Abstracts
Abstract
Background: Black students and residents experience racism in medical school. This qualitative study documents Black students’ and residents’ experiences of racism using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and explores their coping mechanisms using the theatrical metaphor.
Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with four Black medical students and residents (two medical students and two residents) studying in Montréal and analyzed their experiences through counter-stories. We identified themes related to their experiences of racism during medical training and their coping mechanisms.
Results: Our analysis reveals these experiences of racism occur in academic and clinical settings (classes, internships, social interactions with peers, faculty, and patients, and through the curriculum), in the form of microaggressions. The analysis also indicates that Black students and residents try to cope with racism using a hyper-ritualization strategy to better fit in (e.g., clothing, behaviours).
Conclusion: Considering that Black students and residents experience various forms of racism (subtle or explicit) during their medical training, these findings urge us to increase awareness about racism of students, residents, teachers and health care workers in universities and teaching hospitals. Pathways to increase the representation of Black students and residents seem to be part of the solution, but improving the learning environment must be a priority to improve racial justice in medical training in Québec.
Résumé
Contexte : Les étudiants et les résidents noirs sont victimes de racisme dans les facultés de médecine. Cette étude qualitative documente les expériences de racisme des étudiants et des résidents noirs à l'aide de la théorie critique des races (TCR) et explore leurs mécanismes d'adaptation à l'aide de la métaphore théâtrale.
Méthodes : Nous avons mené des entrevues semi-structurées avec quatre étudiants en médecine et résidents noirs (deux étudiants en médecine et deux résidents) étudiant à Montréal et analysé leurs expériences par le biais de contre-histoires. Nous avons identifié des thèmes liés à leurs expériences du racisme pendant la formation médicale et à leurs mécanismes d'adaptation.
Résultats : Notre analyse révèle que ces expériences de racisme se produisent dans les milieux universitaires et cliniques (cours, stages, interactions sociales avec les pairs, le corps professoral et les patients, et dans le cadre du programme d'études), sous la forme de microagressions. L'analyse indique également que les étudiants et les résidents noirs tentent de faire face au racisme en utilisant une stratégie d'hyper-ritualisation pour mieux s'intégrer (par exemple, vêtements, comportements).
Conclusion : Étant donné que les étudiants et les résidents noirs sont confrontés à diverses formes de racisme (subtil ou explicite) au cours de leur formation médicale, ces résultats nous incitent à sensibiliser davantage les étudiants, les résidents, les enseignants et les travailleurs de la santé au racisme dans les universités et les hôpitaux universitaires. Les parcours visant à accroître la représentation des étudiants et des résidents noirs semblent faire partie de la solution, mais l'amélioration de l'environnement d'apprentissage doit être une priorité pour améliorer la justice raciale dans la formation médicale au Québec.
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Appendices
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