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Year:: 2017
Contributor:: Ripp, Kelsey (Author); Braun, Lundy (Author)
Subject:: medical education; graduate medical education; race and ethnicity; USMLE I; question bank; curricula reform

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Abstract:: In this article, Ripp and Braun examine the use of race and ethnicity in a question bank widely used by medical students in the US in preparation for their board exams. The goal was to understand how these preparatory materials can unintentionally affect student’s understanding of race and ethnicity. They analyzed the frequency of the mention of racial/ethnic groups, as well as how race and ethnicity was used in these questions.They demonstrate that when race is used in the context of non-white groups, it is central to clinical decision-making. In this popular qbank, people of color are underrepresented and have a significantly narrower range of diseases that affect them. While Ripp and Braun were not able to measure the direct impact of this on learners, one can hypothesize that this can lead to substandard treatment for those that are not white, simply because medical students are being taught to consider race first when assessing a “non-white” individual. The authors also emphasize that this framing of disease favors genetics over environmental factors as the cause of differences in the health of populations. This study highlights how the information that is presented in these preparatory materials can potentially contribute to racial bias, which in turn may lead to the perpetuation of health disparities.
Notes:: Please note that readers would benefit from having a basic knowledge of how race is defined and how its use and definition has shifted over time.

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Use and Reproduction: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Citation

Ripp, Kelsey, and Braun, Lundy, "Race/Ethnicity in Medical Education: An Analysis of a Question Bank for Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination" (2017). Medicine and Race: AMS Annotated Bibliography. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:825320/

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Medicine and Race: AMS Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography was created to serve as a resource for medical students, residents, and faculty interested in learning more about how race is used in medicine and how racism results in disparate health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. …

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Race/Ethnicity in Medical Education: An Analysis of a Question Bank for Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination