Over an hour before the event, a line of students had already begun to crowd in front of Graham Memorial Chapel for the 6 p.m. guest speaker talk by Dr. Mike on March 1. 

Dr. Mike, whose full name is Mikhail Varshavski, is a Russian American doctor who became popular through his social media presence, particularly Instagram and YouTube. To date, Dr. Mike has amassed over 11.8 million subscribers on YouTube with over 3 billion total views. Some of his most popular videos feature his reactions to famous medical shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” or trying out ridiculous “health hacks.”

Waiting in line, junior Jeffrey Chan said, “I’ve been watching Dr. Mike since 2018. It was so interesting to see how a physician plays a role in pop culture and modern media, and I was really fascinated by how one can balance the two.”

After the audience had settled into Graham Chapel, Dr. Mike dove straight into his talk. For those who did not know, Dr. Mike’s father was a physician himself. At the age of nine, Dr. Mike saw his father and his profession “as the coolest thing ever.” 

“I knew I wanted to go into medicine because it was a perfect opportunity to blend my passion with something I was good at — communication,” said Dr. Mike.

More specifically, Dr. Mike delved into the reason why he chose family medicine as his specialty. He said that    many teenagers and young adults are told what careers we should embark on. 

“That is garbage,” Dr. Mike said. “If you didn’t choose to do it, every single morning you will be regretting the path you went down.”

For Dr. Mike, family medicine was an opportunity for him to change the way the field of medicine is viewed. Statistically speaking, family medicine is one of the lowest paying specialties year after year. With the average family physician’s annual income at around $255,000, there is quite a stark difference between family medicine and one of the highest paying specialties, plastic surgery, where physicians make an average annual income of $619,000. 

Dr. Mike, however, believes that “family medicine is one of the most beautiful fields. You get to grow old with your patients and ultimately decide together what is the best decision for their health.”

In the Q&A portion of the talk, Dr. Mike answered several questions from students on how to best manage work-life balance and budgeting time for yourself during medical school. Dr. Mike explained one of the lessons he learned himself: your own experiences will help shape you into a more understanding physician. “In my first year of school, my mother died of leukemia and it was a tough time. However, I became a better person from an empathetic point of view through this experience,” Dr. Mike said. 

In addition, incorporating social media into his professional endeavors has been a pivotal decision for Dr. Mike. By sharing the realities of medical education and practice, he aims to demystify the field and foster a greater understanding between healthcare professionals and the general public. 

“Drop your ego. When we [physicians] carry ourselves with our noses in the air, we lose the trust of our patients,” Dr. Mike said. 

Senior Alana Depaz has been watching Dr. Mike since the beginning of the pandemic.  

“He is so passionate about medicine and it really shows. I really enjoyed hearing about his motivations for his social media channels and how he wants to spread honest information, especially since the world is filled with so many unfounded views,” Depaz said.

While Dr. Mike explained how social media has allowed him to constantly pivot across different avenues, he also revealed how at times “it is actually quite lonely and hard to find individuals to relate to.”

Thus, looking at the audience towards the end of his panel, Dr. Mike emphasized that it is important to “be human. The newer generation of physicians want to do their best and sometimes it is overwhelming. It is okay to struggle — it is not a weakness.” 

As for the future, Dr. Mike certainly left the audience on a cliffhanger. “I want a Netflix show.”