Should Physicians be screened for racism before being allowed to practice?

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Lawgiver

Lawgiver

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yes, serious question. I posted this here because I want the viewpoints of med students as well. I was thinking the other day if there is ONE business where services provided should absolutely not be affected by racism it is the delivery of healthcare where a persons life is on the line. If doctor A values the life of patient B less than that of patient C....I dont think I have to say more.

I admit I do not know of how such a test would be administered to get accurate results, and I know there are other groups that might be considered as well but im just wondering about race. It would also have to pick up racism that is not overt or conscious.
 
Lawgiver said:
yes, serious question. I posted this here because I want the viewpoints of med students as well. I was thinking the other day if there is ONE business where services provided should absolutely not be affected by racism it is the delivery of healthcare where a persons life is on the line. If doctor A values the life of patient B less than that of patient C....I dont think I have to say more.

I admit I do not know of how such a test would be administered to get accurate results, and I know there are other groups that might be considered as well but im just wondering about race. It would also have to pick up racism that is not overt or conscious.
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No use. They'd just borrow urine from their nonracist friends.
 
Ridiculous. That's like saying we should screen for people who don't like redheads and not let them become docs. You can't restrict someone from a career because of their opinions (no matter how ridiculous), especially if they don't let those opinions affect their work.
 
abolt18 said:
Ridiculous. That's like saying we should screen for people who don't like redheads and not let them become docs. You can't restrict someone from a career because of their opinions (no matter how ridiculous), especially if they don't let those opinions affect their work.
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I dont know about you, but I never hear anywhere about the plight of red heads marginalized in our society, or flat earth deniers or evolution deniers.
 
OP, your logic is based on the premise that racists will be physically unable to also be professional. It's like saying religious people couldn't treat atheists or prolife people couldn't treat prochoice people....


The ability to learn the knowledge/skills and be a professional in their application is all that matters

We don't need thought police
 
i can agree with all that but just because you are a professional does not mean you will act in such a way, all of the time. and people don't usually wear their religion or politics on their sleeve. Their phenotype they have no choice but to.

Should physicians not be held to a much higher standard than other service providers? Yes I think it should matter how ridiculous your thought process is. If you think group A is superior, more worthy, etc. than group B, that should matter, when providing healthcare.

Even today, if you are racist and broadcast your racist views, and at the same time claim they will not interfere with your work, you can absolutely be restricted from your career. Put KKK4eva on your residency app or something. See what happens. 😀

I realize the science to screen for racism is not close to being there but that doesn't mean it can't be one day.
 
Lawgiver said:
i can agree with all that but just because you are a professional does not mean you will act in such a way, all of the time. and people don't usually wear their religion or politics on their sleeve. Their phenotype they have no choice but to.

Should physicians not be held to a much higher standard than other service providers? Yes I think it should matter how ridiculous your thought process is. If you think group A is superior, more worthy, etc. than group B, that should matter, when providing healthcare.

Even today, if you are racist and broadcast your racist views, and at the same time claim they will not interfere with your work, you can absolutely be restricted from your career. Put KKK4eva on your residency app or something. See what happens. 😀

I realize the science to screen for racism is not close to being there but that doesn't mean it can't be one day.
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Professional means you do perform your contracted duties well no matter how you feel about customer privately. I built churches for years and am religious. We hired lots of people that REALLY didn't like religion. But if they are a good and honest plumber it works. You're a 5%er who happens to be the best heart surgeon? I'm a white guy that needs heart surgery? Deal
 
An air force doc I know talked about treating the enemy in Iraq. In one room they'd have people getting treated after a bomb went off, in the other they'd have the guy that set off the bomb. In spite of the anger and disdain you may hold toward the person, all the doctors there still treated and fixed that patient who they knew was their enemy, who caused a lot of people pain and even their lives. They were driven by their responsibility as a physician and as a serviceman. If they let their opinions compromise the way they treat someone, and it does them harm, then and only then does anyone have a right to stop them from practicing medicine. Because it's malpractice. You can't arrest a would be rapist if he hasn't ever acted on his urge to rape, nor a would be murderer if they've not acted on the desire to hurt someone.
 
abolt18 said:
... If they let their opinions compromise the way they treat someone, and it does them harm, then and only then does anyone have a right to stop them from practicing medicine. Because it's malpractice...
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This is exactly how we do it. This is the key here. You can't screen someone based on their belief in something you perceive as not socially acceptable. On the other hand you can and should screen people when that belief results in the violation of another's rights or their oaths as a physician.
 
sylvanthus said:
Stupid idea, but also there is no way to do it. Physicians aren't *****s and will know what answer is the correct answer even if it isn't what they believe personally.
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This is exactly on point.

To the extent that it is possible, med schools already do screen for racists. If someone shows up to an interview with a shaved head, a Confederate flag tie and a pair of SS lighting bolts on his neck, you can bet he's not getting in. Any racists that get to the point of applying to medical school don't do those things, nor do they make revealing comments in interviews, either. So there's your screening process. Not much more than that can or should be done.
 
Oh my lord please Mods, take this thread behind the shed and shoot it in the face while you still can.

This has got to be the most flammable nonsense ever used to start a thread.
 
I guess they could put a few MCAT questions in ebonics, LOL!
 
Open racists are cool. Its those of us who think we arent racist that are the problem.
 
Lawgiver said:
yes, serious question. I posted this here because I want the viewpoints of med students as well. I was thinking the other day if there is ONE business where services provided should absolutely not be affected by racism it is the delivery of healthcare where a persons life is on the line. If doctor A values the life of patient B less than that of patient C....I dont think I have to say more.

I admit I do not know of how such a test would be administered to get accurate results, and I know there are other groups that might be considered as well but im just wondering about race. It would also have to pick up racism that is not overt or conscious.
Click to expand...
You could screen for Communists too since they might not treat wealthy patients with respect. Or monarchists because they would treat royalty with higher diligence than the rest of us. Or you could screen for sexists or those who are religiously intolerant or Raiders fans or those who post stupid ideas on internet forums.

Seriously, banning a competent physician because he's a "subconscious racist"? Haha
 
If you want to be a physician and are openly racist, you are gonna have a bad time. Think what you want, but if you can't/won't provide care to minorities that's gonna be a problem imo
 
GUH said:
You could screen for Communists too since they might not treat wealthy patients with respect. Or monarchists because they would treat royalty with higher diligence than the rest of us. Or you could screen for sexists or those who are religiously intolerant or Raiders fans or those who post stupid ideas on internet forums.

Seriously, banning a competent physician because he's a "subconscious racist"? Haha
Click to expand...

As I said before, all of these classes people here mention are not worn on your sleeve. Your exterior features you cannot help but to. Or in the case of "redheads" are just not realistic to be taken serious. Race is different.

But, alas, I can see people here are not quiet ready to discuss this.

I would not be upset if thread was locked.
 
Lawgiver said:
As I said before, all of these classes people here mention are not worn on your sleeve. Your exterior features you cannot help but to. Or in the case of "redheads" are just not realistic to be taken serious. Race is different.

But, alas, I can see people here are not quiet ready to discuss this.

I would not be upset if thread was locked.
Click to expand...
We are ready to discuss it....it's a stupid plan
 
Lawgiver said:
As I said before, all of these classes people here mention are not worn on your sleeve. Your exterior features you cannot help but to. Or in the case of "redheads" are just not realistic to be taken serious. Race is different.

But, alas, I can see people here are not quiet ready to discuss this.

I would not be upset if thread was locked.
Click to expand...
Your moniker is very telling.
 
Step 2 CS could easily throw in an encounter that requires the 'language line' to test cultural sensitivity.
 
OP seems like a fascist right to the core. Sadly there are a lot of scum out there just like him who would love to create fake screening tests (ostensibly gauging a rather ambiguous metric of racial sensitivity/cultural competence) to destroy the careers of those they deem political undesirables.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile
 
So calling someone fascist scum is ok on sdn? Can I test this out?
 
So would this racist test include screening of minorities against racism of white patients? Also, you are quick to dismiss Redhead prejudice in spite of a National Kick a Ginger Day(inspired by television) that resulted in many children across the country being injured and humiliated. Or does this not count because the aren't the "right" kind of different phenotype?
 
Yes it would id imagine. But Redhead is not a race by any standard. Of course it would be to benefit one group or groups more than others.

You have a right to be racist, which im starting to think some here are, (better than being facsist scum like me i guess) and society has every right to exclude you from being part of a profession where peoples lives are in your hands.

Of coursr no such valid screen exists yet, if it did it would be used id wager.

Id also bet if in 2014 a poll was conducted that asked the question, a majority of american would support it.

Ok ok im packing and huffing away for real now.
 
Being against "reverse racism" and discrimination by appearance makes me racist? I happen to think all racism is bad and that people should be judged based on the content of the character and not by the color of their skin. I truly do believe that.
 
Hawkman84 said:
Being against "reverse racism" and discrimination by appearance makes me racist? I happen to think all racism is bad and that people should be judged based on the content of the character and not by the color of their skin. I truly do believe that.
Click to expand...
Mlk says it and gets a statue. You agree with mlk and get trolled online
 
Lawgiver said:
Yes it would id imagine. But Redhead is not a race by any standard. Of course it would be to benefit one group or groups more than others.

You have a right to be racist, which im starting to think some here are, (better than being facsist scum like me i guess) and society has every right to exclude you from being part of a profession where peoples lives are in your hands.

Of coursr no such valid screen exists yet, if it did it would be used id wager.

Id also bet if in 2014 a poll was conducted that asked the question, a majority of american would support it.

Ok ok im packing and huffing away for real now.
Click to expand...


You are an idiot. So is "a majority of american".

The very fact that you think anonymous SDN users are being racist, simply for disagreeing with your dumb post, is kind of telling.
 
OP doesn't the whole concept of a 'racist detector' seem kind of Minority Report-esque to you? Don't you think that something that can screen and read someone's personal beliefs could be a dangerous thing? If you could screen for someone having racist tendencies, wouldn't you worry that your boss could screen you for thinking he's an idiot?
 
Lawgiver said:
You have a right to be racist, which im starting to think some here are, (better than being facsist scum like me i guess) and society has every right to exclude you...
Click to expand...
By "society" what you really mean is a select group of self-righteous Thoughtcrime stoppers like yourself.



Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile
 
shibby1111 said:
what if the patient is racist?
Click to expand...

If they are white or asian, you tell them to get over it and treat them

If they are not white or asian, you start preferentially admitting their particular race to med school for higher patient satisfaction and call it "better outcomes"
 
sb247 said:
If they are white or asian, you tell them to get over it and treat them

If they are not white or asian, you start preferentially admitting their particular race to med school for higher patient satisfaction and call it "better outcomes"
Click to expand...

Oooooh you went there...
 
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