Interviews at Black Men In White Coats 2 === [00:00:00] Martine Thompson: So I'm Martine Thompson here with black doctor.org, and we are [00:00:05] here with Dr. Marija, a cardiologist at Cedar-Sinai. How's it going today? [00:00:09] Dr. Marija: It's going [00:00:10] well. Thank you. Thank you. [00:00:11] Martine Thompson: So you mentioned earlier on the panel, um, [00:00:15] some of the themes that were covered in the discussion were just different paths to working in the [00:00:20] medical field. [00:00:20] Martine Thompson: Um, could you give a piece of advice to the youth?

Maybe [00:00:25] they haven't. Follow the traditional [00:00:30] path of, uh, going into medicine and maybe their grades aren't. [00:00:35] The grades where they're getting the recommendation to go into medicine. Um, do you have any [00:00:40] words of advice? [00:00:41] Dr. Marija: The biggest words of advice I have are to keep going. [00:00:44] Dr. Marija: Right? [00:00:45] Um, I think that the traditional path to medicine, um, unfortunately is not the most common [00:00:50] path to medicine. Um, I was fortunate, um, and I say fortunate. As if it was handed to me. I had to [00:00:55] work very hard to get this and earn it, but I was fortunate to be able to, um, be successful and [00:01:00] go from undergrad to medical school into training without taking any gaps.

[00:01:04] Dr. Marija: [00:01:05] But again, that's not the actual, uh, common path for a lot of people. And sometimes if it [00:01:10] happens to you, you have to reevaluate and recalibrate and sometimes take a step back and take a [00:01:15] gap year, go and do research.

Um, go and build your resume. Um, the [00:01:20] biggest thing that people need to realize that when you are trying to get into medical school, and not just [00:01:25] medical school, but any profession, is that you are a package when you're delivering yourself as the, and you're [00:01:30] filling out that application, right? [00:01:31] Dr. Marija: So as long as you make your package as complete [00:01:35] and as unique as possible, it's gonna put you in the best position. And so one person's package [00:01:40] can be great grade. Another person's package could be not so great grades, but [00:01:45] very good people.

Person involved in a lot of research, did tons of community service, has a [00:01:50] great story behind them, right? [00:01:51] Dr. Marija: And so it's about building a a resume [00:01:55] that is multifaceted and makes you a well-rounded person. And that's how you're gonna find yourself being successful [00:02:00] if one piece isn't actually doing it for you alone. [00:02:03] Martine Thompson: And that's a great reminder [00:02:05] as well, that. Even if there are bumps along the road, it doesn't disqualify a child [00:02:10] from still pursuing their dreams or connecting with that field down the line.[00:02:15] [00:02:15] Dr.

Marija: That's correct. Uh, a bump in the road is just now a new, a new part of your story. Right? Every, [00:02:20] every um, uh, situation where someone has something that happened to them is something that they can [00:02:25] take into who they are.

And as they're seeing a future patient [00:02:30] of theirs, they're gonna be able to tell this patient about what they went through and why it made them a better person for where they are [00:02:35] at that time. [00:02:35] Dr. Marija: Okay. [00:02:36] Martine Thompson: And finally, can you share what is one of your favorite things about being a [00:02:40] cardiologist? [00:02:41] Dr. Marija: For me, being a cardiologist is it has allowed me to do so many things, not [00:02:45] only within the field of cardiology, but I even spread out amongst other, um, compartments of it.

[00:02:50] I'm also a sports cardiologist, so, um, I've gone from only not only taking care of patients and [00:02:55] their normal heart health, but specifically focusing on athletes, uh, individuals who we believe [00:03:00] are the healthiest individuals out there. [00:03:01] Dr. Marija: But now I'm focusing on keeping them healthy and allowing them to. [00:03:05] Play the sport that they want to play and do the thing that they love to do, even if they have a heart condition.