Catching Up on Nadia's Last Semester
Alyssa and Nadia are back after a long break, and Nadia is officially in her last semester at Northeastern. Most of her high school friends have already graduated, her roommate included, and she's still on campus with four classes left. It feels a little weird, but she's trying to hold on to the routine while she has it.
Nadia opens up about postponing her MCAT after studying all summer and hitting a wall. Now she's aiming for January with a new study schedule and a better mindset. Alyssa shares a friend's comment that the delays might mean Nadia doesn't want to be a doctor, and Nadia explains why that isn't true.
They talk about Nadia's final public health classes and her projects on maternal nutrition and food insecurity. Alyssa asks whether Nadia's interest in women's health is her own or shaped by social media.
They wrap up with ways to work in women's health without being an OB/GYN, a local women's health symposium Tanya helped organize, and an idea for this season about hearing people's good, okay, and bad experiences with healthcare.
Takeaways
Watching your friends graduate while you're still in school can feel strange even when you saw it coming
Postponing the MCAT is really common and says nothing about how much someone wants to be a doctor
Having no hard deadline gives you room to take a test when you're actually ready
Burnout is real, and a few days to reset can change how you see the whole thing
Writing gets easier the more you do it, even when it's not your favorite
Getting to choose your own project topics can show you what you actually care about
There are a lot of ways to focus on women's health in medicine beyond OB/GYN, including family medicine and endocrinology
Not loving going to the doctor yourself can be a pretty good reason to want to make it better for other people
Chapters
0:10 – 1:50 Back after a long break and Nadia's final semester at Northeastern
1:50 – 3:50 Still in school while high school friends and her roommate have graduated
3:50 – 8:12 Working at Vuori, postponing the MCAT, and coming back from burnout
8:12 – 14:50 Alyssa's friend questions whether Nadia really wants to be a doctor
14:50 – 20:54 Last semester classes and choosing topics on maternal nutrition and food insecurity
20:54 – 23:00 How past co-ops and projects kept pointing her in the same direction
23:00 – 26:29 The gymnastics gym assistant and whether women's health is a natural interest or a trend
26:29 – 30:04 Family medicine, endocrinology, and Tanya's local women's health symposium
30:04 – 33:18 Planning this season and why good and bad healthcare experiences are worth talking about
