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Antiracism should be an established part of healthcare education - an idea explored in Aisha Majid’s report. (1) Often discriminatory biases perpetuate as seniors pass them down to their trainees and trainees absorb them as truth.
For example, an occasionally recycled discriminatory bias is of pain tolerances varying amongst patients of different ethnicities. This can sometimes be seen playing out on labour wards - consider the various accounts of patients from ethnic minority backgrounds reporting that their requests for painkillers were denied or delayed because health professionals ‘dismissed or minimised’ their reports of pain. (2) Now consider that these professionals charged with caring for these patients are likely to be/have been responsible for educating and influencing students training under them - perpetuating this sort of bias. Minimisation of patient experiences compromises individual care, but more systemically erodes trust in our healthcare systems.
I appreciate Dr. Onwochei's colleague's assertion that she understood what was happening was not right but did not quite know what to say - a common and human reaction. Perhaps if we were proactive in acknowledging this common response, rather than admonishing it as some are wont to do, we might be better able to nurture empathetic discourse on practical ways to challenge such rhetoric. Many want to challenge racism but lack the tools, and therefore, the confidence to do so.
A questioning approach can sometimes be effective: "Why do you believe black people don't like cycling?" or "Are you suggesting this applies to all black people?’ This method guides reflection without confrontation.
More healthcare educational institutions could take example from Anglia Ruskin University in this regard - embedding antiracism training empowers future healthcare professionals to recognise and challenge discriminatory practices.
2. Waters, A. (2022). Racism is ‘at the root’ of inequities in UK maternity care, finds inquiry. BMJ, [online] 377(377), p.o1300. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1300.
Antiracism in Healthcare Education: Moving from Theory to Practice
Dear Editor
Antiracism should be an established part of healthcare education - an idea explored in Aisha Majid’s report. (1) Often discriminatory biases perpetuate as seniors pass them down to their trainees and trainees absorb them as truth.
For example, an occasionally recycled discriminatory bias is of pain tolerances varying amongst patients of different ethnicities. This can sometimes be seen playing out on labour wards - consider the various accounts of patients from ethnic minority backgrounds reporting that their requests for painkillers were denied or delayed because health professionals ‘dismissed or minimised’ their reports of pain. (2) Now consider that these professionals charged with caring for these patients are likely to be/have been responsible for educating and influencing students training under them - perpetuating this sort of bias. Minimisation of patient experiences compromises individual care, but more systemically erodes trust in our healthcare systems.
I appreciate Dr. Onwochei's colleague's assertion that she understood what was happening was not right but did not quite know what to say - a common and human reaction. Perhaps if we were proactive in acknowledging this common response, rather than admonishing it as some are wont to do, we might be better able to nurture empathetic discourse on practical ways to challenge such rhetoric. Many want to challenge racism but lack the tools, and therefore, the confidence to do so.
A questioning approach can sometimes be effective: "Why do you believe black people don't like cycling?" or "Are you suggesting this applies to all black people?’ This method guides reflection without confrontation.
More healthcare educational institutions could take example from Anglia Ruskin University in this regard - embedding antiracism training empowers future healthcare professionals to recognise and challenge discriminatory practices.
References
1. Majid, A. (2025). Antiracism in medicine: what is it? BMJ, pp.r362–r362. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r362.
2. Waters, A. (2022). Racism is ‘at the root’ of inequities in UK maternity care, finds inquiry. BMJ, [online] 377(377), p.o1300. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1300.
Competing interests: No competing interests