SWAS: What are three essential things that teens/tweens should keep in mind if they want to pursue a career in medicine?
Dr. Isable: 1) Learn to be a good thinker more than a good student. A good student is self-disciplined and gets good grades which is important for pre -med and getting into medical school. However, doctors must know how to critically think, problem solve, and analyze. Be inquisitive, learn to analyze, have a broad perspective and don't be afraid to question things.
2) If you have a talent, hobby, or skill not related to science, continue to enjoy, practice, and cultivate it through school and college. It will provide will be a healthy stress reliever when overwhelmed, helps you maintain a social network and make you a well-rounded student
3) Join programs for students of color interested in health or science. This may be an after-school program, mentoring, on-line or summer program. These programs can provide extra support and resources. This is especially true from those who have limited support from their household or family.
SWAS: How did you determine your area of specialty while in Medical School?
Dr. Isable: Initially I wanted to be a pediatrician. However, during medical school, I found adult medicine to be more intriguing, complex and had more variation, so I became an internist. Through my career I was able to treat adolescents and adults.
SWAS: What is one of your favorite things about being a doctor?
Dr. Isable: What I find most rewarding is being a patient's advocate and encouraging patients. Being sick can make people feel discouraged. Being able to bring hope is rewarding. Advocating for African American or Latino patients is rewarding but also hard work. Unfortunately, health care bias is real and often African Americans and Latino (especially Afro-Latinos) will not get the full care, attention or aggressive treatment they need. Once I had to refer a patient to three different Cardiologists for them to acknowledge and treat the condition the client had.
SWAS: How does it feel to be an underrepresented minority in the medical field, and what challenges did you have to overcome along the way?
Dr. Isable: I would say there are two challenges with being an underrepresented minority in the medical field. One is that racism in health care towards providers and implicit bias towards patients is real and can be disheartening. You may see both throughout different stages of career. It doesn’t get easier, but you can equip yourself with resources and knowledge. I took a special program at the National Institute of Health on health disparities, it validated our experiences and provided tools to use. The second challenge is unless you go to a HBCU, most of the time there will only be a handful of Black students in training programs. You have to find additional ways to create social support and network.
Sisters with a Stethoscope would like to thank Dr. Isable for taking the time out of her day to , inform and encourage us through her responses.
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