SAEM Pulse September-October 2020

Page 14

Racism in Academic EM: Finding a Way Forward by Embracing Policies That Benefit Black Physician Recruitment and Retention

RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

By Taneisha Wilson, MD, ScM and Elizabeth Goldberg, MD, ScM

14

After weeks of serving on the front line for COVID-19 and witnessing how Black Americans are disproportionately affected by the disease, the latest videos documenting police violence against Black Americans are too much to bear. We know that Black Americans have been subject to generations of racist policies — housing discrimination, educational segregation, disproportionate imprisonment — that have led to poor health. We also know that academic medicine is not devoid of racism. Under the hashtag #BlackintheIvory, academics have been sharing personal experiences from their professional lives that expose a system that needs repair. For us it starts with making sure medicine attracts the very people harmed by racist policies — Black Americans— so our patients can

be cared for by one of their own and equitable policies can emerge that are informed by physicians who share experiences with our patients. Unfortunately, although 14 percent of Americans are Black, Blacks make up only four percent of physicians.

In addition, the cost of the medical admission test and medical school applications can run upward of $10,000 — an amount which is prohibitive to many families due to a lack of generational wealth from decades of discriminatory policies.

Three Ways We Can Change This Legacy

Empirical research also shows that implicit bias is pervasive in letters of recommendation, where Blacks are more likely to be described as “competent” compared to their white peers who are “stand-out.” In addition, membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the honor medical society, is more likely to be bestowed upon whites even when controlled for test performance, and we’re going in the wrong direction. Sadly, there were more Blacks in Alpha Omega Alpha in 1985 (1.4 percent) than there were in 2015 (0.7 percent). White physician mentors, educators, and

1. Barriers to recruiting Black physicians should be lifted. Meaningful change cannot occur without incorporating the voices of Black Americans in medicine; unfortunately, current structures make the pursuit of medicine all but impossible for most Black adults. To apply to medical school, you must first be admitted to college — a tremendous feat considering that most African Americans attend low-income underperforming public schools.


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Articles inside

Briefs and Bullet Points

12min
pages 66-69

Virtual Interviewing Tips and Tricks

6min
pages 64-65

Academic Announcements

4min
pages 70-71

Personal Perspectives on Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

7min
pages 62-63

Strategies for Addressing and Mitigating the Lack of Diversity in Emergency Medicine

3min
pages 60-61

Exploring Academics: How Medical Students and Residents Can Get Involved in Academic EM

8min
pages 56-59

Are We Really Prepared to Be Anti-Racists?

38min
pages 40-55

COVID-19 Reveals an Unsurprising Harsh Reality: Health Care is Not Immune to Racial Injustice

6min
pages 38-39

Developing a Diverse EM Faculty by Thinking Strategically About the Pipeline That Leads From Student to Clinician

4min
pages 24-25

Reducing Bias with Agitated Patients in the Emergency Department

5min
pages 30-31

How Social Identity Impacts Clinical Leadership in Emergency Medicine

9min
pages 32-33

COVID-19 Through the Eyes of Your Latino Patients

3min
pages 28-29

Working Toward Equity in Flyover Country: A Tulsa ED Physician’s Perspective

3min
pages 26-27

50 Terms to Engage in Racial Equity and Justice

8min
pages 34-37

The COVID-19 Pandemic is Worsening Health Disparities. Emergency Physicians Can Help

4min
pages 20-21

Racism in Academic EM: Finding a Way Forward by Embracing Policies That Benefit Black Physician Recruitment and Retention

4min
pages 14-15

Health and Social Justice in a Changing Climate

5min
pages 16-18

Spotlight

10min
pages 4-7

AWAEM and Anti-Racism: A Conversation Starter

3min
page 19

Humanizing Patients and Physicians Through Storytelling

4min
pages 12-13

COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on the “Latinx” Community

4min
pages 22-23

President’s Comments

2min
page 3
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