Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Year of the Nurse - November 2020 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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1 8 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 L et me tell you why Black patients should have access to more Black doc- tors. Last June, I underwent sur- gery to remove osteomata (benign tumors) from my fore- head and a portion of my nose. I'd previously undergone surgery to have similar growths removed, but they had returned in locations where excision would be more challenging. Before undergoing the procedure, I consulted with several white male surgeons, who told me they would need to open an incision from ear to ear. I didn't feel comfortable with that option, especially because I was planning on getting married soon and didn't want the scars to ruin the day. My frustration mounted, and I decided to put off the sur- gery until after the wedding. When I resumed my search for a surgeon, I noticed a new physi- cian in town: Jewel Greywoode, MD, an otolaryngologist at Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates. He's Black, which, honestly, was an initial draw. Here was a surgeon who looked like me, who I thought would understand my needs in a way the previous white surgeons could not. My intuition proved correct — I felt an immediate connection with Dr. Greywoode. I told him what the other surgeons had recom- mended, and he said my hair would never grow back over such a severe incision. He instead offered a more minimally invasive approach — three small incisions behind my hairline that would be unseen after my hair grew back, which he assured me it would. I didn't have to tell him that preserving my Much More Than a Kind Gesture A cultural connection with my surgeon meant everything to me. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion India Marshall POWERFUL CONNECTION India Marshall found a surgeon who immediately understood the importance of preserving her natural hair.

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