Patricia Louise Davis, MD
(June 14, 1959 to
)
C HAPTER 22
Many people who become physicians attribute their
inspiration and aspiration for the profession to some form of
positive motivation from the medical world or from the suffering of a loved one with severe medical diseases or disorders. However, there are some who have chosen to become
physicians because of negative experiences they have encountered directly as patients. Such is the case of Dr. Patricia
Louise Davis (Figure 22-1), an African American New
Englander, who experienced racist and sexist behavior from
a Caucasian male physician in an emergency room situation.
Instead of dwelling on the human limitations of the physician, she decided that she would transcend them and become
a competent, caring physician.
“I will never forget that evening when I was cramming for
my physics exam,” began Dr. Patricia Davis as she described
her ordeal that evening in the spring of 1980. She had been
studying intently for an important test in physics when she
became violently ill. “I was nauseous and vomited until I had
dry heaves.” Severe abdominal pain soon ensued. “I couldn’t
sleep. Sweat poured from me. At around 2:00 am, while rolling
over and over in an effort to find a place where my abdomen
was least painful, the pain suddenly stopped. I thanked God for
hearing my prayers which had begun six hours prior.” But this
relief was only the calm before the storm because the pain
returned with a vengeance. “The rest of the night was hell.”
The next morning she saw a physician. The diagnosis of
pelvic inflammatory disease was made. “I knew this was not
true. I did not have P.I.D.” Pelvic inflammatory disease, or
inflammation of the fallopian tubes, is often caused by a bacterial infection in the setting of sexual promiscuity. “He just
gave me that label of P.I.D. because I was black and that’s
how he was trained.” Despite taking the prescribed antibiotics, the pain persisted and became as fierce and fiery as ever
could be imagined. Twenty-four hours after the ordeal
began, her ruptured appendix was removed. She had
endured peritonitis, pneumonitis, and pancreatitis. “I
Figure 22-1. Patricia Louise Davis, MD and triplets.
remember waking up two days after the appendectomy procedure with a tube stuck in my nose running to my stomach.
I just started crying.” It was at that moment that her resolve
to become a physician became galvanized. “I wanted to be in
a position where I could dispel myths about African
American women and crush the stereotypes thrust upon people such as the one which nearly got me killed,” said Dr.
Davis with stern confidence and determination.
Davis has her roots in the country. She grew up on the
140-acre family farm situated in the middle of rural Rhode
Island. The houses on her street stood numberless. Her nearest neighbor lived one-half mile away. At night the roads are
dark. Patricia’s father, Henry Davis, owned the Stepping
Stone Ranch across the street. She learned perseverance,
patience, and the importance of time from observing her
father as he managed the Stepping Stone Ranch. He had
started the business with a small, ornery Shetland pony
named Goldie. The business expanded to include a barn, a
dance hall, an amphitheater, and a campground, among
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Chapter 22
other structures. There were horse shows, rodeos, horse roping contests, and truck pulls. Hundreds of people would
come to hear the country, bluegrass, and rock music concerts
that were held on the premises.
As a child, Patricia had lived with her parents, Colette,
her younger sister, and Nana, her grandmother. Nana
encouraged her to learn as much as she could and quickly.
She instilled in Patricia and her sister a strong faith in and
fear of God. “Because of her careful teaching I, to this day,
try to treat others as I want to be treated. This credo definitely extends to my patients. They know that their best
interests are paramount in my mind,” said Dr. Davis.
Her family stressed the importance of education and supported Patricia’ efforts in school. In particular, her mother,
Lucille Davis, encouraged her to keep her dream of becoming a physician a reality. Her mother had experienced the bitter disappointment of having a dream die. Her mother had
been the valedictorian of her high school class in Warwick,
Rhode Island. She wanted to become a nurse, but the nearest training program for colored women at that time was in
New York City. Instead of moving to New York City, she
became a medical technologist upon graduating from the
local college as the salutatorian. Her mother later became the
chief medical technologist at the Rhode Island State Medical
Center. Patricia’s mother’s unfulfilled dream has served as a
constant reminder for Patricia. “She is an important part of
my success and the kind of person I have become,” fondly
recalled Dr. Davis.
The road to becoming an ophthalmologist was not
smoothly paved for Davis. Frequently dissuaded by her high
school guidance counselor from taking courses to prepare her
academically, she nonetheless took calculus, trigonometry,
and advanced chemistry in her senior year. Davis applied and
was accepted by Brown University in Rhode Island to which
she matriculated in 1977. Davis found the transition from
high school to this Ivy League college difficult. She realized
that she did not know how to study effectively as did her colleagues.
Davis was very outgoing, having 14 extracurricular activities
claiming her time and enthusiasm in college. These were not
only outlets, but opportunities to gain organizational skills and
leadership experience. Davis joined the gospel choirs, dance
ensembles, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, political groups, and
the varsity track team among others. “As a result, my grades
suffered some, but I had a blast,” explained Dr. Davis. Brown
University had a significant contingency of African American
students and other people of color which provided a unique
opportunity for Davis. “I had been harassed and ridiculed as a
grade schooler because of the color of my skin. In the first
grade, I was one of two black children in my school. I went
from being called names to the class co-president by my senior
year of high school. Brown University, however, was paradise
compared to those places,” exclaimed Dr. Davis.
Davis was graduated in 1982 from Brown University with
a baccalaureate degree in biology. She then attended the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
“Medical school was like being back in grade school.
There were five blacks in my class of 150 at Penn. We were
considered tokens by many of our class,” reported Dr. Davis.
“I recalled some of the students asking ‘Which one are you?’
when trying to identify and address one of us [African
Americans].”
Davis, like many of the other medical students in her class,
found the basic science curriculum conducted during the first
two years of medical school challenging. “The course work
was so loud, it was nearly deafening,” described Dr. Davis. In
the latter two years of medical school she was exposed to clinical ophthalmology. “The ophthalmoscope made the eye
come alive,” said Dr. Davis as she explained why she chose
ophthalmology as her area of specialization. Dr. Patricia
Louise Davis received her MD degree from the University of
Pennsylvania in 1987, with additional training in health care
management from the Wharton School of Business.
Dr. Davis completed her internship at the Chestnut Hill
Hospital in Philadelphia followed by ophthalmology residency at Scheie Eye Institute of the University of Pennsylvania in
1991. The residency was stressful to say the least. “I carried
antacids and flash cards in my pockets,” explained Dr. Davis.
Her patients comforted her during some of those darkest
moments. Just hearing the voice of a patient saying, “I sure
am proud to see a black doctor in here,” or “Thanks doc,
you’re the first one who sat down and told me how to take my
drops,” or “Doc, thanks for listening” provided the necessary
remedy for her consolation.
After completion of her ophthalmology residency, Dr.
Davis joined the faculty at the Eye Institute at Cooper
Hospital of UMDNJ Medical Center in Camden, New
Jersey. She worked hard, taught hard, and expected no less
from her residents. She left two years later having earned the
love and respect of her residents and colleagues. She then did
specialized fellowship training in pediatric ophthalmology
and neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Kentucky.
Pediatric ophthalmology, which provided the opportunity to
take care of children with retinopathy of prematurity, congenital glaucoma, strabismus, craniofacial abnormalities, and
many other disorders, enticed her. “By enabling even one
child to have better vision, I will improve that child’s visual
health, educational potential, and overall quality of life,”
reported Dr. Davis.
Dr. Davis went to Kentucky with trepidation about the
rural south, but found this exaggerated fear unwarranted.
“People were nice to me. They didn’t ask me where I went to
school in the veiled way that some of the patients on the East
coast did. People, especially those from the Appalachian
areas, were glad to have a doctor to see and treat little Jimmy
Ray regardless of the way that physician looked or talked.”
Her fellowship was quite fulfilling. Dr. Davis is currently in
private practice in Chicago and a clinical assistant professor
of ophthalmology at Loyola University. She volunteers free
eye care at an inner city clinic. Dr. Davis summarized her
overall experience as positive. “In all, I’m glad I chose medicine. I became a physician in order to serve others.”