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Why pick one? On side hustles in medicine.
Written by Fazila Olaniyan
Edited by Kiran Nayager
One medical student closes her anatomy tabs and switches to editing her ‘day in the life’ videos, while another swaps his lab coat and scrubs for a casting call and band practice. And by Monday morning, they’re both back in the same tutorials and lectures as everyone else.
Medical school is supposed to be all-consuming, so why, even with an already swamped schedule, are some of us still choosing to add more?
Let’s start from the beginning: how did this all start for Roman and Elaine?
For Roman, his love for music started as something quite simple – listening to rock and roll with his dad. He was especially obsessed with AC/DC, and after noticing that all his favourite musicians played guitar, naturally, he wanted to pick it up too.
What started as a fun after-school hobby with his primary school mate, soon became something much bigger. After learning his first guitar riff, Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses, Roman began taking music more seriously. Over the next eight years, he studied music theory, explored jazz and blues, learnt improvisation and took focused guitar lessons.
By 18, after numerous end-of-year performances at a pub in Artarmon, Roman decided it was finally time to form a band. And so, with the same primary school friend he had started playing music with all those years ago, he did exactly that. Their first official gig? A friend’s birthday party.
And the rest was history.
Coincidentally, around the same time his band was coming together, another opportunity appeared completely out of nowhere. While walking around Circular Quay, Roman was spotted by a modelling recruiter.
But he quickly realised the modelling industry wasn’t all glitz and glamour. His first interview left him feeling completely objectified and understandably hesitant about pursuing it any further.
Having a model for a mum did have its perks though. She had never pushed Roman towards the industry, but when he expressed that he was still interested despite his awful first encounter, she encouraged him to take a few headshots and send them to other agencies.
That was how he eventually found Icon Management, an agency he describes as nothing but supportive and somewhere he immediately felt at home. Suddenly, at just 18, Roman wasn’t only starting university. He was also balancing modelling, his band and tutoring jobs – all at the same time.
Elaine’s story started as a first-year med student who simply wanted something to keep her creative brain alive. While she loved medicine, she felt like it didn’t always give her many opportunities to be creative. And so, she turned to content creation.
At first, she was hesitant. Like any first-year med student, there was always that worry about keeping up her grades and making sure she could actually manage uni before adding anything else to her plate. But over time, she found her rhythm. Over the next few years, content creation slowly became a bigger part of her life.
Then, at the end of Year 3, while taking her final year exams, Elaine decided she needed to sidequest in Year 4. And what better sidequest than fulfilling something that had been sitting on her bucket list since high school – running for Miss Universe?
It was definitely a commitment. The program took up several months, but being in her research year, Elaine knew she might never have this much flexibility again. Through the experience, she met girls from a huge range of backgrounds, stepped outside her usual ‘med bubble’ and even expanded her portfolio into modelling.
But apparently one sidequest wasn’t enough.
By then, Elaine had also spent years tutoring, often working through her weekends while juggling medicine and everything else. She knew something had to change. After moving away from tutoring companies and going private in Year 3, she still found herself taking on too many students.
And that was where eMeducate was born.
Now, as a Year 4 medical student, Elaine somehow finds herself balancing research, content creation, modelling and a brand-new start-up. Which naturally leaves me with one question: how on earth does she manage all of it?
For Elaine, whether it’s content creation or her business, once she feels 70% ready, she’ll just jump right in and figure out the remaining 30% along the way. Inspired by female business owners around the world and online, she keeps pushing herself towards the next thing on her bucket list – Forbes 30 Under 30.
And as complex and hectic as her life might seem, the way she manages it is surprisingly simple: a to-do list. She numbers everything in order of importance and makes sure the things she actually prioritises get done. That’s really it.
Even then, like all of us, Elaine still deals with imposter syndrome. She manages it by reminding herself that you should never be in a room where you’re the best anyway, because then there’s no room left to grow. It’s that positive outlook that keeps her moving forward, even when she might not feel completely ready.
Roman’s version of balancing everything looks a little different. There have been days where he’s spent hours at a casting or shoot, only to pull out his laptop while waiting for his turn and start working on an IA or group project due the next day. Sometimes, even the directors are shocked, asking if he needs to leave. But Roman simply takes it in his stride.
Behind the scenes of one of Roman’s shoots.
It did take him a while to get there though. Finding a balance between band practices, shoots and medical school while also looking after his mental health, was difficult at first. There were times when he constantly felt like he was falling behind. Over time, however, he found his rhythm, and that feeling of always needing to catch up slowly became less overwhelming.
Perhaps it helps that, for both of them, these pursuits aren’t just more work. Elaine finds content creation relaxing after a long and stressful day at uni, while Roman can turn to his guitar. In their own ways, the very things making their schedules busier can also be the things helping them unwind.
And yet, between the guilt, imposter syndrome and seemingly constant game of catch-up, why do they still choose to do it?
Are these simply side hustles – a temporary way to make some extra income while studying? Or are they becoming part of who Roman and Elaine see themselves being in the future?
“I’m a pretty ambitious person and I chase what I want to do. I’m the kind of person to bite on it first and figure out how to chew later, and so my biggest regret would be not doing something I really wanted to do,” says Elaine.
And so, while some of these pursuits may have started as bucket-list items, Elaine doesn’t necessarily see them ending there. If modelling, content creation or her business really took off, she’d keep pursuing it and see where it takes her. That said, she never sees herself leaving medicine. Perhaps it might mean choosing a less demanding specialty one day, but medicine, of course, remains her first passion.
For Roman, it ebbs and flows. Modelling can be demanding at times and quieter at others, so as long as he can fit it into his schedule, he hopes to continue going for shoots — even when he becomes a doctor.
His guitar, however, is something he never plans on parting with.
Music will always remain a significant part of his life, alongside all the other things that make Roman, Roman – fishing, travelling, camping, four-wheel driving, snorkelling and whatever else he decides to pick up along the way.
At the end of the day, Roman says he’s really just a regular guy who wants to make time for the things he loves. Because to him, those parts of life are just as important as medicine itself.
And to end off, Elaine leaves the younger years with the same mindset that seems to have carried her through all her own sidequests: just go for it.
Pursuing something outside of medicine doesn’t have to take away from it. Starting something new and learning to balance it with your studies will always involve some trial and error. You just have to find a routine that lets you pass medicine while still making time for the things that keep you happy outside of it.
Because at the end of the day, medicine may be a huge part of our lives, but it doesn’t have to be our entire life.
Until next time,
Fazila Olaniyan
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