“He died because he’s Black!” screamed his mother, inconsolable in the intensive care unit as her unresponsive teenage son underwent a formal neurologic examination. We had done all that we could. Mr. M had experienced a cardiac arrest for unknown reasons at home, and his mom felt the emergency medical technicians treated her son differently, possibly even withholding care, because of his race. She already knew what the result of …

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The last time I cried was this past May in the brand new National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. As I stood in the room where you hear and see clips from the day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, I was overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry uncontrollably. I was reminded of all the sacrifices millions of people have made that has allowed me to …

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“I’ll never forget the look in your eyes.”

Uh oh, I thought to myself.

“You had this look that you wanted to help but just didn’t know how,” said my patient.

Apparently I have very expressive eyes, and she was right. The event she was referring to was what we call a rapid response. This is when a patient’s status suddenly changes and the team wants her to be evaluated immediately. When I …

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Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, was my first physician role model when I was a kid. She had full scope of practice in the Wild West, and what kid doesn’t like a good Western? But it wasn’t until later in high school that I started considering a career in medicine. A great biology teacher sparked my love for science. That, coupled with my passion for helping others, made medicine seem like …

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