Reply To: Black Man in a White Coat, 54-102, 105-152

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#968
kmwelsh
Participant

Black Man in a While Coat is a novel written by Damon Tweedy about his experience through medical school and becoming a physician. He explains the hardships of being a physician and the extra pressure of dealing with racism in the medical world. Tweedy has to second guess himself many times throughout the novel. He is not second guessing himself because he thinks what he has to say is wrong, but rather, refraining from speak up to racism out of fear of jeopardizing his career. An example of this is in chapter six. Tweedy and some of his supervisors were treating an African American male named Gary. Gary was seeking treatment for high blood pressure and other health conditions. Tweedy’s supervisors suggest that Gary start a new medication to lower blood pressure. Gray (whom Tweedy describes as insightful and level headed) tells his doctors that we would like to try making life style changes before switching to medication. This resulted in Tweedy’s white supervisors clinically diagnosed Gary as OCD, simply because he did not follow their orders. Tweedy wanted to stand up for Gary, but he realized that his supervisors would not listen to what Tweedy said and perhaps suggest he needs to talk to someone about the pressures of his medical training. This situation is an example of how Tweedy had to second guess himself and stop himself from doing what he thought was just for the patient, because it could have risked his reputation, and in medical training, one’s reputation can have a serious impact on their career.