Happy MLK Day

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Despite all the advances we've made in civil rights with regard to gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc., there persists inequalities that bother me. For many diseases, African Americans have worse outcomes than Caucasians, and for most diseases, there is a paucity of data on other races and ethnicities. Minority physicians often face challenges that other physicians do not, especially in small fields traditionally dominated by old white men. Studies show that race-concordant patient-physician relationships have better satisfaction scores; that is, an African American patient will be more satisfied with an African American provider. And I've seen instances where a patient demands to be seen only by a specific gender, race, or type of doctor. Discrimination happens in a myriad of ways; it affects both academic professorships and community positions, physicians and patients, community relationships and personal turmoil, scientific studies and individual patient care. It happens despite our best intentions, it happens even when we try our very best to stamp it out. I am no expert on civil rights and its facets in healthcare, but in my eight years as a medical student and resident, I've seen, experienced, and even been a part of subconscious feelings that betray me. I am not one to point a finger and scorn, and I am not one to exclude myself as part of the problem. This is something we all have to work on together, something we have to teach each other, something we have to remember throughout our careers and lives.