Dealing with Racism as a Healthcare Professional
My name is not “Interpreter”
In this perspective article from JAMA, a Latinx physician-scientist shares some painful past experiences.
There are many articles in which healthcare professionals recount their experiences facing racism from patients, colleagues, teachers, and more. Below are a handful providing different perspectives on these experiences.
The patient called me ‘colored girl.’ The senior doctor training me said nothing
“Are you a doctor?” The unchecked racism faced by physicians of color.
‘Is this worth getting into a big fuss over?’ Everyday racism in medical school
Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Microaggressions in Medicine
This brief report from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) discusses Racism as Experienced by Physicians of Color in the Health Care Setting
Anti-Asian Racism & the Coronavirus
This Lily article, "I’m an Asian American doctor on the front lines of two wars: Coronavirus and racism," examines the racism towards Asian American healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Policy to Culture Change: Addressing Microaggressions and Macroaggressions in the Clinical Encounter - A University of Washington Grand Rounds presentation by Dr. Dinushika Mohottige.
Dr. Piri Ackerman-Barger, a professor at the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing shares research on microaggressions in health professions schools. With co-researchers Drs. Darin Latimore, Dowin Boatright, and Rosana Gonzalez-Colaso, our Center studied the ways in which microaggressions affect our students and schools of learning.
A Silent CURRICULUM
One physician discusses the many ways in which subtle racism and implicit bias is ingrained and unaddressed in medical education and practice in “A Silent Curriculum.”
Dealing with Racism from Patients
Healthcare professionals are additionally confronted with racist behavior from patients which raises concerns about how or if they should continue to provide care. Here are some resources:
My patient made racist remarks about me. I decided to do something about it.
Dealing with Racist Patients - from the New England Journal of Medicine
Dealing fairly with racist patients - from the British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Managing patients who express racist views - from BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health
Advice for Handling Racist Patients from Johns Hopkins
Case and commentary from the American Medical Association (AMA) How Should Organizations Respond to Racism Against Health Care Workers?
Kimani Paul-Emile discusses ethical and legal considerations for medical providers and institutions when dealing with patients who refuse treatment from a physician based on race or ethnicity.
![With racism a frequent topic in the news recently, [the AAFP] asked our new physician bloggers if racism has affected them in practice and how they deal with such encounters. This is what they said.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ca901a5b10f255c013b1541/1589926147618-KGJKH39MACP82E1HZMZT/freshPerspectives.jpg)
With racism a frequent topic in the news recently, [the AAFP] asked our new physician bloggers if racism has affected them in practice and how they deal with such encounters. This is what they said.
Podcasts
What happens when you’re treating a patient, and they say something offensive - do you have a duty to continue treating them? Is it OK to walk away? And whatever you choose, will there be consequences on your colleagues or your organisation?
Join medical students Laura and Ryhan, newly qualified doctor Chidera, and Nadeem Moghul, nephrologist and Senior Clinical Fellow at The Nuffield Trust - who changed the way in which his hospital dealt with a racist patient.
Medical students of color shoulder a double burden. They are medical students, expected to do all the hard work that goes with being a medical student. And each day they also must cope with, and find ways to respond to, racism in the classroom and the clinic. They don’t have the luxury of simply being medical students. On this episode of Lifespan, four medical students of color, Alyssa Gerth, Andrew Williams, Aichetou Waiga, and Sami Nandyal, describe their backgrounds, and talk about their experiences in the classroom and the clinic. Berkeley Franz, a medical sociologist in the Department of Social Medicine at Ohio University, provides commentary.
Interactive Modules
When Race Matters on the Wards: Talking About Racial Health Disparities and Racism in the Clinical Setting
Free MedEdPORTAL module
There is a growing body of literature illustrating the negative impact of racial bias on clinical care. Despite the growing evidence, medical schools have been slow to make necessary curricular changes. Most attempts to educate on racial health disparities focus on transferring knowledge and do not foster the development of skills to understand one's own bias or address bias and racism in the clinical setting. To address this, we developed a small-group, case-based curriculum for rising third-year medical students. Though one session before starting clinical clerkships is not enough to maintain the practice of sustained critical thinking regarding bias and racism in clinical medicine, this session is a starting point for curriculum developers looking to use an evidence-based approach to racial bias in clinical care.
Building a Tool Kit for Medical and Dental Students: Addressing Microaggressions and Discrimination on the Wards
Free MedEdPORTAL module
Microaggressions, subtle slights related to characteristics such as race, gender, or sexual orientation, in a clinical setting can sabotage the therapeutic alliance. Curricula tailored specifically towards medical students that raise awareness of microaggressions and aim to change behavior are absent. Given the high self-reported prevalence of microaggressions in the clinical setting, students need the skills to respond. This innovative session improves readiness to address microaggressions by helping participants build and practice these skills in a supportive environment.
ERASE-ing Patient Mistreatment of Trainees: Faculty Workshop
Free MedEdPORTAL module
Mistreatment of physicians by patients is a long-standing phenomenon that has garnered increased attention recently. Medical students and residents also experience mistreatment, and many supervising physicians do not know how to recognize it or respond appropriately. Little guidance exists as to how faculty should best address these situations. The authors developed, taught, and evaluated a stepwise approach to help faculty physicians manage patient mistreatment of trainees (residents and students). The system developed fills an important void in medical education by introducing a novel, easy-to-understand approach that faculty can employ to manage mistreatment of trainees. The authors have continued to disseminate this model to faculty and residents in various departments around their medical center and at national conferences. This resource will allow educators to disseminate the ERASE model at their home institutions.
Resources
Brooks KC. A piece of my mind. A silent curriculum. JAMA. 2015 May 19; 313 (19): 1909-10.
Fayanju OLM. Hiding in Plain Sight. JAMA. 2019 Dec 10; 322 (22): 2173-2174.
Filut A, Alvarez M, Carnes M. Discrimination Toward Physicians of Color: A Systematic Review. J Natl Med Assoc. 2020; 112 (2): 117‐140.
Gupta R. Slaves. Ann Intern Med. 2016; 165 (9): 671‐672.
Peterson NB, Friedman RH, Ash AS, Franco S, Carr PL. Faculty self-reported experience with racial and ethnic discrimination in academic medicine. J Gen Intern Med. 2004; 19 (3): 259‐265.
Sokol D. Dealing fairly with racist patients. BMJ. 2019 Nov 19; 367: l6575.