Dean Robinson
National Review, Dec. 3, 2022
“… my colleagues and I are increasingly concerned that our frank guidance could be interpreted as microaggressions or manifestations of our “oppression” and “privilege.” Out of self-preservation, we are thus likely to limit the instruction and feedback we give future physicians, depriving them (and their future patients) of the skills vital for optimal treatment.”
In my 37 years as a psychiatrist, I’ve worked in community mental-health centers, the VA, prisons, and at training hospitals. So it takes a lot for me to be surprised. But the outbreak of mass irrationality at the respected medical school where I now work and teach has done just that. It now appears that Tulane School of Medicine has revised its mission to ensure that our faculty and students receive indoctrination that divides us into either “oppressors” or “victims.” This mindset, as unreasonable as it is inflexible, is degrading our ability to deal with the health-care world as it really is.
I’m from Louisiana, so I know racism when I see it. I grew up surrounded by it, and I consider myself very fortunate to now live in a culture that has worked hard to eradicate this cancer from our society. Nevertheless, I’m not inclined to take our progress for granted, since individual attitudes of bias and intolerance can still potentially rear their ugly heads. That’s why it made sense for Tulane to offer and encourage optional courses covering cultural sensitivity, diversity, and related issues for the faculty and staff. I consider these resources to be potentially quite helpful for clinical care, since New Orleans has such a rich cultural heritage.
But that’s not what Tulane is promoting now. Over the summer, every member of the department of psychiatry was ordered to attend a daylong “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Retreat.” My turn came on October 1, when my colleagues and I were subjected to seven hours of stereotyping and shaming. It stigmatized white people as being responsible for the ongoing oppression of others and insisted that the only way Caucasians may demonstrate opposition to racism is to acknowledge and admit to being racist. I’m still scratching my head over that one. …[To read the full article, click here]
