Minority Residents Experience Burdens Linked to Race/Ethnicity

TUESDAY, Oct. 9 2018 (HealthDay News) — Minority residents describe burdens associated with race/ethnicity, including microaggressions and bias on a daily basis, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Aba Osseo-Asare, M.D., from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues performed semistructured in-depth interviews of black, Hispanic, and Native American residents to characterize how they experience race/ethnicity in the workplace. Interviews were conducted with 27 residents from 21 residency programs representing a range of medical specialties and geographic locations.

The researchers found that in describing their training experiences in the workplace, participants described three major themes: a daily barrage of microaggressions and bias; being tasked as race/ethnicity ambassadors; and encountering challenges negotiating professional and personal identity while being seen as “other.”

“Black, Hispanic, and Native American residents experience additional burdens secondary to race/ethnicity,” the authors write. “Addressing these unique challenges related to race/ethnicity is crucial to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment.”

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