Of course, this may not be unique to medical care, but bigotry in many other situations may be more quietly expressed by the bigot choosing to go to an “acceptable” provider in the first place, rather than getting physicians who happen to be available if one needs urgent or emergency medical care, or stays in the hospital attended by various not-specifically-chosen physicians.
I can see how prejudice can be a barrier to trust and a therapeutic relationship. The issue of racial prejudice in medical settings was handled in several MASH episodes.
In our clinics where we would give free lung testing, no one ever told us they didn’t want us because of any of our staff’s race, gender, or age that I’m aware of. It’s a much shorter interaction tho, and folks can choose not to come to us at all.
As an attorney, we experienced this in a big case I handled. Our client was The only one in his industry of a different ethnic group and the others in the suit told him to get his own attorney and experts. It turned out to be the best result for our client financially anyway, but that was pretty blatant.
I would think it is more about education and accent. I don’t really care what my doctor looks like – but I want a US educated doctor that speaks understandable English.
A lot of older people expect their doctors to look like Marcus Welby, and don’t mind speaking up when the doctor is named Nguyen or Chu or Bhatia. Old, sick, cranky people tend to lose their filters and act out. I can see that this could be a problem, but when you are a professional it is something you have to learn to deal with. Most of the time if someone is sick enough they will accept help from whoever offers it, and eventually learn to deal with the race or sex issue.
Indeed! It will be nice to cut some slack while people get used to new ways, new people. I get cranky if I have to change my sleeping position much less seeing an unfamiliar looking doctor. Given time I’ll get used to it. Am I prejudicious if I don’t accept the unfamiliar instantly?
Having worked in an academic medical center in a large city where we had resident physicians, and faculty, of various ethnicities, I have seen patients request to see other providers because of their race. I have also seen patients request a different provider because of their age.
The study linked was about pediatricians, so I don’t think the cranky older patient would be an excuse. Sadly, I’m not surprised. My Korean neurosurgeon is a bit difficult to understand, but he has PA’s who help explain things. He is extremely skilled, which is what is important when someone is cutting near the brain!
I am a little surprised at the pediatricians being the target of racism as younger people are sometimes better exposed to those of other races. However, I work in a hospital that is a referral center for a large rural population. Many of our patients have rarely encountered those of other races, young or old. Though Indian physicians get a lot of credit in my book for serving the rural parts of this country where native born Americans don’t want to live, and may be breaking all sorts of barriers. Rarely have I heard of outright prejudice, as we are polite mid westerners around here. But I know it is certainly a new experience for a lot of our patients. Our African American CNA has probably has done more to break down racial barriers than most people I know, though her good humored care for rural folks. But on occasion, she is described as colored, and we have to forgive the cluelessness, and do a little education. Personally I love the diverse workplace that health care has become as it is teaching us all, whether physicians, RNs or lab personnel.
We all have preferences. Personally I’d prefer a physician of my own age and demographic. But I accept and enjoy my younger Dr. My patients would probable prefer one of the gorgeous young RNs to my older face. Sometimes I take those lecherous guys who are excessively fixed on the beauty of their young caregivers to spare my 20 something co workers.
For relatively recently graduated MDs, wouldn’t being US educated mean that the physician is more likely to have an enormous debt load, which could lead to pressure to favor more expensive courses of action that are not necessarily better?
^^It is the under 35 crowd who typically has kids young enough to be seen by pediatricians, so yes, the poster was correct about the younger generation.
I do not care if they speak with an accent, but I have had a couple of really bad interactions with foreign-educated MDs, so you bet I care about where my docs got their training. In one case, what the doc was doing led to a significant damage, and would have resulted in even more damage if I had not told Mr. B to drive me to the nearest ER where I was treated by a fine team of US-trained docs and nurses who were shocked to see my badly mangled foot. Pretty sure that “5 stars out of 5” team included a male Asian doc, a male black nurse, and a female radiology tech who came to the US from Eastern Europe, based on her accent.
You can be admitted into a pediatric wing up until 21 yo I think, so it is not true that the parents are “under 35 crowd”.
My DS still goes to his pediatrician at this age. His American-born doctor went to medical school in Mexico, and it does not matter to me. When choosing a doctor I look at their affiliation with best hospitals, board certification, current experience/patient reviews and sanctions. Age matters somewhat.
It is absurd to think that the doctor messed up your foot because he is foreign educated. They have to pass rigorous testing and in some cases repeat their residency here.
Nobody brought up affirmative action. I think it is working against African American doctors, unfortunately.
I prefer that my PCP be female. OB/GYN absolutely must be. I don’t mind visiting male doctors for particular problems, such as the male physician who drained a cyst in the sole of my foot aided by ultrasound. (Poor guy, I literally howled at one point. )
Many years ago I used to use a “doc in a box” as my PCP, and he was probably from Pakistan. He spoke beautiful, English-accented English. Great guy, very caring. I admit that I have never encountered a black physician, but it wouldn’t make any difference to me. I fail to see why affirmative action would have any bearing. If you graduate from med school, you graduate from med school. No one is going to ask their doctor what their class rank was!
My vague understanding of the affirmative action process is that the acceptance criteria are lowered for under-represented minorities. Therefore, a patient in a hospital setting may perceive a doctor of a different race as less qualified.
Although I could have… I had my iPhone on me.