Caring and tolerance are worthwhile traits

I read with interest the insightful commentary from Peter Clark.  Indeed, there is no one who can or should prevent us from always trying to be “kinder and gentler” and more tolerant of our differences.

I spend a lot of time in the operating room looking into body cavities and removing body parts.  There are lists of equipment and instruments that are required for each procedure.  However, no surgery is differentiated based upon a patient’s skin color.  I do not remove a kidney stone, prostate or kidney from a white patient any differently than from a black or brown patient.  In fact, the layer of skin that determines skin color is only 0.1 millimeters thick.  Once through this superficial, paper-thin layer, we are all essentially the same in the operating room.

Admittedly, there are complicated racial and socioeconomic factors that affect access to getting into the operating room in the first place and may affect timely healing postoperatively.  However, like Mr. Clark,  I want to present a different perspective on how we are inextricably linked to our biology. 

We have no control over the color of that 0.1 mm of skin.  What we can try to do is broaden our perspectives about each other, and remind ourselves daily that caring and tolerance are noble and worthwhile traits to nurture.