DEIBXXEM2401 - CME/CMLE - Reviewing Race in Robbins – Why, How, and What Next-Reviewing Race in Robbins

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Andrea Darab's presentation highlights the complex issue of race-based medicine, particularly its application in teaching and clinical practice. She starts by explaining that the Robbins textbooks, widely used in medical education, contain numerous instances of racial disparities in disease prevalence, incidence, and severity. Darab emphasizes that these textbooks are integral in shaping medical understanding worldwide, making their content crucial.<br /><br />Darab argues that race and biology do not correlate directly, as race is a socially constructed concept rather than a biological one. She points to significant genetic variation within so-called races and minimal variation between them, illustrating that socially defined races do not align with distinct genetic lineages. She criticizes the prevalent use of racial categories like "African-American" or "Caucasian" in medical contexts, stating that they often misrepresent biological realities and contribute to faulty assumptions in medical practice.<br /><br />Responding to student inquiries about race and health disparities, Darab recounts how these questions became more urgent following high-profile incidents of racial violence in the US. She underscores the impact of systemic racism and its manifestation in health disparities, such as higher maternal mortality rates and cancer death rates among African Americans.<br /><br />Darab advocates eliminating race-based medicine due to its inherent scientific flaws and suggests that medical education should focus on more accurate and equitable descriptors of population diversity. She discusses the importance of public health data that use race as a social indicator to ensure equity but criticizes using race as a biological proxy in clinical practice and research.<br /><br />Her presentation also tackles the resistance within the medical community, detailing her challenging efforts to revise the Robbins textbooks. She notes that despite eliminating 75% of race-based references, significant biases remain due to entrenched beliefs among editors. Darab calls for a systemic shift, encouraging educators and healthcare professionals to prioritize social justice and scientific accuracy over outdated racial categorizations in medicine.

Keywords

race-based medicine

medical education

racial disparities

genetic variation

systemic racism

health disparities

public health data

Robbins textbooks

social justice