A young girl who walked into an emergency room in Ghana’s Eastern Region with severe pain could have lost her life, but for the persistence and intuition of one doctor who refused to make assumptions.
Dr. Pamela Buchanan, MD, a physician at a hospital in the region, shared the emotional story on her LinkedIn page, revealing how bias and stereotypes in healthcare almost led to a fatal outcome.
“A few weeks ago, I took care of a young girl in the ER. She was in pain. She was also visibly obese for her age,” Dr. Buchanan wrote.
According to her, a nurse on duty suggested the child was probably constipated from “cakes and pies” and recommended sending her home with a laxative. But something about the case did not sit right with Dr. Buchanan.
“I don’t have the luxury of not doing the right thing. I strive to be as thorough and nonbiased as possible,” she explained. “My gut—the Holy Spirit—was telling me something wasn’t right.”
Ignoring the sighs and eye rolls from colleagues, she ordered blood tests. The results showed the child’s white blood cell count was dangerously high, prompting a CT scan. The diagnosis: appendicitis. By then, the little girl was already septic—her life was at serious risk.
“If I had chalked it up to ‘cakes and pies’ like the nurse did—if I had made the same assumptions that so many do about black bodies and ‘fat’ bodies—she could’ve died,” Dr. Buchanan wrote.
The physician used the experience to highlight the dangers of obesity bias in healthcare and why diversity in medicine matters.
“We cannot afford blind spots in rooms that require vision. Being a Black doctor means I don’t just bring my training—I bring my lived experience,” she said.
Dr. Buchanan called for healthcare professionals to practice clinical curiosity, courageous decisions, and compassionate care.
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