I am very excited to share that an editorial I’ve co-authored has just been published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine: “Moving Beyond the Doctor’s Perspective of the Patient’s Perspective”. Along with Dr. Arnav Agarwal and Dr. Ariel Lefkowitz, this paper explores the ways in which physicians frequently fall short in including patients’ perspectives in medical care and what we can do to better elevate patients’ voices.
The three of us have been collaboratively working on this article for several years now. It is quite uncommon for someone like myself to be included in the research process for a major medical journal and for my personal struggles with our health care system to be highlighted in this way.
To say I am grateful for this achievement would be an understatement. I am particularly grateful to my dear friend and colleague, Ariel, for valuing my perspective and showing me what it means to be a person of integrity. It is one thing for a doctor to declare that she or he is dedicated to patient-centred care. It is a completely different thing for that person to truly listen and allow a patient’s voice to be elevated.
We are all patients and we are all healers. Privilege does not only exist along racial or gender lines. When we are in the role of a patient, oftentimes our voices feel silenced and our power revoked. It can be a terrifying and traumatic thing; I know it was for me. Healing comes when we find the others like ourselves, fighting for a better world.
All of our stories matter. Keep sharing yours and know that you are not alone.
