“States of Grace gives us a way to help students connect with patients beyond the textbook, to understand the journey of pain, loss, and resilience by living through the experience of the film. Too often, patients are the “other.” All it takes is a moment for them not to be the other but for the “other” to be us. This is a way for us to learn about compassionate care. Too often, we don’t understand what it means to listen to our patients and understand what their priorities are. This is the essence of what our students need to be taught while learning to be a doctor.”
— Dr. Laura Roebuck
What does it mean to be a doctor? What happens when the doctor becomes a patient? How can we teach our students about the patient experience so that they can be more compassionate doctors?
Dr. Grace Dammann was a prominent HIV/AIDS physician who was honored by the Dalai Lama for her extraordinary work during the height of the epidemic. In 2008, a routine commute across the Golden Gate Bridge turned tragic for Grace when another driver crashed head on into her car. Though she miraculously survived, she spent more than a year in rehabilitation hospitals and then faced a future of ongoing rehab and healing.
Winner of multiple awards, States of Grace intimately captures the profound transformation of this revered physician and her family in the wake of a life-changing accident. With humor and candor, the film intimately shares their story as Grace struggles to discover new purpose in her radically altered life as a person and as a physician.
Longtime AMWA member and supporter, Dr. Laura Roebuck, attended the film screening at the 2017 AMWA Annual Meeting and was so moved by the film’s message that she funded a grant to support a national screening series with the hope that every medical student and every medical provider could see this film.
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