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Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Sep 24, 2020

I do my very best not to say politically rousing statements on here because I recognize how impactful it could be on my life and future. I will make a few points, however.

As a professional student, it is easy for my peers/colleagues to think of me as the kind of 1/x

Black/AA person who would never find themselves in a compromising position with law enforcement. Additionally, there’s falsely ascribed increased worth on my life. Further, some people even go as far as to think we may share very similar viewpoints on current events.

It is 2/x

important to recognize and appreciate that when I am on the street, I am not Student Dr. Cooley. I am a Black woman from Gary, IN with locs who has been transplanted to SC.

Miss Taylor deserved her life because she was a human being. Using her profession as a 3/x

Read 8 tweets

Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Sep 14, 2020

God’s timing, a thread:
When I started medical school I was disappointed in my non-traditional route. Although “Black don’t crack” & my peers never believe how old I am, 😂, I felt “behind”. I now recognize everything happens for a reason, there is a purpose & plan. 1/

Truly, I stumbled into Urology. Our Cardiothoracic attendings were thought to be on away at a conference and it would have been too much for students to remain on the service with fewer attendings. They asked what OTHER surgical subspecialty I would like to see and I 2/

thought to myself, “We’re not doing NS, ENT has too many tight holes, I’ve seen MIS on colorectal and that knee scope wasn’t what I thought it would be. I guess that leaves...Urology?” It was on this rotation I met who would become my mentor and started developing 3/

Read 7 tweets

Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Aug 30, 2020

I have a mentee who is a MS2 that graduated from an HBCU as well. I have NO idea when I told her I was an HBCU alumnae. Nevertheless, she said when she found out it gave her comfort & made her feel like she could succeed.

I got her a medical desk dictionary and wrote a little

note on the front page. I hope she likes it 😭😭.

I’ve never been a believer in “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”. I believe everyone’s success
is dependent on someone else’s.

I will do EVERYTHING in my power to help make someone’s dream a reality.

Mentors matter.

Lift as you climb. Leave spaces better than they were when you arrived. Pour into people so they pour into others.

Differently, I’m trying to turn her into a Urologist and away from ortho.

Read 6 tweets

Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Aug 29, 2020

So Chadwick Boseman passed from colon cancer at the age of 43.

I think this is an opportunity for Black healthcare providers to discuss the importance of knowing your family history of disease.

If he was 39 when he was diagnosed that means if he had children, they need to be

screened beginning at age 29 and any siblings he may have should also be screened if they have not been.

The general distrust Black people have for the institutions in this country is warranted. How as a Black healthcare provider do I plan to change this? I’m not sure yet, but

it is my hope that the mere act of seeing a Black doctor walk into their room to treat them will help. I CANNOT wait to champion and advocate for my future patients.

Read 6 tweets

Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Aug 24, 2020

I grew up in a single parent home with my mother.

We never owned a home when I was a kid. Location permitting, I’ll be a homeowner next year.

That is W I L D.

A considerable percentage of my classmates are the children physicians and most are from upper middle-class/well-off/wealthy families. It’s hard for me to articulate what this means to some of them.

What it means to me is that, if we want, my family can host holidays at

my home, my younger sister can have a place she can ALWAYS come to, I can keep it and pass it on to a family member, I can use it to generate income and be able to support my family, and more. This is CRAAAAZYYYY 😅😭😍.

Read 5 tweets

Keiko Cooley, MD

@KeiMD

Aug 22, 2020

At the beginning of MS3 year I felt, very strongly, I needed to actively be doing things to learn. I underestimated the value of quiet, observation. As I’ve transitioned from a MS3 to a MS4, I now appreciate it as one of my greatest learning opportunities. Today, I was 1/

reminded of why. For the first time I witnessed a frustrated pt allege a physician entered the field solely for money. We arrived to this point with the use of the word, “supposedly”. The pt felt dismissed, not cared for and that they were being viewed as incompetent in their 2/

ability to convey their PMHx. Word choice and syntax are exceptionally powerful tools. As a kid I was taught, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s not true, though. Words can be hurtful and hurt people try to hurt people. Words can heal 3/

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