"You couldn't call it a microaggression, the patient's assumption that, being black, Hutchinson was unlikely to be an expert. But this anecdote barely registers on the Geiger counter of bigotry in healthcare that Hutchinson writes about trenchantly and acerbically, from the prejudices doctors face from patients and the gender and race blindspots in medical textbooks, to the racism that could endanger a patient's life (black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth)."
"Meeting Hutchinson in the Guardian's offices in London, he emanates forethought and competence. Even in shorts and a T-shirt, he seems like the kind of guy who couldn't look scruffy if he tried. He says the book he's written about race had to be done, but I've spoken to people who are non-white and female, and without even prompting, they've said: Actually, the thing that is held more against me is being a woman.'"
A Black medical practitioner experienced patient prejudice based on appearance, illustrating how assumptions about competence persist in clinical settings. Microaggressions coexist with more dangerous forms of bias that affect patient outcomes, including racial disparities in maternal mortality. Gender bias reduces respect for female doctors, sometimes from other healthcare professionals rather than only patients. Barriers to medical education and workplace access for disabled clinicians remain underrecognized, with very few doctors reporting visible impairments such as hearing loss. Professional competence and fair-mindedness do not eliminate systemic inequities embedded in medical culture, training, and practice.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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