The Black Med Connect Podcast
Join host, Dr. Jasmine Weiss as she explores the inspiring stories of Black physicians and medical trainees at the intersection of medicine, culture, and innovation on the Black Med Connect (B-Med) podcast. Dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the physician workforce, this podcast addresses the unique challenges faced by Black doctors, medical students, residents, and fellows, while providing valuable career advice and insights.
From career advice and personal stories to discussions on health disparities and the latest innovations in medicine. Tune in and be a part of the growing community of Black medical professionals today!
The Black Med Connect Podcast
Pursuing Health Equity through Preventive Medicine- with Dr. Jessica Young
Join me for part two of our captivating conversation with Dr. Jessica Young, an exceptional pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist. She shares her remarkable journey as a pediatric resident, revealing her passion for a specialty that isn’t widely discussed, preventive medicine. She dives into how it has profoundly influenced her ability to make a lasting impact on communities and populations.
Dr. Young's unwavering dedication to community-centered work ignited her pursuit of preventive medicine. In this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of this specialty, exploring the essential skills it offers in engaging with stakeholders, critically interpreting research, and driving quality improvement projects. Dr. Young's invaluable perspective sheds light on the importance of making community-centered decisions in population health and elevating the voices of minoritized groups. Our in-depth discussion offers a fresh look at the intersection of healthcare, race/ethnicity, and advocacy — a must-listen for anyone drawn to preventive medicine.
Dr. Young describes her transition to being an early career faculty member, where she sets her sights on advancing health equity for children and adolescents in North Carolina. Her journey serves as an inspiration for those considering a career in medicine. And don't miss out on the fun as Dr. Young reveals her dream vacation spot during our lively Bolus Round! If you're passionate about preventive medicine, health equity, or advocacy, buckle up — you're in for a treat!
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Have you ever considered a career where you're also a specialist in preventive medicine? Well, you're in luck. today This is part two of our episode with the wonderful Dr Jessica Young. She is going to share all about her journey, not only through her pediatric residency training, but also becoming a preventive medicine resident and becoming board certified in both of those specialties. She'll also talk about her journey as an early career faculty member at UNC Chapel Hill. as my colleague, let's jump right into the episode and we can't forget the bolus round at the end. So stick around to hear all of those rapid fire answers. Roll the music. So you're in residency, you're busy intern year. What was that like for you? jumping into residency and now going from, you know, not having your MD to now. okay, dr Young, here's what we need. Where are you, what we need, something from you. How did that transition go?
Speaker 2:I'm going to tell you I was terrified.
Speaker 1:Aren't we all? People don't realize. It is terrifying to all of a sudden become Dr Young or Dr White.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it was. Yeah, i remember So in residency I started out on inpatient floors of the ward. So that already to me was nerve wracking, right? Yes, not only did I start off there, it was my very first rotation, i started out on nights And so I was like, oh gosh, like I had been talking to some of the residents and they were like telling me about the structure of the team, like at nights or on nights, and in my head I'm like, oh, so they're just just us, really.
Speaker 2:Okay, oh, that's cool. So I was really nervous. I was like, oh my gosh, like what if I don't know something? or somebody calls me into a room and some emergency is happening, and I just like freeze, like all these like wild thoughts went through my head. So I was extremely nervous. But I will say, you know, i mean obviously things work that well on here, but my team, all of my residents really are co-residents there. But my team at the time was I can't thank them enough Like the upper level residents that I had were just like so helpful and so reassuring and walked me through every single thing and just letting you know up front that no question is a dumb question, like please ask anything, and it just created this very welcoming, warm environment where I felt protected.
Speaker 2:I felt like I could really kind of let some of those walls down and truly ask, when I didn't know which. At that point I knew nothing. So it was very reassuring for them to tell me that and to know I could come with them with any problem, question, concern, whatever that I had. And so they were with me like the whole time And when I would get like calls from the nurses or a page, like they were there to kind of help coach me but also allow me to kind of talk through some of what I was thinking and allow me to grow into that position that I was becoming. And so it was. It was just a really great environment to be in. But I was again terrified when I first started Because, you know, again it's just, it's a transition. I was in a new city, i just got married, i'm living with this man for the first time And you know it's a lot going on, and so it was just very helpful to have a supportive environment at work.
Speaker 1:I didn't realize we had that in common. I too, started on nights, so I remember, like, why would you put any new intern in here at night by themselves with a team? though, right, like you said, team was very helpful, but, like I remember, there was a code call on my first night I didn't even know how to get up to the floor where the room was right. It's just so much to learn that we all make it through and I'll grow, like you said, grow into the physician, and that you're going to be and continue to grow. Right, we're still both very, very new in our careers, and so could you talk a little bit about how you chose to go on to do preventive medicine residency, because that's a unique residency program to pursue after pediatrics. So could you share with our audience you know a little bit about what that means and how you came to want to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely My love telling the story. So toward the end of my second year of pediatrics residency, like most people at that stage, start to think about and plan out their next steps. And so about half of my like class were very interested in going into some type of fellowship. So they knew that they will be gearing up to apply and review for a fellowship program. Then the other half were pretty solid about doing permanent care And so they were already seeking out what places might be hiring in the areas they were interested in relocating or in the area who might be hiring.
Speaker 2:And then there was me. I knew that I really liked permanent care, i really loved general pediatrics, but I also knew that I didn't want to do that 100% of the time, a full time. I had this really, i guess, unfulfilled passion, if you will, inside of me to do more community work, and I think that goes back to just my upbringing and where I'm from, from a very small community. I've always been very community oriented, have always been like rooted in community service and that kind of thing, and I really wanted to incorporate more advocacy and more like kind of population health and public health work into my career. But I didn't really know like how to do that or where to start. I felt like, coming out of pediatrics residency, i had a really good clinical background or good clinical training, but I really didn't know how to step into that other part that I was really interested in. And so, like any millennial, i got on Google and I started like looking up stuff, like, okay, what are some things I can do? Are there some programs I can find to help repair me and give me the skills to do the things that I'm interested in doing? And so I came across the NRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship at UNC. I read about it. I was like, well, is that? you know exactly what I think I'm looking for? But it has some elements of that. So it could be a start or maybe I could kind of carve my path in this program or whatever.
Speaker 2:And so I reached out to Dr Corey Flower, who you also know very well Yes, because she was involved with that program And I saw she was a pediatrician. So I was like, yeah, i'm just going to reach out to her. She's probably not going to respond, but you know, whatever, i found her email, i'll reach out. So I reached out to her. She responded very quickly, which, now that I know Corey, i'm like that's so hard. That's exactly Dr Flower, absolutely. And she was just so nice And she offered to talk with me over the phone to go over the program.
Speaker 2:And so I was like, yeah, great, i'd like to do that. So I talked with her and I just told her a little bit about my background and my interests and the kind of like hybrid career that I was looking for. And as I was talking, she, you know, said well, we would love for you to apply to the primary care research program. But as you're talking, i'm wondering if you might want to consider this other program we have here at UNC that I'm also involved with, which is the preventive medicine program. And I was like I've never heard of that, i don't know what that is. So she like sent me the information, the website, to kind of look over the program at UNC, and I started reading about preventive medicine in general and looking at the UNC program And as I read about it I was like, oh my gosh, this is like exactly the training I'm looking for. This is exactly what I want to do. And so I applied and got accepted and I came here.
Speaker 2:So for me again, i wanted to do primary care pediatrics. I knew that. But I also knew that I became very frustrated with some patient encounters because there were things that they were dealing with outside of the office that I knew I could not do anything about as an individual. And in my residency we worked with a lot of low income families and disadvantage families And it was just heartbreaking to hear some of the stories that that they would share with me And I could personally relate. Being from kind of a low income community and growing up not having all the new and fancy things, like I could relate to that.
Speaker 2:And so I just felt like I wanted to do something more or something different than just seeing patients all the time in a clinic encounter, which I love And I think it's obviously very valuable.
Speaker 2:But I knew I wanted to do more And so I wanted I envision kind of working in more community organizations or doing more population health work where I get to impact the lives of children and adolescents from a larger population view instead of just only in a one on one patient encounter in the clinic.
Speaker 2:And so that's kind of the goal I had going into the program and leaving the program And I was fortunate enough to gain many skills that I felt like prepared me to do a lot of the work that I am fortunate to be able to do today. So I 100% like love the two years that I spent at UNC during the preventive medicine program. It was a very diverse group of people in the program who came from very different backgrounds, lots of different clinical trainings in lots of different goals that they wanted to pursue leaving the program, and so it just opened my eyes to so many possibilities within the field of medicine that I would have otherwise had no idea about had I not done that program. So I 100% like think it was the best move I could have made after Pete's residency.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I love how you just said you wanted to follow your passion. That included primary care, pediatrics. But you knew that you wanted to do something more and greater, and I think for our audience Sometimes people may or may not know you don't have to just do clinical medicine. You can do other things. You can do advocacy, you can do community work, you can do research, you can be an entrepreneur or you can do all of those things, and I love how you mentioned that you gained skills in a Resonance program that you may not have even known about if it wasn't for dr Flower and Corey telling you about it, and so could you just briefly share a few of the skills that you learned or some of the different aspects of the training for someone Who may be interested in learning more about preventive medicine as a specialty yourself special, Sure.
Speaker 2:So I'll just kind of summarize preventive medicine because, again, i had no idea what that was and I was a second year, almost third year pediatrics resident And this was a whole field of medicine that I had never heard of. I'm sure there's something for like what that preventive medicine is, essentially kind of like population health, what I was describing earlier and oftentimes in preventive medicine What we say is that the population is our patient. So we don't think in terms of just this one patient that I'm seeing sitting across from me in this office or clinic room. We think about a population of patients at a time. So, whether that be a population in a specific geographical area or H? wise, or population dealing with a certain medical condition or raised ethnicity or, you know, non-english speaking, like Different populations is how we think about our patient, and so we look at the entire population of that defined group and Think about how we can improve health and outcomes and well-being for that group. So in a nutshell, that's what preventive medicine is, and for me I gained a lot of skills going through that program. I think I learned how to just engage with stakeholders And so a lot of population health and preventive medicine is really being a part of kind of these interdisciplinary teams and having a lot of different voices and perspectives at the table, and so I really learned how to engage with people that may see things from a different perspective, but we're trying to come together to solve a problem, for example. So just learn the skills of how to engage with other community members and other people That may be important for you to kind of communicate with before you embark on a big project. That was very valuable for me. And then just learning the skills to learn how to really interpret Research I think was really important for me.
Speaker 2:So we talked a lot about evidence-based medicine, like in medicine, and we talked a lot about it like when I was a pediatrics resident and at the time, and even finishing my Pediatrics residency, i felt like I still didn't really know how to Interpret research as well as I wanted to, to really use it, to then practice it in clinical medicine, like I felt like I really didn't have a good grasp with that. And so being in preventive medicine taught me so many skills about how to really just assess Research and like critically appraise it and go through it each section or each piece of the research and really understand What was done and really have an idea of how this is applicable or not in your patient population. I would have never well, i shouldn't say that, but it would have probably taken me much longer To do that on my own than what it did. Coming here and really understanding how to do those skills. And then other things like I was always interested in quality improvement, which for anyone that's listening that may not know what that is basically going through small changes to make improvement in whatever setting you're in. And so looking at something, for example, like if I'm in clinic and I notice that we could do a better job of doing something in particular like check in patients in, maybe there's a long wait time, or something like that, and so quality improvement is kind of evaluating your current process and figuring out ways that you can improve it to be more efficient, essentially, and to help in our situation in the clinical setting ideally help to improve patient outcomes or satisfaction, and so I was really interested in that work coming into PrevMed as well, and so I was able to get a lot of training and strengthen my skills in that realm and feel much more prepared to engage and have engaged in more robust quality improvement projects following that training as well.
Speaker 2:And I just want to say that again, prevmed, like I mentioned earlier, it's just such a diverse field And what I really liked about it, particularly the program at UNC, is that it was really kind of a choose your own adventure type program And so we all had kind of basic requirements that we had to feel. But you could go a lot of different directions within PrevMed And so, again, like for me, i was more interested in kind of the population health advocacy type work. But some people were very research oriented and they wanted a very like research driven career. Some people knew, coming in, they wanted to work in governmental public health And so there are just a lot of different paths that you can take from preventive medicine, which I really appreciated, and so that was just my own like personal experience and some of the skills that I gained. But then there were others that gained like a different skillset based on kind of the career that they knew they wanted Lots of different options.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Lots of different options And the fact that it's so much out here that patients need from us and whatever ways that we can find to be skilled in those areas to help patients. Like you said, some people don't think about how we as physicians can have governmental positions to help influence policy and what that means for patient care and patient care delivery. I just wonder, and I would love to hear your thoughts on being a stakeholder, being someone who's at the table, trying to make decisions and think about the community that you're serving, just from a perspective of being a black woman, can you share a little bit about what it's like to kind of think about population health as you move through your career?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely So kind of, as you alluded to, i've had an opportunity to be a part of many conversations and contribute to discussions that will ultimately impact the health of a population, which I consider a great privilege for sure, and I think for me, people usually expect me to, i guess, comment from a physician or pediatrician standpoint. So usually I'm brought to a table or discussion to kind of bring a right the virtual table in this world right, but usually I'm brought on to give like a physician's perspective, which I usually do. But I also try to make sure that I always try to bring the voice of the population as much as I can, because I often think that we miss that, like they're often a group of people that come together that we think we're doing the right things for a population, because you know, this is what our research tells us or you know this is what has worked before or what people like before. But a lot of times you may be surprised, but a lot of times that patient or population's voice gets lost And so I try to just, you know, remind people of that too. And a lot of times I work on projects that affect more minoritized communities and being a Black woman like, especially being a Black woman from rural Eastern of Carolina.
Speaker 2:I just feel like it's so important to try to bring that perspective sometimes and just remind people that we cannot afford to not understand the perspectives of the people that we're trying to impact or help, because we might end up doing something that just makes us feel good And that's not going to help them at the end of the day.
Speaker 2:And so I think that has been my approach in trying to make sure I keep that perspective within, like discussions and groups too, because again it just gets lost so much more than what we may realize, and I think it's important to have that perspective before. You know, we kind of do things within a population or to a population that they might not like, and so I definitely try to bring that perspective for sure, even though, again, i'm usually brought in to give like oh, from a pediatrician standpoint, how does this normally work Or what do you think as a pediatrician? But I often also just thinking about that how can we achieve health equity, which is something that I'm always thinking about. I try to bring in that other aspect to that, i think, is oftenness.
Speaker 1:And I think it's important that we bring our full selves and our lived experience and the experiences of people that we know and care about to the table, because, as you said, it's often overlooked And if you're not there to share that insight or to share that experience, they may not know or may not take it into consideration, not because they don't want to, because they may have never just thought about it before, right? So it just speaks to how important it is for you to be at the table, for us to be at the table and for us to make sure that we're sharing our insight that we have, and not to say that. I know sometimes I feel like, when I'm in certain positions or in certain discussions, that I'm speaking for all black people or all black and brown people or people of color, and that's not necessarily how I like to be perceived. But at the end of the day, i have a certain lived experience that's important for some of these conversations.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you have to figure out if you want to speak up or not, right? I know that I've struggled with that And I think a lot of people at times struggle with like ooh, should I say something or should I not? But I come to realize, like I'm sure you have, is that I have this lived experience and this insight, and it is on me to share it, because I don't think someone else at the table may not understand this point of view. It takes courage and time, though, to get to that point. I know that it did for me anyway.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, That's something I still work on.
Speaker 2:I can't say that there haven't been times where I think back and I'm like man, I should have said something.
Speaker 2:It's a very interesting and I know you can relate. It's just a very interesting position to be in, to be a black woman in medicine, because I think a lot of times or at least for me I still find myself tiptoeing some and just trying to get a feel, for it's just a safe space for me to be able to say what's truly on my mind, or do I need to be reserved because this could backfire on me And so just trying to like navigate all of that is still something that I'm learning every single day, especially being an early career. I would like to think that, you know, I get a few more years under my belt and maybe I'll feel, you know, like I can just be my true, authentic self and say everything that I need to say whenever I need to say it. But I will, you know, be honest to say I'm not 100% there yet And I think it will take some time if I ever get to that point. So definitely interesting position to be in as a black woman in medicine, for sure.
Speaker 1:Are you interested in taking a deeper dive with BlackMed Connect? Then join our BlackMed Connector newsletter. Each week you'll hear more about our guests and go behind the scenes to get a deeper dive into their careers. You will get the professional productivity word of the week and you'll get to see and learn more about amazing physicians doing wonderful things in entrepreneurship and innovation. So head on over to BMED Connect bmedconnectcom slash podcast and join the BlackMed Connector newsletter. Back to the episode. We have these conversations and, if you don't mind sharing that, your early career and that you recently completed your preventive medicine and now our board certified in preventive medicine. So congratulations to that, along with pediatrics as well. So double board it. But, like you said, even as an early career faculty member, would you mind sharing what this transition has been like? And we're like I said, we're only for those who made. I know we're only about a year apart, so we're both probably feel like we're in this boat together. I feel like anyway. Yes, no.
Speaker 2:I feel like that too. Yeah, i will say it's been exciting, interesting. So I did preventive medicine residency here at UNC, so I was here for two years prior to entering into my current position, which meant that I also had the opportunity to kind of know who my coworkers would be before they became my actual coworkers, and so I felt like that part made it a somewhat smoother transition for me. Thankfully, my guest boss, dr Corey flower, who Jasmine and I both know she's just an amazing person And I think it was truly her support of me that helped me to be able to transition into the job that I have so smoothly and to just have someone of leadership who you feel comfortable, kind of sharing concerns with And talking to openly about, i think goes long way And she's definitely been that for me. She has made it an easier transition for me than probably what I anticipated, and so I really appreciate her leadership for that.
Speaker 2:But you know, it being that is my first job essentially is still I'm still kind of learning the ropes, especially kind of the world of academia. I'm still kind of learning that and what that means truly, because there are a lot of like nuances and little things. It's not just, you work for school of medicine in our situations and you teach. Is not that straightforward?
Speaker 1:So much more.
Speaker 2:Yes, so much more to that, as you know. So I'm still kind of learning all the ins and outs of that and trying to learn how to navigate that. But so far things have been going pretty well and, you know, fortunate enough to have Jasmine. you are my coworker and colleague And so I feel very fortunate to have you as a friend and colleague and be able to have someone to also talk to outside of work. That's been so helpful. So thank you for all that you've been for me so far. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's mutual Thank you too. So well, thank you for sharing that too. And you know, as you navigate your career path, what do you hope? what type of impact do you hope to make overall and as you navigate your career?
Speaker 2:You know, with being in a population health and doing a lot of public health oriented work, i definitely want to just even if a micro change, but I want to play a small part in improving essentially that health equity for kids and adolescents anywhere. But my focus has primarily been for children in North Carolina with the projects that I currently work on. If I can play a small role in that, i will be extremely happy. I mean, i don't need you know my name, tattoo or anything like that And just if I can again going back to being at the table and having these discussions and working on these important projects, as long as I can continue to be involved in those things and can see it make some micro change throughout my lifetime, i think I would be even happy with that. And then I think, just again, being a black physician, i just aspire to be an inspiration to others.
Speaker 2:As I mentioned earlier in our conversation, i had a mentor, dr Miller, who was so helpful for me and just seeing him as a black male pediatrician meant so much to me, just to be able to see myself in somebody that looked like me, that had a similar shared experience, shared culture with me. It was so important And so it warms my heart when I see kids and they make comments about you know like, oh, i love your hair, your hair's like mine, or you know like, you're just instantly an inspiration to little kids, and I think that's just so important And I love being able to be present and be that for some children that I see in my clinic, and so I would say those are probably the two things that immediately comes to mind. So if I can continue to do those things, i think ultimately I will continue to be happy with my career medicine.
Speaker 1:Well, i love that And there is nothing small or micro about the changes you're trying to make. I mean, i think the kids of North Carolina will be better off because of the work you're doing, and thank you for all of your efforts thus far and to come, and for just being you. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for that. And so with that we're going to transition to what I like to call the bolus round, and the bolus round is in medicine, when we give fluids to a patient rather quickly, because they come in and they may be very sick, more of an injury or maybe fibrillation, just really dehydrated, so we tend to push fluids pretty quickly. So this is our rapid fire, fun Q and a round. If that's okay with you, let's do it. Yeah, all right. So we will start by saying what is your number one vacation destination? Ooh, grease, grease.
Speaker 2:Yes, those pictures look so good, so pretty. I'm like I have to make it there. That's my goal for sure. Love it, love it.
Speaker 1:All right, would you say Martin or Fresh Prince?
Speaker 2:Oh, why would you ask such a hard question? It depends on the day, oh my God. Well, i mean, if you're forcing me to choose one, i would go with Fresh Prince, probably just because I watched that a little bit more growing up just slightly, and I will watch that more so on my own. I watch more and more with my family, so I would say Fresh Prince, but that's a relief. That's an unfair question. I know that was pretty tough.
Speaker 1:All right Favorite Melanated movie.
Speaker 2:Why are you asking these hard questions? Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, there's so many. This is going to sound so cliche, oh my gosh, but it's probably a truth. I really love, love basketball. Like, if it's on TV, i'm watching it And I know that's really insane, but that's probably up there for me.
Speaker 1:Love it, love it, love it. Obviously, i play basketball. I love that movie. Good choice, good choice, all right. If you had to choose only one genre of music and you have R&B, hip hop, gospel or afro beats, which genre would you listen to?
Speaker 2:Probably R&B, probably R&B. I love like 90s R&B, neosoul. I love like the kind of newer alternative R&B. So yeah, i probably have to choose that one.
Speaker 1:Love it, love it. Okay, favorite black owned restaurant. And since you've been all over North Carolina, you can pick from wherever you'd like in North Carolina. Oh.
Speaker 2:I have so many, Um, I'm going to shout out two. So there's one here in Durham called the chicken hut. I don't know if you've ever been there, but I love their. Their known for like their fried chicken, which is really, really good. But that fried fish, though. If you haven't gotten the fish, go for it.
Speaker 1:So I want to say that one, and then there's this place called skips in Greensboro.
Speaker 2:That was right outside of A&T. It's kind of like a little hole in the wall place, but every time I go to Greensboro I have to go to skips, so that's like my go to spot, both black owned, so would encourage people to check those two out if you're in the areas Love it, love it, love it, okay.
Speaker 1:And lastly, could you rep whatever organization you'd like? I have a feeling I know what you'll rep here.
Speaker 2:You already know I'm a rep. Let's not really. Well, the first one I'll say is not really an organization, but people from this area will understand that I'll rep the two five two, which is the area code of North Carolina where I'm from. So rep two five two all day, every day. Then, like you, jasmine, i am a member of Delta, sigma, theta sorority incorporated. So shout out to all of my sorority. And of course I'm going to shout out the North Carolina agricultural and technical state university Aggie Pride. So any Aggies out there listening, welcome, love you And you made the best choice. Others will disagree.
Speaker 1:I'll give you that I'll give you that I've got Uncle Seward A and T through and through. I'm still a rattler through and through, But hey, we got a show love. So thank you so much for joining us this morning. And if you'd like to share how people can maybe reach out to you, or you can share that with me and I can share that with the audience. Whichever you prefer.
Speaker 2:Sure, so feel free to add me on Instagram. That's probably where I'm most active And my name is at kid underscore doc doc 0303. So you can add me there or DM me. I'd love to connect and chat with you, especially if you are an aspiring physician or looking to go to medical school or interested in public health. Whatever the case may be, i'm out of left to chat with you, so feel free to reach out. Thank you, thank you All right?
Speaker 1:Well, this has been a fantastic episode with Dr Jessica Young. We really appreciate you joining us, and until next time, i like to say, keep dreaming without limits. Have a good day everyone.