Residency programs should proclaim the no-tolerance approach to racism

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It was a conversation about the murder of George Floyd that prompted Mercy A. Adetoye, MD, MS, to push for diversity training at the rural hospital where she worked during her final year of residency.

As she finished her shift, she overheard two white security guards and a nurse discuss the merits of kneeling on Floyd’s neck during his arrest. As she walked into their field of view, of course, they looked down and the conversation stopped, said Dr Adetoye, clinical lecturer and academic researcher in medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine. from the University of Michigan.

Distraught by this incident and various micro-attacks throughout her training, Dr. Adetoye expressed her concerns to the management of the residence.

I was surprised and very happy that they were very, very concerned, very responsive, she said. Now the rural hospital has a diversity committee to make sure we improve the experience for staff and for patients.

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Even before her residency began, Dr. Adetoye’s goal was to improve diversity in medicine. Other experts argue that medical graduate programs play a key role in promoting the diversity of the medical workforce.

In a recent episode of AMA Moving Medicine, Dr. Adetoye shared her checklist for creating better experiences for minorities in recruiting and training residents.

The importance of bias training

The importance of bias training

As a medical student starting residency interviews, Dr. Adetoye decided to interview program directors to see how much they valued diversity and inclusion, although she struggled to do so. .

She was basically trying to figure out whether or not my minority status would affect my studies in a particular program, Dr Adetoye said. So, for example, if a patient asks for strictly Caucasian doctors, how would the program respond? So ideally I would just say, Hey, will my darkness be an issue with the professors, co-residents, or patients in the program?

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But in the end, it shouldn’t be up to the intern to figure this out, Dr Adetoye said. So how do you ask this question without changing the way the interviewer views you? And finally, I just decided to ask each program director how they define diversity and inclusion, and what that means to them. So by asking this, you can find out who ever thought about it, who invented it, and who didn’t care much about committing to it.

In her opinion, all residency program directors and recruiting committees should participate in bias training. Program directors should clearly state that the race or ethnicity of residency applicants will not affect their education, she said. If problems arise, medical residents should be encouraged to speak up so that appropriate action can be taken immediately.

Find out how WADA is looking to redouble its efforts to diversify the medical workforce.

Identifying challenges early on is critical, said Dr Adetoye. Know your community, she advised program directors. This will better prepare medical residents for any potential discrimination if they are faced with the prospect of serving a predominantly white population, for example.

Leaders of training institutions should also establish a policy of non-tolerance for discrimination. Saying nothing essentially supports racism or sexism. Make these policies official and speak out, Dr Adetoye stressed.

It is also important that residency programs encourage mentorship, advising mentoring of interested faculty who are racially and ethnically congruent with interns so that interns do not have to search on their own, she added. .

AMA Moving Medicine emphasizes innovation and emerging issues that impact physicians and public health today. You can watch each episode by subscribing to WADA’s YouTube channel or the audio-only podcast version, which also features educational presentations and in-depth discussions.

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