UMass Medical School and Massachusetts Medical Society Tackle Racism in Medicine
NEC members UMass Medical School and Massachusetts Medical Society join a number of medical schools in Massachusetts to combat racism in the healthcare industry and medicine. The Worcester-based medical school, along with the seven other Mass. medical schools, released a set of principles targeting racism in medical education and healthcare organizations.
The schools, including the Boston-based Harvard Medical School, Boston University Medical School and Tufts University Medical School, outlined their long-term goals in a set of four principles. The first principle relates to the need to acknowledge and learn, including from a historical standpoint, as racism in medical practice has had a longstanding presence. The second point calls on institutional leaders to visibly commit to dismantling racism, and the third call for confronting practices and policies devaluing staff and patients of color. The last of the four principles emphasizes a culture of empathy and recognition of the intersectionality of oppression.
“It is mission critical for the Medical Society, the DPH, and our state’s medical schools to lead in supporting the next generation of physicians and their patients,” said Mass. Medical Society president Dr. Carole Allen. “This document outlines important steps to address systemic racism as it manifests in health care.”
The New England Council congratulates the UMass Medical School and the Massachusetts Medical Society on their commitment to racial equity in the medical field.
