JSNMA SUMMER 2019 Sneak Preview

Opinion
11
AN UNSPOKEN
EXPECTATION
JULI LAMBERT, MS III
UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND LIFE SCIENCES
Our SNMA chapter held an
event where a physician
and professor at Northeast
Ohio Medical University served
as the guest speaker. He shared
his rational and open-minded
perspectives on medical education,
humanism, and social justice. At the
end of his enlightening talk, a White
medical student seated in the back
of the room proceeded to reveal
his bigoted mindset by claiming
that racism is “not a thing” and
that White men should not be held
responsible for the social disparities
in healthcare. It was clear that
this student’s motives were to
antagonize the guest speaker, but,
as ludicrous as his argument was,
it made me wonder how many of
my other colleagues held the same
misinformed views.
As medical students, we are
informed early on what is expected
of us. Professionalism, punctuality,
knowledge, and perseverance.
However, what we are not told,
but figure out soon enough, is the
unspoken expectation that we as
minority students must face in
medical school. As one of only
three African Americans in a class
of 175, we had suddenly become
the “token Black people”. Once a
minority student is assigned this
type of role, they automatically
become the representative for
all who look like them. It does
not matter that their individual
experiences and ideas in no way
represent the entirety of their culture
or race. Often times that designated
student is actually the first person
of a particular race or ethnicity that
some of their colleagues have ever
interacted with. And with this comes
the burden of being the target for all
the random, asinine questions that
have ever crossed their minds but
they have never had the courage
or opportunity to ask.
It is a challenging role that we
as minorities are forced to fulfill.
Should I get exasperated when I
am asked about my hair, or should I
kindly educate them on the
intricacies of protective hairstyles?
Should I get irritated every time I
am asked what my ethnicity is, or
should I politely say: “Yes, I, too, am
American?” Should I get annoyed
when I hear about reverse racism,
or should I patiently explain the
mass effect of institutionalized
discrimination? I find my day-to-day
reaction to be a delicate balance
between “angry Black woman” and
“patient Buddha”. It is a different
kind of frustration that comes with
having to explain everything that
makes you who you are. Having
your culture and individuality
slowly picked at and scrutinized
time and time again, until it finally
makes sense to someone else, is
absolutely draining.
I wish my classmates could
recognize the privilege that they
have experienced for most, or
perhaps all, of their lives by residing
in areas where most, if not all, of
their classmates looked like them,
thought like them, and acted like
them. The privilege that comes with
being born into the majority gives
little incentive for understanding
those who are not. Both the
antagonizing medical student and
I find my day-to-day reaction to be
a delicate balance between ‘angry
Black woman’ and ‘patient Buddha.’
myself will become doctors
in the near future, and it will be our
job to deliver appropriate care even
to those who are dissimilar to us. So
what kind of care would be provided
to a patient if their socio-economic
struggles that play a major role in
their health are ignored or brushed
off by their doctor as being “not a
thing”?
At times, I find myself upset
with how my colleagues’ lack of
understanding supposedly warrants
the additional burden that I am
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