Always On EM - Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds - Dr. Taylor Christian - First do no harm: the history and origin of medical racism
Jun 15, 2025
Taylor Christian, Chief Resident of Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine, delves into the pervasive issue of medical racism. He highlights the historical injustices faced by marginalized communities, focusing on events like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the legacy of Henrietta Lacks. Christian emphasizes the urgent need for healthcare providers to address implicit biases, revealing significant disparities in opioid prescribing. He advocates for integrating anti-racism curricula into medical education to foster greater equity and representation in healthcare.
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Core Forms of Medical Racism
- Medical racism includes both structural and interpersonal racism leading to disparities in diagnosis and treatment.
- False beliefs about Black patients' pain tolerance and unequal treatments persist today.
Gynecology's Painful History
- J. Marion Sims performed gynecologic surgeries on enslaved Black women without anesthesia, believing they didn’t feel pain.
- These women, considered property, were exploited without consent for medical advancements.
Henrietta Lacks' Medical Exploitation
- Henrietta Lacks' cancer cells were taken without consent and became crucial to medical research.
- Her family was never informed or compensated despite widespread use of her cells.
