美国医学协会（American Medical Association）刚刚卸任的主席帕特里斯·哈里斯（Patrice Harris）医学博士表示，领导力对于妥善解决COVID-19大流行期间突显的医疗保健领域持续存在的差距和不平等问题至关重要。

Harris delivered the 威尼斯人娱乐城 医学院’s Dr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Lecture in Minority Health on Feb. 12 in a virtual event. 她在2020年大流行期间担任美国医学协会主席。

“I think we can all agree that we have a lot on our to-do list, going forward, post COVID, and it’s going to require leadership,” said Harris, the first African American woman to serve as AMA president.

Harris said that as the coronavirus evolved, one of the AMA’s primary roles under her guidance was to ensure that the organization provided the most up-to-date, evidence-based resources and information in the midst of a public health crisis.

“You want to make sure that you are leading and providing accurate information,” she said. “Clearly it was also our priority to make sure that physicians, practices and health care systems had the resources needed to navigate through the disruption. 这无疑是一种巨大的破坏，现在仍然如此。 We wanted to make sure that we were fighting for physicians and practices and health care institutions so that we could better serve our patients.”

Harris shared what she said was a 25-year journey to becoming the 174th president of the AMA. She recalled that it wasn’t until after she had completed her undergraduate years of college at West Virginia that she met her first African American female physician.

在1992年获得医学学位并成为一名精神科医生后，哈里斯在包括美国精神病学协会在内的几个精神病学组织担任领导职务。

Today, Harris is a psychiatrist and recognized expert in children’s mental health and childhood trauma. 她是莫尔豪斯医学院和埃默里精神病学和行为科学系的精神病学和行为科学兼职助理教授。 In private practice, she consults public and private organizations on health service delivery and emerging trends in practice and health policy.

在她领导美国医学协会的过程中，哈里斯学到了一些终身的教训，比如合作的重要性。 The advocacy victories achieved in Washington, D.C., and at state levels don’t typically come through working in silos and without partnerships, Harris said.

领导力的另一个重要学习时刻是认识到接受不同意见的必要性。

“It is sometimes difficult if you are in the room and you’re the only one that has a disconfirming opinion,” she said. “But leadership requires us to make sure we voice appropriately, respectfully, strategically, disconfirming opinions.”

哈里斯补充说，这包括就社会和制度不平等等问题进行艰难的讨论。

“We have to have the sometimes very difficult conversations about racism,” she said. “It is up to institutions, universities, the AMA, businesses, Fortune 100 companies, Fortune 500 companies to make sure they are having these conversations and make sure that the folks around the decision-making tables about to have these conversations are in contact with their stakeholders.”

The annual Dr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Lectureship in Minority Health creates an awareness about health disparities and provides medical professionals, students, residents and the local community information about timely issues that affect underserved and minority communities.

查看 2021年Reaner博士和Henry Shannon先生的少数族裔健康讲座