Surgeons Destroying Stereotypes

Recently,  I devoted quite a bit of time to watching the hit t.v. show Grey's Anatomy. It's a show, focused on team of surgeons in one hospital, saving one life at a time. But it isn't what maybe someone would expect in a group of surgeons. It is a very diverse group. They have their fair share of white surgeons, they have their Asian surgeon, and they also have their own couple black surgeons. And these black surgeons are forces. They are the powerhouse of the surgical floor. One is the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Webber, then Dr. Bailey, who becomes Chief Resident, and we also have Dr. Burke, who is the top cardio-thoracic surgeon in the nation. All of these people are high up in their jobs. They demand respect, and respect is what they get. They weren't put in these positions but just sliding by, but they worked as hard, or even everybody else to get where they are.

Dr. Webber is the smartest, most thoughtful man on the floor. He isn't dancing and laughing. He is being himself, and not fulfilling any negative stereotype of a black man. And neither is Dr. Burke. They are their own people. Dr. Bailey may have a mothering sense, but in no mean's is she "mammy". She keeps up with all the men, and she is tough when she needs to be. She wants people to take care of themselves and not rely on others for happiness.

I give this show a lot of respect. In a lot of other shows that I have watched, the experience of an African American is often a large topic in their successes, or failures. But in Grey's Anatomy, it isn't. The only thing holding these surgeons from being the best surgeons out there are themselves, and most times they don't even let that stop them. It isn't about where they grew up, how they dance, or how many children they have. It is about them doing the best in their jobs, and that is what they do.