We were lucky to catch up with Kristina recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristina, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

“You can have it all”. This phrase always came off as very intimidating to me, especially as someone who was very laser-focused on achieving a lifelong goal of practicing as a doctor at the cost of sacrificing quality time with family, my health, wellness and at one point my happiness. I knew that going into medicine meant possibly working 100-hour work weeks, missing out important family milestones, and having very little time to be fully present once I started a family and feeling fatigued, overworked, and underpaid (residency, I am looking at you). The thought that this was also the reality for a lot of other jobs outside of the medical field was comforting to me. Besides, who would not want to be in a field that is constantly glorified by society? Let’s not forget the glamorous (or comfortable) lifestyle you get to live upon completing residency and establishing yourself in practice. You are viewed as selfless, brilliant, and almost god-like. Why would anyone ever give that up?

I grew up in the Philippines, completed and obtained my medical degree and decided that practicing in the U.S. was the next best step. I moved to the U.S. in 2019, and a few years into my medical licensure journey, I slowly started to feel like there was a void that could not be filled but I was unable to pinpoint what that was. It was a gnawing feeling in my head. Fast forward to 2022, I married my now-husband and found out I am pregnant – this was the moment that changed my life forever. I was restless, confused, anxious and no longer sure whether I wanted to continue pursuing this journey. I was growing a human inside my womb and all I could think about was, “I want more time with her. I need more time with her. This is my real calling”. Now, you might be thinking, “Kristina, you can always be a practicing physician AND a mother. People do it ALL the time”. I am very well-aware of that. But that gnawing feeling that had been haunting me for years no longer made me feel uneasy, there was clarity, for once.

I had a very eventful pregnancy and it came in the form of various health scares – a threatened abortion, the possibility of needing intrauterine transfusion, getting COVID-19 and a number of other debilitating issues that lead to so much stress and worry. I was so excited to meet our baby girl, but I was also so worried about whether or not I would be able to carry her to term. Thankfully, she was born at term. She was healthy, beautiful, perfect…and the answer to all my prayers. I looked at her and instantly thought, “She is the reason for my being”.

It did not take me long to realize that practicing clinical medicine was not the right path for me, which is not easy to admit because of the generalizations people instantly make about you once you go down that route. “Well, you’re not really a doctor unless you practice medicine. Why would you give that up?” Comments like that are clear indicators of naivety. What people do not realize is all these incredible breakthroughs that happen in research and all the ads you see being run on television for a new drug are because doctors play a vital role in clinical research and drug development.

I knew clinical research was something I was really passionate about, especially with it being a healthy mix of patient interactions while going in depth in a specific therapeutic area in order to come up with a drug or device that will change the lives of hundreds, thousands and possibly even millions of people. I have not even begun to talk about the fact that I get to be present for all the important milestones in my daughter’s life during her formative years while still being able to take care of myself and do what I love outside of work.

My daughter is now going on 15 months, my husband and I watch her grow every day, spend my weekends and waking moments with her, each of us are healthy, I landed a job in my dream career, I launched a successful small business and I continue to find ways to grow as an individual. You know what? I guess there is such a thing as having it all. And just know that you too can do the same, but it might look different for everybody.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I feel like my profession is very “niche” just because I do not know many foreign medical doctors who take the non-clinical route and actually enjoy it. I know they are out there, but it is just not something people necessarily talk about.

I work in an industry that is incredibly lucrative and fulfilling, but like with every industry, there are challenges that come with it. I am still learning how to navigate these speed bumps and am thrilled that I have the most incredible mentors to walk me through each of them.

Outside of my job, I also run a small business and feel so lucky that I get to treat it as a creative outlet. As an immigrant, it is so important to see people who have similar backgrounds as foreigners, and aspire to create a name for themselves especially when you feel like a small fish in a vast ocean. My business, Curate & Plate Ltd. Co., works closely with the wedding and events industry. I deem it as a unique service, since I offer rental options for tea parties and am really trying to highlight the beauty of mismatched china. I feel like intimate gatherings are severely underrated and Curate & Plate Ltd. Co. fills in a big gap in hosting more of these get-togethers.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

It can be so scary to try and build a professional network when you are not from the U.S. You have to work 10x harder than your competitors because standing out can always be challenging when you are in a completely foreign country. I consistently try to network with other business owners – especially in the events industry. I also feel like offering a unique service is so powerful because people are immediately drawn to your brand and want to learn more about how they can incorporate it into their own lives.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

There is no such thing as “knowing everything”. If that were the case, then that would mean you had no room to grow, commit mistakes and learn from them. That is the beauty of medicine and clinical research – you have to welcome change and learn how to adapt to the nuances that come with new discoveries. It happens every single day. One of the reasons why working on drug development is so important is because disease evolution over the years has proven that new illnesses emerge constantly. The COVID-19 pandemic is a true testament to how quickly an illness can harm millions of people around the world. If we told ourselves we knew everything, the vaccines would not have come into fruition and we would not be in the state we are in today.”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: kristinainkentucky
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/kristinainkentucky

Image Credits
Dayra Karime Photography, myself