KevinMD March 29, 2025
Family physician Pamela Buchanan discusses her article, “Why diversity in medicine saves lives.” Pamela shares powerful stories from her career, like adjusting a biracial child’s treatment for a scalp infection and saving a Black woman with sickle cell disease from misdiagnosis, to illustrate how diversity enhances patient care. She addresses systemic biases—such as the undertreatment of Black women’s pain and misdiagnosis of women’s heart attack symptoms—and backs her insights with research showing better outcomes with diverse physicians. Pamela urges health care professionals to embrace cultural competence and collaboration, offering a clear takeaway: Diverse perspectives in medicine are essential for reducing disparities and saving lives.
Transcript
Kevin Pho: I’d welcome you to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast today. We welcome back Pamela...