Changing the Conversation

Recently, I wrote for Threads about my experiences in medical settings in the post "Looking for the Borderline Patient."

I’ve been thinking about Gloria Dickerson’s Looking for the “Borderline Patient" post on t3Threads, and I can’t seem to get certain phrases out of my head. She describes her recent experience at an ER, and as a result of various preconceived notions and prejudices carried by her providers, she received subpar care. As she waited there, in the midst of her health crisis, she shared that, “All the appropriate words like ‘patient-centered care’ and ‘individualized-treatment’ waft like flimsy bubbles through the air. There is no substance, no actions, and no kindness to transform these words into reality.”

Do doctors and other medical professionals have an ethical obligation to treat homelessness as a unique condition? One of the most prestigious medical journals in the world says yes. In a two paper series published in the British medical journal The Lancet, the authors advocate for an expanded understanding of the healthcare needs of “the homeless.” They point to the morbidity that exists within populations experiencing homelessness and describe interventions. Most of all, they sound a clarion for medical professionals around the world to reconsider homelessness in the context of health.

I am reeling from the decision that a New York police officer will not be indicted for killing Eric Garner.