Joel Bervell, MD, uses his platform to discuss different topics in the health field and how different conditions can impact or show up in Black patients. His platform advocates for equitable healthcare in all communities. Bervell discussed what systemic racism looks like in the medical field and how trust can be rebuilt between the Black community and the medical field. 

1. You’ve built a platform for discussing medical myths and conditions, particularly in relation to the Black community. What motivated you to start this journey? 
   • I’ve always believed that “truth is the most powerful form of medicine that we have.” I started creating educational content because I kept encountering persistent racial biases in medicine that were treated like immutable facts, even when they caused real harm. I realized social media wasn’t just a place for entertainment. It could be a tool to expose misinformation and empower people with accurate, evidence-based health information. My goal from day one was to make medical knowledge accessible and equitable, especially for communities that have historically been underserved and misrepresented.

2. Can you explain what modern systemic racism looks like in the medical field? 
   • Systemic racism in medicine today isn’t always overt. It’s built into the very structures of care, education, and diagnosis. I often speak about how race is often misused as a biological proxy, rather than understanding it as a social determinant of health. This can lead to delayed diagnoses, bias in pain management, and medical therapies that don’t serve everyone equally. It’s not a few bad actors. It’s decades of clinical guidance and medical training that never questioned its assumptions.
3. Many myths you discuss around the health of Black people stem from lies told during slavery. Because of this, many people may be misdiagnosed if they are listened to and diagnosed at all. What do you believe is the first step to making sure the Black community has access to fair and proper treatment? 
   • The first step is listening and acknowledging history without being defensive, and acknowledging that trust has to be earned, not given. Patients deserve clinicians who listen without prejudice and treat symptoms, not stereotypes. That means reexamining how clinical guidelines were formed, rethinking race-based assumptions, and redesigning medical education so students graduate prepared to care for all bodies accurately. It also means community engagement. Meeting people where they are and validating lived experience.
4. There is a common myth that Black people are stronger or have better immune systems. United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., even made a similar comment in 2025 regarding Black patients not needing the same vaccine schedule as White patients. Can you explain the dangers of this type of myth? 
   • These myths aren’t harmless. They inform real clinical decisions. When figures in public health suggest that Black patients need a different vaccine schedule or assume innate biological differences without evidence, it reinforces the idea that Black bodies are inherently different in a way that absolves the system from providing equal care. This leads to delayed treatment, dismissive care, and worse outcomes. It’s the same kind of logic that fueled harmful practices and biases for decades. 
   • For example, during the rollout of the polio vaccine in the 1950s, Black children were often excluded from early vaccination efforts. Not because of medical evidence, but because of racist assumptions and segregationist policies. At the same time, there was a widespread belief that Black children were either less susceptible to polio or could “withstand” illness better than white children. The result was devastating: Black communities experienced higher rates of paralysis and death from a disease that was becoming preventable elsewhere.
   • When a group is seen as biologically different or more resilient, they are more likely to be deprioritized for care. Whether it’s vaccines, pain management, or diagnostic testing, these myths create a false rationale for unequal treatment, and history shows us those consequences are measured in lives lost.

5. You have videos showing how some conditions appear differently on dark skin, because a condition like Lyme disease may look like a large red mark on white skin, but not on dark skin. In your 2021 video, you stated that African Americans were more likely to show late manifestations of the disease than Caucasians. Can you discuss the importance of diversity in pathology?
   • One of my favorite social media series is where I discuss the visual differences in how conditions appear on different skin tones, like Lyme disease, eczema, or psoriasis. You can’t diagnose what you haven’t been trained to see. If medical training and textbooks only show conditions on lighter skin, clinicians are less likely to recognize them on darker skin, which leads to late diagnoses and worse outcomes. Representation in medical education isn’t cosmetic. It’s critical to accurate clinical recognition.
6. What, if anything, has been the biggest surprise or stood out to you during your research on medical impacts in the Black community?
   • What’s been most striking is how institutionalized misinformation persists even when there’s no scientific basis for it. Many of the assumptions people still believe about race and health are rooted in outdated or debunked ideas. What’s been hopeful, though, is seeing how powerful education and visibility can be. When people understand what’s actually true, they engage with their health differently and feel more willing to share that information.
7. You started a show called The Doctor Is In. What motivated you to start that show, and what do you hope children will take from it? 
   • I built The Doctor Is In because I wanted to meet people early. I’ve always believed that you can’t be what you can’t see. Kids have so much curiosity and fewer preconceptions. I want children to see that science and medicine are for everybody, not just a stereotype of who a doctor “looks like.” I want them to grow up curious, confident, and unafraid to ask questions about their bodies and the world around them.
8. Because of racism and other unethical treatments of Black people in the medical field, such as the Tuskegee Experiment and Henrietta Lacks, some people still avoid going to the doctor or getting vaccinated. What do you think rebuilding trust between Black patients and the medical field looks like?
   • Rebuilding trust starts with accountability and transparency. Acknowledging past harms like Tuskegee and Henrietta Lacks openly, not as something to gloss over but as part of the truth, and development, of medicine’s history. From there, it’s about consistent, respectful care. Providers validating patient concerns and recognizing how cultural narratives impact the way that a person approaches the care they receive in the hospital. Patients should never have to perform to be believed. Trust is earned every interaction, not assumed.
9. Lastly, what advice would you give to patients who do not feel heard or seen by doctors and don’t know what else to do? 
   • Your voice matters. If you don’t feel heard, ask clarifying questions, bring someone with you, take notes, and advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to seek a second opinion or switch providers. Medicine should be a partnership, not a monologue. Educate yourself. Knowledge is power in those moments between you and a clinician.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
    • I’d add that health equity benefits everyone. When we design systems that account for everyone, not just the default, we improve outcomes across the board. My work isn’t just about dispelling myths. It’s about making medicine more inclusive, which automatically makes it better and safer for all.

Tags: Bakersfield, education, Health, Kern County