Tackling The Obstacles: Family Practitioner Didn't Let Deafness Stand In His Way

Dr. Michael McKee signs with patient Vickie Joyner outside the Family Practice Center.

Taking challenges head-on was nothing new to Dr. McKee, who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of two-and-a-half. Following the diagnosis, he was fitted with hearing aids and underwent continual speech therapy for years. Yet even with his hearing aids he had to rely on lip reading and the limitations that presented. Class-
mates weren’t always understanding, and if he couldn’t look directly at someone, he wasn’t able to discern what he or she was saying. By the time he reached high school he used involvement in sports to feel less like an outsider. “Other kids just wanted to win; they didn’t care if I was deaf or not,” he said.

As a college student, determined to make his way in a hearing world, Dr. McKee began networking in a place where his deafness didn’t present an obstacle. Taking to the Internet, he found two deaf physicians in particular who encouraged his interest in medicine. “Talking with them made me more confident,” he said. He needed that confidence throughout his four years at the University of Florida College of Medicine “I always had to work harder to prove that I belonged,” he recalled.

He actually found residency to be less difficult, partly because it involved more one-on-one communications. “Small group discussions in medical school were a challenge, along with professors that would walk around while they were talking,” he said. The other advantage during his residency was the cochlear implant he had last year. Once he adapted to the implant, which consists of an electrode placed inside his cochlea and an accompanying computerized external processor, he could understand speech without having to look right at someone’s lips. The surgical procedure also made it possible for him to talk on the phone – something he had never been able to do before. Though the surgery would open up new opportunities for him, the decision whether to have it done was a soul-searching one. “I thought that if I got the implant I was rejecting who I was,” he said.

Dr. McKee’s hesitation on the implant came from a strong tie to the deaf community, a community he well understands through personal experience and involvement in organizations for the deaf. So it’s no surprise that a number of deaf patients have found their way to his care at the Family Practice Center. “For many of them it’s the first time they’ve been able to communicate directly with a doctor,” said Dr. McKee, who learned sign language as a teenager. Because interpreters aren’t always available, at times physicians have to rely on note writing during deaf patients’ office visits. “It’s very poor communication,” Dr. McKee said, explaining how a low reading level and the difference in grammatical structure between American Sign Language and English present difficulties.

“Probably the biggest problem I’ve seen is that physicians aren’t aware of the deaf culture,” Dr.McKee said. “They need to be able to relate to these patients as they would to any other particular culture, and to help them find a way around their barriers,” he said.

Dr. McKee’s commitment to the deaf community led him to accept a position in Rochester, New York, which has one of the most concentrated deaf populations in the country. He’ll be working in a clinic that serves a large number of deaf patients. As he’ll also continue to treat patients without hearing disabilities, Dr. McKee doesn’t see that as an issue. In fact, his need to read lips during most of his residency turned itself into an advantage. “I had to look directly at patients and they liked that eye contact,” he said. Though his patients were aware he had a hearing impairment, he didn’t think most knew how severe it was or were concerned about it. “If you have compassion and knowledge, that’s what patients are looking for in a doctor.”

As he leaves the academic environment to go into practice, Dr. McKee hopes his career can serve as an inspiration for other young people. “A few deaf physicians have blazed the trial; I hope others will follow me,” he said. As he’s currently mentoring two deaf medical students, it seems his influence is already making its mark.

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, August 2004

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