In July, I found myself needing to step away from social media and news coverage of the recent shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Dallas. Being a psychiatrist has made me sensitive to the toll of pain and anguish that life may bring, even as a bystander. This occurs even more so when I can all too easily imagine myself as a victim of one of these unfortunate events.
In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2013, #BlackLivesMatter was born. Moving from a hashtag to a full movement, the call for action has reached national recognition. But what about health care?
Black lives matter in the health care system as well. Health disparity researchers estimate that Blacks suffer 100,000 “excess deaths” each year compared to white Americans. Blacks are more likely to receive worse care, limited access to health care services, and go misdiagnosed. The reasons for these disparities range from the impact of racism-related stress, implicit bias amongst providers, patients’ mistrust of the medical community, disproportionate effects of poverty, and discriminatory public policies related to health status.
Last month, I was one of over 3,000 physicians to sign a letter committing to the fight for racial justice. Not because I care for my Black patients more than other patients, but because I believe in the passage “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”
Until the untimely death of a mother’s child causes outrage; or the expulsion of children in preschool lead us to question our family and school values; or knowing that 58 percent of the incarcerated are Black and Latino causes serious criminal justice reform; or the traumatic separation of children and parents accelerates immigration reform; or Black children dying at 500 percent higher rate from asthma causes us to investigate unequal housing quality, we still have work to do.
So how do we ensure equity for all of our patients, especially those that are disenfranchised and often silenced? Each day is an opportunity. Ask your patients if they are disturbed by current events. Inquire if they have had similar experiences. Explore the ways this has impacted their health. No, not just your Black patients but all patients. You’ll be surprised what you may learn.
As physicians, we can make it our business to understand what disparities exist in our own health care systems. Identify ways the system falls short of meeting the needs of particular patients in the community it serves. Advocate for change in policies and practices that perpetuate structural racism such as hiring policies for clinicians, recruitment practices for trainees, and promotion practices for researchers.
We must use our privilege as physicians to advocate for equity. As a first generation college graduate of Tuskegee University, yes, the site of the “Tuskegee Syphilis Study” — which we refer to as the U.S. Health Service Corp Syphilis Study — I know the consequences of devaluing Black lives and understand the need to acknowledge historical and contemporary signs of injustice.
As I contemplated what I could do in response to the pain I feel each time I hear a story in which the slightest move by a Black man renders him worthy of multiple shots to his chest, I decided I would also proclaim that Black lives matter. I hope to encourage all physicians to do the same, not because only do Black lives matter, but to remind us that we went into medicine to serve those that come to us in times of need. We commit to listening to our patients and making sure everyone gets the best possible care, especially those who have been treated as the least among us.
Courtney McMickens is a child psychiatrist.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com
