Start by Painting Your Room with Dr. Elizabeth Paulk

Elizabeth Paulk, MD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and holds a distinguished professorship in palliative care. She is the Medical Director for Hospice and Palliative medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital. She is also the Program Director of the Palliative Care Fellowship Program and an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Paulk completed her medical school from Emory University and her residency from University of Texas Southwestern. She has dedicated her career in palliative care and began Parkland Hospital’s first palliative care service, and then an outpatient palliative care clinic, one of the first of its kind. Dr. Paulk has been awarded with the UT Southwestern's President's Award for diversity and humanism in clinical care and is nationally recognized in palliative care for her kindness, creativity and pursuit of providing excellent palliative care. The amount of responsibility we have as physicians can be overwhelming. But Dr. Elizabeth Paulk learned, after hearing Toni Morrison speak, that we have to “paint our room first”. Toni Morrison explained that one person cannot paint the whole world. It’s our job to paint our room first, and when we’re done with that, we can help our family paint the rest of the house. And after that, we can help our neighbors. Dr. Paulk shares how she painted her room first—and how we can do the same. Dr. Paulk knew she could make a difference starting right where she was, so she started a palliative care clinic at her hospital. From there, she branched out to other hospitals. Today, we’ll learn from Dr. Paulk how we can paint our rooms first, and then branch out, and paint the world together. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. As Toni Morrison puts it: Paint your own room first. We all want to change the world, but we have to start with where we are. 2. If you think you’re the only one who’s figured it out, you’re 100% wrong. 3. Have the humility to recognize there are things about you that need to change, but have the self-confidence to know that doesn’t make you a bad person. 4. When applying to residency programs, ask yourself: How will you fit into the spirit of this program?