Review of “Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine,” by Damon Tweedy, 2015. New York: Picador. Paper, 245 pages.
Because of stereotypes, people simply do not understand how a Black man can be a doctor.
The author explains very personal feelings and thoughts he experiences, first in pre-college life, then undergraduate and medical school years, then residencies, and finally years as a physician. He attends Duke University Medical School (and now teaches there) and also Yale Law School. His revelations about race – and how it is always there for young Black doctors – are profound and are important for all professionals to consider.
He reminds the reader that no matter how well he does in college, how great a medical student he is, and how patient and polite he acts to supervising doctors as he goes through his training, he is still often seen as somehow less worthy. He thinks others judge him as a product of affirmative action policies and relates many ordeals he goes through.
For example, in one class, he is mistaken for being a janitor coming to fix the lights. Many people ask him about basketball… how the coach was to deal with at Duke, why he does not go into the NBA and become famous rather than working in medicine.
The author reminds us how race is big – how it is always right out in front. Because of stereotypes, people simply do not understand how a Black man can be a doctor. He deals with this mindset throughout his life.
The author paints very clear descriptions of scenes and settings – very clear writing. He has done more writing – but not books. He is often writing letters to the editor and opinions in the big newspapers… I have been looking and trying to find other books by him, but I have not found any yet. I must keep this in mind as I look for additional books to read and review.
Teachers of writing will enjoy the language he uses, including his extensive quotations of other people and his personal thoughts regarding why he says or does certain things. He gives us a personal explanation often as to why he is sometimes hesitant to respond in this way or to act in that way.
The author tells the reader a huge amount of information about African Americans, their health problems, their dietary choices, and their access to health care. The book is really as much about these topics as anything else.
The author listens to his professors – and sees from his work in the community – that it is painfully true that “Being Black can be bad for your health” (p. 3). Health issues and difficulties faced by Blacks are mentioned throughout the book, including the author’s own dangerous high blood pressure that keeps creeping back into the picture: while he does a great job of maintaining it at a safe level, whenever he gets busy and forgets about the problem the numbers grow again.
His own struggles to remain healthy are an important reminder to him of how his patients – many of them Black – can fall back into bad dietary habits and lack of exercise during busy and stressful times. He understands how hard it is to force himself to stay healthy, avoid comfort foods, and become too sedentary.
Race, medicine, inequities, challenges, difficulties, and milestones are all important key words to use as the reader catalogues this entry in their personal library. Who should read the book? Educators, advocates, healthcare professionals, social workers, and readers interested in race relations, cultural differences, socioeconomic connections to healthcare access, plus policymaking, teaching and learning through apprentice settings, and recording one’s own personal and professional growth.
I recommend the book. When Dr. Tweedy writes a new book, I will read it!