A patient asks your colleague, Arya, “Where are you from?” When Arya replies, “Winnipeg,” the patient says, “Oh, but where are you from originally?” Arya, whose family immigrated to Canada before she was born, is clearly frustrated by this. You were present during the exchange and were uncomfortable but didn’t know what to say at the time.
Discussion:
- What are the ethical concerns raised by this case?
- What might you say to Arya afterward?
- How might your employer support Arya in addressing these sort of situations?
Resources:
- Derald Wing Sue: Microaggressions: More than Just Race. Microaggressions: More than Just Race
- Rasmussen, B.M. and Garren, A.M. (2015). Commentary. In the Line of Duty: Racism in Health Care. Social Work; Vol 61, no. 2: p. 175-177. In the Line of Duty: Racism in Health Care
- Walls M.L., Gonzalez J., Gladney T., Onello E. (2015). Unconscious Biases: Racial Microaggressions in American Indian Health Care. J Am Board Fam Med. 2015 Mar-Apr; 28(2): 231–239. Unconscious Biases: Racial Microaggressions in American Indian Health Care
Health Ethics Case Database 