When I was about 8 years old, and adorable, my parents took me to an eye doctor.
I remember that he had stringy hair wrapped over a balding spot and smelled like he had smoked peppermint. He was by all accounts your typical elderly white-haired, white male doctor.
He seemed nice enough and started out looking over his papers. He then asked my parents questions about my history and if they had any specific concerns with my eyesight. I fidgeted with my skirt but noted that every time they answered, he would squint. It seemed like he was working very hard to decipher what they were saying. He asked them to repeat themselves several times.
Then, after a few awkward exchanges, the doctor turned to me and asked:
“Do you have any questions for me, boy?”
Wait. What?
My mother didn’t suffer fools. She had tolerated his asking her to repeat herself. She had ignored his visible confusion over her “accented” English. But when I saw her visibly cringe and narrow her eyes, I knew we were done here.
This was the early 1980s. Unless we had fallen, hit our heads and woken up in 1955 Alabama, use of the word “boy” was a showstopper.
A big “Hell Naw“.
Following that fateful encounter, nearly every healthcare provider my parents took me to was a person of colour.
First and foremost they immediately found a Black eye doctor. But they also took me to a Black dentist, a Chinese-Jamaican orthodontist, and a Brown family physician.
We did not live with easy access to most of these folks, but my parents didn’t let our location stop them. They drove or took public transportation from the tiny suburb where we lived to pretty much anywhere, anytime we needed to see a physician.
3 reasons to find a Black doctor
There are many reasons to find a Black doctor or racialized health care provider.
Reason 1: Better health outcomes
Statistics paint a harsh picture of the disparities in health outcomes that face Black folks in Canada. Notably, a report conducted by the Black Health Alliance found Black Canadians were two times more likely than White Canadians to be treated badly by physicians.
Although the health system is only just starting to collect race-based data, initial reports from the Canadian Medical Journal are not promising. Reports suggest that anti-Black racism exists in the health care system. Black folks experience everything from medical gaslighting to late diagnosis and less access to treatment. Studies of Black maternal health conducted by McGill University found that 8.9% of Canadian Black women gave birth to pre-term babies, compared to only 5.9% of their white peers.
Seeking out a Black doctor may not solve all of these issues. But studies show that when Black folks are treated by racialized doctors they have better, healthier outcomes. It is unclear why Black patients experience better results when seen by Black doctors. The issue could be that due to the legacy of racism in health care some folks do not have trust in the system. Alternatively, folks might be influenced by current high-profile cases that demonstrate racism within the health care system persists.
Studies show that when Black folks are treated by racialized doctors they have better, healthier outcomes.
It may even simply be attributed to doctors being more familiar with trends and issues that affect their ethnic community and personal health.
But honestly, in my experience, I have gotten more thorough care from racialized doctors.
I learned this lesson the hard way when it came to my own kids. I took my son to an orthodontist who spoke too fast and who repeatedly asked where our family was “from”.
After paying for this round of microaggressions and failed orthodontics for my son, I was thrilled to learn my childhood Orthodontist Dr. Martin Chin was still practicing.
Yes, I drive 30 minutes each way to his office – and yes it’s worth it. Dr. Chin knew exactly what to do to fix my son’s complicated orthodontic issues. I credit him with helping my son avoid jaw surgery. Equally important, he was thorough and patient in explaining every step of what he would do and how much it would cost. No microaggressions on the table.
He also made my day every time I walked into his office. He welcomed me with the smile of long-lost uncle even 30 years after my first visit to his office. I lament about things I could have bought instead buying my kids’ orthodontics, but that’s no reflection on Dr. Chin.
Reason 2: Cultural understanding and comfort
Representation matters in all areas of life, including healthcare. When it comes to medical professionals, a doctor who understands your cultural background can have a significant impact on your overall healthcare journey.
Add this to the list of things I wish I knew about raising children, but you’ll be with your doctor a lot. It’s best to find a doctor your family is comfortable with. From your child’s infancy through childhood illnesses, puberty and all the things in between, your family physician will see you through critical parts of your family’s life story.
A Black doctor may be able to understand and empathize with the traditions, challenges and experiences faced by your family.
Reason 3: Role models to your children
For parents of Black children, finding a Black physician might not only improve health outcomes but also help normalize Blackness in all spaces.
With the mindset of you can’t be what you can’t see, many Black parents work to ensure our children know they belong everywhere. Many wish to provide role models for our kids.
And in my experience, the Black doctors in my life were fiercely, proudly dedicated to being role models.
I will never forget my eye doctor. Dr. J. George Sewell. His practice was in Malvern, a suburb outside of Toronto. Every time I visited Dr. Sewell, he would seem as focused on my eye health as he was on my schoolwork. He greeted me, and all patients, with smiles and jokes. During my appointment, he would cleverly disguise wisdom bombs in stories about his children. He spent so much time passing on nuggets of advice, I saw him equal parts wise uncle and eye doctor.
To this day, my kids may not realize they have Dr. Sewell to thank for some of my philosophies. For example, they may not realize he is to thank for one of my favourites sayings. “It is not about the grades, it’s about the effort! I’d rather you come home with a ‘C’ you worked hard for than a lazy ‘A’!”
Pure Dr. Sewell-ism.
In my experience, Black doctors in my life were fiercely, proudly dedicated to being role models.
I also can’t forget Dr. Winsome Smith, my childhood dentist. Dr. Smith was the first Black woman I knew who drove a Mercedes, and was her own boss. She was also among the first adults in my life to have the explicitly high expectation that Black girls should go to University. She simply didn’t think there was any reason not to and wouldn’t entertain any other conversations. It came up one way or another at every visit.
Dr. Smith checked in constantly, talking to me about school and just making sure my expectations for myself stayed high. It was only as I grew older, I realized how much of herself she had dedicated to being a community role model. Dr. Smith had scholarships in her honour and done a great deal of mentoring to open doors for Black youth and families.
Of course, I can’t say this of all Black doctors. But those I was blessed to have over the years treated me like one of their own nieces. They showered me with advice and high expectations.
Online and local resources are available to help find Black physicians
Looking back at the times in the early 80s and 90s, which pre-dated the Internet, I appreciate how hard my parents must have worked to find Black physicians. Even today with the benefit of the internet it does take some effort to source racialized physicians who are taking patients.
These days as a start if you’re on a quest to find a Black doctor there are a few avenues to consider.
If you are in or near the Greater Toronto Area TAIBU Community Health Centre is a community-driven organization, located in Malvern, serving the Greater Toronto Area’s Black-identifying communities. They offer access to Black primary care providers and mental health resources.
Black Physicians of Canada offers links to provincial Black Physician associations in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia each offer the ability to contact them when looking for access to Black doctors.
Finding mental health support is also possible by doing searches on Psychology Today’s website. Your search can be narrowed by ethnicity, language, and location to help target your results and find a therapist you are comfortable with turning to for support.
When in doubt, don’t be afraid to go ‘old school’ to find a Black doctor
When my parents found my physicians, they did it without the benefit of the Internet. There might still be something to be said about trying to find physicians through word of mouth. Whether that is reaching out to friends and colleagues, in person or through online communities like Facebook groups for us, you can cast a wide net and find Folks willing to help refer you.
The search for any doctor at the moment is challenging. For those of us trying to figure out how to find a Black doctor, it may take more effort but be worth it in the long run.
Not just because of the studies on improved health outcomes, or potential role models – it may just come down to personal comfort and the feeling that sometimes it’s just nice to have a physician, therapist or other healthcare provider who looks like you.
To keep the conversation going, and to help folks trying to find Black physicians and mental health support – drop a comment about your thoughts on the quest for Black doctors. Leave a comment with advice or even referrals or links to Black physicians or health care providers you know and love.
