Damon Tweedy
Professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Author


Damon Tweedy, MD is a professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine and staff physician at the Durham Veteran Affairs Health System. His 2015 book, Black Man in a White Coat, was a New York Times Bestseller, selected by TIME magazine as one of the Top 10 Non-fiction books of that year. He has also published articles about race and medicine in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). His columns and op-eds have appeared in the New York TimesWashington Post, and various other print publications. His latest book Facing the Unseen explores the marginalization of mental health care within society and medical practice. He lives outside Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

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Hardcover
Facing the Unseen The Struggle to Center Mental Health in Medicine
St. Martin's Press

From the New York Times bestselling author of Black Man in a White Coat comes a powerful and urgent call to center psychiatry and mental health care into the mainstream of medicine
As much as we all might wish that mental health problems, with their elusive causes and unsettling behaviors, simply did not exist, millions of people suffer from them, sometimes to an extreme extent. Many others face addiction to alcohol and other drugs, as overdose and suicide deaths abound. Yet the vast majority of doctors receive minimal instruction in treating these conditions during their lengthy medical training. This mismatch ignores the clear overlap between physical and mental distress, and too-often puts psychiatrists on the outside looking in as the medical system continues to fail many patients.


Hardcover
Black Man in a White Coat A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine
Picador

Black Man in a White Coat examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. As Tweedy transforms from student to practicing physician, he discovers how often race influences his encounters with patients. Through their stories, he illustrates the complex social, cultural, and economic factors at the root of many health problems in the black community. These issues take on greater meaning when Tweedy is himself diagnosed with a chronic disease far more common among black people. In this powerful, moving, and deeply empathic book, Tweedy explores the challenges confronting black doctors, and the disproportionate health burdens faced by black patients, ultimately seeking a way forward to better treatment and more compassionate care.

Is There a Black Doctor in the House? Dr. Tweedy takes an engaging look at the small percentage of black physicians in the U.S. and examines the implications for both doctors and patients.
Doing the Right Thing Dr. Tweedy weaves together research findings, clinical experience, and personal narrative into a provocative survey of the leading causes of death and disability among black people.







Check out Damon Tweedy’s recent publication “Race and Health – A Persistent American Dilemma” in “The New England Journal of Medicine.

Read Damon Tweedy’s op-ed in The New York Times on how medical schools need to do better when it comes to race and inequality.

Meredith College invites Damon Tweedy to speak at their Spring Convocation. Damon Tweedy quoted in the Duke Chronicle on the impact of meaningful representation in medicine and other areas.

Watch Damon Tweedy discuss Black Man in a White Coat and discrimination in medical professions and care on MedPage Read an interview with Damon Tweedy with Stat News.

U.S. News interview with Damon Tweedy on diversity among America’s doctors.

Watch Damon Tweedy discuss his book, Black Man in a White Coat, on CBS.

Read NBC News’ profile on Damon Tweedy and Black man in a White Coat.

Damon Tweedy headlined the NIEHS Diversity Speaker Series. Check out Duke Chronicle’s profile on Damon Tweedy.

Learn more about Dr. Tweedy on his website and follow him on Twitter.

"Dr Damon Tweedy delivered a lecture and gave interviews that were very well received by listeners. Dr Tweedy was the epitome of gracious and professional, despite a long day of travel and audience interactions. He had prepared slides that presented scientific data of relevance to his topic, and blended a traditional academic lecture with case material arising from his own experiences and practice--most also documented in his book. All in all, this was a most positive and memorable experience for our students and constituents."
- Center for Practical Bioethics, Kansas City University

“We were thrilled to welcome Dr. Tweedy to the University of Chicago campus as a Bowman Society Lecturer. His talk moved seamlessly back and forth between his personal experiences as an African-American physician and the overall experiences of African-American patients in a health care system that has not overcome longstanding disparities of access, care, and outcomes... The issues that Dr. Tweedy raised challenged and inspired us to consider what medical schools can do to ensure better care for all Americans, including but certainly not limited to expanding the diversity of the physician workforce.”
- Monica Vela, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean for Multicultural Affairs, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

"Dr. Tweedy left many of the Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC) students, faculty and staff motivated to walk into their journeys with eyes open. His words were uplifting, inspiring and insightful. The delivery and style of his life experiences were brilliant and well received. Substantive information with relevance!"
- Cassandra Smith, Atlanta Metropolitan State College

"It was a delight and an honor to have Dr. Damon Tweedy come speak to us at Seattle Children’s Hospital. A warm, intelligent presence, Dr. Tweedy took the time to ask us how he could best serve our staff and residents and knocked our Black History Month event out of the park! It’s obvious he really wants to engage with his audience and tailored his presentation, sharing great anecdotes and answering questions. During a short roundtable discussion about inequities in healthcare, he was interested in our work and we all walked away from the afternoon reflecting on the role we all have in reducing them. I highly recommend reading his book and seizing the chance to talk with him about it!"
- Kashena Konecki, Seattle Children's Hospital

"In his notably gracious and humble style, Damon Tweedy thoughtfully invites his audiences to consider the broader implications of his personal experiences with race and medicine. It was truly a pleasure to have Dr. Tweedy as the keynote speaker for our MLK celebration. Our medical students were especially thrilled to meet him!"
-Greenville Health System

"An audience of nearly 200 faculty, students, and members of the community were captivated by Dr. Damon Tweedy’s reflections on his life and career in the medical profession. They were especially intrigued by his discussions as to how race, class, and gender issues significantly impacted medical care and practice. Dr. Tweedy’s lived experiences brought the subject matter to life and made it real for the audience, especially the students who were considering careers in the health professions."
-North Carolina Central University

"Dr. Tweedy was a hit. We had a long line for his book signing. I know he was supposed to sign books for one hour but he stayed until all the books were signed. The students were doubled excited to learn he had been a member of SNMA when he was a med student at Duke."
- Jacquelyn Lendsey, Student National Medical Association

"He was well received on campus, especially with staff and faculty form the College of Medicine. He was very humble and easy to work with."
- University of Vermont

"It was a pleasure to hear Dr. Tweedy speak at the National AHEC Organization’s 2016 national conference. As Dr. Tweedy shared his personal experiences of being one of very few African-Americans in his medical school class at Duke University in the 1990s, he touched on many broad social issues facing health care currently and problems that AHECs everywhere are working on: the stagnant growth in the diversity of health professionals; the disparity in health care outcomes and access to care for minority populations; an educational system that fails to create opportunities for all students regardless of race or socioeconomic status. I found Dr. Tweedy’s talk to be rather moving and a call to action, despite being stated with a gentle manner, and I know that the nearly 500 conference attendees found his keynote address to be one of the highlights of the weeklong conference."
—Paul Rossmann, Associate Manager of National AHEC Organization

"Fantastic! Dr. Tweedy was engaging, took into consideration his target market, and was well organized. Loved his closing remarks and his advice to our medical students. He was approachable and easy to work with. Our students, faculty and staff enjoyed the his lecture, question and answer, and book signing."
—Rosie Jimenez-Negrete, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Praise for Facing the Unseen “A charged, earnest argument for relaxing the distinction between body and mind in the treatment of both.”
Kirkus Reviews

“With both empathy and expertise, Damon Tweedy demonstrates why mental health cannot be siloed away from the rest of healthcare. Facing the Unseen is a rallying cry to reimagine how we care for patients, for centering mental health within “regular" medical care. A unified approach to care will not only address the urgent needs of patients, it will also help ease the burden on overstretched primary-care clinicians. Absolutely timely!”
— Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error

“Brimming with insight and rare empathy, Damon Tweedy has written an essential book for this time of national and global mental health crisis. Facing the Unseen reads like a good novel while offering a much-needed corrective to our current systems of medical training and healthcare.”
— Louise Aronson, author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life