Asian Conscientization: Reflections on the Experiences of Asian Faculty in Academic Medicine

Asians have experienced a rise in racialized hate crimes due to the anti-Asian rhetoric that has accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there has been little acknowledgement of anti-Asian discrimination within the medical education community. While anti-Asian hate is not new or unfamiliar to us, four authors of Asian descent, it has given us an opportunity to reflect on how we have been complicit in and resistant to the larger racial narratives that circulate in our communities.

In this article, we provide a brief history of Asians in the Americas with a focus on anti-Asian hate. Next, while presenting stories from the perspective of Asian medical education researchers who were born/have settled in the U.S. and Canada, we take the opportunity to reflect on how our personal experiences have shaped our perceptions of ourselves, and the representations of Asians in the field of medicine.

We hope to create awareness about how stereotypes of success tied to Asians can be used as a tool of oppression creating strife between Black communities, Asian communities, and other people of color. There is a need to develop critical consciousness to address the issues of equity in academia and in clinical practice.