A middle-aged black woman presents to her local emergency department via emergency medical services (EMS) with chest and back pains, nausea, and vomiting. She has a history of IV drug abuse and is disheveled in appearance. Prior to her arrival, EMS notes that her chest pain appears non-cardiac and provides supportive care while en route … Read more
As part of its mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives, the American Heart Association (AHA) has been working diligently to eliminate barriers to health equity in the U.S. diverse population through education and research, raising awareness through their many programs and initiatives. In the stroke arena, we continue … Read more
In Part I, I discussed experiences of BIPOC in medicine as well as those underrepresented in cardiology as a framework to build understanding. In Part II, I made a good case for why diversity will help cultivate innovation and improve health disparities. In the final part of this blog series, I will review how cardiology … Read more
In this blog, I want to share my thoughts on diversity, why it matters in medicine, especially in cardiology. Why does diversity matter in medicine? We all are seeing more and more diverse patients, especially in the United States, where “minorities” who come from various backgrounds and cultures constitute a significant proportion of our patients, … Read more
In Part 1, I shared common experiences between myself and other BIPOC physicians in medicine and cardiology. In this piece, I will dive into the importance of why increasing diversity and inclusion in cardiology is so urgent. Cardiology is a coveted specialty and can incentivize a power dynamic that does not often include BIPOC. I … Read more
On January 20th, Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office, becoming the first woman, African American, and Asian American to hold the position. Just two weeks earlier, Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof became the first African American and Jewish senators, respectively, to represent my home state of Georgia. In addition, President Joe Biden … Read more
As someone who integrated her elementary school in Ohio (a Yeshiva), enrolled in an exclusive prep school in New England and became the first AA female in her cardiology program, I’ve spent my life analyzing how to adapt to environments in which I was different. When I enter an environment, I learn the lay of … Read more
Those of us who work in science, healthcare, and academia often find ourselves teaching others, whether or not we set out to be educators. Residents teach medical students. Nurses precept new nurses. Graduate students teach undergraduates. And faculty roles for researchers and clinicians also include teaching loads. Yet for many of us, our training did … Read more
As researchers and physicians, many of us got in to our professions to push the scientific enterprise further to ultimately help others. We’ve all trained for an insane amount of years and collectively we work as a unit to uncover the intricacies of the cardiovascular system, develop therapeutics and treat patients. We traditionally think of … Read more
This past August, the phrase “Representation Matters” commonly graced entertainment and popular culture headlines. Why? In what was ultimately called “Asian August,” several major movies starring Asian-American actors were appearing in theaters, led by the first American film to feature an all-Asian cast in 25 years – “Crazy Rich Asians.” This fervor was inspired by … Read more