Hey, everyone! I am so excited that I get to interview Osose! I have admired her Instagram for awhile now! (Sis is literally a model.) It's so encouraging to see her succeeding, and I'm happy she agreed to share a bit about herself. Hope you enjoy!
1. Tell me a bit about yourself.
I am a current 3rd year at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. I was born and raised in the suburbs of LA. I went to UCLA for undergrad and got my BS in Biology (hated it lol). I had a horrible gpa and even worse confidence post graduation. I wanted to get my MPH so applied to one and a bunch of Postbacs and only got into the MPH at USC. Won’t He Do It! My focus was Global Health Leadership. Following that, I went to Charles Drew to complete a one year postbac program, and then applied to medical school. I’m also the incoming National President of the SNMA (if you don’t know what that is, you will soon!).
2. Favorite food? Movie? TV show? Book?
Favorite fooooood…. That’s tough 'cause I am a foooodie to the core. I love love love ice cream tho, caramel cookie crunch from Talenti and dulce leche/butter pecan from Haagen-Dazs….favorite movie? That is tough too lol medical school has a way of making you forget the things you love when you’re learning so many new things and having a ton of different experiences at one time. It’s like I forgot my past and am a new version of myself! I’ll say the most recent movie that I love: The Last Tree. TV show: I currently watch Little Fires, This is Us, Grey’s Anatomy and the Good Doctor, LOL. I have to think a lot longer about a favorite show ahaha. Favorite book…I feel like my answer is the same for most. But I am currently reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.
3. What hobbies do you like to do outside of school/work?
I love to photograph people, so I still take paid jobs here and there depending on my schedule. I love to encourage people and to share my story and my struggles to encourage people because life is not picture perfect! I love to dance and hype people up so I try to do that when I can. And I love to travel and eat so I do both in my free time.
4. What field of medicine did you choose and why?
I have had a variety of run-ins with physicians early in life as a daughter of immigrants. Navigating the healthcare system of the US from two different perspectives allowed me to have a unique appreciation for empathetic and compassionate physicians. My grandparents didn’t have insurance and sometimes, I would spend a whole day with them in the emergency room or urgent care clinics waiting to be seen. I saw the great care physicians gave to my mother when she was battling breast cancer; and I also saw the lack of quality care that was provided to me by a physician who was unaware of his own biases. From these experiences, my love for the art that is the human body, I felt called to pursue a career in medicine.
I am going into Internal Medicine with the goal of subspecializing! I love that Internal Medicine allows you to use the broad amount of knowledge you learn throughout medical school. You get to treat patients for a longer period of time than you would in the Emergency room (Emergency was my first choice before this), and manage all of the different parts of their care from consulting social work and care managers to calling in other specialists when needed (ie: cardiology, general surgery, etc). I want to be able to treat men and women and have a working knowledge of medicine as a whole. I will be subspecializing because I also want to do procedures and internal medicine does not allow you to do that.
5. What do you do? What are the duties/functions/responsibilities of your job?
I am a student first and foremost. Medical school is a full time job and it is really hard to do anything else. I would say that I am an anomaly. I have still been working as a photographer part time. I became an independent contractor for my school which enabled me to shoot lectures and conferences that were held at my school and have more consistent pay! I had done work like this for another institution previously and was able to share my portfolio and book the job.
6. Is there flexibility as far as work hours?
As a photographer, I am able to take on the gigs that most interest me whenever I want! It is the best part of the job honestly. I have been able to work throughout medical school because of this. If I need money to maybe fly home, I can book a headshot session, or shoot an event for my school and get the funds to do so.
7. How has your job affected your lifestyle?
My job has helped me to do a lot of things that I would have never done in medical school. Being an out-of-state medical student, it can be very stressful financially with the extra costs you have to pay. And there are additional costs that come up throughout medical school! Especially when you move from the west coast to the east coast where you gotta worry about changing seasons! So having the job helped my lifestyle so much! I was able to afford some things that I had taken for granted, and most importantly, I was able to afford the flight home to spend time with family.
8. What are leadership roles and are they really THAT important?
Leadership roles are so so so important. They help you develop your voice, allow you to get to know yourself and your leadership style. That can be being the director/president of an organization, a project coordinator etc. You get to learn how to work with a team, learn more about your weaknesses and strengths and also, how to take feedback.
9. How many hours of shadowing do you recommend?
I didn’t shadow any doctor extensively before applying! Matter of fact, I started like the month before I submitted. It is not about the act of shadowing that matters or anything else you choose to do. It is about the why. Do you want to find out whether or not medicine is right for you? Then search for folks to shadow. There are different associations in every state (search the National Medical Association) that you can reach out to to find folks that are interested, and even more so, Instagram is honestly a gold mine these days! You can directly message folk in a respectable manner and go with who responds. Folks are busy so you can not get discouraged for lack of interest, just keep trying! I found mine by joining the Association of Black Women Physicians in LA. Prior to that I had struggled to find mentors and doctors to shadow, mainly because I would let it get to me if people didn’t respond to my one email. Keep knocking on doors and one will open.
10. The golden question: What is the difference between DO and MD
The main difference is that for DO programs is that you also get to learn osteopathic manipulative treatment! Other than that training and all is the same! The issue in the US is that MD is the traditional training program so there are more residency programs, and it is more well known. There unfortunately is a stigma still with DO. So if you can get over that, and truly desire the training that DO provides, you should definitely apply! I chose MD because honestly, it was what I know, it was what my mentors did and so I was most comfortable following in their footsteps.
11. What special advice do you have for a student seeking to qualify for this position?
There is no cookie-cutter way of getting to where I am. I went all over the world (literally) and back and then some, and I still made it. My metrics were not anything to write home about, but the heart was there and it showed in my involvement, in my personal statement, etc because the truth shows! So tell your story when you finally decide to apply, and show schools why they need you. Not the other way around.
12. Finally, do you have any last special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experience?
Just to encourage you all, I took the MCAT 4x, overcame depression, a low undergrad/science GPA, lack of confidence, and more but I made it! God will bring you through it if he has called you to it. I have been able to travel to 41 countries; I have worked as a freelance photographer (full time before medical school) for 7 years, and can say that I have truly lived! So trust in His timing, because it is perfect. Your experiences are shaping the physician you will become, so trust the journey, stay true to your story, and keep going!
Thanks so much for sharing, Osose! Follow her on Instagram at @ososee. Keep going! Remember, you got this!!!!
Thanks for visiting my blog! Be sure to check out my other posts. There is more to come soon! Until then be kind and remember tomorrow depends on what you do today. Hope you enjoyed reading! — Taylor ❤
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