MDF INSTRUMENTS PODCAST

TRANSCRIPT:
Dr. Katherine Marina
We have curated the foundation together. And it's called Tapitas Xquimio in Spanish, which translates to bottle caps for chemotherapies. And what we basically do through our foundation is recycle bottle caps, plastic ones that you would get like on soda bottles, the plastic soda bottles. We take those plastic bottle tops, and we sell them to recycling companies. And the money that we get for those plastic bottle caps we give them to other foundations, such as St. Jude's so that they can provide housing food education, chemotherapies, radiation diagnosis for all of these children that are part of their foundation. So we don't necessarily directly treat the children but we do offer the economic means for kids to get help in any way that they need it.

Brooke Smith
Hi, everyone, welcome to MDF instruments Crafting Wellness Podcast. Today, I'm really excited to introduce you to Kat. She is a doctor and she's doing some incredible things in the world.

Dr. Katherine Marina
My name is Katherine Kendall Ariel. I'm officially a doctor. I graduated in June of last year from a medical school in the Caribbean, specifically Dominican Republic. I'm American. But I was raised in Dominican Republic from the age of 14. I did medical school there, and now I'm currently in Florida just doing some rotations at hospitals to add stuff to my CV before match.

Brooke Smith
I know I was reading on your social about how when you graduated from preschool, you dressed up as a doctor. And so at a young age you knew you wanted to be a doctor but I'm gonna let you tell the story.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah, so actually, my dad wanted me to be a doctor. And he was super insistent about that my entire life. He I won't say he never gave me room to choose any other option but he was very insistent about me being a doctor and I guess it just stuck with me. I ended up going to medical school. I actually originally wanted to be like a Broadway singer. That's like, I love Broadway. So I was 18. And you could actually hear me, my school is very small. It's only like five, a five floor building. So you could actually literally hear me singing the entire day singing my heart out in the entire building. But once I got through, like the second semester, I was like, I love this so much. And I ended up graduating I finished medical school. My love for medicine was not like something that I was born with it my parents were like, you have to be a doctor. They were Tiger parents. But I actually ended up really falling in love with the career. And I honestly, I'm so glad I did not become a Broadway singer. I think I made the best decision by just finishing medical school and becoming a doctor. Definitely.

Brooke Smith
I love that so much. Is there a reason why your parents had such an affinity for medicine? Or was it just like we want, you know to be really successful and go save lives? And you have a good career and make money and all that or what do you think that that was for them to want to draw you into it?

Dr. Katherine Marina
It was just that they just wanted like children that were very successful. So for example, I'm the Doctor of my family and my little sisters in law school. My older brother's an architect and my other older brother's a software engineer. So my dad is like he curated each career. He's just yeah, i There's no words. He just specifically knew exactly what he wanted each one of us to be. And it worked out perfectly.

Brooke Smith
Now he has a lawyer if he ever gets in trouble. Yeah. He has an architect to build his house. I mean, he's all set.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah, exactly. He curated the perfect team.

Brooke Smith
Smart man. Okay, I want to talk a little bit about your journey in to medicine. So where did you go to college? What did you major in? Can you talk a little bit about what that journey is like for you just the process of becoming a doctor because I know that people who are listening might be at more of the going into med school or starting to apply to med school. So if you have any kind of insight about what your journey looks like.

Dr. Katherine Marina
I am an International Medical Graduate and my road through med school looks very different than those than that of a traditional person in the US. So I did not do an undergrad, I graduated high school on Tuesday, and on Thursday, I was in medical school. 18 years old, and I did a six year program at a very specific university that gave the entire career in English, we used a American based curriculum. So I was really prepared to come to the United States and practice medicine here. But my pathway was not the traditional one, I went to medical school at 18, graduated at 26. Actually 25 and 26. Now. So it was it was very weird. And it's very strange for people, when they see me, I get consistently a sked if I am a PA, or if I'm a nurse, just because I am very, very young. I'm absolutely sure that other international medical graduates can relate to this because the pathway in other countries in like, such as in the Caribbean, is very similar as well, you go to medical school very early, you don't do undergrad, I don't take we never, we never took MCAT, we just straight out of high school into medical school. I did a six year program. And then I graduated, I did get held back a little bit because of the COVID situation, everyone was pushed back a couple of months. So if not, I would have graduated at 24 instead of 25. But nonetheless, my pathway was not a traditional one, it it was very, very different. And it's not easy to digest for a lot of people. I've met a lot of surgeons here that actually think that the pathway that international medical graduates take is not necessarily one that prepares you enough because you don't do the undergrad and you don't take an extra four to five years to do all these extra things. But in DR, whoever you are, you're going to be good. If you want to be good. It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing. So regardless if I'm super young, and I don't have the traditional pathway of undergrad and the MCAT I feel like if you're going to be a good doctor, you'll do it anyway. Really interesting though, because I know when we talk to nurses and stuff, there's so many different avenues and pathways that people can take and specially get to and they always keep going with their career or go completely different. And with doctors you don't really hear that much. But it's so interesting, because really, as I speak to more and more doctors there are there's a lot of entrepreneurships, there's a lot of thinking outside the box. A path to becoming a doctor that's not traditional. You don't have to just follow one way. And that's how you know, and I think what you're you've done is really smart, you're done a lot faster, you know, at because I was thinking that I was like wow, she's really young to be a doctor, That's cool. You also live your own challenges, though, I'm sure even if you had gone, the more traditional route, I just think are younger and even first starting out kind of, you know, getting your feet wet and it also being a female, I think there's always going to be that kind of questioning of 'are you actually a doctor?', 'Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?'

Brooke Smith
You're breaking stereotypes and I think that's awesome because, you know, I've had my I've had to break my own stereotypes of people in my own life of people debating me or do something with the way I look or whatever it is. And I love that you're embracing it and saying, Listen, I can, I can still be extremely intelligent and an amazing doctor write with a glitter pen, and wear bows. You don't have to be this very sterile, you know, thing that everybody thinks of when they think of a doctor to be taken seriously.

Dr. Katherine Marina
You want your patients to see that you're human. We're as doctors, we're not immune to everything.

Brooke Smith
Can you talk a little bit about this special you're getting into and what that process is like, now that you obviously graduated? Last year, I think June 2022, if I'm right around that time. Can you talk a little bit about from graduation from being an international medical graduate an IMG, right, what, from that moment of graduation to where you are now I want to talk a little bit about what that was like. And if you had any challenges, because you were an img or if anything came out. And then also talk about the specialty and where you are with that and how that works.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Prior to graduation, I would say about four months prior, I started to scramble, because I graduated in a really awkward time. I didn't have enough time to apply to the actual match cycle of that year, because I didn't have all of my tests taken. And I didn't have all of my credentials at hand. So I didn't have enough time to apply to that specific match cycle. So I was scrambling and thinking, Oh, my gosh, what am I going to do for a year. So I started to send emails out to a bunch of research programs. And I started to just kind of look into other opportunities, things that I can do just to not spend a year sitting at home and not do anything. And this is like, I believe the biggest tip that no one ever wants to listen to me about. But people are because medicine is so rigid. People tend to be shy about approaching doctors, specifically really successful ones at successful institutions. And I have never been shy. First day. So after months and months and months of emailing people, I got fed up with doing that. And I started to DM people on Twitter, which sounds insane and very stalkerish. And it is, and I am aware of that. But it worked. I ended up getting a research position at Yale University in the cardiac surgical unit, out of that one DM that I sent. So that's a pro tip for people do not be shy, the worst thing that's going to happen is that people are going to say no, or they're just not going to answer back. And then you move on with your life. So I did that for about nine months, I did research and then now I'm just doing rotations. And I got those rotations by sending emails as well. And then after that, my rotations aren't until June. And after June, I just go back home to Dominican Republic and wait for applications and cross my fingers and all my toes and pray that I actually match.

Brooke Smith
I'm kind of learning along here a little bit each day, but they can't match day as it like match. Yeah. So have you done? Or are you still in the process of of doing those applications.

Dr. Katherine Marina
So the applications open September of every year, so you have to wait until September in order to apply. And you apply in September, and from September all the way until I would say February you get offered interviews from specific programs that look at your profile, and think that you would be a good match. And then after you have done your interviews and a program has selected you and you some have submitted like kind of it's called a rank list, where you kind of rank your hospitals from one to 10 that you would like to match at or like Go Do Your specialty at after you've submitted that you wait until March. And coincidentally, the next match week, two days. So they tell you on Monday if you've matched or not. And then they tell you on a Friday where you matched and coincidentally my birthday will be on Wednesday of that week. So it can be either the best or the worst birthday of my life. We're hoping the best but you know that's kind of how the process goes. And it's the same for For every specialty, I specifically want to get into cardiothoracic surgery. So we have two pathways now before it was just the traditional one of doing general surgery and then doing the fellowship to do cardiothoracic. But now we have these I six programs, which means integrated programs, where you actually just go straight into cardiothoracic surgery. They're very competitive. There are not a lot of programs, they accept one or two candidates every single year. It's very, very hard. But I will also be applying to those as well. You gotta shoot your shot. You never know.

Brooke Smith
I think that's some of the best advice I've ever received was, you know, if you if you already have a no there is no harm in trying, because you already have no. You never know unless you try. It's I always say that you never know unless you try. Because sometimes wild things happen, and they can't happen if you don't actually try. So people sometimes hold themselves back to their own fear of well, I'm probably I don't want to embarrass myself, I don't want to get a no and I don't want to get rejected. I'm, I'm scared that you really have to push past that, because you already haven't know, if you.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We've spoken about, I have a foundation. And we've spoken about my foundation. And that was something that I got a lot of pushback for as well. And I was consistently told no in the beginning, and I still did it anyways, and thank God and the heavens and the universe and all the chakras and everything aligned. And it's worked out. So it's just another testament of you never know until you try.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, and I thank you for segwaying into that, because that was going to be my next topic. I do want to talk about this charity and this organization, what it is, and we'd love for you to just tell us the name of it, tell us what you're doing, how it came to be, where you got the idea from all of that. So can you give us a little rundow.

Dr. Katherine Marina
I foundation is in the Dominican Republic, I do want to note that it's not only mine, it is mine and one of my dearest friends of my entire life. Her name is Leah. We have curated the foundation together. And it's called therapy that's called key meal in Spanish, which translates to bottle caps for chemotherapies. And what we basically do through our foundation is recycle bottle caps, plastic ones that you would get like on. So bottles, the plastic soda bottles, we take those plastic bottle tops, and we sell them to recycling companies. And the money that we get for those plastic bottle caps we give them to other foundations, such as St. Jude's to so that they can provide housing food education, chemotherapies, radiation diagnosis for all of these children that are part of their foundation. So we don't necessarily directly treat the children but we do offer the economic means for kids to get help in any way that they need it.

Brooke Smith
It's really beautiful. How many bottle tops just get thrown away, you know? Recycle them and they just throw them away. And how many bottle caps there are just right now people opening like there's a there's, there's so many really make a contribution with the caps. How did you get the How did you guys get this? I read just hanging out talking one day. I'm like, how did this come to be?

Dr. Katherine Marina
Um, so we had a teacher. Her name is Dr. Sonia Dixon. She's a pathologist, and she's from Venezuela. And in that country, they also do those kinds of things. They will recycle the plastic and give kids chemo therapies. And so she was telling us about it. And I was like, We should do that here. So we started to do it. And there was a lot of pushback, there was a lot of nose, we initially did not think that we were going to get any kind of money and like no one was going to pay attention to us. And I remember just kind of sitting in our classroom and like writing on the board and calculating how many bottle caps we needed to get like $200 which was a lot but for us in that time, it was a lot of money to just collect $200 off of recycling plastic. So our goal was like I believe the first time it was like if we can get to La I, I believe, for $500, we would have been like super, super happy. And that first campaign blew up and we collected over half a million vessels, which is, I believe, I would say about anywhere between 14 to $15,000, just off of recycling plastic. Which is insane. It's absolutely insane. Just like recycling plastic, we don't accept any kind of money. If people try to give us money, we don't accept it, because we want to recycle the plastic as well. The earth is like so contaminated. So we might as well, you know, do a good deed on both ends. So yeah, we got the idea from that teacher. And we just went ahead with it, we moved forward. And now it is what it is. And the government gives us bottle caps. And there's, it's like a huge thing is, it's been so good. And I'm so happy that it's worked out.

Brooke Smith
That's really incredible. I love that so much. You guys are amazing. I want to hear like logistically you have people let them and like some of them and like can people help any way? For people to to send collect their own ballot bottle caps, and then send them somewhere? Or can you talk a little bit about that as our website? Can you drop the social media handle, etcetera?

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah. Yeah, so we have a, so everything is done Instagram, we don't have any websites, or Facebook's, we only use Instagram. That is how we actually built the entire thing from the ground up on Instagram Tapitas Xquimio l. I'm sure we can write that in somewhere in the capture something for those who are non Spanish speakers. But yeah, the way that it works is that people will collect plastic bottle caps, whether it's just because they have them in their house, and they start to set them aside. And we have these businesses or institutions that we call which translates from Spanish to kind of like I wouldn't say they're warehouses, but they're like storage units. People have offered their businesses if they have enough space to store the bottle caps. So once people have enough bottle caps, they go and take them to these businesses. And they're multiple businesses all around the country. Throughout our campaign, we've had over 100, or more than 100 of these storage units. And so people take the bottle caps to the storage units, these people will keep the bottle caps for a period of time, and then they'll send them off to the recycling company, the recycling company will then weigh the bottle caps, each time they get them, they will send us the amount that it weighs with like an actual photograph as like proof of like this is how much in terms of weight, the plastic that we got, because they buy it per pound, not her like amount of bottle caps. And then that generates the money. And and, again, we don't, at any point, touch any of the economic means that we give to the kids. So the actual recycling company will just continue to store the cash that they are getting from these bottle caps. And at the end of the campaign, because we always have a start and an end date for each campaign, they will go ahead and just do a direct deposit for the amount of money to the foundation. So we at no point actually handle the money that is being given to the children. All we do is facilitate and organize the actual delivery of the bottle caps in the recycling process so that the kids get the economic health. But we at no point touch any of that kind of we don't we don't deal with the economic portion of that because we want to be super transparent when it comes to these children.

Brooke Smith
Wow Kat, I'm really moved by what you guys are doing. What a simple idea that takes a lot of planning and thought and takes a lot more than you and your partner. It takes also the help of the community say, hey, we want to get together and help these kids like I'm gonna save my bottle caps and then it takes businesses that are saying hey, you can start here go ahead, and that takes the recycling plant to recycle it and keep the money and then send it to St. Jude. It takes a huge effort and just to assimilate that, and organize it, I mean, wow. It's, it's really, really inspiring and amazing. And I just absolutely love it. And if there's anything we can ever do, you know, on social help with a campaign.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Now, it's just in the Dominican Republic, and we manage the campaign virtually. So for those who will be going on to our social just to like peek through, you'll see that we have over 17,000 followers. And the whole campaign is just managed by Leah and I, we answer every email, we answer every message, we create every Instagram post, we upload every caption, it's a lot of work for just two people. But like, as you said, it takes a village. And if the whole country, it feels like the whole country was not supporting us, it wouldn't have worked, it really wouldn't have worked. So right now, we're only in Dominican Republic, I'd love to possibly start something similar or extend it here into the US because this is such a large country, I know that the amount of plastic that we could recycle here would be insane. And it would help so many people, it doesn't necessarily need to be children with cancer. It could be any other condition or any or multiple conditions, multiple diseases. It can be used, even for research. But right now it's just in the Dominican Republic. I'd love to start it here. But I don't know, we'll see. We'll see I first got to mash into residency and see where I end up and, you know, move forward from there.

Brooke Smith
I know one step at a time right? You're doing so many things. I we have a factory in Puerto Rico, In Rincon Puerto Rico. And so there might be room to start growing there with Mama caps. And we might be able to do a campaign there. We could probably, you know, help expand that a little bit, at least in Puerto Rico. There's a lot about bottle caps over there. So there's definitely room to grow. And would you mind because some people listen to this podcast auditory, could you just spell out the Instagram handle? I'm also going to be linking it and I will put it in the video for everyone but if anyone's listening to it, just so they can find it or even your Instagram handle?

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah, absolutely. So are in Instagram handle for the foundation is spelled T as in Tom a as an angel P as in Peter I as an igloo, T as in Tom again a as an angel S as in Samantha, x as in xylophone. And then to you, I again as an igloo, M as in Mary, I as an igloo, O, as an opportunity. And so you can just you know, our Instagram, you can just pull it up that way. Again, over 17,000 followers, so I don't think it'll be very hard to find it. But this type of thing is done in multiple countries. And it's done in for different things. So like in Mexico, for example, in Minnesota, they do it for kids with cancer, but in Mexico, they've even done it to build houses for people, which is absolutely insane to me. And I'd love to do that kind of thing as well. But you know, we're only a two Girl Army. So we'll see how far we get. But definitely we've had the support of the country. So I feel like at this point, we can just do anything the limits. So if Puerto Rico wants to join in there basically are like Sister island like they're right there. I'm happy to fly over there. Take a boat and start stuff there as well.

Brooke Smith
Yeah, that's awesome. I love it. I think it's just meant to be. I do want to talk about I just want to ask you, Who inspires you? And also, if you had any piece of advice I know we talked a little bit about Don't be afraid, you know, go for it anyway. Is there any other thing you wish you were told you had known or like something you would tell your younger self or just any kind of piece of advice you would give either personally or professionally just out there in the world?

Dr. Katherine Marina
I think that the number one piece of advice I would give people is to not forget that you are human, and that other people around you're also human. I feel like the world is so harsh nowadays and kindness is It's not something that is easily found. And even though our generation is more conscious about what we say and how we say things and how we approach people, I feel like in medicine, there's still a lot of harshness in terms of competition. And are you smart enough? Are you good enough. And I feel like, if we just made enough space for everyone, everything would be okay. I don't know, if I'm being clear enough, I it's just I feel like certain specialties like cardiothoracic surgery have a tendency, for example, being very masculine. And they're just geared towards men. And if we took out the rigidity, and the traditional complex of what each specialty, specifically surgical ones have, and just let it be full range and be inclusive for everyone, then there would be a whole lot of humanity that would shine through, like way more people would be kinder, we'd have more diversity, people would feel more represented, which is very, very important medicine, you obviously always want to see, or maybe not always want to see, but you want to know that out there, there is someone that is a young girl that writes with glitter pens and plays Taylor Swift, and she's cracking a chest open. And you know, those kinds of things are things that I didn't grow up knowing. And now I'm in a position to do that. And it really warms my heart when I meet kids. And they're like, I want to be a doctor like you. Obviously, children say things today, I want to be a doctor tomorrow, I want to be an astronaut or whatever. But I feel like representation is everything. So definitely, my advice would be make space for yourself, don't give up. But also make space for other people. Be kind, even when people are not being kind to you. And don't lose your human side, I feel like people in the US medical system get caught up with what is the paperwork and the economic means of what it really means to be a doctor, and how much are you making? And what car do you drive, at the end of the day, it's about the patient and a lot of people start medical school wanting to just help people, and then they lose themselves in the system. And I honestly, my biggest piece of advice would be do not let the system break, you don't let the system change you. If you really want to help people, and you're good at it, then you're going to make the million dollars anyway. But first, you have to be a good person. And I get that a lot from my parents, honestly, they are my biggest motivation. They are incredibly hardworking. And they give me they gave everything up for me and my siblings to be who we are today. And without them, I'd be no one. As a young Latina, I see my parents, and I've seen how hard they've worked to have us be in the position that we are, and to be where they are now. And it's really motivational for me because they have reached a certain level of success. But they're still human, they're still very kind, they still give back. And I don't ever want to lose that sense. And I don't want other people who are coming into the career to lose that as well. Because I feel like it's very easy to lose, you lose touch with why you really wanted to do medicine. So my biggest piece of advice would be if you have it in your heart to just help people let that be your priority. And if you're good at it, then everything else in life will just it'll handle itself you'll make the million dollars because if you're good, then you'll make the money. But first be a good human. You can't be a good doctor if you're not a good human.

Brooke Smith
I'm really proud to see you being so just emphatically yourself, you know because I feel like there can be that pressure to conform to what a doctor should be and also go the other way where you are like I don't want to bring my glitter pen today because you know, I'm going to get judged for it or people aren't going to take me seriously you know Whatever that is. But if you can be brave and you are and what you like, then you can break those barriers, you can tear the downloads walls of what people expect to see and show that, like, the judgement of idea that they have about someone isn't realistic, because we all have different interests. We all are multifaceted, you know, just because you're a doctor, and you're, you know, saving lives and cutting open chests. And doing all this crazy stuff that a lot of people can't do, doesn't mean you don't want to go to Taylor Swift concert or like jam out in your car, or

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah,

Brooke Smith
We can do. And I think being brave enough to show up as we are, and proud of all of the moments that you're in, and just owning it is where we start to really make the change. And that's where we really start, hey, let's, let's, let's dissipate this idea of what you think I should be. And let's just focus on being a good human being, being a great doctor. And let's leave all the other stuff that doesn't matter where it belongs.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Depending on the specialty that you choose, you have to be a little bit stubborn. For example, in my case, when I started my rotations, I was told a lot that nobody cares how you look. Nobody cares about the music and your glitter pen. And you know, don't be so loud. And don't be so colorful, and what are you doing and that those are things that I got a lot and I am very stubborn. So I was told do not wear pink scrubs, because you're making it worse for yourself. And then I wore pink glitter scrubs. I ordered the stethoscope with glitter on it, I write with giant feather pens, I play Taylor Swift. And now the team has gotten used to it. And they asked me to play the music. And they asked me to lend them my pens. And they think it's cute when I wear pink. But you have to be stubborn, and you have to push through and you can't let people force you to conform to what you're not. Because at the end of the day, your personality is going to come through regardless, even if you don't want it to it's impossible for you to deny who you actually are. Do not give up who you are, do not give up your culture, do not give up the things that you love to do. Because you have to conform to the US medical system. The system will always be there you will not so come as you are and make the impact that you want to make.

Brooke Smith
Never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Never be afraid to follow your dream and always stand up for what is right. You know,

Dr. Katherine Marina
If you're a good person, and you're good at what you want to be in life, then it literally all the other stuff is just background noise.

Brooke Smith
So Kat where do you see yourself in the next five to 10 the journey you're on, you know, you know, you're gonna match and everything's gonna go great. So for next five to 10 years, what does that trajectory look like for you?

Dr. Katherine Marina
First, cardiothoracic surgery is so long. I think in the next five years, I probably will still be in residency. Unfortunately, for me, but I think that in 10 years, I definitely will be done in my dream. And I'm not sure if I should be saying this. Because again, it's another thing that just irritates people when they hear it. But in a perfect world, I would do residency, and then I would do surgery for free. And just, I know it sounds insane. But I would just be a surgeon for free. And just give kids that really needs surgeries, surgery for free. And I would never charge anyone, and I would be the happiest person in the entire world. Obviously, I know, it's so much more complex than that. There's things that need to be paid for. The team has to be paid. It's not just a one woman thing. But if there's something that I know about myself, it's that I know how to make something out of nothing. So I think I'll figure it out. Even if I gotta start recycling bottle caps to make that happen, too. But yeah, 10 years, I would definitely like to, I mean, in a perfect world, just do surgery as a hobby, and not as like a career. Just do it as like, I'm gonna wake up and just do it for free and give people an opportunity to have a second chance at life. Yeah, in 10 years. I would like to just be living a happy life and just continue to give back to people. There's not really much else in life that I enjoy more than that.

Brooke Smith
That's how you know you're in the right place, though Kat because you would do what you're doing for free, you know, then that's how you really love it. And you know, you're really passionate, and I can tell you're really passionate about helping people and saving them and being a doctor and running that as much as you can for the people who need it the most. Because unfortunately, these things can be extremely expensive, they can be out of reach for people, or they might not have access to healthcare. We talk a lot about that, you know, there's medical mission trips that do things like this. And I think maybe when we start recycling the entire bottle, you know,

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah, yeah, I think we might have to start doing that.

Brooke Smith
And I think it's incredible. And I know if anyone can do it, it's you, you've already proven that you can make something out of literally nothing, or it's something that people think is trashed. Look, what you've done with that. It's really incredible. I'm so proud of you and proud of you. And awesome to see. And I can't wait to share this with everyone so they can see all the amazing work you guys are doing. And just the the inspiration that comes from when you're truly in line with your heart and your passion, what that can bring into the world and the world needs more of it. Need more love more light, and you're bringing it so thank you so much. I want to shift gears a little bit. I know emergency medicine. I know. What do you like to do? We talked a little bit about how you when you were a kid, you wanted to be a Broadway singer? Do you still sing for fun? What are the kinds of hobbies and things do you like to do? When work is finished? When your passions are, you know, calm and in the medical realm? What other interests and hobbies do you have?

Dr. Katherine Marina
I really like to go to different restaurants and try different cuisines. I got that from I wasn't initially into that. But I met my partner and he opened that door for me, so I really enjoy that. But I have to be careful with it. Because if I breathe too hard, I'll give him like 20 pounds, so I got to be careful with the food. So yeah, I like to eat I still I adore music. I adore singing but obviously it's not like a professional thing that I do. Maybe I should probably start finding some hobbies. And I feel like a lot of doctors end up like that. Or if you ask them what they do on the side, they like don't have an answer for you. Um, when I was younger, I liked to write a lot so I've write not necessarily like poems but like short stories.

Brooke Smith
Kat thank you for being a part of our crafting wellness podcast, it has been such a pleasure having you on . Do you mind being your Instagram handle for anybody who might want to come? Give you a follow check you out ask you questions.

Dr. Katherine Marina
Kat with a K. So K ay T as in Tom, M as in Mary, A R I N as in Nancy, a and then C as a cat. @KatMarinaC And yeah, my DMs are always open. I'm always willing to help and share any information that I may have. And in any way that I can help someone. I'm always ready to do it there. So honestly, thank you so much for having me on this the first podcast that I like formally do as a doctor. This is like my real first formal podcast and I'm super nervous about it. But you're so nice Brooke, you really are. And the MDF team has been absolutely incredible when it comes to the stethoscope that you guys have made sure that I've gotten nobody knows this. But it has been a hassle and a half to get this stethoscope to me. It's been lost. And it's been taken and it's been delivered back to Puerto Rico. And so now I finally have it and you guys have been absolutely amazing. Any other company would have been like it's gotten your you can't happen. So I really just thank you guys so much. This stethoscope is incredible. The sound quality on it is amazing. And you guys as a team are absolutely amazing. I can definitely tell you guys have kind of like a small family kind of dynamic going on. And I'm really happy to in one way or another be joining that. So yeah, thank you so much for having me on here. And thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share my story as a young woman who's very feminine and very rooted in her Dominican ways and trying to break into a male dominated field for giving me an opportunity to shine the light on that and hopefully inspire other people.

Brooke Smith
The greatness that you're doing in the world. You know if you ever doing medical missions in the future and you need donations 1000 percent because we love to get involved in all of that. The kind of out of the box way you are doing things, which is also incredible for people to keep in mind when they are pursuing medicine. They don't have to just go one way because that's what they're told to do. So

Dr. Katherine Marina
Yeah. Thank you