A Black Man In A White Coat Analysis

Damon Tweedy’s book A Black Man in a White Coat is a New York Times bestseller. His narrative denotes the impact that racial and socioeconomic disparities have on population health. Throughout Tweedy’s memoir, he illustrates his patient encounters and ultimately ties them together to conclude that many of the health problems faced today are more prevalent among African American communities. Reflections after reading the book helped me to address and discuss factors that contribute to health disparities within populations as well as discuss the role of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) in population health.
After reading A Black Man in a White Coat, I can genuinely say that the part of the book that made the greatest impact on me
During Tweedy’s third year at Duke, he worked a clinic in the rural underserved area of North Carolina. Many of the residents in the area were uninsured and the clinic was the only opportunity that some of the residents would have to see a doctor (Tweedy, 2015, p. 55). One of the patients that Dr. Tweedy saw at the clinic was a woman named Pearl. She had diabetes and hypertension and was not on medications for either. While discussing her case with Dr. Kelly, the lead doctor at the clinic, Dr. Tweedy was asked about medications he would give this woman. His suggestion is redirected to consider that Pearl would not be seen for another month as well as consider if she had health insurance or prescription drug coverage. This instance illustrates the health disparity witnessed by Dr. Tweedy between Pearl and the patients he typically cares for at Duke. The standard medications he would normally prescribe at Duke, could possibly be costly for Pearl which would result in noncompliance of medical treatment due to her inability to
In the United States, racial bias is noted to contribute to healthcare disparities among African Americans (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017, p. 3). A Black Man in a White Coat illustrates several of these biases. Tweedy references Colored People by Henry Louis Gates Jr. This reference suggests a violation of the ethical principle of nonmaleficence. Gates memoir discusses how a physician labeled his hip pain as psychological due to his ambitions of wanting to become a doctor (Tweedy, 2015, p. 131). His mother disagreed with the diagnosis and took him to another hospital for care. While there, it was proven that Gates had a slipped epiphysis, which required multiple surgeries, wearing an elevated shoe, and using a cane for the rest of his life. Although it was not directly stated, we can assume that this physician provided ineffective treatment for Mr. Gates. This may possibly be related to his own biases, or possibly a lack of insurance to receive needed