I Joined to Build Something That Mattered

Why I Said "Yes"

When I accepted this position, it wasn’t because I was desperate for a job. I had choices. I had offers. But this role felt different.

I was recruited by an African-American man who was everything I respected in a leader: retired military, grounded in God, and experienced in true leadership.

He didn’t talk about quotas or metrics first — he talked about mission. Serving the underserved. Reaching the people most in need. Building a clinic that could be a refuge, not just a revolving door of appointments.

He said we could create something great for the community. And I believed him.

The Vision We Shared

In every conversation, he spoke with purpose and conviction. It wasn’t just a job to him — it was a ministry.

I imagined us working side by side:

• Expanding access to care for patients who’d been turned away elsewhere

• Offering specialized services that could change the trajectory of someone’s life

• Building a team that cared as much about people as they did about protocols

For someone like me — a triple board-certified neurologist who believes medicine is about service first — it felt like a calling.

My First Week

When I started, the vision was still alive. I could feel the potential in every patient I saw, every conversation I had with staff, every moment that felt bigger than just a clinic schedule.

I thought I had found the place where I could bring my skills, my training, and my heart to the table without having to choose between them.

The Change I Didn't Expect

After my first week, the leader who recruited me was gone.

And in walked my new manager — a white woman with no education, no healthcare background, and a résumé that listed Chick-fil-A and Whole Foods as her proudest professional highlights.

The very first thing she said to me, a triple board-certified physician, wasn’t “Welcome” or “Here’s the vision.”

It was:

“Stay in your lane.”

Next In This Series:

How "Stay in your lane" became the opening line of a retaliation campaign I never saw coming.

When I started, the vision was still alive. I could feel the potential in every patient I saw, every conversation I had with staff, every moment that felt bigger than just a clinic schedule.

If you've ever taken a job because you believed in the mission, only to watch that mission disappear, we want to hear from you!

Email your story to" info@PhoenixAdvocacyNetwork.com