#FirstCoffeeThoughts

I was watching this video from a mixed-race female doctor about how she heard another doctor introducing himself to a patient by saying "I'm (name) and I'll be your doctor" and it occurred to her that she never once EVER considered introducing herself by her first name because her experience as a mixed-race female is so drastically different. She always says "I'm Doctor (name)." because she always has to reinforce to patients that she is a doctor and not a nurse.

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Her experience also with racism in the system means she has to do more to prove herself or to be taken seriously and being so casual makes her look "unprofessional" whereas for the white male doctors, it's considered fine.

She posts videos often about the everyday experiences she has in the medical field and this one was particularly powerful because she realized that she was shaped by this system to feel like she was somehow "less than" and couldn't even introduce herself by her own name.

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Not only that but that she had never even THOUGHT to do it ... there was just no question in her mind. It was her realization of how deeply she was groomed by these beliefs and her lived experiences as a mixed-race female in the world and in her profession that brought tears to her eyes. Why had she not realized it? How could she begin to dismantle all the beliefs that kept her locked in this invisible cage? She expressed these thoughts beautifully ...

The comments she received ... my god.

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