Thread by @RFentonMD

Some UIM applicants have approached me about if they should "go there" in an essay or interview aka tell THOSE stories where they witnessed racism at work in healthcare. My thoughts in a thread (I welcome others):

Own the motivation for your interest in health and stay focused.

I wrote about an experience in my residency essay and honed in on the patient's condition & what I offered to intervene. The team perceived the family was non-adherent while I saw a a Black mother who was a fierce advocate. I sat with her. I learned about the barrier to follow-up

and the stressors (new and ongoing) at home that challenged the family. I brought that knowledge to rounds along with my overnight events and exam findings to rounds along with the patient's perspective so that our plans reflected their experiences and were more successful.

I didn't write about the medical team's assumption. Was it racist? Absolutely. Does it need to be corrected? Yes, because Black patients experience more barriers that lead to them being labeled "non-compliant". I don't know the the team's state of mind so I can't address it.

This is YOUR interview process. While you may have feelings about the people who misjudged/mistreated a patient, remember that you are still the focus of the story. Talking about the other providers, esp negatively, distracts from your message: you're great and you should take me

If you personally experienced racism thru microaggressions or other means, you can still share your story, especially if it impacted your med school performance, by sticking to your first-hand experiences. Use "I" statements. Share how you felt and how you overcame, if indicated

Again, the spotlight stays on you and your resilience. You're less likely to lose your reader and interviewer and have them remember someone else's bad actions over your candidacy. This approach may also help you tell the story without an emotional response that you can't control

Final note to interviewers: this is going to be a tough season for applicants who may be wearing their personal or witnessed experiences of racism on their sleeve. They may not get this right and don't deserve to be judged for their reaction to personally injurious experiences.

Show compassion for the vulnerability they may show in this space and listen. These very moments can either make UIM trainees like me doubt that we belong in medicine or remind us why we need to be here, sometimes simultaneously. Please be affirming in your response.