Dismissed: On the Way Bias May Be Affecting Your Healthcare with Dr. Angela Marshall

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, body size, and other factors have a significant bearing on whether you will be diagnosed and treated correctly. And health-care bias can mean the difference not just between suffering and relief but between life and death. On today’s episode of On Health, my guest, Angela Marshall MD, a board-certified internist, founder of Comprehensive Women's Health, Inc., and the author of the new book, Dismissed: Tackling the Biases that Undermine Our Health, shares the personal tragedy she experienced as a young mother and medical student that transformed the way she was to practice medicine, brings us front and centre into some of the core biases getting in the way of people getting good healthcare, and offers pragmatic solutions for providers to address and overcome their biases within a broken system. Angela not only explains what so many people feel so profoundly—that the system is working against them. It also reveals what healthcare practitioners, patients, and society in general can do to make it right. For anyone who has ever felt vulnerable while navigating the healthcare system, this episode is a must-listen. Join us as we delve into this vital topic and shed light on the ways in which biases impact patient care. Angela and I discuss: How the death of a dear friend - a black woman MD, due to medical dismissal and the loss of her own infant son, also due to medical dismissal, have now galvanized her approach to being a physician. The deep-rooted indoctrination into biases that continues to exist within medical education and the healthcare system - and what needs to be done to enact real change Fat shaming and the importance of finding a provider you feel comfortable and safe with in a medical setting How we can better advocate for ourselves when we are in medical settings, and when it's time to break up with your doctor How we can find grace and compassion for ourselves when we've experienced medical dismissal. Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in to your body, yourself, and this podcast! Please share the love by sending this to someone in your life who could benefit from the kinds of things we talk about in this space. Make sure to follow your host on Instagram @dr.avivaromm and go to avivaromm.com to join the conversation. Follow Angela @angelawmarshall, find her book and learn more about Premedical Explorers at www.angelamarshallmd.com

Om Podcasten

From the stuff your mother never told you, to the stuff your doctor never learned, On Health features taboo-busting conversations that demystify and de-stigmatize our bodies, all while bridging the gap between conventional medicine and wellness. Join Yale-trained MD & midwife Aviva Romm and her line-up of expert guests as they discuss everything from periods to menopause, sex to reproductive health politics, and motherhood to mental health. Each week, Dr. Romm will be exploring the science and wisdom of how our bodies work, what makes us well, what gets in the way, and how we can live our best lives on our terms, authentically and bravely. You can expect to learn more about topics such as women's brain health, cesareans, microbiome seeding, women’s sexual health, and much more. Plus, you'll get Aviva’s musings, tips, and guidance from 35+ years of helping women take back their health—and their lives. The new medicine for women is here!