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Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
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7 Jan, 8 tweets, 7 min read
Today I feel calm & resolute because I had been waiting for this. Back in 2016, given what I had been seeing in the run up to the election and nasty campaign language inciting hatefulness, was having an uptick in anxiety. Plus this: masslive.com/boston/2020/01…

NOW others see it too.
When that news broke of SCHOOLS sharing information with authorities to ARREST CHILDREN
+
my most recent conversation in the hospital in my last shift, a nurse had made remarks about race & who commits violence
=
I got a massive migraine & nausea. themuse.com/advice/structu…
My revulsion/aversion to stepping foot into work was
-fear of complicity
-inability to protect my patients or other staff from harm
-risks to my career

to counter this #racism within the hospital, I described with @becker_sbecker in this #podcast

go.beckershospitalreview.com/scott-becker-i…
I was teaching med students on rounds:
-published @AmerAcadPeds policy -applying my @PCORI #leadership addressing disparities work
-DPH equity policy
cited in hospital “awards”
yet this reported by nursing staff as “political” & making them “uncomfortable”
See @COCoQC graphic
This is not about nursing. I respect anti-racism work of @ShrimpLingSoup @NursePatMacRN @JerrySoucyRN & MANY others. Racism in doctors also a problem. But given real bullying in healthcare, if I go out of “my lane” to address this, could be labeled “bully” doctor or “political”
Actually I defer A LOT to nursing tremendous respect for their
-different skills/training
-years of experience
-hours at the bedside
-powers of observation
-triage

This vs #drsusanmoore
increasingly used by administrators =doctors “versus” nurses to avoid own accountability
I had SO many of my own traumatizing experiences as a kid & adult on the patient side

I have been starting to recognize were the same racism we see today

same ongoing harm that if I teach on during rounds, citing PUBLISHED policy and professional STANDARDS, I am “too political”
Yes, based on my tracking trends & lived experience, I did expect yesterday

I did not know when or how. I felt both at risk and complicit

I don’t think it is over either. We still have elected officials today claiming an elaborate new conspiracy of “fake” protesters/insurgents

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More from @usnehal

Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
7 Jan
Look, if you all don’t want the donuts, no problem... more for me. 😁
I mean, before the pandemic, at a fancy schmancy MBA event in NYC, I literally put two cider donuts, wrapped in napkins, in my purse. After you have subsisted on a steady diet of hospital saltines, peanut butter, & graham crackers, one becomes shameless.
Also: child of immigrants
Exhibit A Image
Read 4 tweets
Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
7 Jan
We knew this.

We need stable, responsible voices on #SoMe

I am ALL for 1st amendment. Am anti-policing. Am anti-censorship.

Those of us in #SciComm can hold our OWN selves to higher standards than I see on #MedTwitter now. Vet. Verify. Be factual. Don’t do “left” vs “right.”
We cannot control what others post or do with our own posts to mislabel or misuse, unfortunately. We can reduce the “gotcha” aspects w/ passing things thru several gates. For me, having worked in the ED, been a public official, served as an expert witness, have automatic filters.
Deleting is NO protection. There is legal precedent “cleaning up” social media can lead to more questions.

It has been screenshotted. The “blocked!” or “deleted!” is used for innuendo.

Long thread on compliance & legal aspects of #SciComm for licensed professionals.
Read 10 tweets
Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
6 Jan
Sooo... given folks are gearing up for a fight

are we supposed to like buy gold bars and hide them in our mattresses just in case?

Keep a packed bag of necessities?

I had relatives who had to flee countries that dissolved overnight... so just wondering....
I mean granted that doctors tend to be a bit of a overly pessimistic bunch who think about the worst case scenario..

..but while you all are celebrating the opportunity of returning to posting puppies

..the Nashville bombing does a bit worry me..

thehill.com/changing-ameri…
One of the reasons why people like experienced physicians is cuz we’ve seen an awful lot and we have a good pattern recognition...

...and hope I am wrong in thinking about all this...

..but hairs on back of my neck are standing up straight...

This could get messy
Read 17 tweets
Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
6 Jan
“Warnock will be the first Black senator from Georgia and, as the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie pointed out on Twitter, only the second Black senator elected from the South since Reconstruction.”

🙏🏿💪🏾🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Darn it. Why do I live in overcivilized quiet Boston & not still in #NewYorkCity? Right now everybody would be on the rooftops banging pots & pans, blaring music, waving at neighbors they don’t know. Miss this.

#newyorktough

I left my ❤️ in #NYC
Read 4 tweets
Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
5 Jan
It’s taken me years, but am finally learning how to not get sucked into imbalanced situations. Much of life was a “pleaser”, then a service profession surrounded by anxious parents. Yes, my work has often been on caring for vulnerable, voiceless, abused. Now I focus on systems.
I’ve always had a range of friendships, balanced and not so much. Often, I (am made to) feel like I have excessive privilege compared to someone else who had experienced various types of abuse and harm - tho, in fact tending to others can be a way to avoid processing own stuff.
I am not here to fix anyone else. We can support each other to find own way. When you become direct, especially in female friendships, may become more of an introvert 😂
I find women, often are so depleted & traumatized they want “safe spaces” and validation.

I like the truth.
Read 12 tweets
Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH Profile picture
5 Jan
I do miss this tbh. Once in East Boston, I was seeing a Latina tween with headaches that only happened Sunday nights. Turns out she was being bullied at school. I wrote a letter to her school to investigate the bullying. Loved she saw a woman who looked like her have authority.
When you see your doctor listens, takes the time, believes you, uses her authority & credentials to make the system work for you, you start to feel safer & begin to trust, then may begin to listen. It is easy to write off “the system.” As much as I rail against, I work within it.
Our tax dollars pay for #publichealth and other resources. If only those who historically benefit from the system engage, that reinforces disparities.

Some people will try to tell you that only black and brown people are on public assistance but that is not true. ImageImage
Read 6 tweets

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