As part of the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy’s Diversity Story Slam, Natalie Weeks O’Neal, DPT, has shared the story of “Mary,” a woman raised on the Choctaw Reservation in Oklahoma. Mary had been severely traumatized by poor medical treatment rooted in systemic racism and sexism as a teen, and the physical and mental consequences were becoming more severe with each passing year. As her physical therapist, O’Neal was determined to approach her case with patience and empathy to counter both the physical and mental harm this woman had endured 20 years before.

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