Code Blue
Authors: Aderike Anjorin
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)

Ad Libitum17 November 2020Code BlueFREEAderike Anjorin, MPHAderike Anjorin, MPHDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (A.A.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M20-4706 Audio Reading - “Code Blue” Audio. Michael A. LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Code Blue” by Aderike Anjorin, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutVisual AbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail “Code Blue” is announced throughout the hospital when a patient suddenly stops breathing. Within minutes of this announcement, a team of physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists rushes to the patient's bedside to begin resuscitative efforts. “Code Blue” signals that there is a life at risk.As a trainee, I am often inspired by the vigor with which medical providers respond to the most vulnerable patients in the hospital. Our collective professional commitment to offering compassion and empathy as part of our labor of healing is unrivaled by that of any other professional field. Yet, when George Floyd cried out for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, “I can't breathe,” where was our courageous response? When Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down in the streets while jogging, where was our empathy? When Breonna Taylor was slaughtered in her sleep, where was our outrage?I have been underwhelmed by the responses of my clinical preceptors, professors, colleagues, and administrative leaders to the recent civil rights injustices happening in our world. They have ranged from claims of ignorance to poorly drafted e-mails that read more like dictated streams of consciousness. Given that so many of the advancements we enjoy in modern-day medicine were founded through the plunder of Black bodies, claims of ignorance are unacceptable. Furthermore, disorganized thoughts without conviction are futile. As a Black medical student, these gestures do not alleviate the pain I feel as I reckon with my own mortality with every display of disregard for Black lives. More than any other profession, the medical community has the greatest responsibility to combat racial injustice. It is literally our job to care for others. Yet, as a field, we have an extensive, ethically bereft history of medical apartheid.To care for patients is to care for people. To care for people is to care for Black lives. To care for Black lives is to challenge racial injustice. Having seen firsthand in the hospital the measures that can be taken to preserve humanity when life is under threat, I am calling on the field of medicine to take the lead. This is a “Code Blue.”One final thought: Why is it that I, a second-year medical student, am compelled to write this? Comments0 CommentsSign In to Submit A Comment Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (A.A.)Current Author Address: Aderike Anjorin, MPH; e-mail, [email protected]edu.This article was published on 4 August 2020. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Code Blue” Audio. Michael A. LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Code Blue” by Aderike Anjorin, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 17 November 2020Volume 173, Issue 10Page: 798KeywordsBreathingConsciousnessDrug therapyHospital medicineMortalityPatientsPharmacistsRiversSleep ePublished: 4 August 2020 Issue Published: 17 November 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2020 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...