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Presidential Lecture Series

Supplemental resources for the Presidential Lecture Series.

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"A big part of the solution is discarding your assumptions and connecting with each patient as a person. Race, while certainly a powerful influence, by itself doesn't guarantee a human connection any more than any other factor like geography, height, or handedness. It is up to us, as doctors, to find the commonalities and respect the differences between us and our patients. In that way, we can understand what they value, how  best to communicate with them, and how to arrive at treatment plans that improve their health while respecting their wishes. This approach is often called cultural competence, but after years of medical practice, it seems to me more like common sense."

― Damon Tweedy, Black Man in a White Coat

About the Speaker: Damon Tweedy

A headshot of Damon Tweedy in full color depicts a smiling man in a light grey suit and silver tie with his arms crossed leaning against a white architectural column.Damon Tweedy

Damon Tweedy is a graduate of Duke University School of Medicine. He is an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine and staff physician at the Durham Veteran Affairs Health System. He has published articles about race and medicine in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Raleigh News & Observer, as well as in various medical journals. He lives outside Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, with his family.

 

Photo Credit: Stocks Photography

Damon Tweedy: The Event

Duke University psychiatrist Damon Tweedy, MD, urged Creighton students and professors to embrace an ongoing national journey toward racial equity in health care during a Presidential Lecture in Phoenix. Read a recap article on Tweedy's lecture. 

Tweedy as Author

Discover More at the Creighton University Libraries: Damon Tweedy

Recommended Articles & Resources

Freeman, L., & Stewart, H. (2018). Microaggressions in Clinical Medicine. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 28(4), 411-449. doi:10.1353/ken.2018.0024.

Himmelstein, G., Bates, D., & Zhou, L. (2022). Examination of Stigmatizing Language in the Electronic Health Record. JAMA network open, 5(1), e2144967. https://doi-org.cuhsl.creighton.edu/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.44967 

Inspirational Q&A with Dr. Damon Tweedy, author of Black Man in A White Coat. (2015, September 8). Ana Homayoun. https://anahomayoun.com/inspirational-q-a-damon-tweedy-m-d-author-of-black-man-in-a-white-coat/

Narrative Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://jamanetwork.com/collections/5766/narrative-medicine

Smith, C. M., Turner, N. A., Thielman, N. M., Tweedy, D. S., Egger, J., & Gagliardi, J. P. (2021). Association of Black Race With Physical and Chemical Restraint Use Among Patients Undergoing Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation. Psychiatric Services, appi.ps.202100474. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202100474

Tweedy, D. S. (2012). A piece of my mind. A perfect match. JAMA, 307(7), 673. https://doi-org.cuhsl.creighton.edu/10.1001/jama.2012.139

Tweedy, D. S. (2012). A case of racism and reconciliation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 156(3), 246–247. https://doi-org.cuhsl.creighton.edu/10.7326/0003-4819-156-3-201202070-00017

Tweedy, D. (2018). Physicians Are People, Too. Health Affairs, 37(8), 1337–1338. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0803

Tweedy, D. S. (2021). Race and Health—A Persistent American Dilemma. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMpv2117898

 

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