Just 1 week ago the Supreme Court delivered its decision to limit race-conscious admissions in higher education.

I am thankful to @abdultsanni at @statnews for the space to share what this means to me as a Black woman & medical student.


THREAD 1/statnews.com/2023/07/03/wha… When I first learned about the Court's decision I was sitting at a computer doing chart review...then boom, it felt like my heart sank to my stomach as I read the news. As the only Black woman in the room, my world stopped, but for everyone else, it was "business as usual". 2/

Today while caring for a pediatric patient with fever, I learned the @AmerAcadPeds guidelines for UTI in infants and young children with fever support differential treatment of UTI for Black and White children based on race. 1/

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/3/… In short, these guidelines were created by a meta-analysis of 6 UTI prevalence studies from 1990 to 2004. Their conclusion: Non-Black race is a risk factor for UTI. This is problematic for many reasons. The paper below explains why:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamap… 2/

If medical institutions are serious about anti-racism and equity, it's time they value social justice praxis as much of the pipette, and proximity to our communities as much as publications.

Read more of my thoughts today in @BostonGlobe @GlobeOpinion.

bostonglobe.com/2020/08/14/opi… In this piece, I shout out the work of my sis @bernielim with the Freedom Community Clinic in Oakland, CA. freedomcommunityclinic.org/home

@MaxJordan_N's powerful piece in @undarkmag calling for action by medical institutions beyond statements.
undark.org/2020/07/16/whi…

If you’re white and not ACTIVELY thinking about how to identify, leverage, and/or relinquish your privilege, you are part of the problem. Anti-racism is an ACTIVE process.

Running 3.23 miles and social media posts aren’t enough to dismantle racism.

True allies will do the work. Don’t ask Black people to do the work for you either. There are numerous resources you can engage with.

Inviting folks to share some on this thread. I’ll start:

Today we learned about Lyme disease and it’s classic symptom: a bullseye rash (erythema migrans) formed around the area of a tick bite.

A classmate of mine asked, “How is this diagnosed for those with darker skin?”

Our professor struggled to give him a clear answer. 1/5 After class I decided to google what we learned to see what images came up. I wasn’t surprised by what I found: a homogenous representation of the bullseye rash on white skin.

It’s no wonder our professor didn’t have a good answer to answer my classmate’s question. 2/5