1
00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:05,133
- I had pretty much spent 
a lot of time studying

2
00:00:05,133 --> 00:00:08,000
and hadn't really 
spent a lot of time

3
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,500
exploring other 
interests of mine.

4
00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:13,000
Prior to starting med school,

5
00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:14,533
one of my mentors told me

6
00:00:14,533 --> 00:00:16,900
they thought I needed 
a different outlet

7
00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:18,400
besides just medicine.

8
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,000
(upbeat electronic music)

9
00:00:25,333 --> 00:00:30,366
My name's Carmen Aguirre. 
I go by VJ Neurite.

10
00:00:31,166 --> 00:00:33,233
I'm creating a show file.

11
00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:36,333
I'm going through 
a list of the songs

12
00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:37,533
that are gonna be played

13
00:00:37,533 --> 00:00:39,633
and coming up with 
what visual look

14
00:00:39,633 --> 00:00:41,566
we're going to have on stage.

15
00:00:41,566 --> 00:00:44,366
I got into doing visuals

16
00:00:44,366 --> 00:00:46,366
the year before I 
started med school.

17
00:00:46,366 --> 00:00:50,000
Found it really fun and started 
doing it as just a hobby,

18
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,833
slowly developed into something 
I kind of had not predicted.

19
00:00:53,833 --> 00:00:54,666
- Let's go.

20
00:00:54,666 --> 00:00:57,166
(upbeat music)

21
00:00:57,166 --> 00:01:00,033
- The uniqueness of 
being a med student,

22
00:01:00,033 --> 00:01:03,733
VJ has really taught 
me the importance

23
00:01:03,733 --> 00:01:06,133
of having balance in life.

24
00:01:06,133 --> 00:01:09,233
Understanding that 
balance is so important

25
00:01:09,233 --> 00:01:11,966
for helping your patients 
find that balance.

26
00:01:11,966 --> 00:01:13,200
(upbeat music)

27
00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,566
When I first started med school,

28
00:01:14,566 --> 00:01:18,366
was the first time I 
experienced a lot of anxiety

29
00:01:18,366 --> 00:01:19,533
and things like that.

30
00:01:19,533 --> 00:01:21,566
I had never really 
experienced that before,

31
00:01:21,566 --> 00:01:25,233
like severe anxiety, and 
VJing gave me an outlet

32
00:01:25,233 --> 00:01:27,300
to treat that anxiety.

33
00:01:27,300 --> 00:01:30,966
And so I think one does not 
exist without the other, for me.

34
00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:37,266
This is a creative monster. 
This is a sleepy monster.

35
00:01:37,266 --> 00:01:41,233
For me, I really define or 
think, in terms of disability,

36
00:01:41,233 --> 00:01:42,900
I think a lot about 
mental health.

37
00:01:42,900 --> 00:01:45,800
This is a happy monster.

38
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,066
(chuckles)

39
00:01:47,066 --> 00:01:49,766
In COVID, I got into 
the NFT community

40
00:01:49,766 --> 00:01:53,066
and was making digital art

41
00:01:53,066 --> 00:01:55,366
and I came up with a concept

42
00:01:55,366 --> 00:02:00,466
for really wanting to address 
mental health in children.

43
00:02:01,133 --> 00:02:02,600
Sad monster.

44
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,700
When COVID hit, we saw 
a five times increase

45
00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:08,200
in the amount of kids

46
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:10,033
that were coming into 
the emergency room

47
00:02:10,033 --> 00:02:12,266
with mental health complaints.

48
00:02:12,266 --> 00:02:14,633
Sometimes it's 
hard to communicate

49
00:02:14,633 --> 00:02:16,800
the types of emotions 
you're having,

50
00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,033
so my idea was coming up 
with these little monsters

51
00:02:20,033 --> 00:02:22,300
that each represented 
a different emotion.

52
00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:23,433
The goal around the project

53
00:02:23,433 --> 00:02:25,133
was really to bring attention

54
00:02:25,133 --> 00:02:28,633
to talking about 
emotions and feelings.

55
00:02:28,633 --> 00:02:31,800
What I found was it was 
not just a valuable tool

56
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,300
with kids and mental health,

57
00:02:33,300 --> 00:02:37,300
but also people that had 
difficulties communicating.

58
00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:40,300
So this could be people 
with language barriers,

59
00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:45,033
people with, who may be 
neurodiverse.

60
00:02:45,033 --> 00:02:47,366
Confused monster, 
I like this one.

61
00:02:48,633 --> 00:02:51,600
I did a rotation at a hospital,

62
00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,533
and this is something 
I don't like to admit,

63
00:02:53,533 --> 00:02:55,133
but like the staff was arguing

64
00:02:55,133 --> 00:02:56,966
about who was going to 
have to take the patient

65
00:02:56,966 --> 00:02:58,633
with a mental health disorder.

66
00:02:58,633 --> 00:03:02,066
It didn't come from 
a place of hatred,

67
00:03:02,066 --> 00:03:05,366
it just came from a place 
of not understanding.

68
00:03:05,366 --> 00:03:08,700
I created a whole like 
emotional support pet,

69
00:03:08,700 --> 00:03:11,500
so all of the 
monsters have pets.

70
00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:13,866
My own experiences 
with mental health

71
00:03:13,866 --> 00:03:17,700
as well as like my 
experiences in rotations,

72
00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:21,500
really changed my course 
in what I wanted to study.

73
00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:24,900
Because initially I was 
planning to do neurosurgery

74
00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:27,866
and neurology, and it guided me

75
00:03:27,866 --> 00:03:31,200
into wanting to do mental 
health and psychiatry.

76
00:03:32,533 --> 00:03:37,433
Medicine, it's very set up 
to cater towards an average

77
00:03:38,666 --> 00:03:42,533
rather than an 
individualized care plan.

78
00:03:42,533 --> 00:03:47,366
I don't think it's always 
very successful as a result,

79
00:03:47,366 --> 00:03:51,700
because we're all so 
unique and diverse.

80
00:03:51,700 --> 00:03:56,500
And I think it also alienates 
the most diverse people

81
00:03:56,500 --> 00:03:59,366
from getting the type 
of care that they need.

82
00:03:59,366 --> 00:04:01,966
This is a shy monster.

83
00:04:01,966 --> 00:04:04,400
If we can break 
down the barriers

84
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,600
of seeing things 
in a certain box,

85
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,000
then we can kind of progress

86
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,933
towards a better 
future in medicine.

87
00:04:12,933 --> 00:04:15,400
(calm music)

88
00:04:20,066 --> 00:04:22,466
- [Announcer] This program 
was produced in collaboration

89
00:04:22,466 --> 00:04:24,233
with the Center for 
the Art of Medicine

90
00:04:24,233 --> 00:04:26,733
at the University of 
Minnesota Medical School.

91
00:04:26,733 --> 00:04:30,066
And funded by the Minnesota 
Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

92
00:04:30,066 --> 00:04:31,900
and the citizens of Minnesota.

93
00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,400
(calm music)