Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - October 2017
P. 9
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
PRAYUS TAILOR, MD
MSD President Prayus Tailor, MD is a Nephrologist who practices with Nephrology Associates in Newark and Wilmington.
When the Patient is a Racist
Recently, the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) hosted a book reading of Dr. Anand Panwalker’s
memoir, The Place of Cold Water. Eighty people came to hear Dr. Panwalker speak about his journey between three countries Kenya to India to the United States of America. His presentation was both humorous and thought provoking. Most poignantly, he spoke about the racism and prejudices he both encountered and even harbored along the way, and demonstrated how his ideas changed for the better as
he was exposed to the melting pot of the United States.
Given the current political climate, it
seems our melting pot is coming to a boil. Hatred and racism are out in the open and physicians are certainly not immune to such bigotry. In Delaware my colleagues, both US and international medical graduates, have experienced this in one form or another at some point in their education and careers.
My American born, Indian wife who practices internal medicine told me of an of residency. “Oh no! Not one you foreign doctors again!” exclaimed the patient as
my wife walked into his room before she could even introduce herself. My wife was unable to obtain a history or perform an exam on this non-cooperative patient. She explained the situation to her attending who, by a small token of fate that day, was a small statured, yet strong willed woman of Indian descent who proudly wore saris under her white coat. The attending confronted the
patient who continued with his bigoted comments. She told the patient that his behavior was unacceptable, yet he refused care from a “foreign” doctor. Ultimately, the patient’s wishes were accommodated with reassignment to a Caucasian male resident.
Just last week, I was advised by one of
my colleagues to reassign a new patient consultation to a “white” doctor in our practice as the patient did not like foreign physicians. My initial thought was to meet this patient and learn whether this was truly the case. But as the day became busier and one of my Caucasian partners offered to help, I asked him to see this patient. In retrospect, I wondered what choice I or the patient would have had if this had been an urgent consultation overnight. I would have been the only doctor in my group available.
Other colleagues have experienced racism simply for wearing a headscarf.
In all of these situations it is important
to recognize that the physician may experience feelings of confusion, anger, resentment, and despair. How should physicians deal with such encounters? How should hospital systems navigate these situations? When the continued message of “patient satisfaction” is emphasized, is there not a line to be
drawn when it comes to racism? Shouldn’t hospital administration support all hospital employees in reinforcing that this type
of behavior is inappropriate and will not be tolerated? In the wake of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, I am proud to see that hospitals in our state have already made statements to this effect.
Del Med J | October 2017 | Vol. 89 | No. 10
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