What does it actually take to thrive once you’re inside a school like Duke? Join hosts Deana Golini and Carlos as they sit down with Samuel Ndukwe, a fourth-year medical student at the Duke University School of Medicine, to talk through the realities of medical training and the mindset that carries him through it.
Sam opens up about the journey to Duke, a school that takes roughly 123 students from over 9,000 applicants, including the post-bacc he chose over an expensive special master’s, the self-assessment that told him his GPA wasn’t where it needed to be, and why there is no foolproof plan anyone can hand you. He reframes the tired fire-hose analogy for med school, describing it instead as learning to surf waves that keep coming, some calm, some typhoons that wipe you out before you climb back on the board. He gets honest about the stamina and consistency med school demands when there is no syllabus telling you what to do, the daunting trust patients place in you as a student, and the danger of hiding behind the med student title and wasting a rotation. He shares the systems that keep him going: entering every rotation with a clear vision of why he is there, setting small daily goals and rewards to get through rotations he does not love, refusing to compare himself to anyone but his past self, and protecting the parts of his life outside medicine. He also talks about founding Black Men in White Coats at Duke and why staying connected to community is what reminds him who he is.
Full show notes coming soon!
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