Street roots., March 04, 2016, Page 10, Image 10

Street Roots • March 4-10, 2016
Book Review
Page 11
for racial justice
Dr. Damon Tweedy’s memoir is a
realistic account of how our medical
system deals with racial inequality
BY GLEIMNA MARTIN
some ways each chapter could be taken as a
stand alone, with its own point and subject
matter.
n his memoir and debut book, Dr.
In the chapter “People Like Us,” Tweedy
Damon Tweedy, an assistant professor
of psychiatry at Duke University Medical discusses his experience as one of the few
Center and practicing physician, follows the black students at Duke in the context of
similar experiences of students around the
old adage “write what you know.”
country. He makes the political personal
Previously, he has written on the topic of
with
his descriptions of discrimination as
race and medicine in journals read by those
well as the issue of affirmative action.
in the medical field, but by
As he progresses through his medical
offering his story to the
training and enters the clinical years, where
public he expands his
one begins working with patients, he details
audience and helps to
the
injustices of the system and its racial
enlighten readers on topics
discrimination. Tweedy offers nuanced
not often discussed within
reflections that allow the reader to see how
the realm of medicine, even
he processes experiences. In the chapter
in today’s climate of civil
“Charity Care,” a two-tiered health system
rights and racial justice.
for
those with and those without— a division
The world of medicine
that often falls along racial lines — becomes
has been intriguing to those
increasingly obvious to the young medical
outside the system for
student His experience is not unique, but
decades, and authors such
often goes without discussion throughout
as Michael Crichton or
medical training in my experience. It is
Samuel Shem’s fictionalized
noteworthy that this book addresses this
account, “The House of
injustice and how it persists in a system
God,” have been capturing
that is lauded for being so advanced.
the public’s attention for
Dr. Damon Tweedy
One of the most powerful anecdotes is
decades. Tweedy’s account is
Tweedy’s experience with a patient named
different in many ways, mostly because he
Chester. Chester and his family were
tackles the issue of race in medicine.
blatantly racially prejudiced and focused
In the interest of full disclosure, I am
their hate and ignorance in their language
also a physician in training, completing my
and their expressed desire for different
residency in family medicine in Seattle.
physicians. Tweedy decides to persevere in
Thus, I cannot read this book like a
layperson, but I can appreciate the accounts this environment to develop a genuine
human connection with them in their time
he details as well as testifying to the
of need. It is a heroic encounter with a
urgency of addressing issues.
humanistic analysis. Because this is
“Black Man in a White Coat” is divided
something that happens regularly, it is at
into three sections entitled ‘Disparities,’
very least fuel for further discussion.
‘Barriers’ and ‘Perseverance.’ While these
I personally enjoyed the chapter “When
topics are addressed throughout the book,
Doctors Discriminate” because it calls to
the themes allow for a focus within the
task medical professionals for contributing
otherwise chronological telling of Tweedy’s
to disparities or inequities themselves. The
story. As with many memoirs from
anecdotes he shares illustrate large problem
physicians, these themes are elevated
that he summarizes, “Doctors, like all other
through the patient stories he highlights.
people, are capable of prejudice and
While the book clearly builds on itself, in
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
I
discrimination. While
bias can be a
problem in any
profession, in
medicine, the
stakes are
much greater.”
Throughout the
book Tweedy discusses his
own health battles — a sprained knee and
hypertension — which offer more insight
into the ways in which he processes and
experiences both medicine and race. The
book’s bibliography does the same, and
allows readers to continue the journey
beyond his memoir.
My criticisms of the book are in lock step
with my criticism of what we are taught in
medical training: That racial disparities or
inequities have anything to do with biology
is to say that race has a biological
foundation instead of a social construction.
The tug and pull of personal versus societal
responsibility for so-called health behaviors,
such as diet and exercise, and the
consequences of those views, are things
that Tweedy and I will perhaps have to
agree to disagree about
The end is optimistic, reflecting on how
and where he started and how far the
medical education system has come with
regard to representation. He also revisits
many of his old medical school haunts to
discover hope and committed leaders as
well as ongoing challenges.
This book is a required read not only
forthose of us in medicine, but also for
patients, advocates and activists alike. It
would also make for an interesting book
club choice. Finally, I’m sure it has already
been gifted to many current and future
medical professionals, and I would advocate
for it to be given to many more.
Reprinted from Real Change, Seattle.