Episode 28 with Anne McGladdery
Changing Anti-Fatness In Medical School
-with Anne McGladdery
Show Notes & Transcript
Medical interactions are often deeply traumatic for fat and plus-size people. Anne McGladdery (they/she) is a medical student, fat, and became a squeaky wheel during medical school in order to shift the anti-fat bias prevalent throughout the curriculum. Anne shares about their stressful first couple of years (spoiler: their hair started falling out!), their weight stigma research project, and how they plan to be a different kind of physician for fat people.
Anne McGladdery is a University of British Columbia (UBC) MD candidate 2023 based out of the northern program in Prince George, BC. They came to medicine through a very circuitous route, having a theatre degree and a masters in theatre history from the University of Victoria previously. Having worked as a medical office assistant while completing their graduate degree, Anne saw the many successes and failings of the medical system from a family medicine perspective. As they became more familiar with fat politics, they learned to identify how discrimination against fat people was treated as the norm by many health care professionals. Wanting to provide equitable care to patients with bodies of all sizes became a motivating factor for Anne, and so they returned to school to complete their science upgrading before being accepted to the UBC medical program. It has been difficult and alienating being a fat medical student, but with the support of amazing colleagues, allies, and friends, Anne is hopeful that there will be a new generation of physicians who are able to leave these biases behind.
Please connect with Anne through email, and the UBC Weight Inclusive instagram account.
In the episode, Anne mentioned Alexandra Shewan, Dr. Wind, and the She’s All Fat podcast.
This episode’s poem is called “bless small things” by Elizabeth Paulette-Coughlin.
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