Thread by @drrussellledet

Folks ask me all the time why I chose @iu_tripleBoard. Let me paint a picture that's as crystal clear.

A Thread for minority #eras applicants

Before I started residency, Dr. Michael Okoronkwo and myself along with other colleagues published a systematic review on Strength-based interventions for adolescent Black males who had the unfortunate fate of experiencing gun violence.

As I was beginning to start residency, I had already learned that my PD, APD, and other residents in the program were comfortable with these conversations because they engaged with me about them on the interview days and afterwards.

It wasn't simply about me coming to @iu_tripleBoard, it was about progress and learning how to become better clinicians and leaders. To see that from leadership was a clear sign to me that I fit in here.

Moreover, I was eventually asked if I was interested in presenting that paper during our weekly journal club for Triple Boarders. Of course, I said YES but I also wanted Mike to join and leadership was cool with that too.

The biggest kicker was that I had an idea to let the attendees listen to a new song by @kendricklamar called Mother I Sober (feat. Beth Gibbons). Let me tell you why this is important.

The song outlines how Black boys and men process trauma and how it manifests in our daily lives, specifically around gun and sexual violence. The juxtaposition of that song and the paper topic was obvious.

What might not be obvious was the willingness of everyone in our program who was present to be so attentive and engaged! Willing to process that culture presented by Kendrick to a room full of training pediatricians and psychiatrists.

For me, it's important to be able to bring and experience part of my culture as part of my learning and also be able to share that culture with the folks I work with everyday in a meaningful way. There's value in that song and the paper for all of us to learn.

I knew that would be the type of environment I was going into prior to matching here because I had candid conversations with the PD and other residents. Make sure you do that. You need to be in a place where you don't have to hide important parts of your existence.

@iu_tripleBoard is not the only place like this. It was just the right place for me. Make sure you are always looking for the place that fits YOU.

You already will be battling internal fights of "whether or not you belong". Avoid being in a place where you also have to fight that externally as much as possible. I know you are asking "how do I figure that out?"

I'll tell you what I did. I asked candid questions about what it would be like for "me" in your program. How will you support my existence and address my concerns regarding race and justice? When and how do we have discussions about social determinants of health with learning?

Ask questions and listen for them to actually answer the questions. Ask multiple folks. You should get cohesive collaborative answers. Keep the questions coming!

You can read the article here: jsmcentral.org/sm-trauma-care…

Here is the song: music.apple.com/us/album/mothe…