SROA SoundBoard - Michele Harper

Dr. Michele Harper, ER physician and author of The Beauty in Breaking, joins SROA Soundboard to share her experiences as an ER physician. She recalls her childhood and how her experiences shaped her career path, her work in diversity and inclusion, and writing a New York Times Bestseller.  

Listen to hear more about:

• Can you talk briefly about your upbringing and how it shaped you? (0:30)
• Was there one defining moment that set you on the path for emergency medicine? (2:38)
• What does it mean to be a “healer”? How can people heal themselves? (6:41)
• What advice would you give to Radiation Oncologists that are dealing with a vulnerable population? (8:01)
• In your book, you write, “As a black woman, I navigate an American landscape that claims to be post-racial when every waking moment reveals the contrary, an American landscape that requires all women to pound tenaciously against the proverbial glass ceiling, which we’ve since discovered is made of palladium, the kind of glass that would sooner bow than shatter.” That’s very powerful. Can you share what those words mean to you? (14:31)
  
• Do you ever want to quit? (19:16)
• Would you say that you are extrinsically motivated by the power of connection and empathy that you feel with the people that come into your care? (23:03)
• How did you get to the point where you felt you needed to write about your experiences? (24:39)
• Do you have plans to write another book? (27:41)
• How did the title The Beauty in Breaking come about? (28:28)
• What lessons or messages can administrative leaders and others working in healthcare take from your book? (30:54)
• What do you hope for the future of health care? (33:21)