dopediatrics and just decided this
(06:17):
continuum of learning was goingto be what it was, but up until
getting into residency it wasnot easy.
There were a lot of hard days.
There are a lot of really greatdays, and the day I finally
accepted that you will foreverbe studying, you will forever be
in a book and you will foreverbe humbled, it was the day I
really said you know what Sitdown and study like?
That's reality and you chosethis and it's a really, really
(06:39):
great career.
Ashley (06:40):
I love the way you framed that, because you're
absolutely right.
If you look at it like it's acontinuum, if you look at it
like it is a true journey andnot really one with the
beginning of medical school andend of medical school, beginning
of residency, end of residency,beginning of fellowship, so on
and so forth, it's all workingtowards where you're at right
now, which I would imagine.
Where you're at right now, asincredible as it is, there
(07:02):
probably is still a next stepfor you, and maybe you are right
now as incredible as it is,there probably is still a next
step for you, and maybe you arestarting to think about or have
thought about that next step.
That's a really great way ofthinking about it.
Thanks for sharing that.
That's perfect Now.
Right now, you're practicing inpediatric critical care
medicine, which is just it'ssick kids.
Dr. Kay (07:21):
Yeah, it's very sick kids, very sick kids.
And this is a strange space inmedicine sometimes because
people who haven't really beenthere have a hard time fathoming
a child being that level of ill.
And that's the space I exist inthose kids anywhere between a
few days old up to 18 who are inthe hospital with a
life-threatening illness.
(07:41):
That's my bread and butter.
Ashley (07:43):
Wow, how do you navigate the emotional weight of
caring for those children?
I mean, you seem like the mostvivacious, beautifully sold,
happy person.
Thank, you.
And you see some tough stuff.
I mean people on their veryworst days, and not just theirs,
but their children's worst days.
How do you manage that?
Dr. Kay (08:04):
It's so interesting that you say that, because if
someone had to ask me to justgive a one-liner of my job, it
is that I meet families on theirworst day.
A child is ill and that kidfeels that, and the parents feel
it.
No parent would not switchplaces with their child, so to
them it is their worst day,regardless of the level of
illness that that child isfacing.
I could be dealing with a kidnext door.
(08:29):
That is in a very differentposition, but it doesn't matter,
because each and every roomthat I go into for that family
it is their worst day, and thatcan be tough.
But I try to remind myself ofthat, even when I'm like my most
tired self is that these peopleare depending on me to show up
at my best self and that everyday I go to work, a child gets
to live.
If I don't do this job, ifothers in this field don't do
this job, then that isn't thecase.
(08:51):
So every day that I get up outof bed and I say you know what?
This is what I've been trainedto do and I'm a great vessel to
do it is a day that someone getsto take their child home and to
me that is beautiful.
In med school I knew veryquickly I was going to do
pediatrics.
Like very fast, I thought Ifeel for these kids they don't
deserve what's happening to themand I want things to be better
for them.
And I just knew that you know Iwas going to do P's.
Ashley (09:20):
I didn't know I was going to do ICU medicine but I
speaking as a healthcareprovider who can't possibly
fathom a life in pediatriccritical care, it is so nice to
hear you say I understand howsick these kids are.
I understand that these parentsare so upset.
(09:40):
I would be upset if this was me.
But I have the training, I havethe experience and I have the
tools to make a difference andhelp these kids and keep these
kids alive.
So I think a lot of timespeople look at especially
physicians and think they'resuperheroes.
These things don't phase them,they're just.
This is a job, this is whatthey do and it's really, it's a
(10:02):
calling.
I mean you, you feel like thisis where you belong and it's
where you've worked towards.
Dr. Kay (10:09):
It is truly a calling and the amount that I care is
just.
It's so interesting.
I was in a super stressfulsituation recently and shortly
after it kind of settled down,my aura ring said did you just
work out?
And I thought to myself I mean,I felt like I did, but that
reaction of having the highheart rate, being nervous and
(10:29):
scared, just as the parents wereto say I have got to fix this
now, is real and the fact that Istill get to feel that at work
really just shows me that Istill really care and I love
what I do.
Each day that someone getsbetter or I get to see a kid
leave the hospital, I'm justlike this is why I'm here and
that feels really good.
That's why when people ask me,like you know, are you exhausted
(10:51):
or tired?
Sure, I work day shift andnight shift and I'm up at 2 am
sometimes, but the feeling thatI get when that kid waves at you
and you know that that was notthe kid that came in is just I
mean, it's priceless.
There's nothing like it.
Ashley (11:03):
It just fills your cup all the way back up, you know
when you see something like that.
I love it.
Tell us, if you can, what doesa day gosh?
What does the day in the pickylook like?
Is it?
Is it always sad?
Dr. Kay (11:18):
No, no, it's it's.
Some days are sad I won't sellit as not sad some days, but for
the most part it's really,really awesome.
So we start the mornings with,you know, finding out from our
team members how the night was,if I'm on a day shift and we sit
, we talk about all of thepatients and our plans and
thoughts for the day.
We go around, we dofamily-centered rounds and we
talk to the families about thisis what I'm thinking, this is
(11:40):
what I want to do.
I'm blessed to be at a hospitalwhere I have residents and
fellows, so it's really great tolike give them some autonomy,
to make some decisions and somemoves.
And then I start to see thepatients and weigh in on the
things I think we should dodifferently.
And then, after that, begins thefun things.
We get new admissions, we getto do procedures which is why I
(12:00):
went into ICU, because Iabsolutely love using my hands
and love doing procedures andthen we tie up things, we take
care of things, we fix things,we change medication plans, and
then there's always that unknown, because you plan your day out,
but it's the ICU.
Anything can happen at anygiven time.
And so when the overhead pagecomes and someone says they need
me stat somewhere and I have togo.
(12:21):
That's the excitement that Ienjoy and that comes in spurts
and waves and it feels good andyour adrenaline gets up and you
go and you do all the thingsthat you've been trained and you
know how to do and it's just alot of fun.
So I would say that it isfast-paced, you think a lot and
if you love physiology, it'slike the perfect place for you.
Ashley (12:40):
Oh, that does sound very exciting.
I'm selling it.
I'm selling it.
You mentioned something that Iwant to touch on just for a
minute Family-centered roundsand on any time you're working
with a pediatric patient.
I can't imagine there isanything much more important
than this.
Tell us what that means and howthat might be different from
(13:00):
just rounding like we hear abouton TV and in the textbooks and
things like that, yeah,family-centered rounds really
re-centers the focus on theactual family and the thing
about when a family's in the ICU.
Dr. Kay (13:15):
There's that feeling of helplessness and it comes
because you have someone come inthat says your child is sick
with X, whatever it may be, andthese are the things that we
need to do to get them better.
And as a parent or a familymember, what else do you say?
But okay, you don't really feellike you have equal parts in
(13:35):
what happens next.
Many times You're taking theinformation you aren't really
processing it because it's kindof a trauma response, right?
If I asked you three days laterif you remember my first
conversation with you, you'regoing to say no, I don't.
You came in, you said badthings and that's all I have,
and you said this is what we hadto do and I trusted you and you
did it and we got better andthat's great.
(13:57):
But family-centered roundsreminds families that they are
equal parts of the team.
We rely on our parents and ourfamily members so, so much and
it is our time to honor that, toinvolve them in the
conversations, to allow them tohear what we're saying as the
medical team, so we may come byyour room and say, hey, we're
going around now We'll pullwhatever.
(14:18):
Family members areparticipating in rounds and the
team talks about everything.
The nurse gets to talk, theresident talks, the fellow talks
, the pharmacist, physicaltherapy Everyone gets to say
this is how the child is doingand get on the same page, come
up with care plans and hear fromthe family and answer questions
.
So I think Family CentralRounds really just reroutes the
care in actually the family andit reminds us that the patient
(14:41):
is a human.
During COVID man we moved so faraway from that which we had to.
That was just the nature of thebeast.
But it was easy to take a faceoff of the patient when all
you're doing is looking at thepaper of what's happening.
But when you stand at that doorand you see the family, it
really reminds you that theseare people and we have to weigh
that into all of our decisions.
Ashley (15:02):
We have to weigh that into all of our decisions.
That was beautifully stated andyou're absolutely right.
I think we can get bogged downin the data points and the
billing codes and the diagnosesand what's next, et cetera, and
then you just have to pause andrecenter and look at the bed and
look at the parents, the otherfamily members that might be in
(15:22):
the room.
The patient is a human.
You said that, and and this isjust such a perfect segue
because, dr K, you mentioned somany of the things that you do
medically on the day to day andyet, in the middle of all of
this, of all of the chaos ofgetting paged, of running to
rooms, of doing procedures, etcetera, you noticed something
(15:43):
about your patients and theircare that maybe wouldn't have
its own diagnosis code, orperhaps there's not an actual
prescription that you wouldwrite for, but you found a
prescription for it and I'mgoing to hold it up, and it is
this absolutely incredible book,incredible book called the
magic bonnet, and this, this iscare that you have given, given
(16:04):
not just to your patients, butto other patients and to parents
and to clinicians.
I've learned so much readingthis as an adult and as a
clinician, even working indermatology, which is hair, skin
and nails, you know.
So tell us a little bit about,tell us a lot of it about this.
Dr. Kay (16:21):
I would love to, because it's such a fun part of
what I'm doing right now, but Ifeel like I got to go back to
the backstory of how I evenlanded at the book, and it was
honestly during COVID.
I feel like you know, in GoldenGirls, when Sophia says picture
it Sicily, I feel like that,picture it COVID 2020.
And medicine was hard for me.
We started you know, HealthcareHeroes, here's your discount,
(16:45):
all the things.
And that held me over for asmall amount of time and I
slowly found myself moving intothat feeling of isolation.
It was those drives in themorning where and I live in
Chicago a normal drive youencounter thousands of cars.
You don't remember them.
During COVID it was the samepeople.
(17:05):
I remember vividly a blue Mazda, every morning that I saw same
person and I remember onemorning I didn't see her.
Then the next morning, the nextmorning I didn't see her and I
remember praying, thinking Ihope she's okay because it was
that few of us going somewhereand I'm like we.
It felt so lonely and in that Istarted to question medicine.
(17:25):
I had questioned what I wasdoing, why I was there, why no
one told me when I said I wantedto do ICU that I would need to
be prepared for this particularmoment and it was hard for me
and I really needed to recentermyself in medicine.
And I found something superpersonal to me, which was hair,
(17:48):
and said you know what this isimportant?
And I started to look aroundand saw that there's not a lot
of people in the hospital thatlook like me.
I've known that in my journeyand our patients don't have a
big voice in that sense.
So when I started to seechildren with hair like mine
suffering from baldness or nothaving their hair taken care of
because we didn't have theproper products, I said, you
(18:10):
know what I'm going to bring inthe right stuff.
So I started ordering travelsize things off of Amazon and I
would come in there on my daysoff and do hair braids, all of
these things.
And the kids just loved it andI loved it and it was what I
needed.
It's what I needed.
(18:30):
And one day the hospital said,hey, we got a patient
satisfaction survey and we lovewhat you're doing, we want to
support it.
And I said, okay.
And they said what do you need?
And I said, oh, I need money, Ineed products.
And fast forward to two yearslater, we developed a whole
(18:50):
product line that is availableacross our entire healthcare
system.
So six states of products forpeople with hair like mine
bonnets, shampoo, conditioner,all the things.
Bonnets, shampoo conditioner,all the things and it has just
been I mean, it makes meteary-eyed to even like think
(19:10):
about coming from during COVID.
Like how do I get out ofmedicine was a thought I had so
often to now being like oh mygosh, like you are medicine,
this is you.
You are medicine to this, andthe book is my love letter to
that work, and that is what theroot of the book is.
Ashley (19:30):
And what a beautiful love letter it is.
It really is it.
Just it touches on so manythings that are so fantastic.
You mentioned, when you weredescribing family centered
rounds.
You mentioned the care team.
All of the people that areinvolved in the care team.
They're in this book, you know.
You've mentioned them.
You've mentioned, oh gosh,every patient that comes in,
(19:51):
that comes in through your ICU,is unique, and you've mentioned
unique preferences andhairstyles in this book that
patients might have.
You know, it's just everythingin medicine.
You can take it and apply it tothis.
In non-medical terms.
It's something that a childwould enjoy reading.
It's something I deeply enjoyreading, and I think it's just
such a testament to the ministrythat you were, were and now are
(20:15):
still serving these familiesand their children.
I'm sure you have taught somany people in the hospital
where you work about this sortof thing too.
Tell me what that means to you.
I mean, there's huge culturalgaps in healthcare.
We know that but just in seeingpeople as well, tell me a
(20:37):
little bit about that and how wecan do better.
Dr. Kay (20:40):
This is probably one of my favorite things to talk
about when it comes to hair andI love talking about it because
this whole, all of this work,really showed me the importance
of talking about hair andunderstanding people's identity.
Like hair is just kind of afigure in the world of who we
are as people, or a part of ouridentity.
When I started this project,one of the first things I did
(21:02):
was a needs assessment and inthat needs assessment I asked
people.
I said hey, how comfortable areyou with other hairstyles?
And people were like not at all.
I asked people could you namethis hairstyle?
Nope, not at all.
And they said I said how do youfeel about approaching a
patient who has different hairthan you do?
They were like oh, I justwouldn't, I would avoid it or I
(21:25):
would wait until someone broughtit up.
And as I started to find out andtalk to people about like why
is that the case, I reallylearned that hair is so personal
that we almost swung thependulum to a direction where
people said you know, don't evenask me about my hair, don't
touch my hair, these types ofthings and that led to people
not even trying to understandhair and one of my favorite
stories is there's a nurse whocame to me and said I'm so glad
(21:48):
you're doing this work.
Can I ask you a question?
I said sure, and she said whatis your hair?
And I thought I've been herefor five years and you never
felt comfortable asking me aboutmy hair.
We have gone to you know dinnertogether, we have been in a
coat together, all these things.
I have sent you know yourchildren Christmas gifts and I'm
(22:09):
like you never felt open, likeI was open enough for you to
talk to me about hair, and shewas just like you know.
I felt like it was culturallynot appropriate to talk to you
about your hair.
And that was the day that Isaid you know what?
We're going to change this,we're going to fix this right
now.
Ashley (22:24):
Now Dr K and I did not have the opportunity to discuss
a quality question, but thiskind of bold, thoughtful action
that Dr K is demonstratingbrings up an excellent interview
question that you might hearduring one of your pre-health
professional school interviews.
Can you share a time when younoticed something that wasn't
(22:47):
working and took action, even ifit wasn't your responsibility?
Keep listening to hear how Dr Kdemonstrated this when she
brought hair products to herhospital and turned a personal
act of kindness into system-widechange.
Keep in mind that there's moreinterview prep, such as mock
(23:08):
interviews and personalstatement review over on
shadowmenextcom.
There you'll find amazingresources to help you as you
prepare to answer your ownquality questions.
Dr. Kay (23:18):
I started bringing in mannequin heads and different
types of weaves and things likethat for people to understand
different textures of hair, andthe amount of people that walked
up to that cart that said, Ihave been waiting to feel this
type of hair was mind-blowing.
And we went from people sayingI don't know about different
types of hair to people passingtheir hair quizzes, to people
(23:42):
saying I want to be a curly hairchampion, I want to tell other
people about this work and Imean it's just like completely
full circle.
So I love the education portionof it because it has made me
personally feel closer to myteam and it makes me feel like
they have another piece of me.
That is so, so important.
Ashley (24:10):
We did.
We have made theseconversations taboo, which is
where we're talking so muchabout how other things are
becoming less taboo and how toapproach.
You know discussing obesitywith a patient and abuse with a
patient and things like that,but you know there is no
different.
Dr. Kay (24:28):
Exactly, it's no different, no different.
So to see people go in and talkto a family and say, hey, I see
, how long have you had yourbraids in?
Do you want a bonnet?
Things that I know that theywould have never done before
it's just amazing to watchsomeone advocate for their
patient's hair when someone'scoming to take out the EEG leads
and they're like no, youactually can't take the leads
(24:50):
off of this type of hair.
That way.
It's just.
I mean I don't have to doanything anymore.
I mean they beat me into theroom now and I'm like this is
great.
Ashley (24:59):
I love that.
That's incredible.
That is really incredible.
And, dr K, you will have toconfirm.
But I would imagine that a lotof these kiddos that leave the
hospital, yes, they're going toremember getting poked.
They're not going to rememberhow many times, but what they
might remember is, hey, that.
But what they might remember is, hey, that nurse knew about my
braids.
That white nurse knew about mybraids.
She knew what locks were.
(25:20):
She knew how I needed to carefor my.
I can't, oh my God.
The teenage girls that are inthere must just, they must just
feel so seen.
Why is it important forpatients to feel seen in
medicine right now, especiallyour young ones?
Dr. Kay (25:35):
Yeah it's.
I mean, it's so important whenpatients feel seen in medicine
right now, especially our youngones.
Yeah, it's so important whenpatients feel seen and they feel
like you are not just the labresult that you got back or the
CT scan that you got back andyou're taking care of them as a
person.
They participate in their ownhealing.
And I tell people all the timethere's but so much medicine I
can give someone.
That body has to give back anda body that can't give back
(25:57):
can't survive, because if thatwas the case, no one would ever
die right.
But your body has to give backand in order to give back, that
body has to trust you.
It has to trust that you seethem and it has to believe in
you.
And people do not believe inyou if they think that you don't
know who they are, if they feellike you just treated them like
another person, you don'tunderstand them, you can't
(26:17):
relate to them.
All of these things and that'strue because literature shows us
I mean, there are so manyhealthcare disparities, there's
so many different ways that wecan do better for people in
medicine, and all of that isrooted in knowing the people who
we serve, and this is a majorpart of that who we serve, and
(26:37):
this is a major part of that.
Ashley (26:38):
And you know, that's not just applicable to our
youngest patients, that'sapplicable all the way
throughout their entire life,from from womb to tomb.
So they say you know, it'sliterally everybody in between.
Thank you for seeing that andthank you for being so bold as
to step in and say you know, Ican do this.
Somebody needs to.
It's going to be me.
(26:59):
What would you say to encourageother people to kind of step
into these places where theymight see an issue and they
might be very well equipped todeal with it, but perhaps
they're just they're, they'repausing.
What would you tell them?
How would you encourage them?
Dr. Kay (27:14):
just they're pausing.
What would you tell them?
How would you encourage them?
I would say you're not just anumber and sometimes, when
you're in a huge team or a hugesystem or a huge world of
medicine, you feel like you know, oh, maybe I'm just a body or
I'm a part of this team andyou're not.
You're not just a number.
There is value in who you are.
(27:34):
There is value in your livedexperience.
There's value in your opinion.
It's up to you to put yourselfout there and to give it a shot
and try.
People deserve your try,because if you don't and we
don't ever see what comes out onthe other end you don't know
how many people you could havehelped.
So I would say that don't seeyourself as a number, don't see
(27:57):
yourself as a worker bee.
See yourself as a part of thechange, because that's why we
went into medicine.
We want to help people livebetter lives, and that requires
us to be the people that we are.
If we all just contributed whatwe learned from a book, it
would be the same thing.
I read the same chapter youread, so we know the same thing.
What makes us different is whatwe contribute as ourselves.
(28:20):
So bring your whole self towork, not just Netter's Anatomy,
not just your physiology bookLike bring your whole self to
work, because that is theessence of what we do, that's
how we change the world andthat's how we move the needle in
the direction it needs to go.
Ashley (28:39):
Yeah, Dr K, that's a beautiful, beautiful way to end
this.
Thank you for what you do.
Thank you so much for this book, the Magic Bonnet.
You can find it on Amazon.
Where else can we find you?
How else can we support you andwhat you're doing?
Dr. Kay (28:53):
Thank you for that.
I'm on Instagram.
I'm at heyiskmd, so like heyisk, which is how I answer the
phone in the hospital.
Everyone asked me how I came upwith this name is because when
people call to pick you up, I'mlike heyisk.
That's just my tagline.
It became a thing, so it'sheyiskmd on Instagram.
You can also find me at mywebsite, which is wwwheyiskmdcom
(29:16):
, and all of my contactinformation is also there.
Ashley (29:19):
Thank you so much and I will link all of that in the
show notes below.
Dr K, you are such a gift tomedicine and it has been such a
pleasure having you on Shadow MeNext today.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Dr. Kay (29:30):
Thank you for having me .
This has been wonderful.
I so appreciate you.
Ashley (29:34):
Thank you so very much for listening has been wonderful
.
I so appreciate you.
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