Panel advises students on addressing prejudices in medicine

As Dr. Eddie Hackler, an Internal Medicine resident, was beginning his residency, he experienced several instances of prejudice. One in particular was during an initial meeting with a patient, whose wife’s first question to him was whether he spoke English. Dr. Hackler assured her that he did speak English – she then asked him if it was his first language.

The next day, the woman apologized for the interaction.

“At this hospital, there were a lot of doctors who came straight from Africa and a language barrier was present in some cases,” Dr. Hackler explained. “So she wanted to make sure they could understand my instructions. It still hurt a little bit. But I think in those situations, it’s very important to be tactful.”

Dr. Hackler shared his story as part a Black History Month panel called “The Complex of Color in Medicine,” hosted by the UT Southwestern chapter of the Student National Medical Association. Dr. Hackler joined other African-American faculty, residents, and a fellow from UT Southwestern, sharing their stories and insights about how race influences their work in medicine.

The panelists were Dr. Tamia Harris-Tryon, Assistant Professor of Dermatology; Dr. Babu Welch, Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiology; Dr. Jessica Moore, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellow; Dr. James Griffin, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management; Dr. Hackler; and Dr. Aaron Gebrelul, an Orthopedic Surgery resident at Parkland Hospital.

The panel discussed issues such as responding to prejudices from patients and peers, maintaining appearances, feeling a sense of belonging in the workplace, and building a network of supportive colleagues.

One topic of discussion was microaggressions. Psychology Today defines microaggressions as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” Dr. Griffin, who came to UT Southwestern as a medical student in 1982, emphasized responding to microaggressions by maintaining a professional demeanor, no matter where you are.

“Since the day I stepped on campus, I’ve always worked off of the intelligence that surrounds me,” he said. “In the medical profession we talk about being ‘on’ and ‘off’ stage. I don’t see a distinction – I’m always on stage. For example, casual profanity has invaded our industry, and that is a form of microaggression. We have to take a stand and say that’s not acceptable. Speak to all of your colleagues as if the patient is right next to you.”

Dr. Welch followed up with suggestions for addressing similar microaggressions.

“Your performance as a student or a resident opens doors for you to have the conversation about inherent prejudices in the workplace,” said Dr. Welch. “I was the first African-American faculty in my department, and I felt even as an Assistant Professor that I was respected enough to educate others on terms that were not acceptable.”

Overall, a major theme of advice for minority students was for them to make sure they build and surround themselves with a support system, especially in tackling imposter syndrome, a form of intellectual self-doubt.

“As underrepresented minorities we often feel scrutinized. So we play it safe, take fewer risks, and only do things that we can do flawlessly,” Dr. Harris-Tryon said. “I have started engaging in a very active process of identifying moments of self-doubt and surrounding myself with people who can help me shut those thoughts down and encourage me to take calculated risks. We all want to succeed, but if you haven’t failed then you haven’t challenged yourself. You can get there if you reach for it.”