Responsibility for Structural Racism in Medicine: Reflections and Recommendations from One Institution. 2021

Laura Specker Sullivan, and Dante Pelzer, and Alexandra Rice, and Yuri Karl Peterson, and Robert M Sade, and Danyelle M Townsend, and Leigh Vaughan, and Michelle Nichols, and Nancy Zisk

In this article, we draw upon recent ethical arguments by Zheng and Young to explain our experience applying the social connection model of responsibility to structural racism in medicine. We propose that taking responsibility for structural racism must begin with acknowledging, studying, and learning from localized, particular instances of racism. Such practices raise personal and institutional consciousness about racism and injustice, creating a knowledge base from which effective action is possible. We describe our experiences engaging with responsibility for structural racism as a small group of scholars dedicated to learning more about our institution's history and our own agency in altering its future trajectory. Our learning and introspection were developed over multiple sessions in the 2019-2020 academic year when the authors participated in a Medical Ethics Forum Fellowship.The Medical Ethics Forum Fellowship (the Forum) of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is composed of a diverse group of interdisciplinary faculty members, students, and practicing health professionals. The precise membership of the group changes every year, with a number of members continuing for multiple years. Each academic year the Forum focuses on a specific bioethical issue of current interest. Our focus for the academic year 2019-2020 was race and ethnicity in 21st century health care. This paper is the result of our year-long deliberations based on study of the relevant literature, monthly discussions, as well as personal presentations and discussions with nationally known scholars in this field.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003695 Delivery of Health Care The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population. Delivery of Dental Care,Health Care,Health Care Delivery,Health Care Systems,Community-Based Distribution,Contraceptive Distribution,Delivery of Healthcare,Dental Care Delivery,Distribution, Non-Clinical,Distribution, Nonclinical,Distributional Activities,Healthcare,Healthcare Delivery,Healthcare Systems,Non-Clinical Distribution,Nonclinical Distribution,Activities, Distributional,Activity, Distributional,Care, Health,Community Based Distribution,Community-Based Distributions,Contraceptive Distributions,Deliveries, Healthcare,Delivery, Dental Care,Delivery, Health Care,Delivery, Healthcare,Distribution, Community-Based,Distribution, Contraceptive,Distribution, Non Clinical,Distributional Activity,Distributions, Community-Based,Distributions, Contraceptive,Distributions, Non-Clinical,Distributions, Nonclinical,Health Care System,Healthcare Deliveries,Healthcare System,Non Clinical Distribution,Non-Clinical Distributions,Nonclinical Distributions,System, Health Care,System, Healthcare,Systems, Health Care,Systems, Healthcare
D005006 Ethnicity A group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships. Ethnic Groups,Nationality,Ethnic Group,Nationalities
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013334 Students Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program. School Enrollment,Enrollment, School,Enrollments, School,School Enrollments,Student
D063505 Racism Differential treatment or unequal access to opportunities, based on group membership such as origin or ethnicity. Everyday Racism,Covert Racism,Racial Bias,Racial Discrimination,Racial Prejudice,Bias, Racial,Discrimination, Racial,Discriminations, Racial,Prejudice, Racial,Prejudices, Racial,Racial Discriminations,Racial Prejudices,Racism, Covert,Racism, Everyday

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