Healthcare is no exception, and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the national awakening to the scourge of systemic racism in our country, more and more conversations about racism in healthcare are being had, across our country, and in the medical literature. This is only a good thing, and I hope and pray they lead to rectification of the healthcare disparities faced by people of color in this country.

One such conversation was recorded in the excellent Critical Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Sergio Zanotti — world-renown Critical Care Medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer for Sound Critical Care, a national critical care medicine practice. He was speaking with Dr. Greg Johnson, Sound Physicians’ Chief Medical Officer for Hospital Medicine and thought leader within his field and a champion for diversity, inclusion, and belonging within medicine.

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti and Dr. Johnson have an honest conversation about healthcare, race, and racism in healthcare. It was eye-opening, and it is a must-listen for every healthcare professional in this country. You can listen to it here:

Dr. Johnson reiterated that many Black Americans must go to great lengths to let members of the healthcare team taking care of their families know the value of their loved one: what job they do; what they mean to their families; what they mean their communities.

First of all, I was shocked by this. And yet, when I thought back to my Black patients and their families, I realized that many of them did just that: go out of their way to let me know how important this patient in front of us was to them, their family, and their community.

Just the other day, I had a husband tell me, “This woman, she is the rock of our family.” Another family member of a patient with COVID-19 told me something similar. I never paid attention to this phenomenon, and I am so very grateful I heard this conversation to open my eyes to this reality.

This is wrong. This is horrific. This is terribly sad. No one should have to justify to me why their loved one is important, how prominent their loved one is in the community. It is absolutely horrible that Dr. Tyson’s had to show the healthcare professionals taking of his father that his father was a prominent lecturer in order to garner respect from them. How can this be?

Every patient we take care of has worth, has value. Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, or White, all our patients have worth, and the fact that Black Americans feel the need to describe how important their loved ones are to get respect is truly nauseating. And you know what they are saying to us? Black Lives Matter.

Painful though it may be, it is reality, and it is of absolute importance that we in healthcare are cognizant of this reality and work to rectify it. Indeed, I told that husband that his wife has worth, and I will do all that I can to care for her within her values and wishes.

Racism in healthcare is real; it is pervasive; it is indeed a pandemic. We need to acknowledge it and then work to overcome it. All of us in healthcare have a responsibility to do what we can to achieve this end. And for starters, all of us in healthcare should listen to this conversation about racism in healthcare to understand the problem and how to fix it.

The post Every Healthcare Professional Must Listen To This Conversation appeared first on Medika Life.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

This, I think, is one of the most profound lessons that Dr. King taught us and our national collective conscience: talk is cheap, and America needs to live up to her words that “all men were created equal.” America needs to live up to her words that there is “equal protection before the law.” America needs to live up to her words that there is “freedom and justice fore all.”

This is in all aspects of life in America, including in the healthcare space where, sadly, there is a great gap in healthcare equity and equality for Black and Brown Americans. We need to do better to close that gap and ensure all people are given the care that they deserve. Even that sentence is cheap; it is easy for me to write it, much harder to work to make that sentence become reality.

I pledge to do what I can. I pray we, as a field, are successful. Thank you, Dr. King, for all you did to ask America to live up to her glorious words and make them more than just words.

The post Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Taught Us Talk Is Cheap appeared first on Medika Life.

We serve no worthwhile purpose when we slander anyone, least of those sworn to protect us. Yes, I know I may be accused of being too pro-police because I have many law enforcement relatives, but I am a citizen who views the problems from a professional standpoint. I hope I can be unbiased, and I have tried my best, as all of us, to try to clarify some factors contributing to this bloodshed.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a POC in this country and have teenage boys in the family who, indeed, must feel targeted for arrest or worse for nothing more than a broken taillight on a car or jogging on a road in broad daylight.

The questions of mental illness and auditory hallucinations are not at issue here because neither was involved in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. His death was precipitated by his jogging in an area where there had been recent criminal activity. If a neighbor were thinking “citizen’s arrest,” would he have needed the firepower he carried with him? In this death, the police were not involved.

The town where I live asked me to provide a few classes for their officers regarding dealing with persons with mental illness. I quickly discovered that the police officers were similar to the security personnel at a psychiatric hospital where I had worked; they bought into the myths about mental illness.

Many of you have probably heard the myth about how powerful someone with such an illness can be and how dangerous. It is endemic in our culture, and we need to address it because people are endangered by it. Studies have shown that a lack of training and procedures can result in a self-fulfilling prophesy of mental illness and dangerousness.

“…departments lack written policies and procedures for management of persons with mental illness. The lack of education, training, policies, and procedures has a tendency to cause line officers to respond improperly. Instead of approaching the call as a person with an illness, oftentimes police officers will approach as though the patient is a dangerous felon.” When we combine all the myths, especially those where people believe the mentally ill have super strength, the result can be a tragedy.

I recall a young, immature, and almost seven-feet-tall patient on a unit where I worked. He thought it was great fun to tell tall tales about hiding alcohol on the grounds. Unfortunately, he “acted up” on the unit, and the security team was called in. These men have previously worked in law enforcement locally or in the military. Four men jumped on top of him and pulled him to the ground, where the skirmish resulted in one officer having a broken finger and another a severely sprained wrist.

They put shackles and handcuffs on him and pushed him into a grounds’ car to take him to the police station, where they pressed charges of assault against him. He was a young kid who laughed through the entire “fight,” viewing it as fun rather than fear on their part. He hadn’t attacked them; it was the other way around, but he was charged.

Another factor that may play a significant role in irrational police actions of any type may be the stress of the job, which can lead to depression and affect their work. But, along with the stress comes preexisting bias and racism; we cannot deny that.

Police culture has also played a role in how the officers respond to a situation involving a mentally ill person. We have already seen that there may be inadequate training regarding these interactions, but how much has been researched regarding the inherent fear of officers?

The stigma in the culture of the police workplace prohibits any display of what may be seen as fear. But aren’t all of us vulnerable to fear, especially when placed in a perceived life-and-death situation? Doesn’t our adrenaline kick in when danger is apparent?

Police officers are not immune to this natural, biological response. Their ability to control the reaction determines the situation’s outcome. But how many are willing to tell others of their fear? They are also victims of stigma, but here it is of appearing fearful in any situation.

The work of the police is essential, but their humanity must also be important. Just as the military has had to deal with mental health issues, such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression, police officers must be seen in this enlightened light.

The post Police Unreasonable Fear May Be Deadlier Than Racism appeared first on Medika Life.