To be a Black physician is to constantly wear multiple hats at once. It is to be both healer AND advocate. It is to know medicine AND history AND politics AND psychology AND sociology AND communications. It is to be an expert in complexity science & an innovations savant.

1/

It’s barely 1/2 the day rounding on a Monday on a new team & in addition to taking care of patients & teaching, I already had to:
Disabuse my team of race-based medicine aka scientific racism as they tried to use race to determine blood pressure medications for a patient

2/

Advocate for patient autonomy & the right for one of our patients to obtain certain information about his care so he can be aware of what’s happening in relation to his health and make certain informed decisions & to not be put in potential harm’s way.

3/

And
Educate the team on the difference between “equality” & “equity”. As in, yes, in a pandemic given current stats, for public health & safety it makes sense to haves 0 inpatient visitor policy - Equality. But, for our most medically & socially vulnerable patients....

4/

....especially those with (intellectual) disabilities whose needs are best served when their caregiver/advocate is present, how equitable is this policy in order to achieve the best health outcomes for them? A just & equitable system, just & equitable policies...

5/

...meet different groups where they are to ensure the best results. It is not a one-size-fits-all because all are not the same size.

6/

So, I had to advocate for another patient of ours to make accommodations for her caregiver to either be present in the hospital or we adjust her care plan to get her home sooner, where I believe she will be best cared for.

7/

This is Just Medicine. It is advocacy & teaching & pushing & constantly communicating & risking & building all to ensure that the most marginalized are prioritized. And it takes time, energy, & internal resources.

By 2pm, I’m super exhausted, but gotta keep going.

8/

But, on 2nd thought, it’s not really Just Medicine, is it? Justice is structural. It is a system. Even as it is a practice. Even as it is a policy. Medicine that is just & equitable would be universal & super affordable & accessible to even then”least of these”.

9/

It would be human centered, humble, compassionate, & kind to patients & practitioners in its infrastructure, culture, norms, values, & and expectations. It would take care of the multifaceted needs of its practitioners & reject toxic outdated ways of being & doing.

10/

It will center healthcare as a human right & recognize the interdependence of human health and that of the planet & animals. With a “health in all” lens, it will integrate social and structural determinants of health as part of the evaluation & management of patients ...

11/

...and communities and identify social innovations as medical interventions - 2 sides of the same coin.

12/

We are a long way from Just Medicine as the norm, but every day, Black physicians practice medicine justly, wearing multiple intersectional hats, bearing multiple intersectional burdens, for our patients, communities, & our very selves.

13/13

~End~

#BlackHealers