1 00:00:00,533 --> 00:00:02,466 (bright uplifting music) 2 00:00:02,466 --> 00:00:05,466 - I grew up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, 3 00:00:05,466 --> 00:00:10,166 which is a small town in the Mississippi Delta. 4 00:00:10,166 --> 00:00:12,266 Healthcare was very segregated. 5 00:00:12,266 --> 00:00:14,600 - And I grew up in an inner city neighborhood. 6 00:00:16,066 --> 00:00:19,266 Then the neighborhood was your village, 7 00:00:19,266 --> 00:00:22,733 and in that village there were people you could model after. 8 00:00:22,733 --> 00:00:25,733 I was very lucky my dad was a dentist. 9 00:00:25,733 --> 00:00:27,833 Something my father told me, he would say 10 00:00:27,833 --> 00:00:31,333 never say never, never say should have or could have. 11 00:00:31,333 --> 00:00:33,366 If you want to pursue something, do it. 12 00:00:33,366 --> 00:00:35,133 - I wanted to become a physician 13 00:00:35,133 --> 00:00:39,466 because of two serious life events 14 00:00:39,466 --> 00:00:41,200 I had as a child. 15 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,433 We had one Black physician who took care of me 16 00:00:44,433 --> 00:00:46,166 during both of my episodes. 17 00:00:46,166 --> 00:00:49,533 Following that, I decided I'd like to become a physician 18 00:00:49,533 --> 00:00:52,033 and be able to hopefully save lives. 19 00:00:54,366 --> 00:00:59,333 So I started medical school in 1971. 20 00:01:00,066 --> 00:01:01,966 There were 19 women. 21 00:01:01,966 --> 00:01:04,533 There were four African-American students, 22 00:01:04,533 --> 00:01:07,333 and one Native American student. 23 00:01:07,333 --> 00:01:10,066 - When I was younger and people would walk in the room, 24 00:01:10,066 --> 00:01:13,500 and they would go wow, you're my doctor? 25 00:01:13,500 --> 00:01:15,033 It'd be that shock. 26 00:01:15,033 --> 00:01:18,366 - There were four percent African-American students 27 00:01:18,366 --> 00:01:20,866 in my medical school class. 28 00:01:20,866 --> 00:01:23,733 There are approximately four percent African-American 29 00:01:23,733 --> 00:01:26,466 students in the incoming class 30 00:01:26,466 --> 00:01:28,933 at the University of Minnesota. 31 00:01:28,933 --> 00:01:31,833 - There are actually more African-American men, 32 00:01:31,833 --> 00:01:35,300 specifically, in medical school during the 70s 33 00:01:35,300 --> 00:01:38,433 than the late 80s and even going into the 2000s. 34 00:01:38,433 --> 00:01:41,633 So you actually saw a decline in the number 35 00:01:41,633 --> 00:01:43,733 of Black medical students. 36 00:01:43,733 --> 00:01:47,266 - Progress has been very slow. 37 00:01:47,266 --> 00:01:52,266 We were rounding one day on a Native American patient 38 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:56,600 who had just been diagnosed with a severe kidney disease. 39 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,233 And one of the senior physicians said 40 00:01:59,233 --> 00:02:03,466 I think this is a lost cause because I don't expect 41 00:02:03,466 --> 00:02:06,633 this patient to take the medication that we prescribe. 42 00:02:06,633 --> 00:02:10,933 And I spoke up and said the senior attending 43 00:02:10,933 --> 00:02:13,066 had just prejudged this patient. 44 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:18,000 We all deserve care, and a chance to be successful 45 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,066 with our course of treatment. 46 00:02:20,066 --> 00:02:21,500 - The greatest medicine in the world, 47 00:02:21,500 --> 00:02:22,866 the greatest research in the world, 48 00:02:22,866 --> 00:02:25,266 doesn't always deliver the best care. 49 00:02:27,566 --> 00:02:29,633 And that's what we need to do better. 50 00:02:29,633 --> 00:02:34,333 - I would believe that the needle was changing 51 00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:38,533 when I can actually see more People of Color 52 00:02:38,533 --> 00:02:41,766 in all aspects of healthcare. 53 00:02:41,766 --> 00:02:43,466 - Right now, I think in this space, 54 00:02:43,466 --> 00:02:46,166 we're so busy talking, we're not looking 55 00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:47,866 for those actual items. 56 00:02:47,866 --> 00:02:51,433 And maybe because of my aging, I'm getting impatient. 57 00:02:51,433 --> 00:02:53,333 There's a bigger picture. 58 00:02:53,333 --> 00:02:57,300 And the bigger picture is how we influence society. 59 00:02:57,300 --> 00:03:00,000 How we change policy. 60 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,866 And that is something that's just as important. 61 00:03:02,866 --> 00:03:04,466 - So there's a lot of work to be done, 62 00:03:04,466 --> 00:03:08,800 and we need more People of Color entering the field, 63 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,600 because that's how we bring about change.