Moving beyond Black and White
Authors: Tom Delbanco
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Editorials2 December 2003Moving beyond Black and WhiteTom Delbanco, MDTom Delbanco, MDFrom Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-11-200312020-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Opening my 1965 Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons yearbook reminds me that I had no African-American classmates. In the group pictures of the 3 classes following mine, I spy 1 person of color. Not 1 of the many faculty members pictured is African American.Today, 14% of Columbia's medical students are from underrepresented minorities (Hutcherson HY. Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Personal communication; 2003), as are 11% of students nationwide (1). Among the roughly 240000 doctors in general medical and family practice, about 7% are minorities (2, 3). About 64000 primary care nurse practitioners team with doctors in ...References1. American Medical Association. Racial & Ethnic Backgrounds of Medical StudentsTotal Enrollment, 20012002. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/168-191.html on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar2. U.S. Health Workforce Personnel Factbook. Number of active physicians (MDs) and physician-to-population ratios by specialty, selected years: 19702000. Accessed at bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/factbook02/FB102.htm on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar3. American Medical Association. Foreword: AMA minority physician data source 2002/2003 edition. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/168-184.html on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar4. National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. The registered nurse population: findings from the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Distribution of advanced practice nurses by national certification, state recognition and employment status: March 2000. Accessed at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/rnsurvey/rnss1.htm#T12 on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar5. National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. The registered nurse population: findings from the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Registered nurse populations by employment status, gender, racial/ethnic background, and age group: March 2000. Accessed at www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/rnsurvey/rnss1.htm#T1 on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar6. Census 2000. Total population by age and sex for the United States: 2000. Accessed at www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t08/phc-t-08.pdf on 30 September 2003. Google Scholar7. Cooper LA, Roter DL, Johnson RL, Ford DE, Steinwachs DM, Powe NR. Patient-centered communication, ratings of care, and concordance of patient and physician race. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139:907-15. LinkGoogle Scholar8. Roter DL, Larson S. The Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS): utility and flexibility for analysis of medical interactions. Patient Educ Couns. 2002;46:243-51. [PMID: 11932123] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Brennan TA. Luxury primary caremarket innovation or threat to access? N Engl J Med. 2002;346:1165-8. [PMID: 11948279] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Association of American Medical Colleges. Minority students in medical education: facts and figures XII. October 2002. Accessed at www.aamc.org/publications/factsandfigures2002.pdf on 7 October 2003. Google Scholar11. Newton DA, Grayson MS. Trends in career choice by US medical student graduates. JAMA. 2003;290:1179-82. [PMID: 12953000] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. Delbanco TL, Berwick DM, Boufford JI, Edgman-Levitan S, Ollenschlger G, Plamping D, . Healthcare in a land called PeoplePower: nothing about me without me. Health Expect. 2001;4:144-150. [PMID: 11493320] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. Coulter A. The Autonomous Patient. London: Nuffield Trust; 2002. Google Scholar14. Towle A, Godolphin W. Framework for teaching and learning informed shared decision making. BMJ. 1999;319:766-71. [PMID: 10488010] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. Delbanco TL. Enriching the doctor-patient relationship by inviting the patient's perspective. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:414-8. [PMID: 1736775] LinkGoogle Scholar16. Hurston ZN. Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings. New York: Library of America; 1995:713. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215.Acknowledgments: I thank Zachary Tofias for his expert assistance and multiple members of my family for their critique and suggestions.Corresponding Author: Tom Delbanco, MD, Harvard Medical School, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPatient-Centered Communication, Ratings of Care, and Concordance of Patient and Physician Race Lisa A. Cooper , Debra L. Roter , Rachel L. Johnson , Daniel E. Ford , Donald M. Steinwachs , and Neil R. Powe Metrics Cited byThe Mismeasurement of Quality by Readmission RateAssessment of mutual understanding of physician patient encounters: development and validation of a mutual understanding scale (MUS) in a multicultural general practice setting 2 December 2003Volume 139, Issue 11Page: 952-953KeywordsDecision makingForecastingHealth careNursesPatientsPrimary careRacial and ethnic issuesResidencySexual identitySurgeons ePublished: 2 December 2003 Issue Published: 2 December 2003 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...