This is something interesting that I have been thinking about because it happens everywhere. Does anyone know about past/present discriminatory restrictions on blacks in the medical field? Anyone know some good books on this topic? I'm trying to know more about the medical community from a social context.
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Harvard's Office of Minority Recruitment has a pretty detailed paper on the subject. Also you could research the history of medical schools, alot did not accept blacks until the late 1960's especially in the South.drpibbplusme said:
I don't know if asking the premedical community is your best bet.
I'm going to move this thread over to Topics in Healthcare, where hopefully you will be able to get some more informed answers.
I'm going to move this thread over to Topics in Healthcare, where hopefully you will be able to get some more informed answers.
Nicely done Molly, I could already smell the smoke on this one. OP you might try searching for when affirmative action got started. Where it's roots came from etc. You could probably get some answers there or at least an idea of what it was like.MollyMalone said:
I think blacks were not allowed into most med school for the first half of the century. I don't think it was until the 1970's before minorities and women were allowed into med schools en mass, before that, the numbers were a trickle.drpibbplusme said:
MirrorTodd said:
I am sorry, but I had to point out the tremendous amount of sensitivity that we have as SDNers around discussions of race and racism; in particular, as it relates to issues of affirmative action. If you look at the OP comments, we see that the discussion is not about affrimative action, but rather the historical treatment of blacks in medicine--which has absolutely nothing to do with affirmative action. I must say that I am not trying to stir the waters but I find things like this interesting on this site. As a black man and a SDNer, I just found that interesting.
Actually, I think that the OP was talking about the treatment of blacks in the profession of medicine. Notice how he/she used the word "restrictions"? I took that to mean restrictions on allowing blacks into the professional community, not racism in medical treatment for black patients. Who knows, maybe I am the one who is wrong, but the first message is a little ambiguous. But I wouldn't say it has "absolutely nothing to do with affirmative action." That isn't clear at all.ccain1 said:
http://www.hms.harvard.edu/orma/shankspaper.pdfCaramelDlite said:
Is this the paper you were talking about? Talks mostly about the history of affirmative action at harvard, but I'm interested in the paper you're recommending so could you post it if it's not this one?
Story of Dr. Drew, a great man who advanced the frontiers of medicine despite having to repeatly fight his way through a racist system:
http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/drew_c.htm
http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/drew_c.htm
I interpreted the thread starter's question the same way you did, but just in case they had a broader construction of racial dynamics in mind, here are a couple of other topics.LizUMD said:
There is a really interesting body of literature about the so-called Tuskegee Effect. This derives from the infamous Tuskegee experiment, in which physicians determined to observe the long-term effects of syphilis on the human body ran, in Tuskegee Alabama from the 1930's through the 1960's, a study of a number of syphilis-infected African American men. They treated them for all their other ailments, but never informed them they had syphilis and never treated the syphilis. The "Tuskegee Effect" refers primarily to the difficulty current clinical trials have in recruiting black participants, probably due the mistrust of the medical community. (This also ties in interestingly, but not without complications, to recent findings about the high number of African Americans who believe that the HIV epidemic has been manufactured somehow and targets blacks, the poor, etc.)
Another hot topic that involves race--although this is more a matter of institutionalized racism than one of racist beliefs or actions by individuals--is the lack of access to medical care confronting urban populations as hospitals in cities fail, turn away indigent patients, etc.
If you talk to any black physician older than 65 they should be able to give you a wealth of information, and the older they are the better. I sat down for like 2 horus and heard all the stores this 80 yr old black physician had about racism in medical school, residency, etc. We've come a long way.
This might be off the topic, but it's not inflammatory. I am employed at a very large skilled nursing facility in Texas and the two medical directors are black physicians. They are always mistaken for PAs or NPs, which hints to a degree of subconscious racism because many people surely paint a mental picture of a middle-aged white male when they think of a physician.