Dr. Kali Cyrus, MD MPH of the Yale School of Medicine's Psychiatry Department, takes some time out of her busy schedule to discuss how asking herself honest questions makes her a better doctor, finding mentors in unexpected places, and how she navigates her professional and personal communities as the ultimate "other."
Colleen Flanagan was born with her disability, not her activism. However recent threats to Medicaid, which supports almost all long term care for disabled Americans, have thrust her and the national group she belongs to, ADAPT, into the spotlight. Their radical civil disobedience is motivated not by politics, but by literal life or death scenarios. She chats with us about why these demonstrations are so necessary and how sometimes, even hospitals can be tricky for disabled Americans to maneuver.
Dr. Gregory Snyder is a Senior Resident in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. You may have read about him in the New York Times article titled, “Doctors with Disabilities: Why They’re Important.” While his first major experience as a patient was earlier than most, something he stresses today is that we’re all patients. Dr. Snyder shares his experience then and now as a physician who uses a wheelchair to get around and explains why it’s a good thing that his patient’s see this. His vision for the future is one where physicians themselves are involved crafting the next chapter in the healthcare industry.
Kimberly Zieselman is the Executive Director of InterACT and an intersex woman. She makes a point to forcefully dismiss the clinical term “Disorders of Sexual Development." This really is the crux of all the issues facing intersex folks: they don't need to be "fixed." Kimberly shares her (unfortunately) not uncommon story, and explains how with some very hard work and a heap of bravery, intersex folks are making progress: in society and in healthcare.
Mariah Swiech Henderson has insight into the interactions that transgender and non binary folk have with the American healthcare system from two different angles. They’re a Physician Assistant in Adult Primary Care at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and are non binary themselves. In this interview, Mariah recounts their experiences as a person with an evolving gender identity, as well as a healthcare provider to patients all across the gender spectrum. They explain how psychiatric involuntary holds affect trans and non binary folk differently and offer advice and direction to patients seeking trans competent healthcare. Finally, they explain how their PA program's queer healthcare education needed a refresh and how they hijacked the curriculum with a powerpoint presentation.
Angelo Lima is the best kind of mosaic. He is a Brazilian immigrant to the United States and worked for several years in HIV testing and prevention. He's also queer and for a great portion of his life was living in the US undocumented. His experiences are his own, and it's important to him that you know that, but he also does not hesitate to speak up for those who can't for fear of deportation. His status in the US has now adjusted and he feels somewhat responsible to make life easier for other undocumented folks. He explains how his community viewed the emergency room and healthcare and looks forward to a future that includes reform.
