Girl, What’s Been Going On?

Life has been life-ing in the best ways possible. I’m recently back from my first international trip and still processing the beauty of being able to travel outside of the United States. To move beyond our bubble, feels like a privilege I didn’t know I was missing, and I really need to sit with that for a while. Maybe next month we’ll discuss it a bit more.

In other ways, life has been life-ing and I’ve been pushing myself to continue to show up for HEJ. This month that meant deciding to submit a video for the American Public Health Association (APHA) Film Festival. If you’ve been here for a while, you know I have some mixed feelings when it comes to APHA, but when it comes to being the biggest public health organization and most(ly) respected, I have to choose the positive feelings and get the networking opportunities as they come.

The short film that I submitted was all about medical racism and the history of racism in the realm of physicians. Do you remember this infamous JAMA tweet?

This tweet caused a LOT of backlash and resulted in the resignation of the former editor in chief at JAMA. Some argued that the tweet shouldn’t have been deleted because it could have been a learning opportunity for physicians in how much further we have to go. Thank goodness for screen grabs, because I’ve had this tweet for years and use it to explore medical racism in lectures, and now in my most recent film. For 20 minutes, I explore whether physicians can be racist, and explain why some people think it’s a resounding yes if you ask them.

I’m proud of this film. It was my first time interviewing people to get more of a documentary feel, and with the help of Wendy Martinez, I was able to make it look fairly professional. If you’re a good juju type of person, please send me good vibes as I wait for the decisions in July to determine if my film was selected for the festival. When it is chosen, this would be my second film in an APHA film festival. Not too bad for someone who does this as a hobby. ✊🏾

If you’re interested in learning more about my process for film-making and choosing topics, check out a free trial of the HEJ Inner Circle. Members of the Inner Circle get access to exclusive AMAs and special viewings of my films.

Your girl is ¼ of a doctor! 🥳

Let that sink in.

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I have officially completed one year of my doctoral journey, and it feels overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. Overwhelming because it means I’m one big step closer to comprehensives and really deciding what my dissertation is going to be. Do you know how scary that is?!

As promised, I’m going to give you the list of all of the classes I completed this year, and share some thoughts from my fellow classmates. If you’re interested in learning more details about a specific class, I suggest going back through my previous newsletters where I discuss more of the ins and outs of the classes.

My Year 1 Classes

1. Leading Organizations - Required

2. Racism in Public Mental Health - Elective

3. Youth Voice in Public Health - Elective

4. Media Interviews and Applied Public Health Communications - Required

5. Climate and Health - Required, Problem Solving

6. Fundamentals of Program Evaluation - Required

7. Promoting Equity in Adolescents - Required, Problem Solving

8. Fundamental Tools for Health Equity - Required

9. Prevention of Mental Disorders - Required, Problem Solving

10. Adolescent Health & Development - Required

11. Children in Crisis - Elective

12. Designing a Strategic Plan - Required

13. One Health - Required, Problem Solving

14. Social Context of Adolescent Health - Elective

In general, I will say that my best classes have been my elective courses. I’m not sure how many of my classmates would agree with me, but I think given my background and level of comfort with topics of health equity and concepts of equity, I needed the electives to present something new or to allow me to think in a different way. If I had to choose a couple of required courses that were also good, it would be Fundamentals of Program Evaluation and Media Interviews and Applied Public Health Communications. I think the tools learned in these classes will apply for years and years to come, which makes them stand out in my head. I enjoyed the Media class enough to TA it this past spring, and will likely look to do so again in the winter.

Now, let’s talk about the feasibility of doing 14 courses in one year. I don’t recommend it. Don’t take my path as a roadmap of how to complete your degree. I’ve put myself on an accelerated path for many reasons, which I don’t feel the need to discuss in detail, but there’s a method and many reasons for my absolute madness. Most of my classmates are taking one or two courses per term, and honestly, that’s the way to go. It is a lot to be in multiple courses while working and trying to do life. So, I share, because I promised I would, but please don’t do what I’m doing. It’s ridiculous. 🫠 

To share from my classmates, I asked them to give me one (or a few) word(s) that describe their experience as first year DrPHers. The word cloud below is what they shared.

Remember when I said most people were taking 1-2 courses — and the word that was most frequently used is still exhausting. This is not easy or for the faint of heart. So if you’re thinking about getting into this school life, just make sure you’re prepared for the mental toll it will take. If you want to know the words I chose… exhausting and affirming. Exhausting for all of the reasons I’ve tried to share, and affirming because I know with every course, every good troublemaker interaction, that I am in the right place. This was the doctor path, I was always supposed to take.

What Are You Doing For Fun?

Traveling. Like planning all the trips and getting out of this country. Like have y’all seen the nonsense that’s happening with DeSantis saying he’s running for President? I have to figure out where I’m going to choose to become an expat. Or maybe I’ll do 90 days around the world and keep moving. I don’t know. We barely survived Cheetoman. I’m not sticking around for DeSanctimonious.

As I said up top, I just got back from my first international trip to… Mexico City, MX! (Or Ciudad de Mexico as I should say, as someone trying to get better with my Spanish!)

I had an amazing trip and if you’re in the Inner Circle, I’m working on a day by day recap with photos to share. If you’re not in the Inner Circle, I wanted to just share a couple of museum related photos that document how true it is that I am seeking Blackness in every place I go...

During our trip to the Museo de Tequila y Mezcal, I learned about the African influence in mariachi music. While I’m not surprised, I was excited to see an acknowledgement and homage paid to the influences and interactions of Black people.

Examples of racism and medical racism were all around me during my trip, from the video I created, to the exhibits we saw at the Museo Memoria y Tolerancia. While there were aspects of the museum that were well done, I do think there was a lot lost in translation given the aim of the museum: “Our mission is to disseminate the importance of tolerance, non-violence and human rights. To create awareness through historical memory, particularly from genocide and other crimes. To alert to the danger of indifference, discrimination and violence in order to create responsibility, respect and awareness in each individual that leads to social action.”

I’m not sure how you talk about genocide and other crimes without once mentioning the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. To start with the Holocaust as the first atrocity of mankind just felt poorly done to me, but given the donors and creators of the museum it quickly made sense. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Okay, and to not end the fun section on a sour note, here’s a photo of me outside the Museo Memoria y Tolerancia.

Wait, What’s Next?

Are you listening to Health Equity Mondays? If the answer is no — why not?! 🤦🏾‍♀️ If the answer is yes — have you shared a comment or future topic idea, here?! Last month, Omari and I discussed the cost of health inequity and the FDA’s change to discriminatory blood donation practices (FINALLY). You can find our podcast by searching “Health Equity Mondays” on all podcast platforms. Not into podcasts? Don’t worry. You can watch us on YouTube!

I’ll be back in your inboxes in July. If you miss me - you know how to get more of me.

Until next time, always remember to take up as much space as you need.