Black Man in a White Coat Response (1-5)

The first portion of Black Man in a White Coat, Tweedy illustrates the reality of being a black man in the medical field and how it relates to the racialization of black people as patients. Tweedy's initial experience as a black person at Duke was fine until one of his professors "confused" him to be an electrician. This reminded me of the interviews we read earlier this semester with minorities in medical professions, when a female doctor was asked by a white male doctor to take his luggage to his room. This same assumption made by whites in power that people of color do not belong in the medical field is shown through Tweedy's experiences as a medical student. Though, he acknowledges his treatment by peers was mostly fair, the information he gained from working with white doctors and black patients reinforced the idea that black people "do not seek health care" or "listen" to the doctor's recommendations. Tweedy explores the reasons for this "tendency" among the black population; he points to statistics. Healthcare is a rarity for rural people in general, but lowest among black people due to the vicious cycles of poverty they are placed. Medications are expensive, and without coverage, they are hard to get. The lack of primary care physicians are also a result of the lack of money and healthcare available, leaving no choice in whether or not to follow up with a doctor's recommendations, because you can't. 

I enjoyed his narration of different encounters that taught him new things during his time as a student. He shows the ways in which being a black physician connects him with patients but also disconnects him with certain peers. It also illustrates the importance of economic class along with race in medicine. If you have the money, then you can afford treatments, medicines, and doctors visits that other wise you would not.