The Morehouse graduate on trust, healing, and why representation in medicine matters
Dr. Eddie Richardson Jr., MD, has spent more than two decades practicing family medicine. Through his concierge practice, he gives patients personalized, around the clock care. A Morehouse School of Medicine graduate and geriatrician, Richardson walks into every patient room with a specific kind of mission, one that started at age 5.
When you thought about being a doctor, where were you, and how did you know it was important for you to serve our community?
I was 5 years old. My grandmother was a double amputee diabetic with renal failure, we’re talking late ’60s, and nobody could tell me what was wrong with her. That curiosity was born in me at that time. I want to be somebody who helped people in these situations. That’s when I started dreaming of being a doctor. People say, “Dr. Eddie, why are you so happy?” I say, “because I’m living a childhood dream.” I wanted to do this when I was 5 years old, and I’m doing it.
When you think about being a family physician, why is it important for all families to find one to walk them through this life?
I not only treat the individual patient, but I treat the family. I treat mom, dad, sister, brother. I take care of the daughter, the mama, and the grandmama, and sometimes I get the great-grandmama. That’s a trust. I love what family medicine allows us to do, from the cradle to the grave.
When you’re doubting what you can tell your doctor, how do you encourage people to just say, tell me what it is?
People tell me things. I go in rooms and come out, and they’ve told me some stuff they ain’t told nobody else. It’s about trust. It’s about building that relationship. I try to meet my patients where they are. When a patient sees a doctor that looks like them, there’s automatically some bonding there. I try not to talk over, I try not to talk below them, I try to talk right where they are. Trust builds. It’s not built in one visit. It’s built over time.
This is a partnership between me and you. You’re supposed to use the knowledge I got from Morehouse, all those years of study and practice, with what you have going on with you. We map them together. I can give you all this knowledge, but if you don’t go do it, it’s not gonna work.
What should we know about movement and how important it is to our health?
Movement is everything, from keeping you agile to making your bowels move to keeping your heart pumping. I’m a geriatrician. They’ve done studies on centenarians, and the one thing they all have in common is they keep moving. Don’t sit still, don’t be sedentary, keep your body in motion. Even if you got some of that old Arthur showing up, you still move through it. COVID showed us that we need to interact and be in motion with each other as well.
How important are vaccinations and what role do they play, given all that’s been said out there?
Vaccinations are not only important, but they’re prevention. They stem down complications. They’re a major part of preventive care. Not only do they help you not get a disease, but they decrease the complications. That’s important, particularly in the minority population and African Americans who already have high rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Imagine getting the flu or pneumonia on top of that.
For young mothers who aren’t certain about vaccination, what would you say to them?
Vaccinate your child. The vaccines didn’t come out of thin blue air. They came about because we had these critical diseases before we got these vaccines. Vaccines have eradicated some of these. The mumps, the measles, were eradicated. Why? Because of the vaccine program. We’ve had deaths from measles because people stopped giving their kids the measles vaccination. You’re not only preventing a disease, but you’re protecting your child and your community.
What do caretakers need to know about preventing themselves from becoming absent in their own care while taking care of somebody else?
Caregiver burnout is real. You can be loving and caring for that loved one, but you’ve got to remember yourself. If you’re going out in the community, you’re exposed to the flu bug, all kinds of viruses you could bring back to that person. If you’re not healthy, somebody who’s already immune compromised is going to be more susceptible to those illnesses. You need to be up on your vaccines, up on all of your tests and your healthcare. How are you going to take care of somebody if you’re sick?
What was that journey like going to medical school, and what is it like now knowing that you have the skills and the confidence?
I’m so blessed that I got to go to Morehouse School of Medicine. I couldn’t have gone to a better school, because it was a nurturing environment. The journey was challenging, but very fulfilling. Morehouse taught us compassion and empathy. Morehouse doctors are different because they have a caring in them. They were creating doctors to go out and serve a community. You go to school all day, and you’re in your room studying from 4 to midnight, getting up, doing it again the next day. There are doctors and there are healers, and I’m grateful that I get to be a healer.
Why do we need more Black doctors in this country?
We need more of us in our communities, because we’re a very vulnerable population. Recognition and representation build a bond between us. The numbers really haven’t changed. Only about 4% of the physician population is African American and minority. That’s a dismal number. About 1% of African American doctors are in Atlanta, but they’re concentrated there. We need more of us out in these communities, out in these areas where we can actually serve the populations that really need us.
How do you take a break, and how do you decide who is going to be your physician?
I love to travel. Just in 2023, I took 60 days and went around the world. I also have a concierge practice, and patients have access to me 24/7, phone, text, email, so I have to disconnect sometimes to go rejuvenate. I love to golf, too. I do have a family physician who has been taking care of me for the last 15 years. He does all my lab work, all my tests. In medicine we say, he who takes care of himself takes care of a fool. He can tell me the good stuff and the hard stuff, and deliver it in a way that’s compassionate.
Dr. Eddie Richardson Jr., MD, operates a concierge family medicine practice built around personalized care. To learn more or connect with his team, visit his practice online.