Welcome into the first anatomy lab.

Please make sure if you do wish to touch things and jump into what have you with the cadavers, please make sure you have gloves and aprons.

And, uh... good luck to everyone.

But if at any time you feel uncomfortable, there are seats behind you, and you can take some air outside.

You never know what -- who's gonna be triggered, it's a really interesting process.

We want to respect the fact that if you don't feel well, just get out of here, okay?

We'll come check on you, okay?

All right, so are we ready?

Okay.

I'm sure that she would be fascinated by the fact that we donated... she donated for our observation purposes.

She's a very small cadaver patient.

But look how many intestines she has.

-Mm-hmm.

-Like shocking.

If it was like cancerous or anything like that, would it -- would it be black or what would the color be now?

It's a great question.

There's a -- there's a variable amount of presentations, but a lot of times with cancer, you'll feel hard nodularity, particularly in the mesentery and in the functional tissue.

-Yeah...

I was hell-bent on becoming a doctor since about my freshman year of high school.

I think it's a privilege to be a doctor and I think it's even more of a privilege to be a Black doctor.

I think a lot of people from my background don't see medicine as an option.

Or they probably don't see people that look like them in those spaces.

And I think I've been very fortunate having people help me kind of find a way to succeed.

-Hey!

-Hey, Dr. Phang.

I'm great, Andrew.

How's it goin'?

-Good to see you.

-Good to see you.

It's been a minute.

How's it goin'?

Dr. Phang is a long-term mentor of mine.

He kind of really just showed me what it means to... not only be a physician, just be an advocate for the community, and I really aspire to be like him.

-So how's it been this year, so far?

It's -- it's been good.

It's been good.

It's been tough.

How diverse is your class?

Like, what's the breakdown?

-It's about 66% female.

-Okay.

And um...

I think it's about 16 percent people of color, amongst the whole spectrum.

-And then if you tease out Blacks, how many would you... That's a good question.

I haven't... thought of the specific number.

In my class?

4... 14... -Between 14 and 20?

Yeah.

-Okay.

That's not bad.

PHANG: When I went to medical school, there were five Black students.

Really?

-Out of a... a class of uh... 200.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

So, you've, what, tripled me maybe?

(laughing) I just can't wait for you to be done because... (laughing) Um, I just think you're going to be so amazing, not just because you're smart, but because you really care.

The patient-doctor interaction is all about relationships.

The other piece, the illness, the... you'll work those things out, but it's the relationship, I think, that keeps the whole thing going.

♪ -Hello.

-Hello.

How are you?

Oh, you're trying to show them how to find a vein?

Yeah.

(laughs) ANDREW: Wow.

That's so cool.

So which one do we use -- you're using the red one, right?

I'll put it on for you...

So, we're here in Brooklyn, my hometown, trying to work with 3rd graders, 4th graders, 5th graders.

It's really inspiring.

Talking about mentorship makes me think about how there were countless times that I was shy or very confused, and just very nervous.

And seeing 3rd graders, 4th graders, 5th graders in this fashion really motivated me to think about me when I was just trying to find out what I had to do.

Around this whole container?

No one can truly do things on their own.

So I personally want to make sure that I mentor because... if Dr. Phang didn't mentor me, where would I be?

Thank you, man.

I'll see you soon, all right?

♪ I don't think you need to, like, rely on this, but you have it just the case.

-Just the background?

-Okay.

-Yeah.

-He's in this room?

Yeah.

He's in his room.

We'll ask him.

♪ -This is nerve-wracking.

-Huh?

-I'm nervous... it's fine.

-Oh!

What are you nervous for?

-Just in general.

It's fine.

-Okay.

(laughs) ANDREW: It's fine.

It's gonna be fine.

-This is Andrew.

He's a first-year medical student.

-Hello.

-How are you?

Is it okay if he comes and asks you questions about your history?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-How are you feelin' today?

-I'm feeling okay.

-So can you tell me a little bit more about, you know, what brought you to Burke?

-Uh, I got, uh... -I got shot.

-Okay.

Was it like to the right... it was right side?

-My right side.

-Mm-hmm.

-My right side.

And then, it bounced, it hit my... my spinal cord.

-Okay.

And... it bursted my L... below my L1.

-Okay.

-So...

They say I ain't got no feelings in my legs.

-Okay.

-But I can get it back.

That's like my -- my goal is for me to walk to my daughter and pick her up.

-Mm.

-And I got to be, like, a little depressed, because I'm not gonna be there for my baby -- my baby's birthday.

-Mm-hmm.

-But it's like...

I'm gonna be there afterwards.

-Mm-hmm.

Then hopefully by then, I can walk to her, pick her up, surprise her.

You know?

Other than that, like, that's my main focus right now.

-Mm.

-That's basically it.

-I appreciate you giving me some time to speak with you and a little bit learn more about your story.

-No problem.

-And I wish you absolute best in your recovery.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Appreciate it.