After twenty-five years of dedicated service as a physician, overcoming a severe neurological illness taught me that medicine embraces patient recovery—but not physician recovery. I never imagined returning to practice after illness would mean humiliation, suspicion, and unnecessary trauma. Yet, that is exactly what happened.

When my illness took me away from clinical practice for over three years, I anticipated hurdles returning to medicine. I understood the need for a competency …

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When I read Didi’s story, my heart recognized every detail—the subtle disrespect, the overt hostility, the isolation. I felt seen. Not just because I understood her pain but because I lived it, too.

In 1998, I began medical school in Oklahoma. Young, hopeful, and profoundly aware of the honor medicine held, I imagined a career built on compassion and respect. Instead, what greeted me was bias, microaggressions, and disrespect—from seniors, nurses, …

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