Do No Harm: Racism in Patient Care

12/17/20 • 36 min

Examples of bias in the delivery of health care are rampant. In this episode of “Beyond the White Coat,” AAMC Senior Director of Health Equity Partnerships and Programs Malika Fair, MD, MPH, speaks with Laura Guidry-Grimes, PhD; Brian Gittens, EdD; Carol Major, MD; and Charles Vega, MD, to explore how academic medicine can move toward more equitable care for all and to dive deeper into how we prepare and train the physicians of tomorrow to be allies for everyone.

Episode Guests:

Carol Major, MD, is a UCI Health obstetrician who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine and high-risk pregnancies. Major is the co-founder of Leadership Education to Advance Diversity–African, Black and Caribbean, a University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine mission-based program aimed at producing future physicians who are committed to addressing the health needs of African, Black, and Caribbean communities in California, the United States, and beyond.
Charles Vega, MD, is a professor of family medicine at the UC Irvine School of Medicine and the director of the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community, a mission-based, dual-degree program intended to address the needs of underserved Latino communities.
Laura Guidry-Grimes, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Guidry-Grimes received her doctorate in philosophy at Georgetown University. She has worked for over five years as a clinical ethics consultant at multiple hospitals. Along with her consult work, Guidry-Grimes is interested in disability bioethics, ethics of psychiatry, and determining how best to understand vulnerability in health care.
Brian Gittens, EdD, is the vice chancellor of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the UAMS. Gittens specializes in strategic diversity and inclusion, organizational and leadership development, organizational assessment and analysis, change management, and talent management in support of optimizing organizational performance and quality initiatives. Gittens has successfully led and collaborated on the design and implementation of organization wide diversity and inclusion initiatives, organizational development programs, and competency assessments.

Credits:

Hosted by Malika Fair, MD, MPH, AAMC senior director of health equity partnerships and programs.
Produced by Stephanie Weiner, AAMC director of digital strategy and engagement.
Recorded by Sholape Oriola, AAMC video specialist.
Edited by Laura Zelaya, AAMC production manager.
With special contributions from Kathy Gambrell, AAMC senior digital content strategist; Michelle Zajac, AAMC digital copy editor; and Bridget Balch, AAMC staff writer.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

AAMC Racism and Health Resources
“New Poll Shows Black Americans See a Racist Health Care System Setting the Stage for Pandemic’s Impact,” The Undefeated, October 2020
“Racism and Discrimination in Health Care: Providers and Patients,” Harvard Health Blog, updated July 9, 2020
“A New Hippocratic Oath Asks Doctors To Fight Racial Injustice And Misinformation,” NPR, Nov. 4, 2020
“How Medical Education Can Help Fight Racism,” Modern Healthcare, Aug. 29, 2020
“Op-Ed: Diversity Is the Answer to Disparities in Healthcare,” Medpage Today, Aug. 24, 2020
“Is COVID-19 Making Black Birth More Complicated?,” CBS News, Aug. 10, 2020
“UCI Podcast: How the LEAD-ABC Program Gives Black Medical Students a ‘Powerful’ Voice,” UCI News, June 16, 2020
More From the “Beyond the White Coat” Podcast

Episode Guests:

Carol Major, MD, is a UCI Health obstetrician who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine and high-risk pregnancies. Major is the co-founder of Leadership Education to Advance Diversity–African, Black and Caribbean, a University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine mission-based program aimed at producing future physicians who are committed to addressing the health needs of African, Black, and Caribbean communities in California, the United States, and beyond.
Charles Vega, MD, is a professor of family medicine at the UC Irvine School of Medicine and the director of the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community, a mission-based, dual-degree program intended to address the needs of underserved Latino communities.
Laura Guidry-Grimes, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Guidry-Grimes received her doctorate in philosophy at Georgetown University. She has worked for over five years as a clinical ethics consultant at multiple hospitals. Along with her consult work, Guidry-Grimes is interested in disability bioethics, ethics of psychiatry, and determining how best to understand vulnerability in health care.
Brian Gittens, EdD, is the vice chancellor of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the UAMS. Gittens specializes in strategic diversity and inclusion, organizational and leadership development, organizational assessment and analysis, change management, and talent management in support of optimizing organizational performance and quality initiatives. Gittens has successfully led and collaborated on the design and implementation of organization wide diversity and inclusion initiatives, organizational development programs, and competency assessments.

Credits:

Hosted by Malika Fair, MD, MPH, AAMC senior director of health equity partnerships and programs.
Produced by Stephanie Weiner, AAMC director of digital strategy and engagement.
Recorded by Sholape Oriola, AAMC video specialist.
Edited by Laura Zelaya, AAMC production manager.
With special contributions from Kathy Gambrell, AAMC senior digital content strategist; Michelle Zajac, AAMC digital copy editor; and Bridget Balch, AAMC staff writer.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

AAMC Racism and Health Resources
“New Poll Shows Black Americans See a Racist Health Care System Setting the Stage for Pandemic’s Impact,” The Undefeated, October 2020
“Racism and Discrimination in Health Care: Providers and Patients,” Harvard Health Blog, updated July 9, 2020
“A New Hippocratic Oath Asks Doctors To Fight Racial Injustice And Misinformation,” NPR, Nov. 4, 2020
“How Medical Education Can Help Fight Racism,” Modern Healthcare, Aug. 29, 2020
“Op-Ed: Diversity Is the Answer to Disparities in Healthcare,” Medpage Today, Aug. 24, 2020
“Is COVID-19 Making Black Birth More Complicated?,” CBS News, Aug. 10, 2020
“UCI Podcast: How the LEAD-ABC Program Gives Black Medical Students a ‘Powerful’ Voice,” UCI News, June 16, 2020
More From the “Beyond the White Coat” Podcast

Previous Episode

Challenges in Hospice Care: Connecting With Joseph’s House | Beyond the White Coat: Making the Rounds

Providing hospice and respite care for the homeless is tough in the best of times, but it’s especially difficult during a pandemic. Staff members at Joseph’s House, a nonprofit organization that provides a respite and hospice care for people experiencing homelessness, are constantly figuring out new and creative ways to help the population they serve with limited resources or resources that aren’t designed to truly serve marginalized and vulnerable people. In this episode of “Beyond the White Coat: Making the Rounds,” AAMC Director of Community Engagement Clarence Fluker and Liz Fehrenbach, program director at Joseph’s House, talk about what it means to persevere as the organization attempts to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode Guest:

Liz Fehrenbach, RN, has worked as a registered nurse and care coordinator for HIV-positive adults and individuals experiencing homelessness for 11 years. Before working at Joseph’s House, she provided outreach, clinical nursing care, and medical case management as the nurse at a small Health Care for the Homeless clinic in Burlington, Vermont. Her background in serving vulnerable populations, along with her interest in social justice and contemplative care, led her to Joseph’s House in 2016. For three years, she provided nursing care coordination and case management for current and former residents. Since October 2019, she has served as the program director at Joseph’s House. In this role, she is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures; overseeing quality improvement and management; and supervising our care team of registered nurses, social workers, care aides, and service-year volunteers.

Credits:

Hosted by Clarence Fluker, AAMC director of community engagement.
Produced by Mikhaila Richards, AAMC senior digital content strategist, and Clarence Fluker.
Episode recorded and edited by Laura Zelaya, AAMC production manager.
With special contributions from Sholape Oriola, AAMC video specialist, and Adedayo Adeniyi, AAMC community health specialist.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Next Episode

Racism Under the Microscope

We’ve known for a long time that systemic racism influences the social determinants of health — affecting, quite literally, who in this country survives and who suffers. People who live in poorer neighborhoods often receive lower quality and less care from health care providers. And long-standing discrimination against all marginalized communities has created dramatic health inequities. David J. Skorton, MD, looks back at some of the conversations we had about these very difficult and persistent issues this past season on “Beyond the White Coat.”

Episode Guests (full bios are available on episode pages):

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Season 2, Episode 1 guest
David A. Acosta, MD, Season 2, Episode 2 guest
Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Season 2, Episode 3 guest
Laura Guidry-Grimes, PhD; Brian Gittens, EdD; Carol Major, MD; and Charles Vega, MD, Season 2, Episode 4 guests

Credits:

Narrated by David J. Skorton, MD, AAMC president and CEO.
Produced by Stephanie Weiner, AAMC director of digital strategy and engagement.
Recorded and edited by Laura Zelaya, AAMC production manager.
With special contributions from Michelle Zajac, AAMC digital copy editor; Sholape Oriola, AAMC video specialist; and Kristin Zipay, AAMC executive communications lead writer.