Med MentoRx

In Episode 11, I talk with Surgeon and Physician-Scientist Dr. Gezzer Ortega about working at the unique intersection of surgery and public health, how we can create a more diverse and equitable health system, and the crucial role mentorship plays in getting to “the next level.”

In Episode 10, I speak with Family Medicine Physician, media consultant, and fellow podcast host Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen about growing up in New York after immigrating from Jamaica, how her HBCU medical education prepared her to be a confident and competent physician, and how she finds balance between a demanding career and other aspects of her personal life.

In Episode 9, I talk with Critical Care Surgeon Dr. Vance Smith about how growing up in Bermuda shaped his early racial and cultural identities, how he became sure a career in medicine was for him, and his experience as one of a very small number of Black men in surgery.

In Episode 8, I chat with Family Med physician and Mentor Extraordinaire Dr. Juan Robles. We talk about his experience immigrating to the South Bronx from Honduras, how his identity and upbringing shaped his decision to go into Family Medicine, and why increasing physician diversity is vital to the health of underserved communities.

In Episode 7, I chat with Pediatric Anesthesiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Dominique Aimée Jean. We talk about her passion for the field, how her endeavors outside medicine feed her as a “whole person,” and how she has able to combine the two to positively impact the lives of children.

In Episode 6, I sit down with Dr. Pierre Johnson, aka The Fibroid Slayer, aka Doc 4 Da Streetz. We talk about some of the significant setbacks he’s overcome throughout his medical journey, health disparities facing women of color, and why he remains committed to mentoring the next generation of underrepresented docs.

In Episode Five, I get a chance to talk with the Bronx’s very own Dr. Jorge Aguilar. We talk about how growing up in the South Bronx shaped his desire to go into medicine, what it meant for him to be the first Bronx resident to be accepted to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s MD/PhD program, and how he found his passion and purpose within childhood psychiatry.

CONTENT WARNING: Gun violence, police brutality, mention of suicide | In Episode Four, I talk with Emergency Medicine Physician and community advocate Dr. Abdullah Pratt. In a very raw convo, we discuss how growing up in Chicago’s South Side shaped the man and doctor he is today, how the history of our country formed the systems that produce the health disparities we see around us, and how we as physicians of color can work to address them.

In Episode 3, I interview Einstein’s Associate Dean of Diversity Enhancement and practicing rheumatologist Dr. Irene Blanco. We get a chance to discuss her experiences as the only person of color in educational spaces, some of the challenges she faces being a Latina in medicine, and what drew her to the subspecialty of rheumatology (a field that treats predominantly women of color).

In Episode 2, I speak with cardiac anesthesiologist Dr. Max Madhere about being raised by Haitian immigrants, attending HBCUs for undergrad and med school, and some of the trials he overcame on the way to becoming a leading specialist in his field.