Students' perceptions on race in medical education and healthcare

Perspect Med Educ. 2021 Mar;10(2):130-134. doi: 10.1007/s40037-020-00645-6. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Abstract

Major racial disparities continue to exist in our healthcare education, from the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities when teaching about clinical signs to health management in primary and secondary care. A multi-centre group of students discuss what needs to change in medical education to cultivate physicians who are better prepared to care for patients of all backgrounds. We argue that the accurate portrayal of race in medical education is a vital step towards educating medical students to consider alternative explanations to biology when considering health inequities.

Keywords: Institutional racism; Medical education; Medical students; Race.

MeSH terms

  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Education, Medical / methods
  • Education, Medical / standards
  • Humans
  • Perception*
  • Racism / psychology*
  • Racism / statistics & numerical data
  • Students, Medical / psychology*
  • Students, Medical / statistics & numerical data