Thread by @QaaliHussein1

To the Trauma and Medical community,

First, I’d like to thank the @SoMe4Trauma team for graciously hosting this discussion on #racism and #AntiBlackRacism in medicine and the role trauma plays.

#SoMe4Trauma

The recent #GeorgeFloydMurder in Mnpls, MN has galvanized the world to protest in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Cause of death: "asphyxiation from sustained pressure" when his neck and back were compressed by Minneapolis police officers”

cnn.com/2020/06/01/us/…

It didn’t have to take a second autopsy to confirm what the entire world saw on that video. A video I, and many Black parents, still can’t bear to watch.

But the fact that a second autopsy was performed at the request of Mr. Floyd’s family is pertinent to this discussion.

So why am I Tweeting endlessly about this?

What do medicine and trauma have to do with #BlackLivesMatter?

Why are we talking about #racism and what’s #AntiBlackRacism?

I’ve been asked previously to discuss diversity and inclusion in trauma.

I’ve been reluctant to do so because the expectation is that I share how I overcame racism in medicine as a Black Muslim woman who wears a hijab and had kids while in training.

I didn’t overcome racism.

I merely lived with the racism that is pervasive in medicine and learned to maneuver around it.

But now that we are all experiencing a collective awakening to the reality of what it’s like to be Black in America, I want to have a real discussion.

But first, some ground rules:

1. Racism in medicine in real. Just because you haven’t experienced it or didn’t observe it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I will not be doing the work of proving it’s existence.

2. It is not the responsibility of Black and Brown people to educate everyone on #racism or how to be #antiracist. There are plenty of resources.

There’s enough psychological trauma from living with racism. Let’s not add insult to injury.

3. Language matters. We know the importance of standard communication in medicine. We teach students to differentiate between hematemsis and hemoptysis. Why? Because the underlying causes and treatment will be different.

You can’t ignore #AntiBlackRacism by saying all races.

4. We must avoid distractions.

As Toni Morrison said, “The very serious function of racism is...distraction.”

Comments such as “#BlackLivesMatter is too political” is a distraction. If that’s your position, then I will refer you to rule # 2.

So now what?

What I love about surgery and especially trauma is our directness.

We approach the problem head on.

Look at the facts.

Both #EricGarner and #GeorgeFloyd died from asphyxia as a result of sustained pressure to their neck.

Police restraint policies include instructions on how to kill some.

A RESTRAINT policy has deadly force as an option.

This is instructions on “how to kill” with a choke hold.

A RESTRAINT policy which shows how to cause irreparable brain damage.

No evidence of oversight or regulation of it’s use anywhere.

Now, compare this to how restraints (bed rails, wrist restraints, mittens, etc) are used and the level of oversight required of well trained health professionals.

jointcommission.org/en/standards/s…

And we know it’s problematic because the San Deigo Police Departmnt just banned the use of carotid restraints in response to the national #GeorgeFloydProtests

sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-sa…

This is a great opportunity for the trauma community to spearhead this move and call for a ban on all neck restraints and require oversight on the use of any restraints. This is an opportunity to demand accountability for the indiscriminate use of deadly force by police.

As trauma surgeons, injury prevention is in our scope of practice.

This should be immediately obvious to us.

But the reality that it took so long for our organizations to make statements condemning racism, call out police brutality and inappropriate use of restraints against Black people shows me that we’re still distracted by racism. Medicine failed to deliver justice with 1st autopsy.

As a Black mother to Black boys and a Black girl, I have yet to sleep peacefully since Memorial Day.

This is why I’m tweeting nonstop.

This is why we need diversity.

We need diversity to show us our blind spots and show us how we can fix this broken system that refuses to acknowledge the existence of #racism in medicine and specifically #antiBlackracism.

#BlackMedTwitter

I’ve hesitated to discuss diversity and inclusion because I have no desire to be included in a system that will allow practices that can potentially turn my sons or my daughter into the next #.

I am here to help us move towards changing this system.
#SoMe4Trauma
#MedTwitter

@Me4Trauma

So how can the medical and trauma community help fix the #PoliceBrutalityPandemic that is killing our Black patients?

We see that #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives is trending.

What actions are we taking after statements and shows of solidarity?

How are we going to deal with #racism in medicine?

Do they involve accountability?

Will there be transparency?