By: Anannya Islam, Grade 11 student at Lisgar Collegiate Institute
As the year 2020 has reached its end, 2021 has brought upon a wind of change - wherein institutionalized racism must be combated in our current social and political models. As a result, SciMed in Action, in support of Black History Month, will be recognizing the pervasive racial disparities in medicine. More specifically, the unique difficulties black individuals face on their journey into the medical field.
A 2016 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), reports a significant decline of black males in medicine. They found that in 1978, there were 542 black male students enrolled in MD-granting institutions, however, in 2014, this number dropped to 515. Additionally, in a 2020 Forbes article Lipi Roy, MD, MPH, addresses the lack of black female doctors;
“While black Americans comprise 13% of the U.S. population… Black female doctors represent only 2% of physicians.”
As 60% of physicians under the age of 35 are female, these statistics demonstrate the lack of representation and, ultimately, the severe disparities in other welfare sectors throughout the country (Johnson 2018). The exclusive labour black communities go through is highlighted in the previously mentioned 2016 AAMC report regarding the black male MD student body decline, but these problems can equally extend into the female community. Thus, the particular issues that have led to a reduction in black students in medicine include the following: a lack of financial resources in the community, the absence of mentors, the negative public perception of black people, and most notably, unequal K-12 opportunities due to systemic biases (Gallegos 2016).
Historically, the science field has always favoured an Anglo-Saxon perspective, ultimately supporting Western superiority. Moreover, as the 20th century remarked greater interest in scientific findings, “[it] led to a widespread belief that this racial hierarchy, (white scientists are superior to people of colour), was scientifically valid” (“Black Lives Matter - A Brief History of Racism in Psychology” 2020). Due to this, scientific culture has intrinsically created obstacles and racial barriers within both its education and workplace. Furthermore, it should be known that
There is no correlation between intelligence or race, as it is a social construct that was forged to uphold white supremacy and has nothing to do with science.
In totality, the black community’s perverse upbringing in North America has created systemic biases that must be addressed to fix not only current healthcare inequities but also the larger issues surrounding racism.
In short, there must be more representation in healthcare. This can ensure more people are given the medical services they deserve while also feeling comfortable in the midst of it. To address the wide-reaching issue of physicians shortage in the United States, the Association of American Colleges plans to partner with the National Medical Association (NMA), to “launch a task force that will suggest new solutions,” which can include fixing the premed curriculum to include classes on the history of medicine, sociological inequalities, race, and by partnering with the federal government to determine solutions regarding the racialized injustices in healthcare (Gallegos 2016; Tsang 2020).
This being said, the problem should be studied and acknowledged by future public-health workers in order to fix this decline and create a more accepting society. As Dr. Joycelyn Elders, the first black U.S Surgeon General said, “you can’t be what you can’t see.” Although the journey to achieving justice is far from near, we can all do more to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace; one that encourages more people to be a part of the solution.
Bibliography
“Black Lives Matter – A Brief History of Racism in Psychology.” Psychology Students Association, University of Toronto, 7 Oct. 2020, psa.psych.utoronto.ca/blm/.
Gallegos, Alicia. “AAMC Report Shows Decline of Black Males in Medicine.” AAMC, AAMCNews, 27 Sept. 2016, www.aamc.org/news-insights/aamc-report-shows-decline-black-males-medicine.
Guillaume, Piron. “Two doctors washing their hands in preparation for surgery.” Unsplash, 27 Dec. 2017, https://unsplash.com/photos/kJwZxH6jins
Johnson, Megan. “A Majority of Younger Physicians Are Female.” Athenahealth Company, Athenahealth, Feb. 2014, www.athenahealth.com/knowledge-hub/practice-management/healthcare-future-female.
Pearson, Rachel. “Racial Bias in Medicine.” Scientific American, vol. 313, no. 5, Nov. 2015, p. 14. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1115-14.
Roy, Lipi. “'It's My Calling To Change The Statistics': Why We Need More Black Female Physicians.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 Feb. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/lipiroy/2020/02/25/its-my-calling-to-change-the-statistics-why-we-need-more-black-female-physicians/?sh=3e51de6356a5.
Tsang, Mia. “The Premed Problem: How Racism Persists in Medical Education.” Broad Recognition, Broad Recognition, 10 July 2020, www.broadsatyale.com/the-premed-problem/.
Venancio, Francisco. “Doctor sitting at the table with little girl.” Unsplash, 4 Sept. 2018, unsplash.com/photos/M4Xloxsg0Gw.
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