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FROM IMHOTEP, MUGO TO DAD AND ME: REFLECTIONS ON A JOURNEY THROUGH MEDICINE

Andrew W. Kiragu, MD, FAAP, FCCM

Associate Chief of Critical Care

Children’s Minnesota

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

University of Minnesota

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  • The Medical School at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is built within the traditional homelands of the Dakota people. Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for this region, Mni Sóta Maḳoce, which loosely translates to the land where the waters reflect the skies.
  • It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations. We also acknowledge that words are not enough. We must ensure that our institution provides support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members.

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IMHOTEP

  • Chief minister to King Djoser in the 3rd millennium BCE, who designed one of the earliest pyramids, the Step Pyramid at Ṣaqqārah
  • Later regarded as the Egyptian god of medicine and identified with the Greek god Asclepius.
  • The first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity
  • Imhotep diagnosed and treated over 200 diseases, 15 diseases of the abdomen, 11 of the bladder, 10 of the rectum, 29 of the eyes and 18 of the integument.
  • He also practiced surgery and some dentistry
  • He was also a patron of architects and scribes

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MUGO WA KIBIRU

  • A sage from the Anjiru clan of the Gikuyu people of Kenya
  • His name “Mugo” means “Healer”
  • Foretold the coming of the British colonialists to Kenya

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THE JOURNEY BEGINS: MY PARENTS

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BLACK EXCELLENCE IN MEDICINE

James McCune Smith

Rebecca Crumpler

Daniel Hale Williams

Charles Drew

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BLACK EXCELLENCE IN MEDICINE

Vivian Pinn

Lasalle Lefall

Renee Jenkins

Roland Scott

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INJURY PREVENTION ROCKS

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ADVOCACY IN ACTION

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ADVOCACY IN ACTION

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CONTEXT

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THE LEGACY OF �GENOCIDE

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THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY

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FROM SLAVERY TO TUSKEGEE

& BEYOND

  • Experimentation on slaves
  • Marion Simms
  • Ephraim McDowell
  • Medical schools and grave robbers
  • Tuskegee experiment

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A LEGACY THAT CONTINUES ?

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A LEGACY THAT CONTINUES ?

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CONTEXT

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C. J. Schell et al., Science 369, (2020)

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REDLINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

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LIFE EXPECTANCY

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SACRIFICE

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SELF-CARE

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IT TAKES A TEAM

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ADVOCACY

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DR. MONA HANNA-ATISHA

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THIS IS OUR LANE

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AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A DOCTOR

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INNOVATION IN MEDICINE

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HISTORICAL ASPECTS

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INNOVATION IN MEDICINE

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INNOVATION IN MEDICINE

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MEDICINE IS GLOBAL

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WHAT WILL YOU BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?