We recently connected with Chelsea Walker and have shared our conversation below.
Chelsea , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader in life, and has always stood by my side through each step of my academic journey. As a stay at home mom, she molded my love of learning from an early age by taking me to the library as soon as I could walk, and many of my childhood memories revolve around me visiting the local library as a child picking out books. As I grew older, she encouraged me to explore my love of science, buying me science experiments at the store, and helping me with my projects for the science fair. Her nurturing eventually allowed me to fall in love with biology in middle school, and enroll in just about every science course my high school had to offer to learn as much as I could. I knew I wanted to be a physician from a very young age, and the toy doctor bag that was gifted to me at age three to bring me comfort during my many childhood ophthalmology appointments, would ultimately spark my future career choice of applying to medical school upon graduating from The University of Kansas with my Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 2015, and Hampton University in 2018, where I earned my Master of Science in Medical Science. My mom established the foundation for my lifelong love of learning. She’s the reason I attended college, graduated school and eventually podiatric medical school, and when I have children one day, I aspire to mother just like her.
Chelsea , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
The road to medical school, was long and difficult. It was full of rejection and disappointment; low MCAT scores, rejection letters from dream programs, and feeling like I was running out of time to achieve my dream of becoming a physician. Yet, my mom continued to encourage me to continue to pursue my dream and continue applying to programs year after year. I applied to five medical school application cycles between 2014 and 2019 before I received my first acceptance to a medical program – Ross University School of Medicine, a Caribbean School. I remember initially feeling embarrassed that I had exhausted all of my options in the States. In the medical community, those who attend medical school in the Caribbean are often viewed as “less than;” as if they are less deserving to be a physician, as if they are not smart enough to become a physician, and obtaining a residency upon graduating can be difficult as well. I knew it would be an uphill battle of constantly proving that I was worth of being a physician – but my mother encouraged me to put down my deposit to attend, and that is just what I did.
Still, I was nervous about attending a school overseas. What if there was a hurricane? What if my phone did not work and I could not get in contact with my family. Medical school already requires that you miss out on many important events due to studying or rotations, but being in a different country was an entirely different ball game. I began to seek out other options, as I wanted to be sure that I completely exhausted all of my paths to medicine before I left the country. And then I discovered podiatric medicine; a field that would allow me to be a primary physician for podiatric footcare and specialize in surgery. A field that would allow me to live in the country and complete podiatric medical school in four years before completing a three year residency program. At that moment I knew that was the best option for me. I had initially heard of podiatry in graduate school at Hampton University, but never looked further into it. I began applying to programs, and shadowing podiatrists and quickly fell in love with how hands on patient care was. Sure podiatrists care for the feet, but they also are assisting with wound care, gait, allowing patients to regain their independence, and educating patients about making healthy choices regarding diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure – all of which can impact a person’s gait.
I would ultimately decide to attend podiatry school at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. I began the program in 2019 before falling ill and taking a medical leave of absence to restart in 2020. Going to school during Covid was a beast in itself. Because of Covid, my medical education was completely online for majority of the first year of the program. Podiatric medical school is hard enough, but learning it on your own without a support system of your classmates to form in person study groups is even harder. I lived at home with my mom and brother for majority of that first year, and my mom’s encouraging words are what helped me on those rough days when I was overwhelmed with coursework and studying. I credit my mom with helping me to survive my first year of the program.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Year two of podiatric medical school program was fully in person, and would prove more difficult than the previous year. School began to take a toll on my mental health – significantly. I felt like my life was nothing more than waking up and studying. I was nothing outside of school; after all my entire identity was a podiatric medical student. It felt as if school was swallowing me whole and there was no way to escape. I would sit in the car every morning before class and have a panic attack before entering the building. I would have a panic attack before studying, during studying, and sometimes would even feel the panic creeping up on me during the exam. Podiatric medical school is supposed to be hard. But I wasn’t struggling, I was simply overwhelmed with everything. I remember talking to my therapist and saying that I felt like maybe being a podiatrist wasn’t for me, and I couldn’t believe those words had even left my mouth. It was such a difficult pill to swallow, but after a talk with my mom, I realized no one can exist in a state of anxiety that is all consuming, in which they see no light at the end of the tunnel. And I knew I saw no light at the end of the tunnel. Withdrawing from podiatric medical school was both the most difficult and the best decision I ever could have made. I am much happier now. I don’t live in a constant state of panic. I have a healthier mindset, and I actually look forward to my future career aspirations. I doubt I would have been able to see the other side of my decision without the support of my mother and my friends would supported me through my difficult decision.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
At 31, I have unlearned that you cannot start over in your 30s. It is never too late to regroup, start over and continue to thrive. At five I believed I was destined to be a physician, just as I did at 16, 21, 25 and 29 when I was withdrawing from my program. I even initially believed I would take a break from podiatric medical school and come back in a year to finish out year three and four of the program. Sometimes the dreams we have for ourselves look different as we grow and evolve in life. Sure I was initially disappointed that I was giving up my dream of being a podiatrist and surgeon, but I had to consider that I was a literal shell of myself during the second year of the program. I was everything but happy. In fact, I was miserable, and it did not matter that I was making good grades and could very well continue on, I had to put myself and my mental health first and make the best decision for me. I am still in the medical field, just in a different capacity. By education, I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist with a Certification in Hematology, as I went on to graduate from Thomas Jefferson University’s Medical Laboratory Sciences and Biotechnology Program in August of 2023. I previously worked as an Administrative Kidney Transplant Coordinator. I have nearly a decade of medical knowledge and hands-on experience under my belt that makes me successful in my current role. I’ve participated in clinical research and have several research publications. I get so excited when I get an Academica.edu email when someone has cited me in their research. I am thriving where I am at this point in life, and I will continue to thrive because I learned that it is okay to start over. My long-term goal is to return to school to earn my BSN/RN and work in the NICU and to one day work as a Nurse Practitioner. You never give up in life, you simply shift your perspective and continue to move forward.
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