"During the Assembly, Isom testified to the action paper’s merits as a representative voice of Resident-Fellow Members and by speaking to her own experiences as a black psychiatric resident who has witnessed and been the target of racial discrimination.
Incidents of physician mistreatment in the form of race-based discrimination perpetrated by patients and their families is shockingly commonplace. Resident physicians, in particular, may be at higher risk for discriminatory abuse from patients. There are studies that highlight this form of discrimination as a potential threat to personal and professional well-being during residency training as a result of the hostile learning environment these behaviors create.
Race-based discrimination of physicians has been described in various forms such as: patient’s requesting non-minority physicians, microaggressions, and overt racial slurs. Scholars have made efforts to stimulate dialogue around these issues in popular media. Kimani Paul-Emile, JD, PhD, Professor of Law and Associate Director and Head of Domestic Programs and Initiatives at Fordham Law School’s Center on Race, Law & Justice, constructed an algorithm to help hospitals navigate the legal complexity of racial discrimination by patients, specifically; however, there remains a dearth of literature in evaluation, adjudication, and responses to discriminatory behavior perpetrated by patients.
Isom and Williams decided to fill this gap in guidance and research through the creation of a volunteer workgroup, under the existing APA infrastructure, to produce a web-based toolkit addressing racial discrimination against psychiatry trainees and practicing psychiatrists. The toolkit will address all levels of this longstanding issue including interpersonal and institutional guidance."
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