When I was a chid in Jamaica, my black bag, a Jamaican plastic bag called scandal bag, had Chloraseptic, Vicks, Dettol, Mercurochrome and of course, user friendly ice from the Freezer. I was the one everyone called for cut and scrapes. I was a healer before I was a Doctor.
I thought I became a Doctor to practice Tikkun Olam, healing the world, starting with Jerusalem, your family and immediate community. As someone with a chronic disease and chronic pain syndrome, I realized that my knowledge of wound healing and repair was to be used to first do no harm to myself, since as a black woman in America I was constantly being exposed to medical racism and medical gaslighting. Yes, it is true your educational level is irrelevant. As a matter of fact, it is thrown back in your face. “Stop being a Doctor and be a patient”, I was told. Whenever I allow the healthcare system to take over my care outside of the great Dr Millicent Comrie, I end up with several emergency room visits, where my symptoms are vague, and one emergency Surgery performed by Dr Millicent Comrie.
Black and indigenous women you MUST seek a culturally relevant or appropriate Physician. Fancy words for someone who listens to your symptoms, and believe they are real. The medical racism and medical gaslighting shows up in the deadly fetal-maternal mortality rate in black women, and our cancer sruvival rate, which is abysmal secondary to being diagnosed 6 months to 18 months later than the general population.
Black women, you are not paranoid or delusional. Please make sure you ask the healthcare insurance company for a Physician that has a large population of black and indigenous women, and they are statisfied with their care. For now, this is the solution to the level of medical racism, and medical gaslighting that is occuring currently in medicine.