Abstract
Race is important in medicine. In order to correct the inequality in healthcare racial minority people can expect to receive, a new rhetorical stance is needed so that we can place our discourse in a productive arena. Most recommended solutions argue for increased education on "cultural competence" for physicians. Who will educate the educators? What rhetorical stance will work? A requirement for physicians to learn about cultural and linguistic competence will not get us to fairness in medical care, independent of race. That's because race is not the problem. There's nothing wrong with our race. Other disciplines within academe must contribute to students' understanding and treatment of race in America if we are to seriously address disparities in medical care.
Full text
PDF


Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Betancourt Joseph R. Cultural competence--marginal or mainstream movement? N Engl J Med. 2004 Sep 2;351(10):953–955. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp048033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Betancourt Joseph R., Green Alexander R., Carrillo J. Emilio, Park Elyse R. Cultural competence and health care disparities: key perspectives and trends. Health Aff (Millwood) 2005 Mar-Apr;24(2):499–505. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.2.499. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Champaneria Manish C., Axtell Sara. STUDENTJAMA. Cultural competence training in US medical schools. JAMA. 2004 May 5;291(17):2142–2142. doi: 10.1001/jama.291.17.2142. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Frist William H. Overcoming disparities in U.S. health care. Health Aff (Millwood) 2005 Mar-Apr;24(2):445–451. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.2.445. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kawachi Ichiro, Daniels Norman, Robinson Dean E. Health disparities by race and class: why both matter. Health Aff (Millwood) 2005 Mar-Apr;24(2):343–352. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.2.343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kennedy Edward M. The role of the federal government in eliminating health disparities. Health Aff (Millwood) 2005 Mar-Apr;24(2):452–458. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.2.452. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Williams David R., Jackson Pamela Braboy. Social sources of racial disparities in health. Health Aff (Millwood) 2005 Mar-Apr;24(2):325–334. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.24.2.325. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
