Latest / Get Real with Jim Weiss / Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, Physician, Health Advocate, and TEDx Speaker

Transcript

Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, Physician, Health Advocate, and TEDx Speaker · Get Real with Jim Weiss

0:09
Speaker 1: I'm Jim Weiss, chairman and founder of Real Chemistry, and
0:12
Speaker 1: this is the Get Reel with the Chairman podcast. Today
0:20
Speaker 1: I'm thrilled to chat with doctor Bio Curry Winchell. She
0:23
Speaker 1: is the Urgent Care medical director at Saint Mary's Regional
0:26
Speaker 1: Medical Center in Rina, Nevada, and the founder of Beyond
0:30
Speaker 1: Clinical Walls, a company that promotes health literacy and addresses
0:34
Speaker 1: health care disparities. She's a member of the National CDC Board,
0:38
Speaker 1: a medical examiner of Washoe County Child Protective Services, and
0:42
Speaker 1: a Nevada Patient Protection Commission appointee. She's recognized as one
0:47
Speaker 1: of the Sierra Nevada's Top twenty most Powerful Women. She's
0:50
Speaker 1: also a keynote speaker and two time ted ex presenter,
0:54
Speaker 1: and I'd be remissed if I didn't add that she
0:56
Speaker 1: has a huge social media presence on TikTok and Instagram
1:00
Speaker 1: with over two hundred thousand followers. Doctor Bio is a
1:03
Speaker 1: recent graduate of the one Million Black Women in Business
1:06
Speaker 1: program sponsored by Goldman Sachs and the NYU School Business.
1:11
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's episode of Get Real with
1:14
Speaker 1: the Chairman as we dive into doctor Bio's transformative work.
1:21
Speaker 1: So doctor v CW, I mean, is that okay that
1:23
Speaker 1: if we call you that?
1:25
Speaker 2: So may I asked you a question because you're always
1:27
Speaker 2: honest with me, even from when we first met. I'm
1:30
Speaker 2: going through a rebrand and we're going to doctor Bio
1:33
Speaker 2: to how do you feel?
1:34
Speaker 1: I like doctor Bio. I think it's great. What's the
1:37
Speaker 1: origin of that name.
1:38
Speaker 2: It's Nigerian and it means the only child. And my
1:42
Speaker 2: father I've shared with you, is ninety nine years old
1:46
Speaker 2: World War two, Korean and Vietnam War veteran, and they
1:49
Speaker 2: weren't expecting to have kiddos and here I was. And
1:52
Speaker 2: so that's why he chose that name to reflect that
1:56
Speaker 2: he became a dad and that's why.
1:58
Speaker 1: Oh then of course that has to be the prime
2:01
Speaker 1: name because there's such a great story behind it. I
2:04
Speaker 1: think names that are chosen with this sort of rich
2:08
Speaker 1: history that you want to talk about and helps people
2:11
Speaker 1: understand the why of what you do, which is really
2:15
Speaker 1: a big thing. I like asking why do you do
2:18
Speaker 1: what you do?
2:19
Speaker 2: It is rooted in the experience that I had growing up.
2:24
Speaker 2: So as I mentioned, my father ninety nine years old,
2:27
Speaker 2: World War two, Ukraine and Vietnam. And that part is
2:29
Speaker 2: important to me because I grew up going to different events,
2:32
Speaker 2: different rallies, advocating and not even knowing what exactly the
2:37
Speaker 2: situation was, but knowing Jim that I was standing up
2:42
Speaker 2: for something, and that is why I do what I do,
2:45
Speaker 2: because it truly has become and it is the blueprint
2:49
Speaker 2: of what I get to do every single day. And
2:52
Speaker 2: my father would stand up for things that he felt
2:55
Speaker 2: that weren't right, or lean into curiosity of thinking how
2:58
Speaker 2: can we do this better? And the fact that he
3:02
Speaker 2: was of the age that he went through a segregated war,
3:05
Speaker 2: all of these terrible things, he leaned into positivity of
3:10
Speaker 2: what can we do? And when you hear about my
3:14
Speaker 2: work and why I do what I do and how
3:16
Speaker 2: I intentionally do it, it's leaning into positivity of what
3:21
Speaker 2: can we do? What is possible? How can I empower
3:25
Speaker 2: patients to know more about their health so they can
3:28
Speaker 2: decide their journey. All credit goes to him, and he
3:33
Speaker 2: recently passed away, but I am so grateful that I'm
3:39
Speaker 2: his daughter that I got to experience because that is
3:42
Speaker 2: really created what I am.
3:44
Speaker 1: Well. I mean, I think that's probably a story many
3:48
Speaker 1: can relate to and understand. You know, I talk about
3:51
Speaker 1: that relative to my mom and dad, who are no
3:54
Speaker 1: longer with us either. And yet I will say, having
3:59
Speaker 1: lost your parents, they're with you always and forever. Every day.
4:03
Speaker 1: I really don't a day does not pass that they don't,
4:08
Speaker 1: that they're not there for me, both of them in
4:11
Speaker 1: different ways. They show up in the funniest and oddest ways.
4:16
Speaker 1: And you're going to see that, whether it be a
4:19
Speaker 1: bird or an animal or a sign. You know you're
4:22
Speaker 1: going to keep singing. I'm sure you already have. Where'd
4:25
Speaker 1: you grow up?
4:26
Speaker 2: Reno, Nevada?
4:27
Speaker 1: In Reno, because you're still there, I am.
4:31
Speaker 2: Reno has such a different feel of connection. We've got
4:34
Speaker 2: rural areas, we have the bigger city, all of those things,
4:38
Speaker 2: and so it was really important to me, especially with
4:40
Speaker 2: my dad being in Reno, to return. So I lived
4:43
Speaker 2: in Chicago, I lived overseas, I lived in Dominica in
4:46
Speaker 2: the West Indies, but I knew I was going to
4:49
Speaker 2: come back to Reno, serve my community, which I love,
4:53
Speaker 2: and also be close to my father.
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Speaker 1: Why were you in all those places?
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Speaker 2: I traveled because I really wanted to experience health and
5:01
Speaker 2: all different aspects of the world beyond Reno, and that
5:06
Speaker 2: I think has played into how I practiced medicine, how
5:09
Speaker 2: I lived my life to this day, and living in
5:13
Speaker 2: Dominica in the West Indies, it really reshaped also thinking
5:18
Speaker 2: from a global standpoint, some of the pain points that
5:21
Speaker 2: we hear about that are in the healthcare industry. I
5:24
Speaker 2: was able to really immerse myself in new things, new
5:27
Speaker 2: ways of life, whether it's traditional or alternative aspects of
5:31
Speaker 2: medicine and just in life. And so that's what ended
5:35
Speaker 2: up taking me and just traveling. And I love to
5:38
Speaker 2: travel because I love meeting people. As you know, I
5:41
Speaker 2: love connecting and hearing people's stories. So that's how I
5:46
Speaker 2: just ended up doing rotations in Chicago, and I did
5:49
Speaker 2: rotations in Miami, but then I came back to Nevada
5:54
Speaker 2: my mom, who was also a veterans, so two veterans.
5:57
Speaker 2: I was able to travel a little bit with her.
5:59
Speaker 2: So I think that planted the seed of wanting to
6:02
Speaker 2: get out beyond my world. So, and I hope my
6:05
Speaker 2: kiddos do the same thing. I think it's important.
6:07
Speaker 1: Oh yes, yeah, the worldview. So tell me what inspired
6:11
Speaker 1: you to pursue a career, specifically as a doctor. I
6:15
Speaker 1: always love to ask the influencers who influenced the influencer.
6:21
Speaker 2: So for me, I knew I wanted to help people,
6:25
Speaker 2: and I was able to see all of these different
6:28
Speaker 2: types of professions and so for that were making their
6:32
Speaker 2: own impact. But I thought, why not to find a
6:36
Speaker 2: way to really look at people in their overall health
6:38
Speaker 2: and a lot of people and I don't even know
6:40
Speaker 2: if I shared this with you. Before I became a doctor,
6:42
Speaker 2: I was a physician assistant. I worked for three years,
6:45
Speaker 2: but then there was still this calling I want to
6:48
Speaker 2: learn more and do more, and that was really a
6:51
Speaker 2: gamble to decide to leave my job as a physician
6:54
Speaker 2: assistant and go to medical school. Well, there was one
6:56
Speaker 2: person who influenced me, and that was doctor or Pheromon.
7:01
Speaker 2: He was somebody who saw my quirkiness, saw all my
7:05
Speaker 2: energy and said, yes, you can do this. Because I
7:09
Speaker 2: saw what impact he was making, and he really set
7:13
Speaker 2: the tone of what I wanted to do in healthcare,
7:16
Speaker 2: and that was not just be a doctor that sees
7:20
Speaker 2: patients in the clinic. I want to help in all areas.
7:23
Speaker 2: So he was the person that really had the influence
7:27
Speaker 2: to go the extra step A lot of times You'll
7:29
Speaker 2: hear medical students or people who are trying to go
7:31
Speaker 2: into medicine say, I told this person I wanted to
7:34
Speaker 2: go into medicine. They said, are you sure you shouldn't
7:37
Speaker 2: do that? It's really hard. He actually said you should
7:40
Speaker 2: do this, Yes you can. And I think if we
7:44
Speaker 2: could have that beyond just in medicine, in all areas
7:48
Speaker 2: where one person says yes you can do this and
7:54
Speaker 2: not say oh, are you sure, imagine what all that
7:59
Speaker 2: could happen in different professions and how you can be
8:03
Speaker 2: that influencer to help someone in that career and that
8:07
Speaker 2: future of whatever they're seeking. So all credit goes to
8:11
Speaker 2: doctor Fairmont.
8:12
Speaker 1: Well, that's great. I'm glad to know there was a
8:15
Speaker 1: person so obviously that was a big mentor. Mentorship is
8:19
Speaker 1: really critical to growing up in business life all of that.
8:23
Speaker 1: It's great to seat them out.
8:25
Speaker 2: It's vital and the mentors who stay with you as
8:29
Speaker 2: you go because people can say yes, I really want
8:32
Speaker 2: to help you, yes you're wonderful, or yes you can
8:35
Speaker 2: do this, but it's those who are ingrained in how
8:39
Speaker 2: are you doing on Monday, and then two weeks later
8:42
Speaker 2: checking in with you, and then also being able to
8:45
Speaker 2: help you navigate those challenges, those bumps in the road.
8:50
Speaker 2: And I've had so many people throughout my life invest
8:54
Speaker 2: in Okay, you can do this. I've had not only
8:59
Speaker 2: really ruential people in the world, but also people that
9:03
Speaker 2: I've met just by chance that have decided to stay
9:07
Speaker 2: with me. I even think of you, like you are
9:09
Speaker 2: so kind when you met me and you took interest
9:13
Speaker 2: in me, Jim and you said, I remember when we
9:15
Speaker 2: were at the table, like you've got something. And when
9:19
Speaker 2: someone does that, it really makes a difference. So'm I
9:23
Speaker 2: just want to say thank you.
9:25
Speaker 1: Well people, look done it for me. I'm sure you
9:28
Speaker 1: pay it forward. Yes, it happened for me, and I
9:31
Speaker 1: think it makes it easier if I've been lucky enough,
9:34
Speaker 1: in open enough for that to happen. Look, it wasn't
9:37
Speaker 1: always easy. And as you see and hear often it's
9:41
Speaker 1: not what people tell you only positively right, that constructive
9:45
Speaker 1: criticism is really important and you've got to seek it out.
9:48
Speaker 1: And so I guess people with success like yours and
9:52
Speaker 1: others that are sneaking at and reach success have a
9:54
Speaker 1: chip on their shoulder. The chip is a positive, usually
9:58
Speaker 1: forward moving propeller. We all have chips on our shoulder.
10:02
Speaker 2: What's your chip representation seeing more people that look like me?
10:07
Speaker 2: As a black female physician, I represent less than three
10:10
Speaker 2: percent of physicians in the US. And when you had
10:13
Speaker 2: asked me the question, you know, what was that influencer?
10:15
Speaker 2: What was that piece? I didn't see people that look
10:18
Speaker 2: like me. And so to have the opportunity to have
10:23
Speaker 2: more physicians of color be able to help more people,
10:27
Speaker 2: that is my drive. That is the force that keeps
10:31
Speaker 2: me going as well. And also knowing that a kiddo
10:34
Speaker 2: of color, whether they see me in the clinic, which
10:37
Speaker 2: happened to me this morning, and I saw this bright
10:40
Speaker 2: smile when I said, yes, I am doctor Bio, and
10:43
Speaker 2: they couldn't believe that I was actually their doctor. Like
10:47
Speaker 2: that gem feeds my soul. And whether it's in the clinic,
10:51
Speaker 2: whether it's on television or I'm writing a piece, and
10:54
Speaker 2: they look me up and they see that I look
10:57
Speaker 2: like them, that's the pipeline that I hope to build
11:01
Speaker 2: forward and that is what propels me into continuing this work.
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Speaker 1: So what advice would you give to those looking to
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Speaker 1: work even beyond the clinical setting to drive change in healthcare.
11:13
Speaker 2: Like that, do not let anyone box you in. You
11:18
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to make an impact in so many
11:21
Speaker 2: different ways. And for me, I still practice and I'll
11:25
Speaker 2: never stop seeing patients. LAP part is part of my core.
11:28
Speaker 2: But I also thought about why not do television, why
11:31
Speaker 2: not write? Why not be in all of these different mediums?
11:35
Speaker 2: And I think it's important to think about Often we hear, well,
11:38
Speaker 2: you shouldn't be able to do that, You shouldn't be
11:41
Speaker 2: able to do that, And so my advice is why not?
11:45
Speaker 2: Why can't it be you? Think of that always in
11:48
Speaker 2: the back of your mind, because you're always going to
11:50
Speaker 2: have these people who are sharing with you. Oh, why
11:54
Speaker 2: do you think you can do that? So flipping that
11:56
Speaker 2: script and thinking about, of course I can be at
11:59
Speaker 2: that table. Of course I can be a part of
12:01
Speaker 2: this platform that you may not see that representation. And
12:05
Speaker 2: so that would be my advice is think why not me?
12:09
Speaker 2: Instead of why it couldn't be you?
12:11
Speaker 1: That's the impetus behind beyond clinical Walls and this concept
12:16
Speaker 1: of can we really truly begin to dismantle healthcare disparities
12:21
Speaker 1: by providing accessible medical information right and advocating for DEI
12:25
Speaker 1: in healthcare? Tell us a little bit about that initiative,
12:28
Speaker 1: then where you want to take it, where it's going
12:31
Speaker 1: to go. Why it's so.
12:32
Speaker 2: Important beyond clinical walls, beyond it just like representing my
12:36
Speaker 2: initials really shares the work that I get to do,
12:39
Speaker 2: and I see that very intentionally that I have the
12:42
Speaker 2: opportunity to do to help people. So delivering care should
12:46
Speaker 2: be beyond the traditional walls of the clinic. And when
12:48
Speaker 2: you look at the work that I've been able to
12:50
Speaker 2: do in communities, what I do online, my social media
12:54
Speaker 2: videos share information through a bite size, engaging, informative format,
13:00
Speaker 2: and it's not talking at people, it's sharing information because
13:04
Speaker 2: in the end, it's your journey. So beyond clinical walls,
13:07
Speaker 2: what did I decide to do? I decided to go online,
13:10
Speaker 2: write all of my own content, create a studio in
13:13
Speaker 2: my home, and provide information that people could have on
13:17
Speaker 2: demand in any space anywhere they are and feel informs.
13:22
Speaker 2: And one thing that I always like to say, there'll
13:25
Speaker 2: always be racism, sexism, all kinds of things like that
13:28
Speaker 2: in healthcare. But for me, what can I do to
13:31
Speaker 2: advocate or help my patients be able to at the bedside.
13:35
Speaker 2: They've been diagnosed with a health condition, they are seeking
13:39
Speaker 2: ways to speak to their doctor. That's what Beyond Clinical
13:42
Speaker 2: Walls does. It shares that information so wherever you are
13:46
Speaker 2: with a family member and so forth, you can have
13:49
Speaker 2: those pieces to be able to get the care that
13:52
Speaker 2: you are seeking. And for healthcare systems, we really delve
13:57
Speaker 2: into the fact that health literacy is a part of
14:00
Speaker 2: that gap that we see in inequities and disparities for
14:04
Speaker 2: all communities, including marginalized and so utilizing a health literacy
14:10
Speaker 2: format that's very easy for people to consume that they're
14:14
Speaker 2: already consuming on social media, it helps reduce your cost
14:18
Speaker 2: of care because when your patients are informed, there's less complications,
14:23
Speaker 2: there's less risk, and that patient is now part of
14:26
Speaker 2: that shared journey. And currently, what do we have People
14:29
Speaker 2: are supposed to read these lengthy diagnoses through different electronical
14:34
Speaker 2: medical records. Well they're not. They're going to social media
14:37
Speaker 2: and they're typing in trying to get this information or
14:40
Speaker 2: they're going online. So Beyond Clinical Walls provides it in
14:43
Speaker 2: a bite sized way that's credible, it's accurate, and has
14:47
Speaker 2: a lens of representation.
14:49
Speaker 1: What have you learned about society's receptivity to hearing some
14:54
Speaker 1: of the historical and systemic reasons behind black and other
14:59
Speaker 1: color and gender patients mistrust of the healthcare system. Where
15:03
Speaker 1: do we think we are with that receptivity.
15:06
Speaker 2: We're at a crossroads. And why I say that it
15:09
Speaker 2: is not only actually experiencing it from my father, knowing
15:13
Speaker 2: how he would share these stories, this generational mistrust that
15:17
Speaker 2: is continuing to happen to this day. But we're at
15:20
Speaker 2: a crossroad with COVID and so forth. How this misinformation
15:23
Speaker 2: that was already present is flared up but even more
15:27
Speaker 2: right now. And so I feel that we are making
15:31
Speaker 2: some progress, but we're also making some mistakes in respect
15:36
Speaker 2: to we put all this energy behind COVID of learning
15:40
Speaker 2: how to reach out to these communities, helping people and
15:42
Speaker 2: so forth, and then when COVID went away, we kind
15:45
Speaker 2: of just stepped back and assume that people would still
15:48
Speaker 2: be informed about health. And so there's more work to
15:52
Speaker 2: be done. And as a black female, we are still
15:56
Speaker 2: not hearing how certain diseases are impacting people of color
16:02
Speaker 2: marginalized communities. And another piece we're forgetting is the intersectionalities.
16:07
Speaker 2: Right now, you hear about menopause everywhere, but let's talk
16:10
Speaker 2: about a black woman with menopause or let's talk about
16:13
Speaker 2: a black woman with diabetes. There's different layers of dismissal
16:17
Speaker 2: that happens with your gender, with your sexual orientation, your
16:22
Speaker 2: social economics. There are so many areas that we still
16:26
Speaker 2: have work to be done, and that's what we're helping with.
16:29
Speaker 1: What's it like operating from a more conservative place? Do
16:32
Speaker 1: you see it more in Reno? Would you say or not?
16:36
Speaker 1: Is it the same everywhere?
16:38
Speaker 2: I did my first TED talk where I talked about
16:40
Speaker 2: how and this happens to me every day where I
16:42
Speaker 2: go in and I say my name and people don't
16:45
Speaker 2: have that imagery that I'm your doctor, that I could
16:47
Speaker 2: actually be a physician. I had a patient this morning
16:50
Speaker 2: who could not really think about that.
16:52
Speaker 1: What is the reaction you get?
16:54
Speaker 2: I often get that I must be of a different
16:57
Speaker 2: profession other than a physician. I've been told and I
17:01
Speaker 2: love nurses, no offense that I've been nurse, respiratory therapists.
17:04
Speaker 2: I've served a patient for a week, sometimes more, Jim,
17:08
Speaker 2: And at the end they'll say, when am I going
17:10
Speaker 2: to see my doctor? And my scrubs actually I wear them.
17:14
Speaker 2: It just says my name on it, so it says doctor.
17:16
Speaker 2: It's very clear and this goes back to my father.
17:19
Speaker 2: I lean into positivity, I lean into curiosity, and I
17:24
Speaker 2: share what were your thoughts on what could I have
17:27
Speaker 2: done better to maybe present myself as a physician, What
17:30
Speaker 2: are your thoughts on what part did I miss? And
17:33
Speaker 2: I think when you take it from there, instead of
17:35
Speaker 2: anger or getting upset, there's a shared learning. There's a
17:41
Speaker 2: way to be able to build that representation, that imagery
17:45
Speaker 2: because sometimes it's not something of malice, and I always
17:48
Speaker 2: highlight that sometimes it just might not be that top
17:52
Speaker 2: of mine because to your point, in Nevada, you don't
17:54
Speaker 2: see it. There's another clinician that I work with, a
17:57
Speaker 2: black female physician in Washoe County. Life say, there's about
18:00
Speaker 2: eight of us, eight black doctors, so we all know
18:03
Speaker 2: each other. This example of this other clinician, she's six
18:07
Speaker 2: weet tall, has very short hair. We look nothing alike
18:11
Speaker 2: including skin tone, except we're both African American. And often
18:16
Speaker 2: when we're on shift across town, someone will say to
18:19
Speaker 2: her high doctor bio and they'll think that they're seeing me,
18:23
Speaker 2: and sometimes she'll say no, and often they'll double down, no,
18:26
Speaker 2: I saw you. But again we lean into curiosity. But
18:29
Speaker 2: that happens even though we don't look anything alike or
18:33
Speaker 2: we're just not considered your doctor.
18:35
Speaker 1: I guess that's a common thing that happens.
18:38
Speaker 2: It's a common thing.
18:39
Speaker 1: Some stuff is quite like you said, unconscious. I don't
18:44
Speaker 1: know that people know it till you bring it to
18:46
Speaker 1: their conscious level. And you're there and you're doing that,
18:49
Speaker 1: you're ted talking. Is that one of the ways you
18:54
Speaker 1: can dispel this information? I mean you obviously hit patients
18:58
Speaker 1: one at a time. Is that why you're so prolific
19:01
Speaker 1: on social to get a bigger impact, a bigger audience,
19:04
Speaker 1: and to fix this faster.
19:07
Speaker 2: Yes, Well, for me, it's all of the different elements.
19:10
Speaker 2: So traveling across the country and speaking, there's that imagery
19:14
Speaker 2: there to be able to share this information from bias.
19:17
Speaker 2: And I did in a very impactful talk to an FQHC.
19:22
Speaker 2: Here you have these clinicians rooted in helping those who
19:25
Speaker 2: are technically economically challenged, and I talked about the bias
19:29
Speaker 2: that lives within their group, and you could almost see
19:33
Speaker 2: this defense like, no, we're here to help. And when
19:36
Speaker 2: I brought in different specifics as far as bias and
19:39
Speaker 2: how they approach their health delivery, you could see the
19:43
Speaker 2: light bulb kind of go, oh, I do have bias.
19:47
Speaker 2: And when I break it down and I say, unconscious
19:50
Speaker 2: bias is something that we all have. It's how people look,
19:52
Speaker 2: talk and behave, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's of malice.
19:56
Speaker 2: It opens up the dialogue, the conversation to think deeply
20:00
Speaker 2: about how you can pivot, acknowledge, and then move forward.
20:05
Speaker 2: So those policies that delivery isn't rooted in bias continuously.
20:11
Speaker 2: And so I do the social media, I speak, I'm
20:14
Speaker 2: on television, I'm everywhere, and hopes that I can make
20:18
Speaker 2: that impact of dispelling misinformation talking about bias in a
20:23
Speaker 2: way that people can understand. And another piece that's important
20:26
Speaker 2: to me is a topic on maternal health. As you
20:30
Speaker 2: and I know, and so we hear about black women
20:32
Speaker 2: dying at the highest rate during childbirth or shortly thereafter,
20:36
Speaker 2: and people often think it's an access Well, I flip
20:39
Speaker 2: the script on that, because you can have the most
20:42
Speaker 2: access in the world, but that doesn't change if bias
20:45
Speaker 2: is part of it, if there's other pieces. And so
20:48
Speaker 2: sharing my personal story how I almost died giving birth
20:55
Speaker 2: as a physician, change is that narrative because I had
21:00
Speaker 2: the most access in the world. Here I am in
21:02
Speaker 2: a hospital that I've been a medical director, and that
21:05
Speaker 2: didn't prevent me from almost dying because I said something
21:10
Speaker 2: is wrong. When I got out of the operating room,
21:13
Speaker 2: I knew I didn't feel right, and the nurse she said, no, Bio,
21:17
Speaker 2: everything looks fine. Your vital signs look fine. And then
21:20
Speaker 2: I remember twenty minutes later, I said, no, something's wrong,
21:23
Speaker 2: and she shared, you look fine. And those words are
21:27
Speaker 2: so important because for her, she wasn't trying to hurt me.
21:31
Speaker 2: It wasn't the image of what pain looked like. I
21:34
Speaker 2: didn't fit that. And so then I had to have
21:37
Speaker 2: my husband, James, as you've met, call my doctor on
21:41
Speaker 2: my cell phone, and there's privilege there that I had
21:43
Speaker 2: his number, and he said, something's wrong with bio. And
21:47
Speaker 2: so the physician, doctor Jack, came back and checked and
21:51
Speaker 2: knew I wasn't myself because he had this personal connection.
21:55
Speaker 2: He recognized it and took me back to the operating
21:59
Speaker 2: room and I was bleeding internally and I was transfused
22:04
Speaker 2: multiple units of blood and hospitalize. So sharing that story
22:11
Speaker 2: and speaking across the country and share that lived experience,
22:18
Speaker 2: my hope is to help save a life of any color,
22:22
Speaker 2: of any intersectionality, And that's why I'm in healthcare. I
22:26
Speaker 2: decided to become a doctor because I genuinely love helping people,
22:32
Speaker 2: and so if sharing my story can change one perspective,
22:36
Speaker 2: one thought, and one life, it's.
22:40
Speaker 1: Well worth it just to get that point across. The
22:44
Speaker 1: uninsured rate was about close to ten percent for black Americans.
22:49
Speaker 1: Studies have shown that black patients are forty percent less
22:53
Speaker 1: likely to receive medication for acute pain than white patients.
22:56
Speaker 1: In what ways does this intersection of your clinical work
23:00
Speaker 1: and your role as influencer? It almost pushed you into
23:03
Speaker 1: the influencer role in order to get a bigger impact.
23:07
Speaker 1: And you can do it one patient at a time,
23:09
Speaker 1: but we really need to make impact on a bigger scale.
23:12
Speaker 2: And that's what in my drive is how can I
23:15
Speaker 2: make a bigger impact and scale this and share the
23:19
Speaker 2: information that I'm sharing in all those different mediums and
23:22
Speaker 2: help people. There's a recent post that I did Jim
23:26
Speaker 2: that was so powerfuler I shared here's something that you
23:30
Speaker 2: can take when you go and see the doctor, ask
23:32
Speaker 2: them what they rolled in and what they rolled out.
23:36
Speaker 2: And the amount of comments that I received, Oh my goodness,
23:40
Speaker 2: I'm going to ask my doctor because when you get
23:42
Speaker 2: that information, you're able to think about, was my doctor
23:46
Speaker 2: really listening to me? Did they take in all of
23:48
Speaker 2: the things I said. Also, it lets you really have
23:53
Speaker 2: that playbook of what they were thinking and did they
23:56
Speaker 2: miss something or are they thinking something that you never
23:59
Speaker 2: thought of? And then it helps you be a part
24:02
Speaker 2: of that journey. So sharing that another post that I
24:05
Speaker 2: just did, and I had all of these women who
24:07
Speaker 2: reached out. I said, you have the right to not
24:10
Speaker 2: be weighed when you go in and see your doctor. Wow,
24:14
Speaker 2: people were just surprised. And I said, there's only a
24:16
Speaker 2: couple of times we need the weight. Yes, for pediatrics,
24:19
Speaker 2: for little people, we need to know that surgery, we
24:22
Speaker 2: might need to know that, and if you have heart failure,
24:24
Speaker 2: we need to know all of these things. But if
24:27
Speaker 2: you're going in for a general checkup, you do not
24:30
Speaker 2: have to be weighed. And I had people ask, well,
24:33
Speaker 2: what language can I give or what language if I
24:36
Speaker 2: get pushback? And I love those questions because that's what
24:38
Speaker 2: I like to do. And I said, ask your doctor
24:42
Speaker 2: what justification? Why do you need my weight? Because once
24:46
Speaker 2: you ask them, they have to share why they technically
24:49
Speaker 2: need it, and that opens up a conversation for both
24:53
Speaker 2: parties to be able to come to okay, this is
24:56
Speaker 2: why I need it or actually I don't need it.
24:58
Speaker 2: So those are the piece is that I put forward
25:02
Speaker 2: to give people that power to advocate for themselves and
25:07
Speaker 2: to know the health information. At the same time, I
25:10
Speaker 2: just love it. I'm like, if I can.
25:13
Speaker 1: Help you, Okay, So you're on TikTok, what's a doctor
25:16
Speaker 1: doing on TikTok?
25:17
Speaker 2: I'm on TikTok, I'm on Instagram giving that information in
25:21
Speaker 2: a bite sized manner and helping people. So I recently posted,
25:25
Speaker 2: and this post is doing well on TikTok and Instagram
25:28
Speaker 2: about Lona the athlete who posted where she was shunned
25:33
Speaker 2: about her BMI being over thirty. And she did a
25:37
Speaker 2: great job where she said, yes, my BMI is over
25:41
Speaker 2: thirty and I'm two hundred pounds but bm I and
25:44
Speaker 2: this part is important, isn't accurate for athletes? Well that's
25:48
Speaker 2: what she said. So I took it a step further.
25:50
Speaker 2: I stitched the video and I said, great video, but
25:53
Speaker 2: let's go deeper. BMI is a tool that we should
25:58
Speaker 2: not be using first and foremot not only is it
26:01
Speaker 2: not good for athletes, it's not good for anyone, specifically women.
26:05
Speaker 2: So let's go farther. Why that tool, Jim was created
26:10
Speaker 2: based on men, not women, So you have a tool. See,
26:15
Speaker 2: I'm fired Ima, and.
26:16
Speaker 1: You should be. A woman was talking about her she
26:19
Speaker 1: just lost seventy pounds and she was talking about this
26:21
Speaker 1: Saturday night.
26:22
Speaker 2: Yes, well, and I posted and it's doing well. Where
26:24
Speaker 2: I said the BMI, we shouldn't be using it. It
26:27
Speaker 2: has no justification because it's based on a small group
26:33
Speaker 2: of men, not women. So that's something when we talk
26:37
Speaker 2: about weight, it's a passion of mine and a topic
26:41
Speaker 2: that I'm very big on advocating for what is right
26:45
Speaker 2: and what is and and what your rights are when
26:47
Speaker 2: it comes to being weighed and so forth. And I
26:49
Speaker 2: just didn't also talk about eating disorders as well. So
26:52
Speaker 2: I'm all over weights as far as advocating for individuals.
26:57
Speaker 1: Well, that's where it starts, right Yeah. Nah released the
27:01
Speaker 1: study explaining it takes seventeen years. I know in my
27:04
Speaker 1: experience it's at least a decade for evidence to be
27:07
Speaker 1: translated into clinical practice. In fact, when you go and
27:10
Speaker 1: you google search a lot of the data, you're looking
27:12
Speaker 1: at us five years old, a lot of the assumptions
27:15
Speaker 1: and the algorithm, the data that's coming through there. Can
27:19
Speaker 1: we improve the translation times? We talk about AI all
27:23
Speaker 1: the time. Can that help from your perspective? How do
27:26
Speaker 1: we speed that up?
27:27
Speaker 2: So, yes, seventeen years for new evidence. And that part
27:30
Speaker 2: is important because often we'll hear about protocols and algorithms
27:34
Speaker 2: being debunked or removed. Well, I like to share that
27:37
Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that that practice isn't impacting people every
27:41
Speaker 2: single day still until we speed up that information. So
27:46
Speaker 2: how do we do that through literacy, through getting that
27:50
Speaker 2: information in the hands of wherever people consume or digest.
27:55
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's a conference is sometimes it's social media, all
27:58
Speaker 2: of those different areas. Is how we're going to shorten
28:02
Speaker 2: that timeframe. There's a recent algorithm that's still live to
28:06
Speaker 2: this day, and I'll share it and this is I'm
28:08
Speaker 2: so glad to talk about it here where currently there
28:11
Speaker 2: is a practice that for black individuals, if you have
28:16
Speaker 2: high blood pressure, you are recommended two classes of blood
28:20
Speaker 2: pressure medications. So people often ask, well, yes, black people
28:25
Speaker 2: are different than other races as far as how they
28:28
Speaker 2: metabolize and individualize different healthcare, Well, that's not true because
28:33
Speaker 2: race is a social construct. The color of my skin
28:36
Speaker 2: has nothing to do with my organs. And currently the
28:40
Speaker 2: protocol is if you're black, you get either a thighazide
28:43
Speaker 2: or a calcium channel blocker as the recommended medication. So
28:48
Speaker 2: when we look at how black individuals are dying at
28:52
Speaker 2: the highest rate from in stage kidney disease or uncontrolled
28:56
Speaker 2: high blood pressure which ends up with kidney disease, if
28:59
Speaker 2: you're limited to two classes of blood pressure medication based
29:04
Speaker 2: on the color of your skin or based on the
29:06
Speaker 2: assumption of what that clinician thinks the color of your skin,
29:10
Speaker 2: think of how you may not be able to have
29:12
Speaker 2: your blood pressure controlled sooner because you're limited to two
29:17
Speaker 2: classes versus all of the others. And so this is
29:21
Speaker 2: still live to this day. Although certain articles like the
29:25
Speaker 2: UCSF have said we need to stop this practice, back
29:29
Speaker 2: to the whole seventeen years, it is still live and
29:32
Speaker 2: there are still clinicians to this day have continued to
29:35
Speaker 2: practice like this because they don't know of anything different.
29:40
Speaker 2: And when you don't understand the definition behind what you're
29:44
Speaker 2: doing and why that's wrong, why would you change. So
29:48
Speaker 2: to answer your question, health literacy, understanding or unpacking why
29:53
Speaker 2: we've been doing things the way we have just because,
29:57
Speaker 2: and understanding the implications and how those pieces are actually
30:02
Speaker 2: rooted in misinformation.
30:12
Speaker 1: Now I want to shift into a section I'm calling
30:14
Speaker 1: so What's it all mean? Where we hear about your
30:17
Speaker 1: work and action and how it's playing out in the
30:19
Speaker 1: real world. What are the policies and changes that you
30:29
Speaker 1: advocate for to address these unconscious biases or real biases
30:34
Speaker 1: right that are based on old data and that are
30:37
Speaker 1: contributing to higher mortality rates among black mothers and black
30:41
Speaker 1: and brown populations treated differently in the healthcare system. What
30:46
Speaker 1: are the things you're advocating for now as we go forward,
30:51
Speaker 1: First and.
30:51
Speaker 2: Foremost, yes, so maintaining access to care, but also maintaining
30:57
Speaker 2: the fact that we have to have clinic or a
31:00
Speaker 2: healthcare system that understands bias, understands algorithms that are rooted
31:05
Speaker 2: in racism and systemic racism. Access is huge, but being
31:10
Speaker 2: invested in why we see these disparities, why they continue
31:15
Speaker 2: even though we have extra access. Why does this continue
31:19
Speaker 2: to happen. Why are black women in a very developed
31:22
Speaker 2: nation dying at the highest rate in the US it's
31:26
Speaker 2: more than access. It's bias, it's literacy, it's being able
31:30
Speaker 2: to understand the missteps that we have and for beyond
31:34
Speaker 2: clinical walls, the partners that we have been able to
31:37
Speaker 2: connect with, whether it's nonprofit, traditional healthcare systems, are throughout.
31:42
Speaker 2: It's really amazing to show that our catalog or videos
31:46
Speaker 2: are reaching people and being able to reduce those inequities,
31:51
Speaker 2: reduce those costs of care. Because when you share this
31:55
Speaker 2: information to patients, they have something a playbook that they
31:59
Speaker 2: can take forward and be able to say, well, what
32:02
Speaker 2: about pre acclamcy I think I have swallowing in my
32:05
Speaker 2: this could be happening, Or what about this piece? Did
32:09
Speaker 2: you look at this doctor? I learned about this through
32:11
Speaker 2: the video. That is a way that we are making
32:15
Speaker 2: change and we're moving that needle. Because it's a big problem.
32:18
Speaker 2: It's not something that will be solved quickly or with
32:21
Speaker 2: one change, but we can make steps or make progress
32:26
Speaker 2: if we inform people. Because when we look at behavior,
32:30
Speaker 2: how do you change behavior when it comes to complications
32:33
Speaker 2: or other things? You give people the information and you
32:36
Speaker 2: also take them along with you instead of speaking at them,
32:40
Speaker 2: you share the information. Because I always tell my patients
32:43
Speaker 2: when they're facing a crisis or not. My goal is
32:47
Speaker 2: to share the information in a way that seems to
32:50
Speaker 2: your soul, your heart, And I'm just a long for
32:53
Speaker 2: the journey. But it shouldn't be a journey of judgment.
32:56
Speaker 2: It should be a journey of what do you need
32:59
Speaker 2: for your health? What would you like? And I should
33:02
Speaker 2: share all of that information, but in a way that
33:05
Speaker 2: you can understand.
33:06
Speaker 1: Well, it's complicated because not he tells us or we
33:10
Speaker 1: tell them, because imagine you've got people coming in reading
33:14
Speaker 1: the internet and probably misunderstanding it. Docts are really inundated
33:18
Speaker 1: as it is, they have no time living online. The
33:22
Speaker 1: way you do, I think must be helpful to the patient.
33:25
Speaker 1: How do you reconcile all this when people are coming
33:29
Speaker 1: in as their own health experts and meeting them there
33:33
Speaker 1: because you don't want to offend the doctor who's supposed
33:36
Speaker 1: to know more. Now in your case, they don't even
33:38
Speaker 1: know the doctor in all cases. But you can't walk
33:43
Speaker 1: in these days and not be ready and armed. I
33:47
Speaker 1: think people walking in and just sort of being a
33:50
Speaker 1: passive participant in your own health care is going to
33:53
Speaker 1: create a problem in today's busy health environment. Isn't it
33:57
Speaker 1: on us to be our own health citizens and taking
34:01
Speaker 1: care of ourselves and others? Right? It's not easy, but
34:05
Speaker 1: it's better to walk in armed with the information. Talk
34:08
Speaker 1: a little bit about that dynamic.
34:10
Speaker 2: You have to be your advocate. I wish that there
34:13
Speaker 2: was an environment or an ecosystem that was more bi
34:16
Speaker 2: directional where you didn't have to come in with all
34:19
Speaker 2: this information. For me, I welcome it. I welcome questions.
34:24
Speaker 2: I'm the doctor that's like, give me all the questions. Yes,
34:27
Speaker 2: I want to have those that I want to have
34:29
Speaker 2: follow ups. I want to have that discussion for my patients.
34:33
Speaker 2: I want you to come in arms. I want you
34:36
Speaker 2: to share this and I'm going to share everything that
34:38
Speaker 2: I'm thinking with you. And that's what I share that
34:42
Speaker 2: message online or through my talks. I say, you want
34:47
Speaker 2: to find a clinician who has that shared journey. And
34:50
Speaker 2: so the other question I often get when I'm speaking
34:52
Speaker 2: is I don't feel comfortable talking to my doctor. I
34:56
Speaker 2: don't feel like they are listening to me. And so
35:00
Speaker 2: so the advice I give is ask your doctor, do
35:05
Speaker 2: they feel that you could have more, that you could
35:08
Speaker 2: be giving them more? And often when I say that
35:10
Speaker 2: they're like, well, I'm sure they think I'm giving everything,
35:13
Speaker 2: and I'm like, you may not know that that clinician
35:16
Speaker 2: may want more information. Another thing to share A great
35:20
Speaker 2: tip is ask that doctor if when I come in,
35:25
Speaker 2: is there anything else that could be a possibility that
35:29
Speaker 2: you haven't mentioned to me? Is there anything else that
35:32
Speaker 2: you're afraid to possibly share with me? And that opens
35:35
Speaker 2: up a conversation that can allow you and that clinician
35:39
Speaker 2: to really know all of the areas, because sometimes that
35:42
Speaker 2: clinician may think, oh, maybe they don't want to know
35:45
Speaker 2: all of that, or maybe they're not interested in it.
35:48
Speaker 2: And I think that's power. And the last one that
35:50
Speaker 2: I always state is let that doctor, if you feel comfortable,
35:54
Speaker 2: say I don't think that you're hearing me. I don't
35:57
Speaker 2: feel like you've hurt all my information because, like you
36:00
Speaker 2: and I mentioned, sometimes there's a misstep, but that misstep
36:04
Speaker 2: isn't always out of malice. And we've all had and
36:07
Speaker 2: this is a good example, we've all had friendships where
36:11
Speaker 2: you think you're helping that friend and then you find
36:13
Speaker 2: out that the friend feels like you haven't been helping
36:16
Speaker 2: and you're like, I thought it was there for you,
36:18
Speaker 2: So we all have bias, we all have this feeling
36:22
Speaker 2: of thinking we're in one space and we might be
36:24
Speaker 2: in a difference. So having that conversation, but I welcome it.
36:28
Speaker 2: I love questions.
36:30
Speaker 1: So tell me what's next for you? What are we
36:32
Speaker 1: watching out for? From doctor Bio.
36:34
Speaker 2: I've got a lot of things. First, all rooted in
36:38
Speaker 2: helping people because that makes my heart so happy just
36:42
Speaker 2: being able to help people in different areas. But I've
36:44
Speaker 2: got a children's book that's going to be coming out,
36:47
Speaker 2: Let Your Lights Shine Bright, on how to advocate and
36:51
Speaker 2: be confident as a kiddo. And my little girls, Jordan
36:54
Speaker 2: and Jalen, seven and nine, are the stars in the book.
36:57
Speaker 2: And it's rooted in what we do in our household
37:00
Speaker 2: and where did that come from from my dad? And
37:04
Speaker 2: my hope with that is as we talk about advocating
37:07
Speaker 2: and navigating the health system or any system, if we
37:10
Speaker 2: can start from the ground up, think of that pipeline
37:14
Speaker 2: where you have those fundamentals, that playbook a part of
37:17
Speaker 2: you as you age to be able to navigate the
37:21
Speaker 2: world and stand up for yourself. What a powerful way
37:25
Speaker 2: to live. And so that multiple speaking engagements, some television
37:29
Speaker 2: opportunities as well, in the end, it's all about what
37:33
Speaker 2: can I do. As my dad said to me, every day, Bio,
37:38
Speaker 2: think of one thing you can do that is beyond
37:41
Speaker 2: yourself that you can make an impact on the world.
37:43
Speaker 2: One thing that you can do, and that's what I
37:45
Speaker 2: get to do every day, is to help people. And
37:48
Speaker 2: so every opportunity that's happening is rooted in going beyond
37:53
Speaker 2: myself and helping others.
37:55
Speaker 1: So tell me, you know, if you could tell your
37:57
Speaker 1: younger self one thing, what would it be.
38:01
Speaker 2: Don't doubt yourself, trust this journey, keep doing what you
38:05
Speaker 2: believe in because your heart is in the right place.
38:10
Speaker 2: Keep going because when you help others, you help yourself
38:13
Speaker 2: in the same way. And it's a gift that you
38:17
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to help others. And that's your calling.
38:20
Speaker 2: And that's my younger self. And to keep going, keep going,
38:24
Speaker 2: and I won't stop. Yeah, oh you know what I'm
38:27
Speaker 2: going to cap. My dad's words were always you got
38:31
Speaker 2: to keep moving, and that's what I think of every day.
38:34
Speaker 2: You got to keep moving. So that's it, you.
38:36
Speaker 1: Got to keep moving. I can relate to that one. Well,
38:39
Speaker 1: doctor Bayer, thanks for all this time, and we can't
38:42
Speaker 1: wait to get it out there because I think this
38:44
Speaker 1: is a great message at this moment in our world
38:48
Speaker 1: and in life. I continue to be odd by your positivity.
38:54
Speaker 1: It's real. I can vouch for that. And on top
38:57
Speaker 1: of that, let's keep collaborating and help to make the
39:01
Speaker 1: world a healthier place together.
39:02
Speaker 2: Yes, indeed, I'm in it for the ride, and I'm
39:05
Speaker 2: just so grateful. I live in gratitude. So thank you
39:09
Speaker 2: for having me, Jim. This was fantastic and I appreciate
39:13
Speaker 2: you very much.
39:15
Speaker 1: Same here. Hey everyone, thanks for listening in today. The
39:23
Speaker 1: Get Real with the Chairman podcast is a production of
39:26
Speaker 1: Real Chemistry. I want to thank my team, led by
39:29
Speaker 1: executive producer Kate Voss, audio engineer Nick Murphy, and composer
39:34
Speaker 1: Matt Lipkins, and special thanks to Danielle Clark Brown and
39:38
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39:51
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