If People Are Doubting How Far You Can Go, Go So Far That You Can't Hear Them Anymore

Zam
There's going to be negative people, there's going to be people that are going to try to discourage you. That will tell you it's too difficult. It's not a route for you, you're too. This, you're too that you're not enough of something to be what you want to be. And I would say, completely block all that out, block all all the noise out because you truly know what is meant for you in your destiny.

Brooke Smith
Welcome to MDF instruments crafting wellness Podcast. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Zahm. She's a med student, and we're just really excited to have her on the podcast. She's doing all kinds of incredible things, writing books, she has her own podcast, she has a plethora of knowledge to share. So we're really excited to have her

Zam
My name is Zamarud Aminy, but I go by Zam for short. Just to make it easy for everyone, I am a current medical students. I'm in my first year transitioning to my second year of medicine. And I'm in my MD program, the UA College of Medicine in Antigua, I'm originally from California, so Northern California, born and raised. I am a first generation Afghan American. So my family actually they were refugees that fled Afghanistan to come to America and just you know, provide a better life for their children. I'm very grateful to be here to have the opportunity to, you know, practice study medicine, and just really be an amazing physician one day that I hope to, you know, contribute to the community and to society as a whole.

Brooke Smith
I love it. When you said your parents fled from Afghanistan, at what age did they they leave you? I know you said you were born in California. And so how many brothers sisters do you have? And tell us a little bit about like your family and how old they were when they fled

Zam
My parents when they fled Afghanistan? This was about probably 30 plus years ago. So I was born and raised here in California, but I don't know the exact age. But I know that, you know, they were still young, and you know, under middle age, so so they were young, they fled Afghanistan. I know, when they fled. It was a very dangerous time. So this was right after the Russian invasion, when the Taliban regime had just come in to Afghanistan. And a lot of people, you know, they they were trying to flee, but there was no, there were no opportunities for them to actually get out of the country. So back then, before prior to war, it was a very difficult time for people to actually leave the country. And so I just remember stories of my mom telling me how they were literally on like Rubble, they were like she was on Rubble with, you know, her younger siblings, and they were they were babies still. And their faces were against Rubble on the floor, because they would hear, talk like the Taliban with their machine guns on trucks passing by them. So they had to like Smash themselves across the floor, just so they wouldn't be seen. And I remember she told me, she saw her father and he had tears running, you know, rolling down his eyes, it gets me a little emotional, because, you know, that was a time where they thought they might not be able to make it. So me being here is very, you know, an amazing opportunity. And I really thank my parents for that. And my mom and dad. My mom went back when she came here, she did go back to school for pharmacy, he she got her degree, she practice pharmacy, tech and years along the lines. And she did it all on her own 4.0 student like I'm very proud of her. And then my father, he's been the breadwinner, the provider for the family. Like without him, I would not be in medical school right now. He's been my support for that. And my brothers, so I have no sisters. I'm the only girl and I have a twin brother. And then I have two older brothers. And honestly, they're talking about them. You guys can probably tell I'm just like smiling, going because they really are my world. My family is my backbone. And my brothers, all three of them. They have been such a support. For me being in medical school. I mean, for a lot of you guys, for those who are in medical school or who wants to pursue any type of medicine or even healthcare. When you're away from your family. It gets very difficult at times and you really need like that supports to be like, Hey, you got this. You're doing amazing. We're proud of you keep going with me an amazing doctor. So that's been like the main thing that really keeps me going more to because all of them are just like if you need anything, we're here for you. So you know my three brothers they want and daughter. They're all master's degree graduates and up there in their careers. My oldest brother has his family and my my little five year old niece which is my world so they're doing Amazing for themselves. And I'm truly proud of them. So I'm trying to now you know, for me, they're my role models, all of them are my role models, so I need to live up to what there is.

Brooke Smith
But it sounds like you're doing a great job. I know we're gonna get into all the awesome stuff you're involved in. But I have to ask because you are a twin. Are you the baby? Are you born after or reversed?

Zam
My brother, he was born 11 minutes before me. So I'm the baby.

Brooke Smith
I can relate because I'm the only girl in my family too in the middle. I have two brothers and but I'm the only girl so there's some benefit?

Zam
Yes, exactly. You get a little bit of special, a little bit of extra love. And you're the only girl.

Brooke Smith
Yes, I can relate to that I would love to hear about why you chose medicine. How this kind of came to be for you.

Zam
When you write a personal statement for medical school that one of the interview questions they ask you is why medicine? And they I remember, I would always be told don't say because I want to help people because that's such a cliche statement, they would always like I would read everywhere. Before I did my research, what should I say what I shouldn't say. And you know, just to have an idea of how to walk into a medical school interview. And I remember they would always say don't say the usual statement, I want to help people, but the truth is, intrinsically, that's why I chose medicine. Because, for me, I feel like growing up, I was always and maybe it has to do with being first gen Afghan American and seeing my parents really, they they sacrificed everything for their children. So for me, it's, it's more like, Okay, I want to one day, take care of them and give back to them. And everyone you know, they get older with time, and I want to be able to take care of them physically, not just you know, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, but I want to one day provide to them. And that's one of the reasons but the other reason was just medicine, I feel like was my calling. When I was a child, my mom told me that I would always say like, I want to be a doctor, I want to be, sir. So I guess since then it just really stuck with me. I was fascinated and I really respect like the healthcare field. Doctors in general, I we had an amazing pediatrician growing up, and my mom, she has rheumatoid arthritis. So she's had it since age 33. So for her like seeing her being monitored almost every appointment, seeing her talk to a rheumatologist and kind of what they could have done versus what they did provide her, I feel like there would have there could have been a lot more preventative measures with her ra if the physician was just a little bit more keen on how to prevent her Ra from progressing. So I feel like that was a big part of why I wanted to do it too, because we need more people in healthcare that genuinely like care about their patients.

Brooke Smith
Yes, I can tell you as someone who has parents who have a lot of health problems, that the care that comes from a doctor or nurse or any health care provider, really that shows that care and that empathy and wants to help ease that suffering or ease that pain or help heal someone. It's not something that you can teach. It's not something that you can read about in a book and understand like, it's just, it's in you to want to just better the world and to better Pete the quality of life for people. And so I really admire, Ronnie and that's one of the reasons why I had to have you on the podcast because they can tell you're very empathetic, very giving very loving person and we do need more people like you out there. Helping people and saving people and just giving them hope that they don't have to live the way that they're living.

Zam
Thank you so much for your kind words. It's it's words like that, that motivate me to keep you know going and like because we all all have adversity obviously. And even in medical school, it's it's not easy any type of schooling for anyone their careers. Like it's all a journey. And for me, I get fueled by when I hear things like positive things. Some people get fueled by negativity, I get fueled by positivity, because it reminds me of what I'm doing right and what I need to continue to do. And I believe that we're all deserving of high quality care.

Brooke Smith
Yeah I couldn't agree more about the consistency thing. I think that's how we actually create real change. I think about that in my in my own life when I'm trying to create a change or habit or just make my life better. I start with really small steps and I say you know consistency is the key. That's how we change. That's how we get results. It's not about making massive leaps. It's about staying consistent, and then adding to that consistency with just a little bit more and a little bit more and if you can just improve yourself every day by one person. And then eventually, you know, you're just going to keep expediting that into a greater version of you.

Zam
Exactly. That's a well said, I love that.

Brooke Smith
I, I so I want to talk a little bit about how this process has been like for you, because I know that you're out of the country and medical school. So I kind of want to hear what what was this path, like from college, to applying to med school and why you chose where you chose and just kind of give us for everyone watching listening, who maybe wants to take a similar path? Why you chose it, and how that kind of worked for you?

Zam
Yes. So for me, my journey of medicine, I feel like, since it's a very demanding field, I feel like, first of this disclaimer, I don't want anyone to ever feel like my journey is, you know, their journey needs to be exactly like mine, or vice versa. I feel like when you're in the healthcare field, and as a pre med student, so for those pre meds out there, or for medical students out there, you're going to have a sense of imposter syndrome, they're going to feel like you're not worthy, you're going to feel like, oh, Am I smart enough? Am I not? That's very common, that's a normal feeling. It doesn't mean that it should, you should continue feeling like that. It's just something that you kind of overcome day by day, and you're like, you know what, I'm worthy, I'm here, I'm intelligent. I'm doing this for the right reasons. So for me, medicine has been a long journey, it took time for me to be where I'm at. And I can humbly and proudly say that because at one point, I think I was so into, like, oh my gosh, I need to when COVID hit it put a delay on my medical schooling. So I feel like at that point in time, I was so into, oh, I need to be in medical school, I need to be in medical school, I'm taking too long. Instead of really understanding that you know, what, maybe there was a blessing in disguise, I had time to study for my MCAT, I took my MCAT I got to receive the very good score that I wanted to receive the first time. And then from there, I applied to medical schools. And I applied to the first medical schools that I applied to I got accepted to. So I didn't apply to every single school because with with applications, there's only so many that you can apply to in terms of schooling, and then you have to, you know, make payments for every single month. So it's, it's a financial thing. So you have to pay for every school you apply to. So for me, it didn't make sense. Why should you pay for a bunch of schools you don't, you're not interested in attending. So I just really keen then where I want to apply to and then I applied and so one of my top choices was a UA College of Medicine, which I am currently at right now. And I did my research, I wanted to make sure everything was good accreditation, like, safety, wise location, everything along those lines, like their their actual borders, environment, and an actual curriculum, and everything aligned with what I wanted from a medical school. I am from California, obviously, I'm really far from California now, which has been a that was that's, I would say that's the most difficult part of being away of my medical school journey, I would say the most difficult is being away from my family. Because we were talking earlier it's I'm very family oriented. So me being away from my family was the first semester was probably one of the roughest and toughest things I've ever had to do in life. And not to mention, then you have to, you have a workload of studying, and then you're sad that you're away from your family. So it was a struggle, you know, trying to find that balance, but with time with meeting friends and, and keeping, you know, organized and focusing on what's important and just thank God for FaceTime and you know, technology. i It got better with time. But so now I'm in you know, medical school and, and it's been highly rewarding. Like it's definitely a difficult route in terms of, you're getting so much information. It's called information overload. In medical school, they say you the first I think it was orientation for us. The doctors stood up on stage and they were just like, welcome. Congratulations to you all being accepted to medical school, you know, you're all future physicians. And then he said, you're going to be having a ton of information coming at you as if it's a like a huge amount of water coming down a firehose. So basically, we're in taking all that. And you know what, he's absolutely right. It's so much information at one time, but the information is very, I loved biology, so body anatomy, physiology, chemistry, I didn't like ever. I never liked chemistry, but biology always I love that it's very fascinating and learning about anatomy. It really sticks with you and I Enjoy that. So if you do get to actually enjoy what you're learning, I feel like that's the best part of medicine, you get to actually learn about how your body works. And it's so fascinating to learn that.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, I know. And it's I feel like, you know, I took human anatomy and physiology in college. And because I studied psychology, but I studied a lot of the brain. And I just remember thinking, wow, this is this is really something, the more I learned, the more there is to learn. The more, the more I zoom in, the more there is to zoom in on those boxes you open, there's another box inside, and then there's another box inside that and you're like, how small can this get, but it gets very, very small. So since we're on the subject, I'd love to just ask out the gate, just Do you have tips and tricks for how you memorize I know I saw a little bit on your note taking. She she has this on her Instagram on in her highlight reels, there are some really great tips and tricks section where you can click on and she shows you through how she takes her notes and how she is doing things like that very organized, do you find that being organized is is a key component to studying for med school.

Zam
Absolutely broke, I feel like staying organized remaining organized just truly helps me advance my level of studying. For me personally, like I have one of my books right here and I needed to show it to you guys. It has literally all the tabs freeze. This is one of the things that I have on my highlights. When you look for something specific, it's very easy to go in and find exactly what you're looking for. And labeling, like one of my study tips is labeling and tabbing my books, so your textbook, even if it's on notability on good reads on an iPad, just labeling and tapping exactly what that specific area is talking about in that textbook, it's just so much more easier because I tap with my and labeled my first aid book, which is a medical students Holy Grail, that book everything you need your step exams, they're based on that book. So I had labeled and tapped every single section before the semester started. That way if I need to if on my because last semester I was in my I just finished my neuro block. So neurology and behavioral science. And so the minute I needed to find something, I could just open it up to that specific tab that says neurology, and then I could read everything versus going through a bunch of pages. So that really helps me, I would say my organization level started becoming a lot more enhanced when I got into medical school before that, too. But I think I don't know, my mom's always been organized. But me when I was younger, I wasn't that organized, I feel like it just kind of as I started growing, I became more keen with it. But keeping my study space organized and clean. I'm one of those people. And some of you guys may be able to relate. But if there's too much clutter around me, my environment does make a difference as to how I study. So if I'm in a cluttered space, it's a little bit more difficult for me to focus in. And I always need to be in an environment where I have space. So I like to have my textbooks out my iPad out my desktop laptop out. And then I usually switch back and forth from my laptop to my iPad in my book when it comes to a specific block that we're learning. So another tip I give like I'd give you guys is definitely find your niche of studying because don't feel disheartened. If you get into medical school and your first semester you're like, oh my god, what am I doing? I don't know how to study. Because I remember my professors were telling my whole class that medical school is very, very different from your undergrad. So you're not going to be memorizing anymore. It's that's not how it works. You have to actually understand and conceptualize and see everything as a bigger picture. So don't get alarmed or discouraged if you feel like your study habits from your undergrad isn't matching with now in medicine or in medical school, because you'll you'll get a hang of it. It just takes a little bit of adjusting.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, you know, sometimes that brings up a really good point. Sometimes I actually learn more by trying to explain it to someone else. If I have a concept that I'm trying to understand. I tried to explain it to someone else. And if I can explain it to them, and they can understand it, then I know what I'm talking about.

Zam
Exactly. That's what my professors say to the doctors who say that's exactly what you need to do. And sometimes I won't have someone to say to when I'm at home studying and I said you know what, I'm just going to say to myself, find yourself talking to yourself, my friends, but it's okay.

Brooke Smith
So, okay, I have a couple questions. Time came about what I noticed in your tabs, are they color coordinated? as well? Yes.

Zam
So for them, so this specific book, I think I didn't have enough tabs. So this one, I wasn't able to color coordinate my USMLE first aid book, it's color coordinated.

Brooke Smith
Awesome. And then have you, I don't know exactly how this works. But do you decide on a specialty now? Or does that come later.

Zam
So for specialty, some people actually, before they even got into medical school, they already have a specialty in mind. And then there's some students that go into their medical journey. And, you know, probably two, three years in, they won't even know until they're actually in their rotations what specialty they want to take. So for me, I'm currently focused on family medicine. But if I were to take a specialty, it would be dermatology. Because I'm fascinated with the skin and things like that. But even family medicine, I mean, I love it, it's well rounded. It's diverse. So I am, it's either or that I guess I'll know more once I'm in my rotations and my drum rotations, probably. And then I'll understand if I want to pursue that. Yeah, awesome.

Brooke Smith
No, that's really, that's helpful. Because I was wondering how that work. If you could go back and tell your younger self, something you wish you knew, then or just any kind of thing, you could tell your younger version of you, what what would it be,

Zam
I would tell myself to keep doing what I'm doing. And if that makes you happy, then continuing to strive on what makes you happy. And by that, I mean, there's going to be negative people, there's going to be people that are going to try to discourage you, that will tell you, it's too difficult, it's not a route for you, you're too this, you're too that you're not enough of something to be what you want to be. And I would say, completely block all that out, block all all the noise out, because you truly know, what is meant for you and your destiny. So I feel like nowadays, we have a lot of negativity. And although I was surrounded by my family that have been highly supportive, of course, from outside noise, you will still hear here and they're like, Oh, it doesn't really you know, I don't know if she'll become a doctor, I don't know if she, if medicine is for her, Oh, she, you know, is too fashionable, oh, she likes to dress instead, she should do fashion. Like, you'll hear some weird things. And the truth is that has nothing to do with what you have in mind to do for your future and your goal. So I would say block out the noise, remain positive. And believe in yourself, have faith in what you want to do. And that's the biggest motivator, if you have belief in yourself and faith that you can do it, nothing else matters.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, and nothing will stop you. If you believe you can do it, you can do it. And don't ever let anyone tell you, you can't. And it's interesting that you bring that up exam because you know, we work together and we posted a picture of you, I believe it was on our website or in an email and you were wearing our oscilloscope and we tagged your handle and everything. And we got someone called customer service. I was like, why don't you use real doctors and real people who are actually doing it not just models, because you're so beautiful. actually becoming a doctor, they thought that you were just like modeling with a stethoscope. And you know, we we kindly corrected them and just trying to remind them, you know, let's not judge people by what they look like. And, you know, we don't need to buy into stereotypes of what a doctor should look like, or what should a doctor should dress like or wear this and that. I mean, you would it would be would be so interesting to hear, like, everybody has their own opinion. And, you know, they'll say things like, oh, you know, health care professionals shouldn't have their hair down, or this or that. And, you know, I think we just need to let go of all that judgment and let people be who they are and understand that we don't have to fit inside a box. This isn't 1920 You know, we can we can be radically youthful and we can have our own style and our own uniqueness and still be smart and still be doctors and still help people. Just because we wear high heels doesn't mean we can't do it.

Zam
Exactly. And I know there was a huge movement going on with the whole women in medicine and you know, sharing their outside normal lives on their social platforms in terms of wearing a bathing suit, or you know, they weren't supposed to wear certain employers will tell them okay, you can't post that it's not professional enough.

Brooke Smith
Women can be you know, they can be stylish, and they can wear high heels and they can be beautiful and they can be doctors, we don't all have to fit into some box that says this is what a doctor should look like. And this is what a nurse should look like.

Zam
My friends. I put my hair up not because of what we were talking about right now, but it's a little bit warm in here. So but in terms of, you know what we were talking about and in regards to fitting a box and being a woman and men Listen, I feel like it's already hard enough for a woman being in medicine. I mean, when you look at history, predominantly, it was men that were in medicine, they were the physicians, they were the doctors. And it's a bit discouraging to still sometimes see that even women will put down other women that are in medicine. And we're in the healthcare field altogether. We're trying to be a better person, a better individual, every single day. And, you know, there is no specific looking the part in regards to being the best doctor you could be, or the best healthcare professional you could be. And I know growing up, I feel like I've always been a little bit. I always loved fashion, I'm a little bit of a fashionista. I'd like matching things. I mean, I wasn't, I wouldn't heels every day. But I was, I always liked you know, having my nails done or having my hair. Whether it was up usually my hair is up to be honest. But when it is it still looks, you know presentable. And it's put in a certain way or my stethoscopes matching my clothes, you know, so that doesn't make me any less of a better future doctor than someone who doesn't do that stuff. And I think growing up I would hear here and there not, not necessarily directly to me, but I feel like it was more of a stigma, like, oh, well, she's too cute to be, you know, not just for me, I'm speaking for other women as well. I have friends that have colleagues that have told me the same thing, that they would receive doubt just because they were a little bit more stylish, or they or they liked something completely different from medicine, or they liked arts, or they engaged in, like outside extracurricular activities that had nothing to do with medicine, or they like shopping or like, you know, things like that. And I've even seen like women in medicine, telling other women like, Oh, she's probably not the smartest one, the brightest one because she was too busy putting on her lipstick, or too busy doing. I mean, it's really shocking to see those things because and hear those things because I want to make change the van. And I'll be honest with you guys, it's not every day that I'll get glitz and glam. Of course when I'm in school, I have no problem having my hair or being in sweatpants being in yoga pants, no makeup on, you have to be confident and comfortable in your skin regardless of who you are, whether you're in healthcare or not. But there's nothing wrong also with presentation and growing up for me it wasn't about putting on something on your face or your skin to make yourself feel better, or for you to look better in other people's eyes. For me, I grew up learning that this is about presentation, you want to be presentable. Because you could meet an employer at a at a local coffee shop you can meet you can walk into a hospital that may be the hospital of your choice one day to work in. And so for me it's always about presentation is key terms of someone seeing me and saying okay, she didn't look like she will that event today. And that's very important you guys for your medical journey to because in our ICM courses, which is it's called clinical skills lab, and it's basically you are the doctor in that room, we have a simulated patient. Sometimes they're real patients, but some of them are usually as of now we have simulated patients where they come in with a made up diagnosis or certain false diagnosis just so we could kind of practice our skills as a future doctor and we're groomed we're in our white coat our hair Yes, it does need to be up when I'm seeing a patient it's never down. There are certain criteria that an ICM and clinical skills lab you guys will see that they do need you to be even our nails. They're like you can't have it long. It needs to be subtle. It needs to be well groomed cap, they don't want chipped nails, and it's all about presentation. Men have to wear specific socks, their tie their white coats their stethoscope, and your hair must be groomed. It must be nice pulled back. So it's funny when I hear about things and see, you know, oh, she shouldn't look like that. Or oh, she's a mod you know what? Maybe she could be a model and a doctor, what's wrong with that? So it's interesting you say that broke because I I noticed that too. I feel like not directly but I feel like growing up there was always a little bit of subconsciously there like I could sense that some people might doubt me just because I may not look the part which I don't know how you're supposed to look, there is no specific look, we're all we're all diverse beings and to be honest, me be being interested, for example, in arts or in writing or a novel writing or things like that has nothing to do with me being less of a doctor or a future doctor one day. So I really am very passionate about that because I believe that all women should be accepted and we need more diversity in medicine and all kinds of women not just the one that looks the part you know, because we're all tired. On to individuals that are intelligent, you made it to medical school, you made it to your field, that's your smart and it's all just for getting there.

Brooke Smith
I think, you know, there is a lot of people who want to just like I said earlier puts you in a box, but we are multifaceted people, we have multiple ideas, talents, we have many things that make us tick, and many interest in hobbies and things can be be unexpected, you know, kind of talking bring you back earlier about growing up with brothers, you know, there's an interest that I have that people go that's, that's weird, I didn't see that coming, you know, but it's, it's best because you're making a judgment based on how someone looks. And that's never a good thing, we shouldn't be leading with such judgment on stereotypes and what people should and shouldn't look like, based on what they are becoming or what they are. I couldn't agree more with you about that. But I know that it has to be tough, because I know that there is I mean, just in life in general, I don't know, I feel like double standards a lot of the time. I mean, I live in Los Angeles, and I have both a male and a female doctor that I see. And the female doctor is always kind of what you're talking about, she's well groomed, she was clean looking, you know, she looks like she didn't just roll out of bed, she took time to make sure she's presentable, professional, etc. But the male doctor that I see looks like he hasn't washed his white coat in probably three months, you know, some looks like maybe he's moved, you know, maybe consider some health advice on being healthier himself. And so we're all just people, right, we're all just people trying to do the best we can get by and just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you're going to be organized. And it doesn't mean you're gonna be the cleanest. But it doesn't mean you can't be either. It doesn't mean you can, can be stylish or don't have to be stylish. So we're all just, you know, experiencing life as we go through it. And you never know what people are going through. But we talk a little bit about in the workplace, you know, just the bullying aspects that can happen. And so I would definitely love to have you on later as you get more into things and see what your experience is like as a woman, because I do think it's really important to tell that story, to talk about what these experiences are like, and how they differ from from male versus female, and also just what we can do to improve that, because the stigma of the stereotype and just the bullying aspect that goes on, I mean, just from our side, I've seen it not just with you, when I picture, you know, but in the past, when we've done things, you know, we have other nurses or other doctors coming forward and saying, hey, you know, we don't actually look like that, or we don't do that. And, you know, they get mad. And it's just really something we have to change, but can't change it, if we don't talk about it. And if we're afraid to talk about it, then we're definitely not going to have any change. So we just need to stop being so judgmental. And yes, it's to say, don't say anything else that's in my mom taught me.

Zam
That is what my mom taught me too. I love that you mentioned that if you have nothing good to say don't say anything at all. That's what I live by, I will never say anything. If it involves, if I don't like something, it's I'll keep it to myself, I don't need to say it out loud, and ruin someone else's mood or day. But if I do see something I like I always I'm one of those people I encourage other people, and I'm very humbly grateful for in medical school is that medical school humbles you. And I've always been my parents have instilled in me to be humbled no matter what you have, whether you have the most or the least. But medical school also humbles you. Because you sometimes feel like with the amount of things and knowledge you're gaining, you're like, wow, I didn't know this before, was, you know, like, I don't, I didn't know this before. Now I'm learning it. And now, you know, it just humbles you in that sense. And for me, I've become a lot more just open and accepting, because that's what I My goal is I want to every day become better and more open and understanding. I really hope that if anyone can take away anything from this episode, it's to learn to keep an open mind for your future patients and the people you work with. And for your colleagues and for yourself. That's like one thing that you'll learn, you'll become so strong. And that's the best part of it, you'll learn that you know what, you're amazing in your own way. You're intelligent in your own way. So that's what I actually tell it to some of my friends here. They're like, I have one friend, colleague, and she'll just say, you know, if she doesn't get the score, she doesn't want to on an exam. She'll say, and you know, she'll she'll do great, but it's not as great as she'd like. That's how it is for a lot of medical students like we just want to be overachievers it's not even about passing. You want to be an overachiever because of the environment you're in. So if she received a score, I'd be like, That's great. And she'd say, No, I feel so dumb compared to other people or compared to your classmates, and I would look at her and I've told her, you're not done, you got accepted to medical school, you're this far, you have passion for what you do. You're intelligent. So don't ever look at other people and say, Oh, I must be, you know, I'm so dumb. You're not You're very smart, you're highly intelligent. And, and that's what matters if you believe in yourself. So I feel like that that's my biggest takeaway, too.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, I feel like I'm really full of quotes right now. But it just Comparison is the thief of joy. In Paracels, to other people, you know, we don't know what they're going through, we don't know, you know, they could have, they could have taken the MCAT four times and not passed, you just don't know what people's journey journeys are like. And so it's not fair to compare. And Comparison is the thief of joy. I always say like, keep your eyes on your own paper, and just focus on yourself. And, and the only competition you have is, is who you were yesterday. And, you know, so I always try to say like, I'm just gonna try to be better than who then yesterday, and that's my competition as myself.

Zam
We're aligned, we're on the brook, you and I are on the same wavelength. That's everything you say, is exactly what I try to live by. So it's so funny, you mentioned that because absolutely competing, like you said, compete with yourself, you're the best version of yourself. And this is like, a learning experience each and every day. I could like safely say that. I've been I mean, even before medical school, I feel like I was already mentally prepared. I'm very grateful for that. I knew what I was getting into. I knew it's a journey. I know that. It's not easy. You know, some people might come in and say, Oh, my gosh, this is so hard. It's so different. Yes, it is. That's why not everyone does it. Because each journey is very different. Each learning experience is different. But you just grow as you learn. You have to you have to be okay with learning. And, you know, if I had any ounce of stubbornness, it's all gone. You can criticism very well in, in medicine and medical school, that's one thing you'll learn to.

Brooke Smith
Yep. And that's how you learn is that you know, you need people to tell you, you're doing something wrong, or you could you could do something better, or that were your weaknesses, because we can't always see our own weakness, you know. And so sometimes it just takes another person to say, Hey, that's not the way we do this, that actually, this is a better way. And you don't know what you don't know. Right? So we're always learning growing, even when you're a doctor for 3545 years, there's probably going to still be things that you learn well as you go. So we're all just trying to learn and grow, like you say, but kind of wanted to segue into when we were talking about women in medicine and of the complications of that and challenges that can come with that. I know that you're involved in a nonprofit, community outreach, a NWA, which stands for American medical Women's Association, and you're an ambassador. Right? Do you want to talk a little bit about what that is, what a NWA is and how you got involved and what exactly you're doing there?

Zam
Yes, so one of the organizations that I'm involved in is called an MMA and it's called American medical Women's Association. There is a national and international level as well as branch levels at each medical school that has an AMA chapter. I'm also part of my school's Alma chapter, but mainly involved more so in the national and international level. I'm on the committee board for the pre medical division. And also, I'm a medical mentor. So I have two mentees right now that I'm in contact with just kind of guide them and help them with any pre medical journey or questions they have. So that's my role as their mentor. And an MA was founded years back by women physicians, and it's predominantly, it's just an organization that enables women empowerment, and women in medicine. So they really focus on diversity in medicine in terms of women, so women diversity in medicine, and just helping each other connect and just gain resources and access to resources that some women or young girls that want to pursue medicine don't have access to. So right now, I'm actually going to be giving a I have a zoom conference going on in a week with three high schools. So three specific high schools in different states that I'll be talking about. My specific topic is on mental health in medicine. And so another colleague of mine, she has like pre med journey tips. So mine primarily involves mental health and medicine because I decided to choose the topic of mental health because I feel like it's so crucial especially For those pre med students that are still in high school wanting to journey out into medical school, so when I have that I set up a PowerPoint presentation for them. And I'll be, you know, presenting to them. And I'll also be there kind of like their advisor to as well, because I'm one of the medical panelists. So as a medical student, they can ask me any question they have, and I'm more than happy to answer it. For them. I wrote a food insecurity blog post that is even published on their page. And it was about food insecurity, and women. And you know, I just learned so much about what food insecurity is and how we can bridge the gap between food insecurity and women. And so they have when you're an AMA, there's just so many articles, you can write, read, gain access to, and then also connect. So they we offer like MCAT, discounts to annual members and things such as that, that can really help women. And then we have, you know, medical conferences, annual ones. And it's just about combining and getting together like minded women in medicine, when I'm a part of the medical fraternity feeds delta epsilon, which is a part of my schools chapter. But also they have an international and national level where it's similar, you're connecting, but it's male and females, you're connecting like minded individuals who are pursuing to become a doctor, and just really enabling them to have access to resources that will aid us in the medical school process, as well as even you know, possibly residency spots, things like that, and just networking. So doing that has also been very rewarding and enjoyable.

Brooke Smith
That's awesome. I know you're you're so you've got so much going on. I do want to touch base a little bit on a book, because you did write a book and is available for you to purchase. Some Barnes and Noble, I'm sure other places as well. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired this book, what the book is about and where people can find it?

Zam
Well, the name of the book is called reaching the light of consistency. I have it right here, actually, this is the book. This is a specific one that my grandfather had actually before he passed, he wrote incited for me. So it's in, it's in Farsi, but it's very near and dear to my heart, because he was very, he was a principal of a school back in Afghanistan. So he read every single book, in the library in Afghanistan. So for him to read this and write and even say, it's an amazing piece, he wrote very metaphorical things like it's so near and dear to my heart, I'm so happy to have it. So that's the book itself is called reaching the light of consistency. And I wrote it when I was 19 years old, but I wasn't writing in terms of publishing it. I just wrote, because writing was an outlet for me. And I always enjoyed like poetry, I enjoyed writing. And so I was learning at that time I was taking, I was fascinated with psychology. So I actually studied psychology and human development, as well. I went to UC Davis and one of the majors was psychology that I studied. And so in the book, you see, you read a lot about law of attraction manifestation, living in a state of equilibrium, while still maintaining your self identity and being remaining consistent. And I think that's why I've discussed we've talked about consistency and being yourself a lot in this episode, because my book was a lot about being an Afghan American, young woman while still trying to live my Western life and accepting myself. Because at that age, I was in a predicament of who am I? What is my purpose in life? And I feel like a lot of us in adolescence, we question our identity, we ask ourselves, What is my purpose in life? And that was me. I was kind of like, you know, all I guess you could say a little bit of a funk. I was wondering, what's my journey? What's my purpose? What is my calling here? And so I turned to writing in years along the line when I was when I obtained my Bachelor's at Davis, I met an author, which happened he read my manuscript, and he was like, you know, what you should get this publisher can help other people, especially people who come from a different background, you know, because they can relate to it more. So being first gen, not just Afghan American, but any type of ethnic group. And so I published it and then went through the editing process with the company published it, and now it's sells on Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon. They've had people telling me like, oh, I read it in one sitting because I kept it's a page turner. So it's great for those who don't enjoy your reading or don't have time reading or also or even for the book lovers, or someone that just loves the mind or someone that can relate and comes from a different background, or someone who doesn't know about Afghans. too much. And they want to know about the mind of anatomy and grow and how it works. So it's about living a state of equilibrium and living in a balanced, consistent lifestyle. Because in order to reach that equilibrium and go through the self, process of you know, self actualization, you need to remain consistent with yourself and with your beliefs and with who you are. So that's primarily what the book is about.

Brooke Smith
I think balance is something that you can definitely bring into, I mean, all of it consistency, balance, positivity, power of thoughts, staying in the moment, all of those things, I think, can contribute and help you through your journey now, but also something that's great for life, no matter what you're doing with your life to keep in mind, because we can get so caught up and all the things that we have to do that we can get lost. And the things that keep us grounded in help us come back to zero to keep our mental health and our physical health and our emotional health, at balance so that we can be there for other people. Because if we don't have that consistency in our own life and our daily life, if we can't find that, then we can't really help other people as much as we would be able to if we could just balance ourselves. So I know, a family's really important, obviously, you love to write, um, you're really passionate about helping people and, obviously, medicine. We talked a little bit about fashion. Do you have any other hobbies or interests that we didn't touch base on that you'd like to tell us a little bit about what you do for fun? Or what you enjoy doing? Is there a Do you like to cook or I mean, I love to eat so.

Zam
So for me, actually, it's funny, I'm not I'm not a huge fan of cooking too much. I do know how to cook. I make Afghan dishes. So which is great, you know, my parents amazing cooks, I wish you could have their food, maybe one day, Brooke, one day you'll have to, I mean, I'm originally from California, so Well, it's but they make amazing food I cook well, I would say cook well, but not as well as my parents like hands down. So I do cook, but I don't know why I just don't really enjoy cooking. For me. It's so funny. I enjoy I take more pleasure in cleaning and organizing. And this was not always me. I feel like when I moved out on my own for school, I feel like that's when I had more I had to you know, have more accountability for myself. And I decided like, okay, cleaning and stuff has been therapeutic for me. So I love keeping like organized clean. And I love aesthetic things. So if it looks pleasant to the eye, I will gravitate to it even my notes, my everything. I mean, in class, my notes look like a hot mess. I mean, it's it's horrible. But when I go back when I if I can take my time, I try to make it a little bit nicer. Because personally, I can grasp the information and material better that way. But for my hobbies, I really I mean, my number one hobby is honestly like hanging out spending time with my parents and brothers and my sister in law, my niece, my niece is always good to me whenever she's with me whenever they visit, but I love it. I love quality time with my mom is like shopping, going having lunch together, dinner together, going to the movies with my family. That's my like main hobbies. And then my other one was yeah, like writing here and there. But lately, I don't have as much time to write, I first made my Instagram page and my social platform. It wasn't for any purpose. It was just like a personal page. And then I started noticing I was like, well let me just journey and blog, my medical journey. Maybe it will like I saw some cool, awesome, amazing pages out there. I was like, This is so inspiring. Let me start doing it. So I started doing that. And then it just took off. And I got to network and meet amazing people, amazing companies and brands that genuinely align with my values in their products. I purchased myself, so it's not like I would be talking about something I don't like when I talk about these amazing stethoscopes. It's because I genuinely love that. So I always some people will ask me and I say no, no, I will not. I will not vote for something I don't personally use myself. And so like social media has been actually even some of the sponsor ships and everything, even though they have deadlines. And sometimes it can get a little bit stressful in terms of balancing school deadlines, you know, social media and things. It's also my hobby, and I'm so happy that I had something actually enjoy because it's kind of my outlet. So if you see me on social media a little bit it's because that's kind of my outlet when I'm like away from studies.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, and you know, it's really inspiring because, you know, people can watch what you're going through. You share a lot of great knowledge on their tips and tricks and study habits and also just like day in the life stuff of what you're going through. It's really inspiring to see. And I think you can tell when a social media account is there for another reason. And yours is definitely very positive, you can tell that you're there because you're you love doing what you do. And you just want to share your life and you want to share what you're going through in your journey and your knowledge. So we really appreciate you. And would you mind now that we're on the subject, can you for everyone who's listening and watching, can you tell everyone your social media handles, and then also just spell it out so that anyone listening can hear how to spell it?

Zam
Yes, so you guys can find me my instagram handle is med @medzam_ so it's m eDZ A M underscore, they have my podcast channel too. It's called enlighten your mind. So it's enlighten you know, en li gh t n and then your y o u r and then their spaces in between and then mine the mi n d. But you'll find that also on my in my bio on my Instagram page I want to really connect like mind and body medicine I I believe if you're mentally healthy and happy and emotionally well that will impact and influence your body greatly. And I really want to bridge that gap between mind body medicine one day.

Brooke Smith
Yes. And if your mind is right, then that only makes you want to take care of your body more if that makes sense. When I'm having a bad day, I'm going for the bad thing so I'm like I need a Pepsi and like decisions with my life. But when I mentally doing well it's like oh maybe I'll have like a green juice today and you know go an extra mile on my walk or whatever it is, you know so Exactly. Everybody definitely connected your mind tells you to do things sometimes that you maybe shouldn't be doing when you're on the Sam I have to ask, what are your needs for a stethoscope?

Zam
Yes I have about four MDF instruments stethoscope so far but my by far my two favorites are okay, I have to show it to you guys too. It's the pro cardio, titanium stethoscopes. It's the white glitter and the pink glitter. And I have to say these are beautiful stethoscopes. Not only are they aesthetically, like you know, appealing, but the quality of these. I feel like when it comes to a stethoscope, you want to go for something that has amazing sound quality. So the pro cardiol stethoscopes and the fact that it's titanium, I feel like it's just a lot more sturdy. With the MDF instruments stethoscopes, I've tried Lippman before. And to be honest, I've never tried any other one. And once I went to MDF, I really didn't go back to any other one. I feel like as a future even when I become the doctor, I'm just going to stick with my MDF instruments because these stethoscopes they're very durable. And then like I said, the pro cardio one, I just feel like the sound quality. When I'm listening to like one of our simulated patients, their heartbeats and stuff, like it's just so much more amplified than a regular stethoscope or like one that I've actually purchased off of amazon before and it was, you know, no brand and specific. But I genuinely really look for those two in stethoscope, so like quality, sound quality, and then durability. And what a start when it's stylish as well. I mean, you can't go wrong.

Brooke Smith
Because back to what we're talking about, right? Like how you can be all the things you don't have a boring stethoscope, you know, you can you can have a little pizzazz, a little personality and also still work well and how high quality so I mean, that's kind of what we were talking about earlier, but we strive for that as well. Zam thank you so much for joining our crafting wellness podcast. It's been such a pleasure having you on we're going to have to have updates in the future as you go through medical school but we're so proud of you. Keep going and we're really looking forward to hearing back more how the house going in the future.

Zam
Thank you so much for having me, Brooke and thank you to all of you guys for tuning in to this episode. I'm so humbled and happy to be here and I hope to network with you guys again soon and just you know reach for the stars.