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Changing the FACE of Medicine
In this film, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, a former Surgeons General of the United States shares her journey from a sharecropper to becoming the Surgeon’s General. Dr. Jennifer Ellis tells of her journey though medical school and despite many obstacles how her indomitable will lead her to become one of the few women practicing cardiothoracic surgery in America today. Dr. Karen Morris-Priester relates her struggles from becoming a teenage mother to being accepted to Yale Medical School at the age of 40. These and other stories of our featured women in this film highlight the lives of unsung women doctors and their journeys beyond inequality to excellence. Doctors profiled in the documentary include; Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, Dr. Camara Jones, Dr. Camille Jones, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, and Dr. Regina Benjamin. Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Dr. Vivian Pinn and Dr. Margaret Hamburg are featured within “Against All Odds: Black Women in Medicine” Coffee Table Book produced in conjunction with the film.
Society is permeated with all forms of media and it is paramount that engaging mediums be used, not just for entertainment, but for education. While there are many reasons for both educational and healthcare workforce disparities, one contributing factor is a lack of positive role models of color and the perpetuation of stereotypes of people of color in media. These two factors have a direct effect on the way children perceive themselves and others. Those who lack financial resources are less likely to find “positive reflections” of themselves in local communities. This means that it is quite unlikely that disadvantaged youth will interact with professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc). This documentary will fill the gap that exists for positive role models in the media and act as an educational catalyst for students to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationLearning Objectives:
Discuss and nurture “grass roots” support for the project from education activists and advocates, public health organizations, national advocacy groups and cultural institutions.
Keyword(s): Advocacy for health and health education
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Director and Producer of Changing the Face of Medicine, the first documentary to focus entirely on unsung Black women doctors as they share their journeys from inequality to excellence and the obstacles they have risen above to not only survive in their respective fields, but excel.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.