Surprising solutions to racism in US healthcare and policing | Dr. Melissa Clarke | TEDxPearlStreet

[@vfigueroa3042]

What a presentation that needs to be heard. Posting time.

[@abby657]

I enjoyed this presentation by Dr. Clarke and her comparison of healthcare and policing. As a current medical student, I feel that this talk highlights where we are lacking in our medical school education. During our second year, we have just started talking about social determinants of health. However, we do not have thorough discussions on how social determinants of health impact patient care. Throughout the year we get diversity and inclusivity training; however, this is the extent to our information on concepts of public health and health equity. My background before medical school was in urban studies and health equity. I am really thankful to have a background in public health before going to medical school. While I would love to pursue work in public health in the future as well, I believe that these are topics that all medical students should be learning. One idea of Dr. Clarke’s that I am really interested in is curriculum training on how to spot and treat unconscious bias. When considering healthcare ethics in this scenario, I believe that providing training on unconscious bias can help promote the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. Beneficence is the ethical principle of doing good and nonmaleficence is the principle of doing no harm. By becoming more aware of our own and others unconscious biases, we can help promote better care for our patients. It almost feels that not having this training in medical school is going against these ethical principles. If we are not doing our best to prepare for working with future patients, how can we expect to give them the best care possible? If we had more discussions about social determinants of health over the first two years of medical school, I think it could better prepare us for practice. Another idea of Dr. Clarke’s that stood out to me was the concept of putting guard rails on unconscious bias. Finding ways to do this in the healthcare system could be extremely beneficial to patients. It would also work towards the principle of nonmaleficence and making sure we are not harming our patients. Hopefully, this would help improve patient outcomes and make healthcare more equitable for all.

[@sherrancehenderson5915]

She sounds like such a very young woman. Her speech is excellent and very informative. Thank you.

[@camilladillard3501]

Wow! Let’s put these solutions into work!