If we can prove that (and we can) minorities are receiving worse healthcare from the same doctors that white people are receiving better healthcare from, people may be moved to accept that their truly is an institutional, systematic racial problem within our society.

I believe, that although these injustices are not purposeful, they may be perceived by the general public as more overt and blatant than, for example, the general problem of white privilege. With an understanding of this in the general public, people may be more open to understanding the wider, more generalized problem of modern forms of racism.

I do believe Diversity training is an important aspect of healthcare management. Training healthcare providers in cultural competency–providing effective treatment to individuals of various cultures, religions, ethnicities and native languages–is a main component in bridging the disparities gap in healthcare. I recall the very first class I had as a Nursing Student was “diversity in the patient population –what’s your role”. Surprisingly this was the first time many of my fellow student nurses ever thought of the possibility of having to care for someone that is not look like him or her and the resulting conversations were astounding. Many in my first years class voiced their discomfort caring for someone of a different race who may also have different views on healthcare and prefer practices such as , homeopathic remedies ,for example. The bottom line is that diversity training for healthcare providers and patients is immediately beneficial . Without the training/ discussions, the quality of interaction between the caregiver and patients can be negatively affected by the cultural diversity that exists. This diversity can affect the patient’s ability to discuss symptoms, stick to treatment plans or his beliefs regarding the respect he receives from caregivers and the healthcare system.

I think that integrating diversity classes in the professional realm is a great idea, as awareness in my opinion is one of the first small steps that can be taken towards solving the problem of inequality in healthcare. I also thought it would be interesting to share this while we are on the topic of healthcare: I was telling my mom the other day about our class discussion regarding the inequalities in healthcare today since my grandfather (her father) is now a retired surgeon. As much as I hate to put him in a negative light, he has always been one at the dinner table to crack a joke saturated with racism. My mom then went on to tell me that as much as he says these comments, he used to operate on people of many different races who did not have insurance and would either let them pay him a small portion of the cost of the operation over time or pay nothing at all. She said how he always had to be discrete about these incidents because other surgeons would look down on him for doing what he did. What do you guys think about this? I get confused about the gap between the jokes he makes and then his actions that don’t match what he says sometimes. I admire him very much for what he has accomplished in his career in medicine and often times get the impression from his stories that it was a very difficult road for him. By this I mean that he always had to follow the the pack, such that if he stepped out of line from what other doctors were doing or spoke up with an idea, he would be frowned upon. Granted, I realize he has been retired for almost ten years now, but I wonder how much as really changed in the world of medicine?