“Sonny’s Blues” is a 1956 story by the author, James Baldwin, about a “sensible” and pragmatic algebra teacher and his younger musically gifted younger brother (“Sonny”), who struggles with heroin addiction. Both of them, raised in Harlem, are deeply affected by anti-Black racism. Although the older brother, who narrates the story, feels responsible for Sonny, he struggles to relate to him. With the help of an English professor, Laura Greene at Augustana College, we reflect on some of the lessons of this story for the physician-patient relationship, especially when caring for individuals with substance use disorder. We explore the cost both to patients and to ourselves, as healthcare professionals, of holding patients at arm’s length because we fear engaging, especially in the face of suffering.
A PDF of “Sonny’s Blues,” can be accessed from the story’s Wiki page (scroll down to external links).
“Tough Love” is Not the Answer: A critique of NEJM reporting on student/trainee grievances and educator discontent
How confronting racist ideas I didn’t realize I had is shaping me as a physician and a person
About me being racist: A conversation that follows an apology
How effects of racism were mistaken for “race” in clinical algorithms: What clinicians should know
Drug testing at time of birth: How physicians are co-opted into harming families while thinking they are doing the right thing
Directly and Covertly Observing Care: How it Can Transform Medical Education and Improve Clinical Practice
"Dire Consequences": When students do not receive appropriate accommodations on the USMLE examinations
Why it's time to remove time limits on tests, like the USMLE exams
Running the Gauntlet: My Journey into Medicine with a Learning Disability
Why are doctors turning to ChatGPT for help relating to patients?
Prescription Opioid Reductions and Suicide: What Should Caring Physicians Do in the Face of Uncertainty?
My patient’s in shackles: Can we take these off?
From medical student mistreatment to burnout: How can we change the culture?
Medical Student Mistreatment: A Wicked Problem
Uncommon wisdom from a family physician and medical educator
Challenging Questions to Help Physicians Reflect, Grow, and Find More Joy Practicing Medicine
Organic Chemistry and the Questionable Ways We Select and Train Physicians
Contextualizing Care in a Nutshell (and a New Study)
Medical Gaslighting: Why Are We A--holes?
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