Ok let's go ahead and unpack why this comment reeks of privilege and entitlement. First, let me make something very clear: Kaiser should never have asked Dr. Khoury to share her experiences. They put the burden of anti-racism work on a single black faculty member when there are groups like
Advancing Health Equity that host workshops and do speaking engagements for exactly these types of situations. Instead, KPSOM had a black female doctor share her experiences with racial trauma in a space where she clearly was not welcome. That's on them.
Now, you mention that Dr. Khoury "complains" that white BSNs hesitate to follow her orders because she's black. If you'd taken the time to examine this statement from an inquisitive viewpoint rather than an accusatory one, you would've seen that black doctors being doubted by their white counterparts is not at all new and is fairly widespread. It's another facet of medical racism and I would hope that Dr. Khoury brought it up in her talk because its important to acknowledge the many ways in which racism works.
Dr. Michele Harper wrote about her experience of being doubted by a white second-year resident when she (Dr. Harper) refused to examine a man against his will. Additionally, Dr. Tamika Cross tried to help a passenger who was having a health emergency during a Delta flight. The flight attendant didn't believe her and began questioning her credentials. However, when a white male doctor showed up, he was allowed to help without having to provide any "proof." The doubt that Dr. Khoury was talking about stemmed from white BSNs doubting her knowledge because she doesn't "look" the part. It's racism, plain and simple, and it should be addressed.
Your next point talks about the anxiety and fear Dr. Khoury has when interacting with white healthcare professionals. Rather than rehashing past unethical treatment from white physicians such as the case of Henrietta Lacks, the Tuskegee experiments, etc. I'll share with you the story of Dr. Susan Moore, who died of COVID after her white care team failed to address her concerns. She made it clear before she died that she wouldn't have been treated that way if she were white, and she was right. I firmly believe that had Dr. Moore been white, she'd be alive today. But let's get some hard data rather than anecdotal evidence. A
2016 study found that half of white medical students and residents believed myths that black people have thicker skin or less sensitive nerve endings than their white counterparts. The
AAMC has opened a discussion on disparities like this as well. Knowing all of that information, what black person wouldn't have some level of anxiety/fear when faced with a white provider?
Dr. Khoury's view most definitely do not "fall outside of the mainstream" nor are they too far left. They are based in fact as well as her personal experiences. Kaiser didn't want an open discussion of medical racism and bias. They wanted a discussion that wouldn't sacrifice the comfort of white students and faculty. Discussions about racism and bias are going to be uncomfortable, but your way of thinking asks black people to place the comfort of their white counterparts above their own. Let me repeat that:
you want a black female doctor to place the comfort of her white peers above her own when relaying the details of her racial trauma.
Rather than trying to center yourself in discussions like this, question yourself and identify your own biases. It's much easier to demonize Dr. Khoury than acknowledge your faults. When people like you lick their wounds and stroke their egos rather than acknowledging how they subconsciously or consciously contribute to racism in medicine, black and brown patients suffer.
