CHANGING GEARS
Brandon Yates discovered a passion for women’s health
Brandon Yates went into Match Day at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine hoping to match with a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. But his path to that specialty has involved some obstacles and surprises.
The fourth-year medical student from Raleigh graduated from UNC Greensboro in 2014. He applied to medical school before leaving to study abroad in Mexico during his final year.
“I was getting all my rejections when I was in Mexico,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Well, it’s OK, I’m in Mexico; I’m going to enjoy this and I’ll deal with all the other stuff when I get back.’”
Brody School of Medicine graduate Brandon Yates plans to pursue a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology and to continue his work as an advocate for women’s health.
After the trip, he moved back home and enrolled in a program to become a nurse aide. He wasn’t sure the field was a good fit for him but ultimately found working in home health care to be rewarding.
“I took care of an elderly man and also took care of a child with cerebral palsy,” Yates said. The child was blind and nonverbal. “I learned … working as a nurse aide, that those patients depended on me so much, and it was kind of like an honor to be able to serve them in that way. And I got to learn how to communicate with someone who isn’t able to talk to me, who doesn’t even know what I look like.
“It was definitely challenging, but it was something I was very appreciative of.”
During his two years working in home health, Yates also completed a master’s degree in physiology at N.C. State. Finally, he was accepted and started medical school at Brody in 2016.
At the end of his second year, he suffered another academic setback when he didn’t pass his Step 1 exam on the first attempt. Yates had to sit out his clerkship and study to retake the exam.
“And so all the thoughts of becoming a doctor were kind of put on halt because you can’t move forward until you take this exam,” he said. “So all the dreams that I had of becoming a doctor just seemed even further away than what it initially felt like when I came into medical school.”
Yates said he turned to friends and family for support and also credited the Office of Student Development for helping him develop a plan to move forward.
“In that moment I learned that there’s no shame in failure,” he said. “Failure is just preparing us to succeed. … It did motivate me, it kind of lit the fire under my butt a little bit. And it taught me and showed me what I’m actually capable of doing. It pushed me mentally, physically and emotionally, and I think it’s only going to help me in my future.”
Having already overcome a couple of roadblocks, Yates faced a fork in the road during his third-year rotations. His plan coming into medical school had been to go into pediatrics, the area in which he had the most experience as a nurse aide. The rotation in obstetrics and gynecology was not one that he was looking forward to.
“I started on labor and delivery, and I thought, ‘This is kind of cool. Who wouldn’t think watching a baby would be awesome?’” he said. “And then I went over to the surgical portion of the rotation, and I found I liked being in the O.R.”
Last was the clinic, which Yates approached with trepidation.
“I really liked the patient interaction and educating patients on contraception, talking about signs of domestic abuse, and I recognized that I really enjoyed interacting with women in this kind of setting,” he said.
After completing other rotations, Yates realized that he was most at home in the field of women’s health.
“People are starting to talk more about women’s rights and reproductive rights, and I feel like even though I’m a male, I really enjoy being an advocate for women in that situation,” he said.
For his capstone project, Yates helped develop videos to make critical information more accessible for patients.
“Women are given a book … in the labor and delivery unit that talks about postpartum care, things that your body is going to be going through and warning signs that you should be aware of in that postpartum period,” he said. “And it’s got a lot of information but it’s kind of written at a higher educational level.
“So we thought it would be a great idea to take that information, simplify it and put it in video form because individuals are more likely to pay attention or remember information that way.”
The group created four videos — keeping them short and accessible — and made them available on iPads in the exam rooms at the clinic for patients to watch while waiting for the doctor. They also attached a survey to gather feedback on the videos’ effectiveness and other topics in which the patients would be interested.
Yates said he looks forward to celebrating with his family and friends once his match is revealed. “I’ll be the first medical doctor in my family,” he said. “My sister has a Ph.D., so she’s the first doctor, but I’ll be the first medical doctor.”
He also has added to his family in the past four years.
“I didn’t really realize it when I was first interviewing here because everyone talks about how it’s a community, it’s the Brody family, but I just kind of thought they were just saying that so they could get me to come here,” he said. “But when I actually got here, it was true. We are a community, we actually root for each other, we advocate for each other.”
Yates and fellow graduate Nga Tran celebrate Match Day 2020. (Contributed photo)
He said he has been impressed by the accessibility of his teachers and the resources available to help him succeed. He also appreciates the opportunity to serve on committees such as the admissions committee and to participate in service learning.
“It showed me what my own potential is, and something I didn’t realize I had within myself, they just kind of brought it to the forefront,” he said.
Yates said attending medical school at Brody has opened his eyes to the needs of people from rural areas and lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and he looks forward to becoming an advocate for his patients, working to get them the services they need, listening and understanding their situations and the challenges they face, all of which play a role in their health outcomes.
Today, Yates matched at Vidant Medical Center in obstetrics and gynecology, and he is excited for the opportunity to pursue those goals here in Greenville during his residency.