Some parts of ourselves require no introduction — announcing themselves before we get a chance to share our names. Sometimes, we get to pick and choose what introductions we make. Introductions can be invitations. They can be burdens, or they can be blessings.

We asked members of our community: What’s a time you had to introduce your full self, or more or less than you wanted? Have you ever had an introduction go wrong — or oh so right? Are there ways that you have to keep introducing yourself, over and over? These were their responses.

For those of us with disabilities in medicine, and for those of us who have faced inequities and discrimination in seeking care, this term isn’t just about patient privacy. What does it mean to be both doctor and patient? What do we with “doctor-patient privilege” uniquely bring to the medical field?

We heard from clinicians with healthcare experiences of their own, or that touched their communities — giving a new meaning to doctor-patient privilege. Artists and authors explored how this intersection has enlivened, horrified, enlightened, angered, torn at and empowered them.

COMING SOON: It can be easy to lose yourself in clinical work. Many of us must code switch and hide (or accentuate) parts of our identity to make it through the day. We want to hear about the intersections of your other identities with your clinical work. How have these identities clashed, coexisted, or enhanced one another?

We also want to hear from people with experiences as patients. How have your clinicians seen — or not seen — your full self? What was lost in translation, and how did it affect your care? How do you want to see things done better?