82 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion: Awareness, Curiosity, Action

https://302.buzz/PM-WhatAreYourThoughts

Dr. Lisa Lowery is a native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Ottawa Hills High School.  She attended Michigan State University receiving her Bachelor of Science Degree in Microbiology, with Honors. Her research during her fellowship concentrated on sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health.  While at the Johns Hopkins, she obtained a Master of Public Health in the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences with a Certificate of Concentration in Maternal and Child Health.

Currently, Dr. Lowery is an Adolescent Medicine specialist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital-Spectrum Health Medical Group.   She has been on faculty since July 2004.  Dr. Lowery also serves as Adolescent Medicine Section Chief and an Associate Program Director for the Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program Michigan State University/Grand Rapids Campus. 

She is the president of West Michigan Medical Society/National Medical Association and serves on the Grand Rapids Urban League Board of Directors and the Michigan Eating Disorders Alliance Board.  In the summer of 2018, started serving on the Cherry Health Foundation Board and the Kent County Community Health Advisory Committee.

[00:01] Opening Segment

• What’s been happening in Dr. Lisa Lowery’s career?
• She gives an update
• Lisa talks about their monthly series on diversity, equity, and inclusion

[07:01] Breaking Down Structural Racism

• The next generation of physicians should have these qualities
• Listen to Lisa
• The impacts of the pandemic to the healthcare sector according to Lisa
• Lisa talks about structural racism and why it matters in the healthcare sector

[17:48] Dealing With Oppression and Discrimination

• Oppression and discrimination look different among teenagers
• Lisa explains
• The importance of making appointment-setting easy for teenage patients
• What does being an “emotional container” mean?

[27:58] Being Vulnerable With Patients

• Lisa shares a humbling moment she experienced as a medical practitioner
• It is all right for physicians to be vulnerable with their patients
• Lisa tells us why
• The right way to communicate with a patient according to Lisa

[37:24] Learning About Bystander Interventions

• Lisa reveals a secret about how she talks with her patients
• The benefits of conducting Bystander Intervention Workshops
• Recognizing privilege that people of color don’t have

[47:57] Making a Difference in the Healthcare Sector

• How physicians can lend their voices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Lisa’s reminder for physicians who want to make a difference in their workspaces
• Here’s Lisa’s message for her younger self that you don’t want to miss

 [56:29] Closing Segment  

• Final takeaways
• Everyone has racial biases
• Start with recognizing your own biases
• The uncomfortable feeling of being curious
• Addressing teenagers who are people of color and LGBTQIA+
• The importance of empathy
• Safety among children of our BIPOC brothers and sisters
• Questions that physicians should ask their young patients
• Why allyship is important
• When to intervene as a bystander
• Small changes can lead to radical shifts
• Fixing racism is not a minority’s responsibility
• Let’s all be lifelong learners

Key Quotes:

“...medicine is still a