Latest / The Christian Reeve Podcast / Dr Jeffrey Scales (Dr Clearskin) | The Christian Reeve Podcast | #144 |

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Dr Jeffrey Scales (Dr Clearskin) | The Christian Reeve Podcast | #144 | · The Christian Reeve Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to another episode of the Christian re
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  podcast. Today's guest is a dermatologist
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  all the way from North Carolina and the United States.
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  His name is dr. Jeffrey scales.
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  AKA dr. Clear skin.
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  Welcome to the show. How you doing?
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  Thank you, sir. Thank you for having me today.
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  No, no, thank you. I appreciate your very busy,
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  man. And that was, that was something
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  that caught sort of caught me by surprise.
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  Because I'll be honest, I saw the name, and I was like, what
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  is this? A gimmick thing?
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  And as soon as one in your page, I was like, oh, okay.
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  This is clever. Now this is a good marketing
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  trick in a sense like it's is good business and you clearly
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  like a serious professional. But there's also like, you're
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  getting into that social media game, which I think is clever,
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  because it drives more business, you know?
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  You know, it's funny that I've had patients.
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  Ask me if I had changed my name, you know.
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  Yeah. You know.
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  Yeah. I literally change them in the,
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  you know, I grew up with scales. There's a strong family of
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  scales and the Richmond Virginia area.
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  And, you know, I never thought of it as being something that
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  match with With the field, I chose it wasn't until I was
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  training and someone said, hey, you know, your name is scales,
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  it goes with Dermatology. Like, wow, I never noticed that,
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  you know, it was really funny. Simon says, I was destined to be
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  a dermatologist but yeah, I think it works really nicely.
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  It really does. It's kind of fun.
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  Well, how did that Monica come? They're like, did you just pick
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  that off the spot or is there like a story behind that or
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  what's the deal with that you right?
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  So the doctor clear skin happened to be a name that was
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  Given to me, by one of my employees.
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  This lovely woman that worked with me over the years, and I
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  used to call her my work daughter, because she would
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  attend to me and she, you know, make sure I might, I is straight
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  in the morning and these sorts of things, and she's very
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  creative lady. And she said to me, one day, you
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  know, you're really good at helping.
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  What's in your doctor? Clear skin?
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  I thought, oh, that's pretty funny.
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  And I, she kept repeating and I said, you know, I think I'll
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  borrow that. I think I'll go borrow that and
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  I think I'll use it and it's been very popular.
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  I really like the name. And we've come up with line of
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  products, which just happen to have a name on them too.
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  And I think it's been really successful.
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  I look forward to seeing where it goes with us from, look a
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  business standpoint because I sort of mentioned it briefly in
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  the Preamble that. But like, did it actually from
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  that point onwards, did you see sort of a shift in interest
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  towards your brand? Label people starting to message
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  you more about close this all about and then so you're getting
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  like an increase in sales or something like that.
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  Sure, it's relatively new. I really just formed a company
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  in trademark in October of this year.
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  But the name scales is also seems to catch a lot of people's
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  attention as well. Then, you know, they honestly
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  think I may have changed my name to either one of those when it
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  was something else, but it seems to match with skin.
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  And we've been open for nearly 24, 25 going on 26 years.
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  We have a reasonable following here.
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  And I think the doctor clear skin part is helping us to take
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  the business in a slightly different direction.
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  We focus primarily on taking care of people with six skin and
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  so that's been great but now we're focusing even more.
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  So on the Cosmetic demands that people have for looking batter
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  and for having less hair and look younger, those are things
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  that are very much in demand right now.
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  So this you know, aligns with some of the new Things that
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  we're trying to do. Excellent.
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  Excellent. And what are the things I
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  noticed in particular? Is that your kind of focused on
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  the black community is that, right?
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  Like you're more targeted to that or is it just for everyone?
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  And it's that was the builder. I think it's that we're focused
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  on the full range of the population.
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  I will tell you that Madison and United States is has a history
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  of being a rather discriminatory type.
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  Both industry. And if you go back and look at
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  some of the data associated with OBGYN, many of Ob-Gyn and other
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  fields, many of the original experiments were done on people
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  of color and then without anesthesia and done using slaves
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  in people who are owned in medicine, has a history in the
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  United States of being very exclusive for certain people.
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  Part of what we try to do is to make sure that it's an open
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  Avenue for everyone. I don't specifically seek to say
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  that I'm a skin doctor that takes care of black skin.
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  Only I think that would be nonsensical.
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  No. Mmm, it makes no more sense than
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  some of them to take care of a patient's only like close,
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  right? I wouldn't but in practice
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  Dermatology is a field. That's been one of the least
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  visited by people of color. Over the history and some of it
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  has to do with the house. Practice of you were to go to a
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  typical textbook. And look at all the pictures.
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  You would think that only fair skinned people got skin diseases
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  and that's not the case. So there is a movement.
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  Now in this field in as well as other bills to try to equalize
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  some of the inequities of that have been around for many many
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  years. So I'd like to consider myself a
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  person that's willing to see everyone and anyone, I Different
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  age, ranges previously. I was a pediatrician.
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  I see a disproportionate number of children.
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  I like working with children. I just think it's a trying to
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  make an environment as welcoming to everyone.
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  Excellent. And what took us for your
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  journey of actually getting into Dermatology.
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  So from the beginning, because you mentioned before that, you
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  know, some people had said to you, like, ah, he's destined for
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  this. So obviously there was obviously
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  like an acute kind of interest from it from a young age, or
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  something like that. You said, like it comes from Um
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  family as well. So we'll just a little bit about
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  your journey in the beginning days of getting into Dermatology
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  to where you are today. I was raised in a Washington DC
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  area, and I had the Good Fortune of being a child of a woman who
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  was a nurse in RN and she worked at Howard University.
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  And Physicians, were always held in great esteem in our household
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  medicine in general, was considered very admirable
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  calling and some ways. I think of it as almost the
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  family calling, my, my father would work for the government.
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  My mother was very much involved Madison and I initially went to
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  medical school. The idea that I was going to be
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  a person that practiced primarily with adults and with
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  chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, but
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  after getting there, I really took a great liking to
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  Pediatrics. I like taking care of kids, I
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  thought was very fun. And I spent a number of years
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  training and practicing Pediatrics.
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  But one of the things I noticed was that, there's at least 10%
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  of the missus I was having was, were associated with the skin
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  and eye. Like my training for diseases of
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  the skin was inadequate, for what I was trying to do.
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  Meanwhile, if you were trying to get someone in to see us again,
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  doctors and very limited. Field in terms of opportunities
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  to get an appointment, the waiting list for an average,
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  dermatologist can be up to 3 months or longer.
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  So I, at some point, got frustrated and decided I was
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  going to go and I was going to train and dermatology if I were
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  able to be accepted and I was accepted to number programs, and
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  I went to a place here called Winston-Salem, North Carolina,
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  which is you rent, probably recognize those names missing in
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  Salem, obviously very hurt. Those are cigarette brands.
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  It they it's a really nice city and I trained a Dermatology and
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  a very good fortune of training with some very good people is
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  that Kirito and some dr. McMichael.
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  And some other people trained me.
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  And I walked away really feeling very much of this was to feel
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  for me. I like, I think I've always had
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  a great sense of visualization in dermatology, you've got to be
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  able to look at things and have a good memory for something.
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  You may see it once every two or three years.
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  But there should be some recollection on your part to be
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  able to say this, is that disease or that disease.
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  And I felt like I was very, I felt like I was very comfortable
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  in doing that and so it has been a really great feel for me and I
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  have really seen some amazing things over the years and I
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  think it's the best field of medicine.
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  Would you say some of your biggest success cases in the
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  field of Dermatology? It's a great question.
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  I think that it can be measured in a couple ways.
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  Number one, is that how do I feel about how successful the
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  outcomes and then there's how does the patient feel about how
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  successful the outcome has? You find it?
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  There are not always the same thing but I think some of my
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  best stories I have to tell her picking up unusual cancers in
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  skin with patients who don't fit the typical skin cancer patient.
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  Most patients that have skin. Cancer are generally fair skin.
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  They have spent too much time in the sun.
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  They have weathered skin and you can look at them and tell that
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  perhaps they might be high risk. But there are people who get
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  unusual types of skin cancer one in particular that comes to mind
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  is called mycosis fungoides. And that is a type of skin
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  cancer where it's really immune cells.
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  They happen to go up into the skin and then they start to
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  present and it's hard sometimes to make the diagnosis, but we've
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  been able to make it in particularly darker people when
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  at times, it was passed off for something else.
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  And I've been very pleased that we were able to help in those
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  circumstances. Generally takes about five years
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  to diagnosis cancer even if you see the rash.
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  So, we were able to do it much quicker than that.
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  And I think it help with some of the outcome of some of these
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  patients. Any other thing from another
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  from another standpoint, you, some of the successful pain
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  cases. I, I know acne is a really
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  common type problem, but when you watch a person whose
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  self-esteem is really tied up with their skin and their at 16
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  18, 20 years of age, 22 and are very self-conscious to begin
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  with. And they start off with a really
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  difficult circumstance with their acne.
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  And then you see them transform over the course of - I use this
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  medication called IC tretinoin Accutane and it's a great
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  medicine and a lot of doctors use it, but it is amazing is
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  transformative. You see the people's General
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  happiness improve, they start to wear makeup and and they start
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  wearing jewelry and dressing better, ask the months progress
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  because they're feeling that much better about themselves.
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  That is a almost magical to watch to see a person come out
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  of a level of perhaps depression that Really allows them to
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  become a full person that they are to give them some
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  confidence. So like a like that.
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  Probably as much as anything I did.
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  Amazing. Truly.
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  I mean, yeah, I could see how rewarding it would be.
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  I mean, in any field, in medicine, being a doctor in
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  general is going to be rewarding because it's, you know, you're
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  helping people at the end of the day.
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  But particularly, with this, that way you can sort of measure
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  the results over time and as you outlined there, you know, you're
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  seeing a person, almost come to life again in a manner of
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  speaking, which is incredible, Why is your work in them?
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  Damn, ontology. So important to you.
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  I mean, you've already outlined a few reasons, but like, if you
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  had to kind of just break it down and what does it mean to
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  you, your body of work and what you do, it's an excellent point.
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  You help segue into another topic, which I will highlight my
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  office and highlight on my website.
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  Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, I think that access to Medicine
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  into health and to treatment Aunt has been skewed and many
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  different ways based on societal issues.
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  Hmm. It can be an issue of income.
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  But people who have a great deal of income have access to things
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  that many people don't, I can be an, a, an issue of Geographics.
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  If I live in the middle of the country in some little town and
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  I have some disease, I may not I might go to the local hospital,
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  but it does not mean that necessarily you're going to get
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  the best treatment there. Perhaps, it's a place that Not
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  as comfortable as other places. I give an example.
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  It's personal example of, not necessarily great story, but
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  about two years ago, I had some chest pain and I am considered
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  one. If you talk to him my friends
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  and talk to anyone knows me they will tell you.
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  They think I'm probably one of the healthiest people they know
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  I recently well I run and have been several half marathons and
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  I had just been out doing Wind Sprints just literally three
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  weeks before this happened and I ignored it in its Um, point it
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  bothered me so much and I had access to high-tech medicine
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  that took care of me and literally saved my life in a
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  matter of hours. Had I been out in the middle of
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  somewhere else and this had happened or someplace where
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  they're not as comfortable working with people with heart
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  disease. I would have been in trouble.
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  I end up having a minor heart attack or recover completely
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  requirement. And I got a stent and I go my
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  life and not running back to where I was before, but
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  Geographics plays a lot. But the third thing that I
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  mentioned the socio economics, when you think about it, poor
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  people often will have difficulty accessing things that
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  they might need. There are Health Care programs
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  that are put in place for poor people.
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  And I did one time we talked about United States and from
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  state to state is called Medicaid.
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  And this is the children for children and for women who are
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  pregnant, and people who may be disabled, If you were to go to
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  an average city and I know how many dermatologists accept that
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  particular Healthcare program, you'll find us, you know, far
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  less than 10% part of it has to do with the administrative
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  burden that comes with it. Part of it has to do with the
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  fact that some people are not necessarily interested in
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  serving that particular population.
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  So part of what I really like about my work, as I feel like I
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  that I call myself in some ways balancing the scales as you
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  know. Pun intended that.
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  I am attempting to. Open up access to people said
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  people that don't necessarily have access and give them a
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  chance to have things that they might need.
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  It's amazing to me. Sometimes how far people are
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  willing to travel to just have an appointment with me or people
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  like myself because there's no access where they aren't there
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  somewhere and they're pitching a lot, having bad acne and they
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  can't find anyone that's willing to accept their insurance nearby
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  where there just may not be a doctor, that's able this system
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  and they come great. Since this and they are happy to
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  see me. And I feel like that's at least
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  a Nevada is probably the most important thing I do.
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  So my work I think of is just trying to offer something to
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  people that might be in need who maybe Society, not necessarily
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  what we call the winners of six. I know Society, people who have
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  struggled and who may be in a bad place, for all sorts of
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  reasons, make sure they have access to equal care as, as many
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  other people might receive so much.
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  Using honestly. Yeah I can totally relate to
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  that. I grew up in a very poor
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  background. Nothing like super, Super Bowl
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  but you know, it was poor. And I remember, you know, the
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  school that I went to was like Straight.
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  It was just a state school. It was a good school boses to
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  state school and I remember sort of when you grow up in that you
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  don't really think really. Think about oh I'm poor, I'm a
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  poor cat. You don't even think about it
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  just normality. Like I I thought we were fine.
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  There was food on the table, you know there's like what more do
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  you need? You know, it wasn't, it wasn't
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  to I would start going to school and I started seeing like for
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  example, I mean this is luxury but like wanting to To learn to
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  play guitar, for example, and the school had paid lessons.
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  And I asked my mom and she was like, I'm sorry Chris, we can't
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  afford it, you know, things like that or like going to a friend's
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  house, and they've got like a really big four, five bedroom
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  house. And then I live in this like
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  flat is falling apart and that began to kind of like shape my
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  understanding like, oh, maybe, maybe we don't have so much
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  money, which is not a problem. I just saw it as just different,
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  you know, but The point, the reason I'm bringing it up is
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  like you begin to understand what you have access to and the
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  differences between upbringings. Like, and I know this is like a
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  really extreme example, but like I remember there were kids that
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  I went to school with who, you know, would go on like ski trips
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  at some point in the middle of the year, which again, even from
• 17:15
  my school. I'm still surprised that the
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  school set that up, that seem like something that private
• 17:19
  school would do, but whatever. But I remember just looking into
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  it. For fun and telling my mom about
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  it and it was, it's like couple of grand or something insane
• 17:29
  like that. And I was like Right on.
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  Okay, yeah, point with this because I do Rambo sometimes but
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  bringing it back. I just think it's really a
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  provable. What you're doing, you know,
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  with regards to trying to create that accessibility and then it
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  makes sense. Obviously, because from what
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  you've explained there, you know, you're trying to make it
• 17:52
  better because I imagine it was probably a bit harder for
• 17:55
  yourself like grown-up. And that's actually what I
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  wanted to ask you next was over the Is of you working in
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  dermatology, would you say that accessibility is getting better?
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  I mean, you obviously outline that there are programs and
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  things in place now, but overall is it getting better?
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  Yes. For it to go back to that last
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  point. You mentioned now, enter that
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  your question for sure. I had a similar experience to
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  what you just talked about. In high school was taking
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  Spanish and oh, and the kids were all going where Tripp?
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  And I remember coming home and Asking my parents were solidly
• 18:31
  middle class, you know, the United States in particular for
• 18:33
  black family and coming home and asking I need two thousand
• 18:38
  dollars because everyone's going to Spain for a particular
• 18:42
  industry for 10 days. And I remember Not necessarily
• 18:47
  being told no for economic purposes but understanding it
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  was for economic purposes. My mother and telling you that
• 18:55
  traveling overseas was not safe and you know you're better off
• 18:58
  staying here and and I just nod and say, okay, Mom and left it
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  at that but you're right. Sometimes seeing the difference
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  is sometimes of what people have and what people don't have.
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  But I just couldn't pass up on it when you mention that story.
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  I thought about it but I know that story, you know, I know
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  that story has to a lot of people, you know, I don't
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  Necessarily think you feel bad about it.
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  I think in a lot of ways, it strengthens you and makes you
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  say, okay. I that means I if I want to go
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  to Spain, I'm going to make sure I do things that Allow me to get
• 19:27
  to Spain. I'm going to make sure I
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  position myself that I can go and take an opportunity like
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  this. I know that's a whole nother
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  topic but I really, you know, could decimate with what you
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  said. I think it's a great topic.
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  I mean like I always resonate when I when I meet other people
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  who grew up kind of poorer, they say I always just have fun with
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  it and like just reminisce and just have a laugh about it
• 19:48
  because I think it's as you said they'd be it does give you some
• 19:52
  sense of how I'd say character in a way, you know mean like yes
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  like I and I've told the stories on the podcast before, so
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  forgive me but I just find it funny.
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  Like my mom would sometimes come in and just be like I'm
• 20:07
  Christian we got to tighten our belts this month and then she
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  sarcastically be like it's going to be beans on toast, the whole
• 20:13
  month. And I said but obviously it's
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  not gonna be that like it you know, it meant that like okay
• 20:19
  maybe we'll just have to be maybe a little bit less and you
• 20:23
  know just be a bit careful here and there and I was always Yeah,
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  sure whatever. It's fine now you know, because
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  that's all I knew and I don't know, I don't know.
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  I mean, I think, you know what? Like, without bringing in
• 20:37
  general and, and, and also, I will say this as well, it's not
• 20:41
  even about having money or not having money.
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  It's about how your parents raised you.
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  As I met, plenty of kids at school and outside of school,
• 20:50
  who came from Rich families, and they were like, really, well,
• 20:55
  raise that they had, like, a good understanding and value of
• 20:57
  things. I think that's kind of more, the
• 20:59
  key isn't it? Is is like understanding the
• 21:02
  With things like, for example, I can never throw food away, ever.
• 21:09
  Like if I ever have to waste something, a part of my soul
• 21:14
  just starts dying because I'm like, no, no no.
• 21:17
  And it maybe it comes from like, some old-fashioned like wartime
• 21:19
  mentality. That's been passed down for
• 21:21
  Generations but like you just never waste food but I just if
• 21:26
  you forgive me, I tell one quick story and I will get back to to
• 21:29
  you because that's what it's about.
• 21:32
  But it seems we're on the topic. I remember, I was at some some
• 21:37
  awful theme park here in the UK that everyone has been to
• 21:41
  thought Park. Ha ha.
• 21:43
  Anyway, it's but basically for anyone that's in the US, that's
• 21:46
  what listening to this. Imagine that they took this big,
• 21:49
  massive place, and they dug like a huge hole in the ground like
• 21:54
  that goes for ages, and then just filled it with water and
• 21:58
  created like a little Island, right?
• 22:01
  And then that's what In Pakistan very weird.
• 22:05
  Anyway, I think I was like 7 or 8 years old.
• 22:08
  And I went there with my childhood best friend and I was
• 22:12
  there, it was me him my mother, my aunt, and my uncle and we
• 22:18
  were eating lunch or something and I couldn't finish mine.
• 22:22
  So I immediately brought it over to my mom or auntie and I was
• 22:27
  you know like I didn't even say anything like the way I was
• 22:29
  raised in that sense was like share your food.
• 22:32
  Dude, if you've got, you know, food leftover, you share it,
• 22:35
  like so, just did that. And then I saw this kid you
• 22:41
  basically, he goes towards the bin and my auntie stops him and
• 22:46
  says, Whoa, we did. And he's like, oh, I'm finished.
• 22:49
  And she's like, well, you still got food like yeah, aren't you
• 22:53
  gonna offer it to anyone else? And he was like, no, no no.
• 22:57
  And then he proceeds to throw it in the bin and we're all just
• 23:00
  looked staring at him like in a Easement, I would just didn't
• 23:04
  say anything. Just that's crazy, so good.
• 23:11
  But each and shows you like different upbringings different
• 23:14
  mentalities. It's just how it is.
• 23:19
  Yeah. You know, you follow up in it,
• 23:20
  sort of segues to something. When the things you asked me
• 23:23
  earlier about, you know, enjoying my work.
• 23:25
  And I mention that equality, I think that it has to do with,
• 23:28
  and I was raised in a, in a similar way, not necessarily
• 23:33
  about food but it was part of it too.
• 23:35
  Getting I was from the suddenly middle class background.
• 23:37
  United States was not, you know, over the top, not not in the
• 23:42
  least, you know. Literally, I am two generations
• 23:45
  from sharecropping sharecropping.
• 23:46
  United States is where people essentially work for free for
• 23:51
  their entire lives farming and they never get to leave the they
• 23:56
  live and die. When that property and
• 23:58
  Cynthia's. It's not quite slavery, but it's
• 24:00
  not far from slavery. So I'm two generations from it.
• 24:03
  But you know, family stories things about value.
• 24:05
  You and appreciating the things that you've been given, hmm.
• 24:10
  The I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go
• 24:13
  to medical school. I've had I've been very
• 24:15
  fortunate to have the opportunity to walk in places.
• 24:17
  I attended an Ivy League meant School unheard of in family.
• 24:22
  I come from 1 to be going to medical school and number two to
• 24:26
  go to an Ivy League school. As first person on, either side
• 24:28
  of my family to do such a thing. I don't say that to to my horn.
• 24:31
  I think what I think about it was I was given a very rare
• 24:34
  opportunity and I was fortunate enough.
• 24:35
  Could be able to understand it and take make the best advantage
• 24:40
  of it. That I could my grandmother who
• 24:43
  was raised as a child and in as a sharecropper used to tell me
• 24:48
  that she would wear shoes twice a year.
• 24:51
  She would get candy. Maybe an orange is something
• 24:54
  like that once a year and they were raised in the very seven
• 24:57
  poor environment and they were they were sharecroppers pillow
• 25:02
  after I got in that she took all my applications.
• 25:05
  The acceptance letters and went door-to-door during her whole
• 25:08
  neighborhood, showing those things and it was in for that
• 25:13
  particular name, but that was an unusual thing and again, I
• 25:15
  stress and I'm, I'm really honest about.
• 25:18
  This is nothing special about me at all.
• 25:20
  I think it's just coming along at a particular time, particular
• 25:25
  change, seeing an opportunity, and be able to take advantage of
• 25:28
  it and sort of go and do something different, being a
• 25:30
  doctor's. Okay.
• 25:30
  It's a great. Great thing.
• 25:31
  I like it. It's what I like and enjoy.
• 25:34
  It's taken me. Some places to see.
• 25:35
  Things that I probably would never seen.
• 25:37
  I've seen all sorts of things that are just really
• 25:41
  mind-boggling. You think it's just been a great
• 25:44
  blessing to have had the opportunity to do that.
• 25:48
  And that my daughter's gonna be attending say medical school in
• 25:51
  a year and a half. So, she'll be a
• 25:53
  second-generation University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
• 25:56
  graduate but you had asked me about things getting better.
• 26:00
  I think things are getting better.
• 26:02
  In many regards. We are paying Attention to
• 26:07
  perhaps access issue more in the fact that perhaps our Workforce
• 26:12
  needs to look a little bit, like the people that we take here and
• 26:16
  I know I had a doctor's to ask me one time.
• 26:19
  You know, since she was asking me, does it really matter?
• 26:24
  If I'm different than the people whom I might be taken care of.
• 26:29
  And I think there's something to be said about having a diversity
• 26:33
  of groups of people who are providing services.
• 26:36
  That some people deem important, I cannot tell you the number of
• 26:41
  times that I have had people drive.
• 26:44
  I mean, great distances have people come to states away, say
• 26:47
  it away or something like this, because they are looking for a
• 26:50
  place where they feel like they can be seen as fully human.
• 26:54
  Fully accepted fully able to think that that the outcome that
• 27:01
  we both are interested in is the same.
• 27:04
  Not to be seen as lesser than not to be seen as a burden.
• 27:06
  Not to be seen as a second-class citizen.
• 27:11
  And so, you ask the question are thinking back, I think this is a
• 27:14
  long process. Of course, is a very long
• 27:16
  process. I had to come to peace with the
• 27:18
  idea that there's some things I've seen take place while I'm
• 27:21
  alive that are fantastic. See you never.
• 27:24
  American man become president two terms.
• 27:28
  I've seen all sorts of things. Thanks.
• 27:30
  But I also realize there's things in my lifetime.
• 27:31
  I'm not gonna see. And I have to accept the longer
• 27:35
  struggle to reach. The full opportunity, offered by
• 27:41
  our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.
• 27:42
  It's not like so like I'm teaching history lesson, I'm not
• 27:45
  just that, I think as a person of color and a person whose
• 27:50
  family is, you know, we raised were taught to be second.
• 27:54
  Citizens throughout the generations.
• 27:57
  We is the utmost and Patriot being patriotic to believe that
• 28:03
  yet it again in the future at some point, the Wonderful.
• 28:11
  History of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to apply to us.
• 28:14
  All equally you fight and you struggle for things that you may
• 28:18
  never see rights that. You mean, as your family may
• 28:20
  never have. But you have a faith and belief
• 28:22
  that down the road, everything is going to be equal, and I
• 28:25
  still believe that. And so when you ask me, are
• 28:28
  things getting better? Yes, you're getting better in a
• 28:29
  lot of ways. Just to even have some of the
• 28:33
  things that we have is a step in the right direction.
• 28:37
  We have some distance to go have a long way to go.
• 28:39
  You know Donald Trump didn't appear out of The Ether.
• 28:43
  He came out of something and you know, there's always going to be
• 28:47
  a struggle for. Assuring the best things that we
• 28:52
  all feel are great about this country.
• 28:55
  So if I took that in a direction that you weren't expecting, I,
• 28:59
  you know, I apologize in advance but I want to somehow end up
• 29:01
  your tongue by rambling. I can ramble to.
• 29:03
  I can remove, I can ramble with the best of them.
• 29:05
  So it's really I mean, I, yes, yeah, things are getting better.
• 29:09
  Yes, they are. Originally obviously, my
• 29:11
  question was, was more about like in the field of because
• 29:15
  when you spoke about accessibility for medicines and
• 29:18
  Emma, Origin stuff like that. That was what was asking about.
• 29:22
  But yes, I love hearing you talk about, you know, this because I
• 29:25
  think it's a very important point and, you know, I'm going
• 29:29
  to say it now like me as a white man.
• 29:31
  Like, I don't see this, like I have plenty of friends that, you
• 29:35
  know, back and of color and everything and I never say, I
• 29:37
  never think about it. I know how that sounds but like,
• 29:40
  they're just they're my friends. I don't, do you see where I'm
• 29:44
  going with that? It's like, yes, yes.
• 29:46
  I bet I guess my point is I don't see their struggle.
• 29:49
  And I say, either, see it myself or I hear them talk about it,
• 29:52
  and I listened, and it just breaks my heart and I'm, you
• 29:56
  know, I very much kind of get where you're coming from.
• 29:59
  It's like, you see all these amazing changes in society and
• 30:02
  it gives you a hope and belief and then but those changes are
• 30:07
  different from like what you see in day-to-day life, you know?
• 30:12
  Because I truthfully believe, like most most people are just
• 30:17
  like tolerant decent people. I truly believe that because
• 30:20
  there's some people out there that would be here.
• 30:21
  Look like, oh no people Horrible.
• 30:23
  No, I disagree. I think most people just want to
• 30:27
  kind of get on with their life and be happy and that's it, you
• 30:31
  know, and there is no room for like Prejudice, or racism, or
• 30:35
  whatever. But then, the frustrating thing
• 30:38
  about this is, you do see. And I think the bigger problem
• 30:42
  and I've spoken about this in other areas like things like
• 30:46
  ageism sexism. ISM, these kind of things but
• 30:50
  like brace does come into it. It's just, you don't always
• 30:53
  necessarily see it. Like, thankfully, we live in a
• 30:55
  time where things like racism will get called out and and
• 31:00
  rightly so. But then they're still what I
• 31:04
  like to call like institutional racism where they'll be, you
• 31:09
  know, people kept from positions that they deserve based on their
• 31:14
  background and it will never be like made.
• 31:19
  Public. Because obviously they be
• 31:20
  eviscerated but it's the sort of thing where it's still playing
• 31:24
  behind the shadows and we're still trying to fight against
• 31:27
  that, and it's like this. Weird kind of ever going battle
• 31:32
  really? And, you know, I always wonder
• 31:35
  about like what, what can I personally do?
• 31:37
  And, you know, best thing I could do is have a platform and
• 31:42
  you address these issues and you basically just shine a light on
• 31:45
  things that need to be discussed.
• 31:47
  I think having a honest conversation about a lot of
• 31:51
  topics, it's just part of the part of the Way that we make a
• 31:56
  lot of things better. We just say, well, you know,
• 31:59
  this is the history of what we went has happened.
• 32:02
  Let's see. We can do to live up to our
• 32:04
  ideals. Let's live up to all.
• 32:07
  Men are created equal, one vote, when man, things like that.
• 32:12
  So it's a battle and struggle and it's, but it's going.
• 32:16
  Well, you did ask me specifically about Madison,
• 32:19
  right? And so, I will adjust that for
• 32:20
  you. I don't want you to think I was
• 32:21
  ignoring your question, although so that's it was really a great
• 32:24
  distance. Yes, I do think access is
• 32:27
  improvements improving and United States.
• 32:29
  There were many people who are unhappy about Obama coming up
• 32:33
  with the healthcare plan that he did, but it has made access much
• 32:37
  better for many people who needed it.
• 32:40
  And so you see increasingly people having access to services
• 32:46
  that they didn't have before and it is life saving.
• 32:49
  Is it? Perfect?
• 32:50
  No. Is it too expensive?
• 32:51
  Absolutely. Is it.
• 32:52
  Is it ever going to be perfect? It's never going to be perfect.
• 32:55
  It'll never be a time. When all things are, people have
• 32:58
  all the health care. They want at very little cost
• 33:02
  and it's the highest quality in the, you know, in the world.
• 33:05
  That's a hard goal to reach. But are we moving every move
• 33:11
  closer to it? Absolutely, absolutely.
• 33:12
  Yeah. Certain programs, like Medicare
• 33:15
  made it. Excellent for the seniors,
• 33:18
  certain programs. Like, Medicaid have really help
• 33:20
  poor children and you know, to like a great extent.
• 33:23
  So yes, is a It's becoming increasingly bad thing.
• 33:26
  So, yes, I do think so. And we're discussing these
• 33:30
  topics openly in a way that West necessarily done in the past.
• 33:33
  So I'm I'm pleased with that very place with that.
• 33:36
  As far as like, the, the timeline of events here.
• 33:39
  So, obviously, and I just say this from a place of ignorance
• 33:43
  because I'm from the UK, but the best, as I understood was
• 33:45
  Obamacare, was essentially, like a base level free form of
• 33:50
  healthcare In America, which in America, obviously is
• 33:54
  predominantly We privatized isn't it like everything private
• 33:57
  health care, right? And as you all do other than
• 34:00
  weren't half the dollars that people spend for Health Care
• 34:05
  from the government, when you include what elderly people in
• 34:08
  Medicare, but you're right, the bulk of what you spent as
• 34:11
  private you're great. Yeah, I just tried to get my
• 34:15
  head around it sometimes as far as the model and everything
• 34:17
  because here in the UK, they're obviously, we have the NHS,
• 34:20
  which is a free health care service, but there are many
• 34:22
  parts to it, which are now We privatized and there's always
• 34:26
  this fear and worry, that will become exactly like America and
• 34:30
  we'll, and it's a danger because I think that we're like we have
• 34:35
  opposite of problem. If you're sitting there, like,
• 34:37
  you guys want to get like a free Baseline level of healthcare.
• 34:41
  And we kind of want to keep that free Baseline, but there are
• 34:45
  some elements like, I believe you can get dental care here for
• 34:50
  free. But generally it's the sort of
• 34:53
  thing where you're better off going private.
• 34:54
  Because your Just be waiting forever.
• 34:55
  Like it kind of works like that in certain instances anyway.
• 35:00
  If I remember correctly with the way, it sort of works, in
• 35:04
  America's you had Obamacare that base level thing and then all
• 35:07
  the other things that you've outlined are like, Medicare
• 35:09
  excetera. And then You know, and that was
• 35:12
  met with varying degrees of opinions, some - some positive
• 35:17
  depending on, where you are in the country and excetera.
• 35:20
  But then, as I understood, when Trump came in here, are
• 35:23
  eradicated it or, or overturned it or something like that.
• 35:27
  And then has it been reinstated since or like, what where are we
• 35:30
  at now with regards to that? During the Trump years, they
• 35:34
  made many attempts to undermine Obamacare to make it such that
• 35:41
  many of these things, no longer exist, but they were not
• 35:44
  successful, there was some minor things that were done in an
• 35:48
  effort to undermine it full attempts to do it.
• 35:52
  You know, I don't know what it's like in the UK and United States
• 35:55
  somehow the access to health care has fallen to the into the
• 36:00
  category of political leanings. And there are based upon your
• 36:05
  politics. You may not It's really want
• 36:09
  everyone to have access to health care in a way.
• 36:12
  That's similar to what you have. You've got many competing models
• 36:16
  you've got private institutions, that would rather keep it the
• 36:19
  way it is, you got private insurance companies that would
• 36:24
  rather keep it the way it is. They make a significant amount
• 36:26
  of money, massive amounts of money by basically being the
• 36:30
  middleman for health between the patient and the provider or the
• 36:35
  institution. And so, so you have a lot of
• 36:38
  competing issues and it with Obamacare, like you said, and
• 36:41
  some of the other things even my understanding is that even when
• 36:43
  they were working on Medicare which was the try to help
• 36:46
  elderly people. There were still these issues
• 36:48
  that there's an element of our society.
• 36:50
  That's, he's giving people better Access to Health Care is
• 36:54
  being undermined their political opinions and undermining, their
• 37:00
  their freedoms in a way that I don't understand in there are
• 37:04
  all sorts of elements and various societies. but yes, many
• 37:08
  attempts have been made to undermine it, and But is it
• 37:13
  remains it Still Remains. So we have these exchanges where
• 37:16
  you try to get Healthcare on the basis of larger numbers of
• 37:20
  people pulling together and accessing it and then you have
• 37:26
  Money. That's dispensed of areas.
• 37:29
  Government based places like community health centers where
• 37:33
  people can go and they can just go in there and get care.
• 37:36
  Very inexpensively, it's a lot of competing issues is a lot of
• 37:41
  moving Parts is 1/7 of our economy so it's not surprising.
• 37:44
  That it it has a lot of different competing elements in
• 37:51
  general. People can have health care
• 37:53
  here. The thing that limits many
• 37:55
  people is not necessarily access.
• 37:57
  If I'm a person, has no money and I And I've got I saw this
• 38:01
  happening with someone, I knew was in our churches, one came
• 38:03
  from out of the country, she has no health insurance, he goes to
• 38:07
  the local hospital institution. If she has a mass in her chest
• 38:12
  and it's very large mass and it's not clear what it is, she
• 38:16
  was able to have the services, no one's going to deny her
• 38:20
  having surgery particular for something that's
• 38:22
  life-threatening. Now, the flip side of that is
• 38:25
  there's a massive bill that may come with that and it may be a
• 38:28
  bill that you can never overcome.
• 38:29
  Come one of the leading reasons for bankruptcies.
• 38:33
  The United States is is not deleting reason is health
• 38:36
  related issues that people go and they don't have enough
• 38:39
  insurance and they have some Services performed and then they
• 38:42
  owe a lot of money. That is a issue that I would
• 38:46
  love to see addressed. But in terms of whether you can
• 38:49
  have the services like they have, I just saw some a, some
• 38:52
  movie and these two guys are in an ambulance and they stole some
• 38:56
  money and they are driving around the streets shooting at
• 38:58
  the police. And one of the two guys says to
• 39:01
  the other guy I'm my daughter needed this surgery and my wife
• 39:05
  needs the surgery. And so I was willing to go in
• 39:08
  rob the bank to get a surgery. Well, the fact of matter, she
• 39:10
  could have had the surgery, the way know how long it would take
• 39:13
  you to pay for it. It would be a long time if you
• 39:17
  don't have any Health care. So it's a false narrative that
• 39:22
  you don't have access has been to issue more of the economics
• 39:26
  that come with it. You may get this massive Bill
• 39:29
  know that in and of itself. Maybe it's a problem, but if
• 39:34
  you're ill and you need some Services, you can have no not
• 39:37
  everyone wants to take on that bill and I do understand that
• 39:40
  and it's a hard thing to have. My finances.
• 39:43
  That's that's the tricky part like when I whenever I've spoken
• 39:47
  to Americans or heard the stories it always kind of sounds
• 39:49
  like. Like a decision.
• 39:52
  Sometimes I like, okay. Do ya do do I get this surgery
• 39:58
  that I need or do I not go into debt and take the risk.
• 40:02
  That's often how it sounds like it's laid out and it's just like
• 40:05
  crazy to think about when you're thinking about your own life,
• 40:07
  that you have to think about things in those terms.
• 40:09
  But as you say, it's like a bill that you do that, we'll just sit
• 40:12
  over you that you can never really shake unless you.
• 40:16
  I don't know. The Get Lucky with insurance or
• 40:19
  whatever the case may be. B.
• 40:20
  And then of course it will see also then depends on the level
• 40:24
  of surgery. You need like some things are
• 40:27
  more. My new might cost.
• 40:29
  Lest some things cost a lot more.
• 40:31
  Yes, I mean it's just it's crazy complicated.
• 40:35
  It's very complicated. We hear anyone.
• 40:36
  Give a simple answer for they have not really thought it
• 40:40
  through. We're not prepared to deal with
• 40:41
  all the moving parts to it. Yeah.
• 40:44
  And no way do I think we have the best health care system on
• 40:48
  Earth? Is it way it is?
• 40:49
  It's the one we We should keep trying to improve it.
• 40:53
  And I think that's true for just about anyone around the world.
• 40:57
  Let's bring it back to your Dermatology for a little bit.
• 41:00
  What have been your kind of most challenging cases?
• 41:03
  Obviously, we highlighted some of the best sort of scenarios
• 41:06
  and what you look for and stuff like that.
• 41:08
  But what have been the kind of the tougher ones where you,
• 41:11
  maybe you had to kind of draw on, I don't know.
• 41:15
  I other other elements of yourself to kind of get through
• 41:18
  it and such, like, what, what been the most challenging?
• 41:20
  Once. Sure.
• 41:22
  So you bring up an interesting point pushed to their, that's a
• 41:25
  complicated question because there are some very medically
• 41:28
  focused things. I could talk about.
• 41:30
  I can talk about people that walk in who have skin cancer in
• 41:35
  a spread to other parts of their body already.
• 41:39
  That is one of the more challenging things watching,
• 41:42
  people who, you know, are going to die sooner than you might
• 41:49
  expect and to Two. Try to help them as best.
• 41:55
  You can not necessarily helping them to live longer.
• 41:59
  Although that's the goal but perhaps make it.
• 42:02
  So they're comfortable, perhaps make it so that they may have
• 42:06
  something growing and it's really big and unattractive, you
• 42:09
  can remove it and they can make a note, still have a reasonable
• 42:13
  quality of life. Dealing with children often
• 42:16
  times can be a challenge and can be very heartbreaking.
• 42:20
  You know, if you're a child you're at the mercy of how well
• 42:22
  your parents are willing to take care of you.
• 42:25
  So if you have very competent parents, who can remember how to
• 42:28
  put give you the medicine and how to make sure you get to your
• 42:32
  appointments and that works out great.
• 42:33
  So you have children at coming with things that are readily,
• 42:35
  treatable that don't get better because they have chaotic
• 42:39
  families or chaotic home lines and that clamp can be
• 42:44
  heartbreaking. Getting to watch something like
• 42:47
  that. People have struggles with all
• 42:49
  sorts of issues with substance abuse or maybe just a safe place
• 42:54
  to live things like that, but if you ever to say, strictly from a
• 42:58
  medical standpoint, I talked about skin cancer that can
• 43:03
  spread there have been a number of patients, have had who have
• 43:05
  unusual types of skin cancer that are often not necessarily
• 43:09
  picked up easily. And I remember an 18 year old
• 43:12
  young man that came to see me one time.
• 43:14
  Who was? On his way to college.
• 43:18
  And he had this lump granted back.
• 43:20
  This him, it's about size of a Nazi, let maybe a, an eraser, on
• 43:24
  a pencil and it had been back there and he came in and he does
• 43:28
  have strong young man. He wrestler head off to college
• 43:32
  and he came in to see me in it. It looked innocent enough and I
• 43:37
  took a biopsy heaven, sent them home, and once I got the results
• 43:42
  back, it was a stage four melanoma, which is a very deadly
• 43:48
  type of cancer and I remember calling his parents and having
• 43:54
  them come in and to for me to talk to them.
• 43:58
  Just that waiting that you have sometimes when you have to talk
• 44:01
  to people about things that are very important to them.
• 44:05
  It's a hard thing to deal with I you know having a conversation
• 44:09
  with someone and telling them that they have what potentially
• 44:12
  would be a life-ending event has a great deal of sadness for the
• 44:19
  patient difficulty for the patient but there's a burden
• 44:22
  that comes with that from Simply that you really want more for
• 44:25
  people, you want something better.
• 44:27
  I was having a conversation. My daughter who's going into
• 44:29
  medicine. I was telling her about.
• 44:30
  There's a certain burden that comes as a physician sometimes
• 44:34
  having to talk to people about things and, to be the kind of
• 44:40
  person that needs to, you need to present yourself at a moment.
• 44:43
  That's a really sad moment. Had to do that.
• 44:46
  When I was in Pediatrics, I've done it in dermatology and say,
• 44:48
  tougher cases, these are people whose lives are going to be
• 44:51
  changed forever. Maybe, you know, this, this
• 44:54
  young man, I he ended up going to another institution of
• 44:56
  getting all sorts of They're being, I pray that he he
• 44:59
  survived it would not surprise me if he did not.
• 45:01
  He had a stage four cancer at 18.
• 45:04
  He had been on some medications earlier in his life that
• 45:07
  probably made it a little more likely he was going to get it.
• 45:10
  But you know what kind of life does he have now?
• 45:14
  He's had it off to college. He's not someone that maybe.
• 45:16
  Maybe he doesn't get to get married.
• 45:18
  Maybe he doesn't get to bring your grandkids over and the
• 45:23
  pain. And the anguish that goes along
• 45:26
  with that. When you talk to Two people.
• 45:29
  Can be great and it really is something.
• 45:31
  If you're if you're a reason to caring person and all you see
• 45:34
  the burden that it puts on people, you see them looking at
• 45:37
  you hoping that they're going to say something that makes you
• 45:40
  makes them feel better, they give some some hope and learning
• 45:44
  how to deliver things like that, learning how to have that
• 45:47
  conversation to be compassionate with people to be honest with
• 45:54
  people. To offer them hope, even when at
• 45:58
  the time, it may not look like much.
• 46:00
  Hold you talk about difficult cases.
• 46:02
  That's difficult for, for one type of reason.
• 46:06
  Those are probably my biggest challenges.
• 46:08
  And in terms of dealing with us, there's been all sorts of
• 46:11
  unusual things. I saw someone walking my time
• 46:13
  with look like a golf ball growing up the top of the head.
• 46:15
  That was a melanoma. You know, this person I had this
• 46:17
  thing literally look like a golf ball.
• 46:19
  I saw someone to look like talking about sports analogies.
• 46:21
  Galahad. What looked like the equivalent
• 46:22
  of a football growing out of the back of his head.
• 46:24
  It's a chronic Scarring condition.
• 46:26
  They have scarred to the point that it was just really massive
• 46:30
  and it's very smelly and difficult and it affected his
• 46:33
  quality allowed life tremendously seen people come in
• 46:38
  with little spots on their hands and feet that are seem like
• 46:42
  innocent moles but later on you biopsy and they turn out to be
• 46:45
  types of skin cancers or people scratch themselves excessively
• 46:49
  to the point of just bleeding walking his blood on their
• 46:53
  clothing and things because they're just so lychee and so
• 46:56
  I'm comfortable. Those are many of the
• 46:59
  challenging things. Thank goodness.
• 47:01
  You know the level of care we can offer for like these things
• 47:03
  are a lot better than it used to be.
• 47:05
  So you know, it's a lot of encouragement to offer people
• 47:08
  but yeah, those I consider some of the more challenging cases
• 47:11
  for obviously a number of reasons not just medically but
• 47:14
  for for the patient and for sometimes as the provider trying
• 47:19
  to assist people, thank you so much for sharing one question.
• 47:24
  I'd be remiss not to Ask you about that is, Did you sort of
• 47:28
  ever presume? You would have got some sort of
• 47:30
  training professionally in order to deal with those situations as
• 47:34
  best you could. But like, how did you develop
• 47:38
  that ability to, you know, show the right amount of empathy and
• 47:44
  compassion but also keep it, you know, strictly professional and
• 47:47
  not and not like your emotions affect it because you know we're
• 47:50
  human at the end of the day that you still can't ever stop being
• 47:53
  human, despite being a physician.
• 47:54
  So like how How how did you learn to do that?
• 47:58
  It's a great question because it's something I said, I'm a
• 48:00
  dress for my daughter, who's considering that?
• 48:01
  He's, you do not get a formal education about how to approach
• 48:07
  these situations. Remember the first time I had to
• 48:09
  call a parent and tell them when I was practicing Pediatrics and
• 48:14
  I was in a hospital call a parent in the middle of the
• 48:17
  night to tell them their childhood.
• 48:18
  That I remember someone pulled me aside and gave me about 60
• 48:23
  seconds. Maybe two minutes of
• 48:25
  conversation. Is you going to call you going
• 48:27
  to be very calm? You're going to say to them that
• 48:31
  the child has died and you're going to allow them to have the
• 48:35
  time to speak into and you encourage them a little bit.
• 48:39
  I'm going to go in and do that and the The way I was probably a
• 48:43
  doctor all of three months and that point and I can remember.
• 48:48
  So clearly speaking to this mother at three in the morning
• 48:54
  in Chicago, and she just burst into tears, a child was already
• 48:57
  sick. But you know, people were people
• 49:00
  know that the child that the patient might be safe.
• 49:03
  But they don't always know the death of a you may tell them but
• 49:06
  their minds, don't allow them to embrace it and the listening to
• 49:09
  her cry and cry for a long time. I'm and then to try to find a
• 49:13
  way to allow her to the person to go on and have some moments
• 49:17
  where they can gather themselves may be caused from.
• 49:20
  There is not, I was not given any formal way of learning how
• 49:23
  to do that. I think it's incredibly
• 49:25
  necessary. I think learning how to also do
• 49:30
  the other things when you deliver information.
• 49:33
  How do you look? I mean it seems like it's a
• 49:35
  small issue that people would only want the information but
• 49:38
  how you deliver it? Can be really challenging.
• 49:42
  My father died, about three years ago from prostate cancer
• 49:46
  and he I remember his he didn't let me know to the very end
• 49:50
  literally only knew six days before he died.
• 49:53
  But remember his wife to ex-wife telling me that when he
• 49:57
  discovered was told that he was had cancer that the doctor was
• 50:01
  very flippant and appeared not to carry says, well you got six
• 50:04
  months, do the best you can and you know, you're not going to
• 50:07
  make it Beyond six months and that how They were about getting
• 50:11
  the information in a way that they got the way that people get
• 50:15
  it, has a lot to do with sometimes, how, how, well, they
• 50:19
  can at least start to deal with it, if it's done in a way that
• 50:23
  seems flippant or you're not concerned, you don't have a good
• 50:26
  body language, it can really throw people.
• 50:29
  If they're watching a lot of the things that you do and it is a
• 50:35
  it is a something that you practice and you try to get
• 50:38
  better at And, you know, you say, it's a dermatologist.
• 50:41
  What's the chances of that happening?
• 50:42
  It's very rare, It's relatively rare.
• 50:44
  I remember, case example, me as just being a doctor in general,
• 50:49
  I, It was waiting the office and someone random to examine the
• 50:54
  said, you know, there's a lady out in front of who's on, coming
• 50:57
  to see you. And she just fell down outside.
• 50:58
  I think she's having trouble. So I ran out the building and
• 51:01
  it's a woman sitting on the ground and I walked over to her
• 51:04
  and spoke to her and said, you know, she was says, I don't know
• 51:07
  what's going on. I said, you know, just lay back,
• 51:09
  I had her lie back and then she her heart stopped.
• 51:13
  So we had to do the full resuscitation which included
• 51:16
  mouth-to-mouth. I'm out in a public place there
• 51:19
  and people gathering around. Well, I mean, the nurses
• 51:23
  working, we got and the longest rivers the person died.
• 51:27
  And we had to notify the family. And remember about two weeks
• 51:33
  later, someone walked into my office, and handed me a program
• 51:39
  from a funeral, and was the lady.
• 51:42
  And the person said to me, And really, I just choked up his
• 51:45
  thinking about it. And person said to me, I'm glad
• 51:48
  you were there for her and she didn't die alone and it just
• 51:51
  struck me in such a way that it was just incredibly Important,
• 51:58
  you know, that it was great, that, you know, part of his not
• 52:00
  just trying to save their business life, but to be seen as
• 52:03
  an agent and at least trying to help people with their own
• 52:07
  comfort and their own normal life circumstances, we're all
• 52:11
  gonna die, we're all gonna get sick, their ways of trying to
• 52:13
  help people embrace them, to things that you do.
• 52:16
  Yes, question were, you know, I it wasn't, I wish I wish we had,
• 52:21
  there were times people if things would happen in.
• 52:24
  People would die and he would occasionally get a talk from the
• 52:27
  more senior doctors and they would share some of the
• 52:29
  scenarios they had been under but there was nothing like a
• 52:33
  formula or a way it people. It's just a sort of a burden
• 52:37
  that you have to sort of work your way through.
• 52:40
  With time and maybe watching other people do it. yeah, it's a
• 52:47
  it's a it's something not everyone is As good at it as
• 52:51
  others. Not saying I'm great at it and
• 52:54
  not I it's just something you have to learn.
• 52:56
  Yes, it's a great Queen. Thank you sir for sharing.
• 53:00
  I really appreciate that. My next question was was going
• 53:04
  to be like, What steps do you take to?
• 53:13
  Take care of yourself. You know this is a very kind of
• 53:17
  challenging role in emotional role in many is demanding on you
• 53:22
  from every single perspective. You know, I'm very aware of how
• 53:25
  many hours Physicians and doctors work as well.
• 53:28
  So there's that element to it too.
• 53:29
  But it's just all encompassing. So like what do you do to take
• 53:34
  care of yourself and Yeah. Just take care of yourself,
• 53:39
  mind, body and soul. So you that you can keep going,
• 53:41
  keep doing this. Keep helping people.
• 53:44
  Yeah, I really developed a lot of new interest and coping
• 53:49
  things to do over the years. I think, you know, I can speak
• 53:52
  only for myself and other people find other things, but I love
• 53:55
  sports. I watch a lot of basketball and
• 53:59
  football and what we call football and college and pro and
• 54:04
  it's a, it's a Distraction that is just fantastic and I'm in an
• 54:08
  area where it's very popular for college and very popular for
• 54:11
  pros. I like to exercise I have run
• 54:16
  half marathons, I run some, I like to lift weights, I'll swim
• 54:20
  in the summer. I try to find a range of things
• 54:22
  to do that. Really get my heart rate up in a
• 54:25
  lot of things that just really pushed me to my Edge, which I
• 54:29
  really like, you know, I've run this load, I can call myself
• 54:32
  running really a slow jogging, but I run these little
• 54:35
  occasional. Races, they'll have with 5K and
• 54:38
  half marathon and things. And there are moments during it
• 54:42
  where you really are at your Edge where you can feel the
• 54:45
  pain, you can you may be down on yourself, you know, you've got
• 54:48
  enough five miles to go and is there something about it?
• 54:52
  I find very rewarding, that sort of simplifies things that
• 54:57
  focuses you that there's a reward that comes from that,
• 55:00
  that dopamine, surge, that, that sense of completion, I love
• 55:04
  those things and I find it makes it very It helps me cope with
• 55:07
  life in general and I really like that.
• 55:10
  I like to have been learning to play golf and I'm playing golf
• 55:14
  with my friends, more likely. It's very social sport.
• 55:18
  I really really like it. I never thought I would be a
• 55:20
  golfer. I remember the closest thing to
• 55:22
  I thought golf was like watching the Grass Grows and the Dallas
• 55:24
  thing you can possibly do. But I have come to do that.
• 55:29
  I have a wonderful wife and family.
• 55:32
  I've always this also a physician so I have the benefit
• 55:34
  of being able to come at home and there.
• 55:36
  Times I come home and we share things about things, we
• 55:39
  experience that day and that has been, you know, beyond I can't
• 55:43
  even put words about how fortunate.
• 55:46
  I have a tremendous friend Network, it's tremendous to me.
• 55:50
  These are great people and we have a lot of fun.
• 55:53
  You go out, we celebrate each other's birthdays.
• 55:56
  We go to occasional Gatherings together.
• 56:00
  I invite people over do some things.
• 56:03
  I just think it's great and I like to read.
• 56:07
  I'm getting I spend more time reading and I try to spend more
• 56:13
  time in nature. That's one of the things I've
• 56:15
  enjoyed most, there's been a lot of conversations lately about
• 56:18
  the impact of doing the kind of jobs that we do.
• 56:23
  And again, I want to preface. I don't feel messing that our
• 56:27
  jobs are any harder or easier than anyone elses.
• 56:31
  I think it's a different kind of job and whether I'm, you're
• 56:34
  practicing medicine or whether You're working in a high tech
• 56:37
  company and try to bring out a product.
• 56:39
  There's a certain burden that comes with the kind of choices
• 56:42
  that you make. So yeah, I like to spend time
• 56:46
  out in nature. I try to do a few things around
• 56:50
  the house. I like to cook.
• 56:51
  I've become a reasonable cook. My family thinks I'm free to go
• 56:54
  cook, I like to cook things, so I could just about every day, I
• 56:58
  love trying new things. I'll go to the farmers market
• 57:01
  and buy all sorts of vegetables and not tried before and things.
• 57:05
  Now, come home and web. Some recipes.
• 57:06
  Usually something I find online and just the creativity that
• 57:11
  goes with that, you get a great meal at the end.
• 57:14
  Hopefully is great. Not always, I love that.
• 57:18
  I grow a few little few vegetables and yard which I use
• 57:21
  for the cooking, I like that. So those are the things I've
• 57:25
  tried to do all these. I found them very rewarding,
• 57:28
  they really enriched my life. And then the, the times I had
• 57:33
  with my friends where we can just talk about, you know,
• 57:36
  Literally anything I have some tremendous friends, tremendous
• 57:40
  friend so I'm very fortunate that.
• 57:42
  Thank you so much for sharing. I just know that they'll be
• 57:45
  people listening to us that are either you know aspiring
• 57:48
  positions or what not an is it I think it's I think it's
• 57:52
  important to know that you know Yeah, it's good to have like a
• 57:57
  variety variety within your life, to, you know, outside of
• 58:02
  what you do. Like, it's the same with me.
• 58:05
  Like I spent a lot of my time working and doing things.
• 58:07
  I'm passionate about things, I'm not so passionate about, but I
• 58:10
  do think it's important to have that time for yourself and have
• 58:15
  lots of interests and be around people and stuff like that,
• 58:17
  especially, you know, in your field.
• 58:20
  I mean, I know you say, like, oh, maybe it's not as difficult
• 58:23
  as sorry. you were saying that you you would you think like
• 58:28
  other Industries probably it's challenging to but like I don't
• 58:31
  know like the only thing I could even compare it to which I don't
• 58:35
  even think is really comparable as working and customer services
• 58:38
  is what I did when I was younger and that was only really
• 58:41
  demanding because of the way people would speak to you and
• 58:47
  you know, the The nature of the work being, you know, like
• 58:55
  having a lot of hours, but I don't think it's really
• 58:56
  comparable to what you do because the difference is like
• 59:00
  my stories from years ago of like bad customers that used to
• 59:04
  be a source of like frustration and anger and everything for me.
• 59:08
  But now it's just like funny. It's like oh haha, that was
• 59:11
  then. And it doesn't really affect me,
• 59:13
  whereas with everything that you do.
• 59:15
  It's like this is something you're really passionate about.
• 59:18
  It's part of you. It's I think any kind of job, I
• 59:24
  think where you're taking care of other people in some shape or
• 59:27
  form. Yes, is going to be different to
• 59:31
  just like customer service or marketing business, whatever
• 59:35
  like the end there will be difficult elements to all those
• 59:38
  jobs and sometimes it. Yeah.
• 59:40
  Like just a bad co-worker or a horrible customer or something.
• 59:43
  Can come really make your life a nightmare like I've been on the
• 59:47
  receiving end of that so I do not by any means minimizing that
• 59:51
  but I do You think? Yeah, I mean, if you look at
• 59:54
  everything that was happening in covid-19, and, and how people
• 59:59
  were really appreciative of, and not just like medical workers,
• 1:00:05
  but Frontline workers and stuff. And I think it comes down to the
• 1:00:08
  fact that not only were you risking their lives in general.
• 1:00:10
  But also, you know, I think finally, it really shined the
• 1:00:15
  light on just everything that Physicians do for us and what
• 1:00:21
  that entails Because I always look at it like it's everything,
• 1:00:24
  it's not just long hours, it's the emotional side, it's the
• 1:00:27
  physical side, it's all of those things, and you've takes a lot
• 1:00:32
  of takes its toll on you. Okay, I can recognize I see that
• 1:00:35
  and people I know the for Physicians or or in those care
• 1:00:41
  Industries and stuff and it's it does take its toll on them and
• 1:00:44
  it's tough to keep going. That's what that's why I asked
• 1:00:48
  you about what you do in your free time.
• 1:00:49
  Not. But what do you do to keep
• 1:00:50
  yourself going? Keep yourself happy because
• 1:00:52
  That's so important. I think you got some I think you
• 1:00:57
  hit it right on the here with with our people in United State,
• 1:00:59
  you're right, there are some differences because of the kind
• 1:01:01
  of work that I do and many people do, you know, I tried to
• 1:01:04
  be very careful about when talking to people about not,
• 1:01:08
  right? There's been this sort of
• 1:01:11
  Elevation of doctors is being his kind of people.
• 1:01:14
  You see him, they have all these TV shows about him and
• 1:01:16
  everything and there's some truth to some of them, some of
• 1:01:19
  them. And so you know, I think it's a
• 1:01:22
  great profession and I think it's great calling and I like
• 1:01:25
  what I do my but you're right. I think if you look at their
• 1:01:28
  statistics of suicide rates are higher among people that are
• 1:01:34
  doing the kind of work that we do.
• 1:01:36
  I think, you know, you have many great benefits that come with
• 1:01:40
  it. no, I mean there's a certain Way to people treat you in a way
• 1:01:44
  that is a little bit different than maybe some other
• 1:01:46
  professions which is usually to your advantage usually but
• 1:01:51
  you're right. I think people need to all have
• 1:01:52
  some kind of outcome and I mean some kind of outlet and learning
• 1:01:57
  how to embrace that inconsiderate normal
• 1:02:00
  inconsiderate, a part of Making your work life better has been a
• 1:02:06
  transition. I listen to what you're saying.
• 1:02:09
  You talk about that you know work a lot of long hours.
• 1:02:12
  I would I have a psychologist. I go see at times and she she
• 1:02:15
  retired recently but I remember her saying to me, giving me an
• 1:02:18
  analogy about someone walking up with someone who was cutting
• 1:02:22
  wood in the forest and he kept cutting wood.
• 1:02:24
  And someone said, you ever stopped to sharpen the the acts
• 1:02:29
  basically, saying to you ever stopped to allow yourself to
• 1:02:33
  work, Average so that the work that you're doing is better and
• 1:02:37
  it has taken me a long time to figure out how to do that and to
• 1:02:42
  embrace it and to see it as necessary.
• 1:02:44
  And normal used to be a sort of a guilt I had about taking time
• 1:02:48
  off at and doing things that when I could have been doing
• 1:02:52
  something more from for learning or maybe doing something for my
• 1:02:56
  family, my family have three kids and a wife, they're all
• 1:02:59
  grown now but there was a time when I found it very challenging
• 1:03:02
  and so you Just learned to balance.
• 1:03:04
  And I think all of us nowadays, particularly people that work
• 1:03:06
  from home, the idea of having some kind of break for yourself,
• 1:03:12
  I had a friend that really pushed me about that over here.
• 1:03:14
  It's and it's only worked out to my advantage.
• 1:03:15
  And so I've been very, very pleased that have found these
• 1:03:19
  are things. I love all these things back
• 1:03:20
  today after work, I'm gonna play some golf with my friends.
• 1:03:23
  I wouldn't there's some I never would've done that in the middle
• 1:03:25
  of the week. I'm doing it in a middle week
• 1:03:27
  this week and, you know, be for 23 hours.
• 1:03:29
  You know, be very peaceful and I'll come home and I'm better
• 1:03:32
  for having done that. I'll be Tomorrow at work because
• 1:03:34
  of what I do this afternoon. So yes, it is part of the part
• 1:03:40
  of the game and I think people have to learn.
• 1:03:42
  There are people who are not very good at it, and who push
• 1:03:45
  themselves to the edge? I mean, you literally can do
• 1:03:48
  only, you know, study and look at the patient charts anything
• 1:03:52
  but, you know, 24 hours a day But it's trying to find some
• 1:03:55
  balance and I think the street going to be true for all of us
• 1:03:57
  you know for everyone even sharing just a final few
• 1:04:02
  questions just to kind of get some advice for you.
• 1:04:05
  Always like to ask my guests for advice, let's keep it with
• 1:04:09
  Deborah. Told you for the second though,
• 1:04:11
  what advice could you give to aspiring dermatologists?
• 1:04:17
  Yes, I think it's important to make sure that you realize it's
• 1:04:20
  a long road and I say this for not just for Dermatology but
• 1:04:23
  people in general is that you have to be prepared for what's
• 1:04:25
  going to be a very long process. Relative to say your friends.
• 1:04:29
  I remember finishing college and I went off to medical school and
• 1:04:32
  I'm taking loans, and I'm studying and their people out on
• 1:04:36
  vacation and they're driving fancy cars around.
• 1:04:39
  And, and I'm sitting here, you know, study and it's a moment I
• 1:04:43
  was like, this is too much, I don't feel like doing it.
• 1:04:46
  But later on, it has his benefits.
• 1:04:47
  So you have to be willing to go the longer row.
• 1:04:50
  The second thing is that you have to feel like your visual
• 1:04:55
  senses are some of your stronger senses.
• 1:04:58
  There's some people who are very good at, they have excellent
• 1:05:00
  ears for music and they can listen and play things that will
• 1:05:04
  not benefit you in dermatology, but you have to have the ability
• 1:05:07
  to really look at things, and notice very subtle things and to
• 1:05:11
  have a good memory for for for pictures.
• 1:05:14
  And for things that you see there, really have to be
• 1:05:18
  prepared to give up your time in ways that are different than
• 1:05:24
  other people. So, for instance doesn't happen
• 1:05:26
  a lot in dermatology, but as I was training, you used to have
• 1:05:28
  to. You might get a call in the
• 1:05:30
  middle of the night. Since I need you to come into
• 1:05:31
  the ER and see this patient might be two in the morning you
• 1:05:35
  get up and you do and you try not to do it too much.
• 1:05:37
  But if you have to you do and you are willing to give up your
• 1:05:39
  time. And another thing that I would
• 1:05:43
  probably include in that and this is for people in general,
• 1:05:46
  is that people come to see you and they invest a lot.
• 1:05:51
  Of their effort into that. Someone that shows up in your in
• 1:05:55
  your office or comes to see, you has, maybe found the babysitter,
• 1:05:59
  maybe use some of their, they're sick time or their annual time
• 1:06:03
  to do it. Maybe if driven great distances,
• 1:06:06
  maybe have giving you money that was seems like a lot of money to
• 1:06:10
  them, they might give you $25 to be there.
• 1:06:12
  That's it. Can be a lot of money to them
• 1:06:14
  and that when they're they're they're expecting a person who
• 1:06:18
  is concerned about them. They're expecting people who are
• 1:06:22
  professionally trained, they're expecting people who are Enjoy.
• 1:06:28
  Making sure that tie there. Happiness in that moment or at
• 1:06:32
  least they're you know they're good outcome in that moment to
• 1:06:36
  what you're given. So you have to be prepared to
• 1:06:39
  deliver on some of those things. So that's what I'd probably
• 1:06:43
  recommend for people going into Dermatology or Madison and John
• 1:06:48
  thank you very much. What's the best advice you've
• 1:06:52
  ever received? Good questions.
• 1:06:56
  I'm going to ask me that about three weeks ago, but I think I'm
• 1:07:00
  going to give you more than one, so I'm going to give you a
• 1:07:02
  couple things. Number one is my mother at a
• 1:07:04
  very young age when I told her I'm going to be a physician.
• 1:07:06
  She said to me, Remember, this is a long road and you have to
• 1:07:11
  pace yourself. She knew that I could be very
• 1:07:14
  intense. She knew that I liked many of
• 1:07:16
  the fields that you have to study to go into medicine.
• 1:07:19
  And she wanted to remind me that it can be a lot and it can be
• 1:07:24
  overwhelming and you have to be prepared to think of it as a
• 1:07:27
  very long road to go, another piece of advice, I got from
• 1:07:33
  someone and it's very hard time. Remembering who told me this,
• 1:07:36
  but it Probably cliche, but it is really true.
• 1:07:40
  You know, to treat the patients and treat people around you as
• 1:07:43
  if you were treating your relatives.
• 1:07:46
  So when someone comes to see me, I try to imagine them as being
• 1:07:50
  someone who's related to me. I try to treat them in a way
• 1:07:53
  that I would for someone. I'm, I would be invested in when
• 1:07:57
  I have an elderly person. I think I remember my
• 1:07:59
  grandmother who I love dearly and I tried to mention what
• 1:08:03
  would I like her to have in this particular circle is, how would
• 1:08:05
  I like someone to speak to her? How would I like, help someone
• 1:08:09
  address her? So I think about that.
• 1:08:12
  She lied children. I've had children can imagine
• 1:08:14
  what do I do for my own children.
• 1:08:15
  So that's sort of teaching I think has really served me.
• 1:08:19
  Well, I started off Trying to do those things don't always
• 1:08:24
  succeed. I don't always give people
• 1:08:27
  exactly what they're looking for and back, sometimes I'm not able
• 1:08:29
  to get what you're looking for, but I think I at least try to
• 1:08:34
  embrace that and to give that to people and that's something that
• 1:08:37
  I think was a great piece of advice that and a third one on
• 1:08:41
  and I'll make it short and I know you're busy.
• 1:08:43
  But the third one was that someone taught me that you that
• 1:08:47
  everyone has something to teach you, you know, I'm very
• 1:08:50
  fortunate. I've been in school for a long.
• 1:08:52
  I met 12 years of high school, four years of college, four
• 1:08:55
  years of medical school, three years of residency in
• 1:08:58
  dermatology and another three years of time training in
• 1:09:01
  dermatology as well as Pediatrics.
• 1:09:03
  And so it was a long road and to realize that regardless of what
• 1:09:13
  I may know, everyone has had back things that they can teach
• 1:09:16
  you is regardless of whether a child or an older person, or
• 1:09:20
  someone that doesn't have as much as Education, all have
• 1:09:24
  things that you can learn from them.
• 1:09:26
  They all have some piece of some puzzle, that could be valuable
• 1:09:30
  to you. So you respect and honor people,
• 1:09:33
  regardless of whatever circumstances they find
• 1:09:38
  themselves again. I think those are three pieces
• 1:09:41
  of advice. I think are some of the best.
• 1:09:43
  Thank you so much for sharing. I really, really appreciate it.
• 1:09:47
  I also have a guest. This question, it's similar to
• 1:09:49
  the one I asked you before, but it's more kind of focused on
• 1:09:52
  Will life so far in everything you've done?
• 1:09:55
  What's the biggest life lesson you've learned so far?
• 1:09:59
  I get - I love to give you one, but could you mind if I give you
• 1:10:03
  two or three, I'll give you two three.
• 1:10:05
  Absolutely one. Is that life is very short, and
• 1:10:09
  that in a blink of an eye things change.
• 1:10:13
  And you don't, you know, I remember being a much younger
• 1:10:15
  man in thinking that I knew exactly how my life was going to
• 1:10:19
  vote. I'm going to live to be the
• 1:10:21
  certain age. I'm going to live here and do
• 1:10:24
  this and do that, and so much of it is different than what I
• 1:10:27
  expected. There are people who Left far
• 1:10:30
  too early from my life in ways that I just did not see.
• 1:10:35
  I am 61 and I feel very much like I'm about 25 in my mind,
• 1:10:41
  but it has been indefinitely. Are, you know?
• 1:10:43
  No one looks at me and says, oh, you look 25 because I don't, I
• 1:10:45
  look like I'm 61, but that time your life can pass very quickly.
• 1:10:53
  There's something you need to enjoy your life along the way
• 1:10:56
  and enjoy your friends and family at the time that there
• 1:10:59
  there. Yeah, I think I took for granted
• 1:11:01
  sometimes that these people are always going to be there, be at
• 1:11:04
  my parents and my grandparents were some of my professors, some
• 1:11:07
  of my good friends who, you know, what?
• 1:11:10
  I wouldn't do to have another moment with these people.
• 1:11:13
  So, the idea that you realize that life that time passes very
• 1:11:17
  fast, you appreciate the time that you have treat people in
• 1:11:22
  that circumstance. Like, this might be the last
• 1:11:24
  time you seen, because it really might be high and weighs.
• 1:11:26
  I just never thought about another great piece of life in
• 1:11:31
  the information that were, excuse me advice, then I've
• 1:11:34
  learned is that I think people try to do the best they can.
• 1:11:41
  There are times in which I'll look at some crazy scenario.
• 1:11:43
  We were joking before we came on about Will Smith and Chris Rock
• 1:11:47
  and all sorts of things. And I look at that scenario.
• 1:11:50
  And I were innocent of any challenges in the rap scene and
• 1:11:53
  think about what would someone do something like that?
• 1:11:55
  You know, why would people behave in this manner?
• 1:11:57
  And it In a professor of mine said we're yeah he was a
• 1:12:01
  professional. I know art history.
• 1:12:02
  Professor said. If people could do better than
• 1:12:06
  then they would Sometimes this is the best.
• 1:12:10
  Someone has that, that you don't know their background, you don't
• 1:12:13
  know what they're gone through. You have no clue.
• 1:12:15
  It may be difficult for you, and maybe in you separate yourself
• 1:12:17
  in person, person being unrealistic.
• 1:12:19
  Or but there are people who live, or living lives and going
• 1:12:23
  through all sorts of things that you just don't understand.
• 1:12:26
  And it doesn't mean you have to put up with abuse, it doesn't
• 1:12:30
  mean you got to think what they're thinking is, right?
• 1:12:33
  But you realize that people are from their perspective, they
• 1:12:36
  really do believe. Leave that they're right about
• 1:12:39
  the things that they're doing. And most people are not choosing
• 1:12:42
  to purposely do things wrong or to purposely be difficult in
• 1:12:48
  their world, in their perspective.
• 1:12:51
  It is the thing that they believe.
• 1:12:55
  So those are two particularly different things.
• 1:12:58
  And the third thing is learning how to enjoy yourself and be
• 1:13:01
  present in the moment that you are, often times when I was very
• 1:13:05
  young, I was 21 22 thinking about the future.
• 1:13:08
  One day when I finish in Madison's, I'm gonna go on this
• 1:13:10
  great vacation, and his wonderful wife and his children.
• 1:13:13
  Meanwhile, I'm 20, I'm hanging out and having a good time and
• 1:13:16
  I'm focused on these other things went at the moment I
• 1:13:18
  shouldn't and appreciate enjoy that.
• 1:13:20
  That moment have children who our daughter was still in
• 1:13:23
  college. And I tried to tell her, she's
• 1:13:25
  had some struggles and I said, you know, you pay attention to
• 1:13:28
  where you are at this moment because she will look at these.
• 1:13:30
  Are your good old days. These are the moments that you
• 1:13:33
  will look back upon with great fun us and you can't appreciate
• 1:13:37
  it. Now, But do all the fun things,
• 1:13:39
  enjoy yourself. Now, enjoy your friends, stay in
• 1:13:43
  the moment, not the future, not, what's coming next?
• 1:13:46
  Those things may never come to pass but try to be where you are
• 1:13:48
  now and think where you are now is a great, a great place
• 1:13:52
  because it is great place later on.
• 1:13:53
  You'll look back and wish you had that again, and it's hard to
• 1:13:58
  see it at 20 and 21 and 22 were all very young and strong and
• 1:14:03
  you know, it's on your hair looks as good as everybody.
• 1:14:05
  Good, let you have no lines on your face.
• 1:14:06
  Everything's great. Your Roland.
• 1:14:08
  You look back to your old pictures and you say, man, I was
• 1:14:11
  really the man back in those days, but at the time, if you
• 1:14:15
  ask yourself is am not the man I need to be better shooting.
• 1:14:17
  I need to be taller, I need to finally catch up with that girl,
• 1:14:23
  but you were more than enough at the time.
• 1:14:24
  So learn to appreciate at the moment, you are great where you
• 1:14:28
  are and enjoy the things you have while you while you have
• 1:14:31
  them because they will change. So those are the three of the
• 1:14:34
  things that I think I've learned over the years.
• 1:14:37
  Thank you so much for sharing honestly, it's always a pleasure
• 1:14:41
  when I get to ask these questions to people from around
• 1:14:45
  the world and learn about different, just life stories and
• 1:14:50
  and be experienced and everything, you know.
• 1:14:52
  And I really resonate with some of the things you said just for
• 1:14:55
  out this whole conversation, particularly about, you know
• 1:15:00
  like everyone having something to offer and you know just in
• 1:15:06
  general I think the, we do take a lot of things for granted, and
• 1:15:10
  we don't always realize What we have and, you know, I think it's
• 1:15:15
  important to to try to do that. I'm definitely trying to do that
• 1:15:18
  now. Like with what you were saying,
• 1:15:20
  they're like being in the moment, I really try and do
• 1:15:22
  that. They could take this podcast as
• 1:15:24
  an example. I mean, when I'm when I'm doing
• 1:15:28
  it when I'm here I'm in this moment.
• 1:15:29
  I'm in this conversation and that's all I'm thinking about.
• 1:15:31
  Yeah my mind is like I've got to stop this at some point and I've
• 1:15:35
  got to move to this topic and you know that's it that but
• 1:15:37
  that's background stuff like the main core of what I'm in this.
• 1:15:43
  What doing is I want to have a great conversation with this
• 1:15:45
  person and really showcase this human being, you know, in every
• 1:15:54
  sense. You know, because I think and I
• 1:15:56
  started to think about this a lot more recently with what am I
• 1:15:59
  trying to achieve with this podcast?
• 1:16:01
  I've said this in more recent episodes as well but I think I
• 1:16:05
  guess what I'm trying to achieve with it is is to showcase the
• 1:16:09
  amazing stories of different people from around the world,
• 1:16:11
  different backgrounds. and and, you know, I think it's Certainly
• 1:16:19
  my personal experiences I gained so much from it.
• 1:16:21
  I just learned from every single person and it's an absolute
• 1:16:24
  pleasure and an honor. And I also think that hopefully
• 1:16:29
  anyone listening to this or watching this will gain
• 1:16:32
  something from this will you know, resonate with some of the
• 1:16:35
  things that have been discussed and and we'll learn something
• 1:16:38
  and and and realize that, you know, life is all about.
• 1:16:44
  These experiences in these lessons that we continue to
• 1:16:46
  learn. And, you know, as you put it,
• 1:16:49
  you know, most of the time, we're just trying to do our
• 1:16:52
  absolute best and it's okay, if sometimes your best is not as
• 1:16:56
  good as the day before. You know what, as long as you
• 1:16:58
  did your best on that particular day and you put your heart and
• 1:17:02
  soul into what you did, then that's all you can ever ask for.
• 1:17:06
  So there you go, and we'd like to save a lot better, you know,
• 1:17:09
  I've done a couple of these things.
• 1:17:11
  However, admit that you have asked questions and Really hit
• 1:17:14
  on some topics. I just normally don't talk about
• 1:17:17
  it, but I found it to be a very, you know, it's very positive
• 1:17:20
  experience and the way that you the way you just said, you know,
• 1:17:23
  showcasing this person. That's a really Cool way of
• 1:17:29
  thinking about, you know, that you are, you are helping to see
• 1:17:34
  more than just say the topic, you know, examine Dermatology.
• 1:17:37
  We talked about that. We talked about a whole lot of
• 1:17:38
  other things too. And I think, yeah, you know,
• 1:17:41
  it's has been as good as any I've done.
• 1:17:43
  And I really, you know, I found a very pleasant was a great,
• 1:17:46
  great experience. I, you know, I'd be more than
• 1:17:47
  happy to talk to you, again, at some point if you ever wanted
• 1:17:50
  it, it was, it was just really good.
• 1:17:52
  It would be like an editor right out if you want, but I don't
• 1:17:54
  know. But everything like that.
• 1:17:57
  I mean, I make a point of Revit editing things a because I'm too
• 1:18:00
  lazy and be because I like to have a real conversation.
• 1:18:04
  I like it to feel that you know, if you were sitting and
• 1:18:06
  listening to this, it's as though you're in the room and
• 1:18:09
  you're listening to two people having a conversation and maybe
• 1:18:12
  it's like you know like if you're a bar or something and
• 1:18:14
  you sit there and you hear a good conversation you're like
• 1:18:17
  yeah yeah and it just inspires your gives you something you
• 1:18:21
  know they could I can't count how many times I've walked away
• 1:18:24
  and today no exception. The Having learned something.
• 1:18:28
  NG. And I don't know, I guess it
• 1:18:30
  gives me like some faith in humanity as you said, yeah, you
• 1:18:34
  talk about the specifics of, you know, obviously we're here to
• 1:18:37
  talk about you and the things that you offer and stuff and
• 1:18:40
  hopefully people will go and check those things out.
• 1:18:44
  But I think the bigger thing that you gain from it is that
• 1:18:47
  you realize there's a human being behind every, you know,
• 1:18:52
  like Dumpling My Words a bit here.
• 1:18:56
  I'll summon up a better way. What what I tend to do now
• 1:19:00
  whenever I meet new people like in real life, if I meet someone
• 1:19:04
  instead of asking them what they do for a living, I ask them what
• 1:19:07
  they're passionate about and like their big it again unless
• 1:19:12
  it's a better response, you know?
• 1:19:14
  Because I think Your passions are the things that ignite your
• 1:19:19
  soul and that's what you are as a human being, you know, and
• 1:19:23
  your work can be that. But sometimes it's not always
• 1:19:27
  that sometimes a job is just a job in.
• 1:19:29
  Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, you know, you got to do
• 1:19:31
  what you got to do, to make a living in this world and respect
• 1:19:35
  to everyone. You know, I've had times in my
• 1:19:36
  life where I've been unemployed, and that really made me
• 1:19:40
  understand the value of having a job.
• 1:19:42
  And, you know, like it totally changed my whole perspective on
• 1:19:45
  everything. And as we said at the beginning
• 1:19:49
  of this conversation, you know, understanding the value of
• 1:19:52
  things, value of people experiences time everything.
• 1:19:57
  I. Okay, here's something as well.
• 1:20:01
  Just the final thing. I don't know, ramble too much.
• 1:20:03
  But one thing I found myself doing a lot more and maybe this
• 1:20:08
  is just an age thing, I don't know, but I find myself crying a
• 1:20:12
  lot more. Remember when I was growing up,
• 1:20:15
  I didn't really cry. Guy ever.
• 1:20:17
  And I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me, but
• 1:20:20
  then now I find myself getting emotional, like you see
• 1:20:25
  something someone says, or you see a beautiful moment or film
• 1:20:30
  or a song or just something that resonates and hits you on a
• 1:20:34
  level? And I think that when you start,
• 1:20:38
  Appreciating everything, you have everything you have had.
• 1:20:43
  And everything that's coming. That's when I think you begin to
• 1:20:47
  really appreciate all that life has to offer and and it's hard,
• 1:20:52
  don't get me wrong. I've I know it's an attitude
• 1:20:55
  thing. I know it's difficult, I've been
• 1:20:56
  on both sides but yeah life has a lot to offer and And I think
• 1:21:03
  you said it really well talking about the issue of that crying
• 1:21:06
  and we're fully human. And we have a full range of
• 1:21:10
  emotions and I was raised by very small relatively stoic
• 1:21:13
  father and I saw him cry more at the end of his life.
• 1:21:16
  Once you can only become the person that you really kind of
• 1:21:20
  think you're the current person is the best version of yourself
• 1:21:23
  and you're adding more to that as time goes on.
• 1:21:26
  Hopefully for the better and yeah, crying is something wrong
• 1:21:30
  with crying is nothing wrong with feeling those Felix,
• 1:21:33
  missing people being sad, being happy.
• 1:21:36
  You know the whole range is men. Particularly, sometimes we are
• 1:21:38
  we feel like we're limited to anger and, you know, anger is
• 1:21:42
  our way of expressing how tough we are in these kind of things,
• 1:21:45
  but there's so much more in there is so much more in here
• 1:21:47
  and should be able to show it all.
• 1:21:49
  I completely agree with that, as we Proclaim chatter disclosed
• 1:21:53
  fits a day, do you have any upcoming projects?
• 1:21:56
  So, maybe some final thoughts that you'd like to share with
• 1:21:58
  our listeners. Sure.
• 1:21:59
  So I will shamelessly plug my new do.
• 1:22:02
  Like line, dr. Clear skin.
• 1:22:04
  There are it's geared primarily for shaving related things.
• 1:22:09
  I that's a little project. I've been working on in terms of
• 1:22:11
  trying to fill a niche for people who have shaving
• 1:22:14
  difficulties. These are things that you add to
• 1:22:16
  your shaving routine to try to make things better.
• 1:22:18
  That's both for women and for men other projects, I'm
• 1:22:22
  expanding some things in my office.
• 1:22:24
  Trying some new Ventures had mentioned primarily about taking
• 1:22:27
  care of a mostly medical things. Never working a bit more on
• 1:22:31
  constant. Things that I'm looking forward
• 1:22:34
  to traveling again. I had a trip planned to Greece
• 1:22:38
  before the pandemic. I would love to get back to
• 1:22:41
  Austria. I love the UK.
• 1:22:43
  I really had a great time in London.
• 1:22:45
  Absolutely. Love London.
• 1:22:46
  I'd like to a patient of mine who's from the Isle of wait.
• 1:22:50
  If I said that correctly, Idlewild and you told me about
• 1:22:55
  it showed me some pictures and I've just been obsessed with it
• 1:22:58
  since then, and I have to go to that place.
• 1:23:02
  That is on my list. Hopefully to get there in the
• 1:23:05
  next year or two. I travel someplace in the United
• 1:23:09
  States go see some friends. I've been on this Venture now of
• 1:23:14
  going back and visiting some of my friends.
• 1:23:16
  I haven't seen in a long time. I consider them dear friends and
• 1:23:19
  we're all so busy. I decide I'm going to be the
• 1:23:21
  one. Someone says you be the be the
• 1:23:23
  best example of a friend that you would want to have.
• 1:23:26
  So, I'm going to visit my friends, and I'm just saying,
• 1:23:29
  you know, I appreciate you, I missed you.
• 1:23:32
  And so I've been driving around doing that a lot more and it has
• 1:23:35
  been to no end just so valuable. So more of that where that
• 1:23:40
  enjoying life having a glass of wine here and they're cooking
• 1:23:43
  watching my sports doing those things I'm having the time of my
• 1:23:46
  life I really am and you know I have a lot to be grateful for
• 1:23:50
  and it's the city I really enjoy.
• 1:23:51
  This was great, this was fantastic.
• 1:23:53
  I I could do this, you know, every month this is just great.
• 1:23:56
  You really brought out a lot of conversation.
• 1:24:00
  A lot of things that That were really insightful.
• 1:24:04
  Questions I've been asked a number of questions.
• 1:24:06
  I have a couple interviews. I didn't last couple months, but
• 1:24:08
  nothing quite like this. This was really, really
• 1:24:11
  penetrating and insightful and and good.
• 1:24:14
  I really enjoy this. Well, thank you.
• 1:24:16
  So it's been an absolute pleasure having you on the show
• 1:24:19
  and to all my listeners of Christian re podcast, as always
• 1:24:23
  be safe. Be well, and I'll see you in the
• 1:24:26
  next one.