To make matters worse, in 2020, Dr. Aysha Khoury was suspended and ultimately fired from Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine in Pasadena, Calif. without due process after leading a small-group discussion about her own experiences of bias in her medical education.¹¹ Less than a year later, Dr. Derrick Morton sued that same institution for what he called a pervasive “anti-Black” culture at the school that included censoring and demoting Black employees.¹² That Kaiser’s medical school is named after its own Black former CEO de-fines irony.

Racism in Health Care

Implicitly and explicitly, racism in health care and medical education exists. It continues to exist because many of us, as white people, ignore it. Until we confront this issue head-on and honestly acknowledge how we contribute to the perpetuation of this problem, these incidents will continue. Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, founder of Black Doc Village, articulates this well: “a white-dominated physician training system that unjustly excludes, punishes, and dismisses Black medical students, trainees, and attending physicians will continue on.”¹²

If you have read this far, you have a choice. You can turn the page and never think about it again. You can read it, feel righteous indignation, and refuse to believe me that the white force field exists. Or you can work together to create solutions.

I have chosen to be antiracist and join the ACEP section for Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity (DIHE). What are you gonna do?

Dr. Kendall is the chief of clinician engagement at US Acute Care Solutions and has 15 years of emergency department leadership experience. She is the chair of the USACS diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, the social issues and equity in medicine committee co-chair, and leads physician leadership development for USACS.

References

1. Ray Jr. R. Racism in medical education: An unfortunate ending to my time at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Blog post. https://rrayjr.blog/. Published June 15, 2023. Accessed December 12, 2023.
2. Brownlee D. Dear white people: When you say you ‘don’t see color,’ this is what we really hear. Forbes website. Published June 19, 2022. Accessed December 12, 2023.
3. Jackson R, Rao S. White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better. New York: Penguin Books; 2022.
4. DiAngelo RJ. White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books; 2019.
5. Jefferson T. Notes on the state of Virginia. Philadelphia: R.T. Rawle; 1801: 268-28. Published online February 5, 2010. Accessed December 12, 2023.
6. Savitt T. Abraham Flexner and the black medical schools. J Natl Med Assoc. 2006;98(9):1415-24.
7. Proportion of Black Physicians in US has changed little in 120 years, UCLA research finds. UCLA Health website. Published April 20, 2021. Accessed December 12, 2023.
8. Tenet M. Racial inequality in medicine: How did we get here? Georgetown Medical Review. 2021;5(1).
9. Tweedy D. Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor‘s Reflections on Race and Medicine. London;Picador:2016.
10. Hill K, Samuels E, Gross C, et al. Assessment of the prevalence of medical student mistreatment by sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180 (5):653-665.
11. Asare JG. One doctor shares her story of racism in medicine. Forbes website. Published February 1, 2021. Accessed December 12, 2023.
12. Grubbs V. Perspective: Racism in academic medicine is hindering progress toward health equity. CHCF website. Published February 17, 2023. Accessed December 12, 2023.