One thing I want all resident physicians to be free from is the idea that we need to be immensely grateful for just being here. So grateful to serve that we shouldn’t demand more. All that does is perpetuate the unjustness of the system. We all worked incredibly hard in medical school. Most of us amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans. Residency (even the most welcoming and wellness-centered programs) is filled with inequities. And hospital systems benefit from the overwork and underpay of residents.

I knew suicide rates for Black youth have been rising, especially since the pandemic began. But this lecture by Dr. Benton highlighted many other facts I wasn’t aware of. Gonna share some for folks who are interested. Also want to say that I know this topic can be very difficult and triggering for many. So please feel free to mute me or this thread if it protects your peace. Prioritize your own mental health, always.

This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth I want us to remember that it’s important to be kind and check in on your loved ones. But also that you can have supportive friends and family around you and still be depressed, anxious, and lonely. You can have a tribe that loves you deeply and still have intrusive thoughts of not being good enough. Or that nobody truly understands how you feel. Still find it tough to respond to messages and calls. Still find it difficult to make it through the day.

A quick story. I’m on ambulatory medicine at the VA. Yesterday I went to get a patient from the waiting room. A Black man who served in Vietnam. When I introduced myself as Dr. Igwe, he gave me a very strange look. I asked if I had the wrong person, but he said “no, that’s me”. I couldn’t shake this weird feeling I had, so I asked him why he was looking at me like I had three heads. He said, “Brother, I’ve been coming to the VA since 1970. And I’ve NEVER seen a Black doctor. Many Black people around the place, but never a doctor.”