Pocahontas Goes to the Clinic

Mattingly's article brought up interesting ideas for me. Compared to the majority of people, I have very little experience with doctors. I was raised in Christian Science (I since have left it), and got my first vaccinations a year ago, at 20. I haven't been in a hospital since I was born, and can count the number of times I've seen a doctor almost on one hand, and all of the visits have been in the last couple years. The fact that clinics can be a site of racial discrimination had never really occurred to me, nor have I outright seen it. The office I go to in Olympia seems to reach out to minorities. When I was checking in, an older Hispanic woman was checking in as well. When the young, female, white receptionist started to talk with her, she realized English was not the woman's native tongue and switched to fluent Spanish. The conversation seemed to become immediately more relaxed and friendly. While I don't know if the receptionist was hired specifically because of her ability to speak fluent Spanish or if she had learned Spanish in preparation for a medical assisting job or what the circumstances were, I feel like this was a good example of how clinics could reach out to minorities. Perhaps Spanish should be mandatory while preparing for a medical degree, as just being able to understand people seems like a necessary requirement to figure out what's wrong and establish a trust.
The article explained the need for doctors, nurses and other medical staff to reach out across racial borders. One way to do this with children is by using well-known childhood characters, mainly from Disney. Disney characters are well-known by children of all races, and using them to connect with the child builds trust, both with them and their parents. Minorities also are placed in negative categories more often than white people, and these categories limit their treatment and discussion with doctors. Minorities need to be allowed the same in-depth discussion about their illness that white people get, and this can only be done if doctors and nurses find something that connects them across their race.
Therapy animals are another way people use to connect to people, regardless of race. Many people seem to be more willing to talk with an animal present, and children especially seem to respond very positively to having an animal as part of their treatment. Animals transcend racial boundaries easily and by talking about them people connect on common ground. This might seem a bit off-topic, but it is one of my main interests and one of the only ways I can personally relate to this article.