Introduction
Racism is a prevalent issue in contemporary society, and healthcare is not an exception. Although there is much data available on discrimination in medical organizations, little has been done to alleviate the situation. As much as white health professionals are biased towards black patients, African-American people feel anxiety about receiving medical help from white doctors. Understanding the root of medical racism is crucial to ascertain how to overcome segregation in healthcare.
Step 1
Firstly, it is necessary to raise public awareness of racial issues in medical institutions. According to research, “many physicians have an unconscious preference for white patients, which may lead them to spend less time with their African-American patients” (Culp-Ressler, 2015, para. 4). If the majority of health professionals are not even aware of their biases towards white people, then the logical solution is to draw attention to these issues. Hospitals can promote professional adherence to unbiased treatment of patients by financially stimulating the staff. For instance, the administration can pay their subordinates for each positive review from a patient of a different color than the health worker.
Step 2
Secondly, medical education should involve cultural sensitivity. While racial issues occupy most of the cultural headlines, they are not the only expression of minorities’ disenfranchisement. Other groups, including people of different colors, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, also experience unequal treatment in healthcare. Teaching medical students the importance of unbiased indiscriminate treatment of all patients is essential in laying the foundation for a healthy society.
Step 3
Thirdly, healthcare may increase the number of African Americans in the medical workforce. According to Culp-Ressel (2016), “the rate of black applicants has declined by 20 percent over the past several decades” (para. 13). The deficit of African-Americans among medical students backfires in the form of greater racial segregation in healthcare organizations. Therefore, actively propagating the idea that students of all races and ethnicities are equally welcome will attract more black applicants and balance the racial rate.
Step 4
Thirdly, cultural upbringing should incorporate the history of medical racism. Hoberman (2012) writes that “most physicians in the United States know little or nothing about the disastrous history of American medical racism” (Hidden history section, para. 1). Although it creates the immediate problem of black people receiving poor healthcare or avoiding white doctors entirely, medical education is silent about it. Curricula should accentuate the historic medical racism to prevent similar conflicts in healthcare today.
Step 5
Finally, healthcare institutions and educational establishments ought to increase the exposure of the staff to representatives of other races and ethnicities. The more people come into contact with social groups they do not trust, the more they can relate to them. Hospitals’ administration can mix colleagues to work with different races, while medical schools can send students to practice with African-American patients. Overall, exposing both sides to each other will reduce the feeling of inadequacy and subsequently increase trust.
Conclusion
Altogether, it is evident that racial issues in healthcare persist and continue to harm African-American people. It is possible to change the status quo by raising racial awareness, promoting cultural sensitivity, and increasing interracial exposure. The knowledge of current medical racism has increased my cultural awareness and made me pay more attention to my unconscious biases in nursing. Understanding how anxious people of different races are about each other, I am more sympathetic to patients of different races.
References
Culp-Ressler, T. (2015). Challenging medical racism and physicians’ preference for white patients. ThinkProgress. Web.
Hoberman, J. (2012). The hidden world of medical racism in the United States. The Conversation. Web.