What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Paula Abdul asked Janet Jackson the question “What?has?he?done?for?you?lately” as the introduction to her video which was the first song on her amazing?Control?album (that was how we listened to music back in the day) in 1986.

So, in 2024, I ask you , when was the last time you questioned your membership and payment of dues to your medical association?

What have they done for you lately?

I am a member of four physician associations and a fellow of the?American?College?of?Surgeons?(ACS) and the?American?Academy?of?Pediatrics?(AAP).

The?ACS?represents the power of 87,000 surgeons over multiple specialties, and the?AAP?67,000 pediatric specialties. Embedded in the?ACS?is my other member group, the?American?Association?of?Pediatric?Surgeons?(APSA), which represents the 661 practicing pediatric surgeons in the United States. The last group that has members is the?National?Medical?Association?(NMA). With 50,000 members, it is the largest and oldest group representing African American physicians and their patients.

Many physicians are members of at least one physician group, which, beyond hosting networking events and providing discount programs, have you ever tried to use the power that these organizations should indeed possess just by their sheer member numbers.

In 2004, the Council on Clinical Practice, which is the NMA’s Physician Defense Committee, wrote a position paper as a blueprint on how African American physicians under attack should respond. Almost 20 years ago, they recognized the growing trend of Black physicians in training and practice being attacked more than their White counterparts and thus created a choreographed response for these targeted physicians.

First, don’t take the “ hide in the tall grass” approach. Many hospitals count on us feeling shame and keeping the deeds of our oppressors quiet. So, make some noise.

Second,?and considered the most significant, reach out to your local NMA chapter. They will then move it up the chain to NMA leadership.

This was 20 years ago. The idea is to make it so loud and painful for the bad actors that they will think twice about doing it again.

This was common sense. My mother taught me this, never go quietly; the family joke was anybody who tried to abduct sweet quiet little Audrey would meet Carmelita (my middle name, let’s just leave that here) and bring me back.

So, in 2023, when I came under attack, I was not going quietly; I was not signing an NDA, and I wanted to see the paper trail and address my accusers.

I contacted the NMA because, by now, 20 years later, their machinery for supporting and reporting must be sophisticated.

While I knew that reaching out and asking for help was the right thing to do, it was still a much-underused muscle for me. Putting down my sword and shield and asking for help filled me with dread.

My role is usually that of the protector; I am the one that others go to for help. I give aide freely without questions or qualifications, and I don’t keep an account book of debt. It is not altruism; instead, I know the pain of asking, and I can’t bear to put others through that as I feel it with them.

To be holding your breath and waiting for others to follow through on promises made because the asking is not the end of the dread. You can only exhale when the promise is completed.

When the request is granted without strings or a constant reminder of when you need rescuing, that is real help.

Schadenfreude is as bad as the initial trauma of asking.

I am still a protector, but now my oath is to my child as a mother, and it had to go before my pride. When I reached out to my associations, I was assured that they had a path and a plan and were ready to fight.

But as the days became weeks and I had to remind them of their promise and power, I began questioning my decision.

And ultimately, when their “help” led me deeper into the weeds, I realized that nothing had changed for me; no prince was coming to slay my dragon. In fact, no one was coming at all. I was meant to be a cautionary tale of Icarus trying to rise too high, not staying in my place among the tall grass.

So, I will do what I always do, muscle up, put on my best armor (the fancy one), and slay the dragon by myself.

And like any good hero, I will make sure that I train others to fight because even though no one came for me, I can’t leave others to fight alone.