The Long Shadow: A Historical Perspective on Racism in Medical Education
Nientara Anderson1, Mytien Nguyen2, Kayla Marcotte3
1N. Anderson is a resident, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Summary
Understanding the historical roots of racism in medical education is crucial for dismantling it. This involves examining how Christian Europe, Enlightenment racial science, and slavery shaped modern medicine and its current practices.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- History of Medicine
- Social Justice in Healthcare
Background:
- Racism in U.S. medical education is deeply rooted in historical ideologies.
- European Christian identity, Enlightenment racial science, and systems of colonization and slavery influenced modern medicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the historical development of racism in American medicine.
- To expose how historical racism impacts contemporary medical education.
- To propose strategies for confronting racism in medical education.
Main Methods:
- Historical analysis of European and American medical traditions.
- Examination of the evolution of racial ideology in medicine.
- Identification of contemporary manifestations of racism in medical education.
Main Results:
- Racist ideology became an organizing principle in Euro-American medicine.
- Historical violence underlies current concepts like implicit bias and microaggressions.
- Racism affects admissions, assessments, diversity, retention, and the racial climate in medical education.
Conclusions:
- Confronting racism requires understanding its historical context.
- Six historically informed steps are proposed to address racism.
- Strategies include curriculum reform, bias reporting, assessment changes, holistic review, faculty diversity, and accreditation.
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