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Beyond the ward: The YouTube doctor

04 February 2020

Third-year medical student, Kenji Tomita has become a bit of a social media star with over 6.98k YouTube subscribers thanks to his infectious passion for medicine. Motivated by his unique personal experiences, Kenji wants to inspire others to study medicine and help fellow medical students navigate their journeys.

Why medicine?

Born and bred in Nairobi, Kenya, Kenji’s ambition to become a doctor started at a young age when he began volunteering in the Kibera slums. Kenji describes this as ‘one of my most fortunate gifts’ because he was able to see the crippling impact of illness on those without access to healthcare.

Kenji Tomita at GP surgery
“I saw first-hand the stark contrast between my life and those less fortunate. This inspired me and I wanted to help make a difference. I look forward to helping patients in England and hope to one day go back to Kenya and help those I have left behind.” – Kenji Tomita

Uncertain dreams

A self-described ‘late starter’, Kenji didn’t receive the A levels he needed for medical school and decided to study Biomedical Science at the University of Birmingham. After becoming friends with a group of medical students in Birmingham and seeing their experiences at medical school, his drive to become a doctor was reignited. He began working incredibly hard to receive a first-class degree in Biomedical Science and was accepted onto King’s MBBS undergraduate programme in 2017.

“Being accepted to King’s was probably one of the happiest days of my life. I worked incredibly hard and I want other students to know that you don’t necessarily have to be the most brilliant student to get in – but you do need to work hard!” – Kenji Tomita

Life at King’s

Since joining King’s, Kenji has taken it upon himself to get experience in many different clinical settings in addition to his normal coursework. He has also joined a lab where the team are researching rare skin and urological diseases. Kenji is looking forward to seeing where his research goes.

“Being a medical student is exactly what I had hoped it to be. Every day is exciting and challenging and I am growing in ways that I never could have predicted. I’m even more excited about what the next few years as a doctor will bring.” – Kenji Tomita

Becoming a YouTuber

Kenji has a busy study schedule, but he makes time to share his tips and experiences on YouTube to help fellow students. Some of his most popular videos include; How to get into medical school, Day in the life of a medical student and My first C-section and birth.

“Through my YouTube channel and social media, I hope to share my experience of the many highs and lows of medical school, and the reality of what it entails. I hope that my videos will help people get into medical school and inspire them to make it as future doctors.”– Kenji Tomita

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