DOCTORS' LOUNGE
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Lending my voice and presence to the current movement was
something I contemplated but was unsure how to do, given the long
hours I was putting in at work. Following my conversation with
Tawana, I noticed a post in my Louisville Lady Docs Facebook group.
A fellow physician posted about wanting to duplicate the WCFBL
event in the Louisville community. Several physicians in the group
expressed the desire to participate in the event. I noticed some of
the physicians from the University of Louisville in the group shared
that they would be reaching out to the medical students to assist in
the planning process. I informed them of my willingness to assist
and lend my expertise with holding such an event.
After sharing details and photos of the 2014 WCFBL event, I
sent out emails in hopes of connecting everyone wanting to participate.
Dr. Amy Holthouser connected us with two wonderful
medical student organizers, Rachel Safeek and Karen Udoh. Dr.
Laura Bishop drafted the WCFBL flyer using a photo from the
2014 event. Dr. Rachel Kennedy connected Tawana and me with
community organizations. Dr. Dwayne Compton, Dr. Sara Petruska,
Dr. Jennifer Koch, Dr. Aurora Cruz, Jennifer Hall and numerous
others assisted in disseminating the information throughout the
various HSC departments and the local media. Within 24 hours, the
medical students planned how to improve, organize and maintain
security and distancing safety for WCFBL.
Just these connections led to a wonderful group of individuals
executing the wildly successful “White Coats for Black Lives” event,
in solidarity with other health care professionals across the nation. It
is hard for me to express how this gathering brought me such hope.
It was a welcome surge of positive vibes in the midst of constant,
sorrowful anger. The purpose was not new; however, the urgency
expressed by so many allowed this event to grow from a few people
into an army of professionals and change agents.
I felt honored to speak to the crowd and share my experience. I
couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by emotion. Breonna Taylor, an
aspiring nurse, would have been 27 years old on the day of WCFBL.
Breonna’s life mattered. I am a young Black woman. My life matters.
For me, “White Coats for Black Lives” is more than just a protest
against police brutality. The event emphasizes to the community
that their doctors and nurses stand alongside them and believe that
they matter. Community empowerment is essential to improved
health outcomes. The movement must continue to move through
the steps toward healing and trust.
Some people literally believe that systemic racism is so deeply
embedded in American culture that fighting it is interpreted as
being “unpatriotic.” The embedded part is certainly true. Although
afraid to report discrimination for fear of isolation or reprimand,
they face a hostile microaggression too often present in classroom
and clinic. No help comes from those passively allowing such a
status quo to continue. Medical professionals and their patients
live with the consequences of never addressing the issue at hand.
Teaching increased cultural competency and role-modelling to help
us confront our own individual implicit biases, should be mandatory
in medical education. We should be held accountable for our own
behavior in order to make a difference.
Modern-day lynching continues to happen because of blatant
systemic racism. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd,
Ahmaud Arbery and numerous other Black people have brought
urgent attention to the bitter struggles Americans must endure.
Furthermore, COVID-19 has placed an enormous spotlight on the
health disparities that plague the Black community: racism reaches
past police brutality and threatens our daily survival.
Since the WCFBL event, the movement has continued to gain
momentum. Some new developments include:
» UofL School of Medicine Associate Dean for Medical Education
Dr. Amy Holthouser is developing an anti-racism curriculum
for medical students and residents.
» Rachel Safeek, MPH, ULSOM health care policy rep and former
American Medical Association (AMA) delegate, is working
to involve the school in advocating with the AMA for state
legislation that addresses implicit bias in medicine.
» UofL House Staff Council President Dr. Aurora Cruz is working
with Dr. Tawana Coates on creating a resource for residents
and faculty involvement with social justice initiatives.
» We are working to create a Facebook group named “White Coats
for Community Action: Louisville,” centered on community
action that will be open to the UofL Health community as well
as physicians from various other health systems throughout
Kentuckiana.
» UofL School of Medicine Dean Toni Ganzel is holding town hall
meetings with medical students, residents and faculty members
to continue the conversation on how to combat systemic racism.
My mission is to diversify medicine and provide culturally competent
health care. For many minorities, becoming a physician goes
beyond a personal dream. Many of us see it as a calling to decrease
health disparities, strengthen our communities and demonstrate that
representation matters. My hope is to become a leader in discovering
more effective ways to recruit and retain diverse students. My hope
is for equity and inclusion to be the gold standard. This date, time
and movement seem unlike other moments in our American history.
Americans reside in a world where Ohio State Sen. Stephen
Huffman, MD says, “Could it just be that African Americans or the
colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups
or wear a mask or do not socially distance themselves? Could that
be the explanation of why the higher incidence?” He was fired by
TeamHealth from his emergency room physician post within 48
hours. This statement exemplifies the need to declare racism as a
public health emergency.
One individual cannot shift the tide that seems to be turning,
so I ask the question: Do you have what it takes to be an agent of
change?
Dr. Mason is a PGY-2 resident in the Department of Pathology at the University of
Louisville.
34 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE