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Post by Darrah Shields on Nov 20, 2016 23:50:36 GMT -4
Personally I did not like this article. I was immediately not a fan of the fact that the cartoon had people in Confederate flags. I think that alone was racial discrimination. I was born and raised in the South and yes racism did originate here but I know many people who consider themselves "Southern" who are not racist. I think one side of racism that people fail to look at is gender inequality. Men are superior in the medical field and they have no means of stopping this view point. I have strived as a woman to empower myself and to become equal to men and it pains me to see that it isn't happening anytime soon. Even patients prefer men over woman physicians and I think that a major part of it has to do with societies view of women in the work force. I think racism is a big factor in our world but I am a strong believer that gender inequality is a more powerful issue and I am working hard to break that glass ceiling.
Darrah Shields MS3
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Post by Yusuf Alimi (MS3) on Nov 21, 2016 6:59:00 GMT -4
Racism is ever present in our modern society. It can be subconscious and most times only individuals being subjected to racism are the ones who tend to notice. In the medical field however, with its ever growing and rapidly diversifying population, it is something that should not exist and can’t be tolerated. I do sympathize with the author and I understand that as medical students, there are somethings you just learn to cope with so as not to jeopardize your grades. However, I do stand behind the notion that our mentors in the medical profession should be able to say a word or two to these patients and make an effort to correct them. Once again, as previously stated it might be oblivious to these mentors but it is definitely something we all should be aware of and so as to embody the true spirit of medical professionalism.
Yusuf Alimi MS3
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Madona Pakkam (MS3)
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Post by Madona Pakkam (MS3) on Nov 21, 2016 11:22:17 GMT -4
Situations described by the author are not rare and unknown. They happen to many people of color, be it in the field of medicine or other professional communities. Racism and Sexism exists even today, it is easier to pretend play but hard to eradicate or modify our mindsets. This is a sad but true fact. In the medical community, educators or preceptors or Attending must make it a point to uproot or acknowledge any ill racist remarks towards fellow students or someone belonging to lower hierarchy. Simple statements like, "Please refrain from using such phrases"..can go a long way. Change doesn't take place overnight, it is one step at a time!
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Post by Purvi Patel on Nov 21, 2016 14:29:20 GMT -4
Although I have never experienced a situation like this myself, I have seen it and reading this article made me think of a recent incident on the news that left my jaw dropped to the floor. It was the African American airline passenger to stepped up when the flight attendant requested a doctor on board. The comments made towards this woman were beyond me, and I was left in amazement at the simplicity (for lack of better words) of that flight attendants mindset. It takes strength and endurance to complete medical training, and although very sad to say, it still takes the strength to push past racial comments and provide the best care for people who may think so lowly of you. This is what is called professionalism and it is why only the best get to hold the title of being a doctor.
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Post by chizhang on Nov 24, 2016 9:30:50 GMT -4
This situations resonates with me personally. My school has a 5th semester in Maine, and while I was shadowing in a hospital there, this happened:
While being examined by my preceptor, a middle-aged female patient asked me this question, "so, are you Indian or Pakistani?"
I answered, "I'm Chinese."
She responded, without ever thinking perhaps it would be wrong to ask, "why aren't you working in a restaurant like the rest of them?"
Now, having worked in a Chinese restaurant pushing Dim-Sum carts, I simply replied, "I did before, but I don't anymore..."
I tried to look at my preceptor to see if he wanted this conversation to continue, but he, a prestigious oncologist, dared not even to make eye contact. Frankly, through the exchange, my views of how to approach racial issues in a medical setting is this: do NOT approach it! Leave it alone! Why address something that would either make the patient uncomfortable (especially if chided in front of a doctor!), or your attending uncomfortable, or you?
I understand that because there are more "minority physicians" than before, patients are bound to make some comments, or carry some views about races. But that is always going to exist! We, as human beings, are inherently programmed to notice unique, different, and distinct patterns, colors, shapes; and we, as human beings, are also both intrinsically afraid and curious of things that are different from our own clade. We cannot change this. And we certainly cannot expect millennia of racism to suddenly be assuaged by the invasion of i(Pad, Phone, Eye). Scientific advances, public education, pursuit of knowledge will help in squashing the ignorance, but how patients feel about race should never be the focus of any single clinic visit. We should not expect our patient's to suddenly become color blind just because we wear white.
We are training to be doctors, we are training to heal patient's body and mind (psych-wise).
We are not responsible for their morals, nor their karma.
Chi Zhang (MS3)
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Post by Hector Rodriguez on Nov 27, 2016 11:05:39 GMT -4
This doesn't surprise me to hear and see. It's not the fact that we are in a profession of working with people and taking care of their physical and mental needs and we should me mindful of the different people we face daily, it's the horrifying fact that we live in a world where race and culture aren't valued. I believe we are moving forward, in baby steps, towards a respectful mindset of the thoughts and beliefs of others and which comes wrapped in the color of our skin, the texture of our hair, even our last name. Racism, sexism, prejudice and such, will always be there until the end of time; it's a sickness all humanity has suffered from, why we have lines that separate us from our neighbors. The medication should be administered for the treatment of the ego, the superiority complex, and the entitlement that is found among all people, including physicians. Once that is cured then, we will end racism.
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Post by Ajibloa Babatunde on Nov 28, 2016 18:21:52 GMT -4
I think racism and sexism is the order of the day, right from time, anywhere you go to now, your colour and your gender determines the kind of preference you get from people, the bitter truth is that, this won't change overnight. Based on sexism, most patients prefer a certain gender to give them medical attention in which they believe would be more safer and secure for them, and this is intolerable by either of the genders. Some believe that a race would likely think the same way rather than them thinking differently as an individual, so that race should be treated in a certain manner from the other race, the discrimination is just unbearable and intolerable. Most people only use the word FREEDOM only in the contextual meaning, a lot are not free, we only claim to do be free and then relax our mind on that. Mere going to a place, your race and gender would determine the respect, treatment you tend to get, and many are ignorant of that. I hope we get to understand and know what FREEDOM is.
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Post by Marina Danilchenko on Dec 3, 2016 23:29:45 GMT -4
This is a difficult article to comment on as it brings up a lot of emotions. It is important to balance emotions with logic as to gain greater perspective on the ways of moving forward with a particular situation. I really like how the author chose to record her experiences and to present them with courage and professionalism. She chose to not jeopardize her career and reputation by speaking up and/or lashing out at her patients and superiors but found an outlet to bring greater awareness of ongoing injustices in the context of basic human rights. While cut and dry on paper, in most instances, medicine is brimming with subtelties in practice. Unfortunately, clinical medicine is not devoid of racism and clashing standards of behavior. What is acceptable to one person, may be jarring and completely inadmissible to another. While many may learn about inclusion initiatives and cultural sensitivity in college courses, or have an intrinsic respect for the equality of all people, many others may be completely unaware of these concepts. This reality is striking and discouraging but continuing discourse on this topic can shift this current paradigm to one that better serves all people of all colors and origins.
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Post by Marina Danilchenko on Dec 3, 2016 23:46:32 GMT -4
Having just finished the above post, I came across a very relevant story in my newsfeed. One that details how the University of Colorado terminated pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Michelle Herren's non-paid medical faculty appointment over a racist remark made on Facebook about First Lady Michelle Obama. Yes!
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