Why It's Unjust to Expect Location-Specific, Language-Specific, or Population-Specific Service from Students with Underrepresented Minority or Low-Income Backgrounds.
In this case we meet Amanda, a medical student of Native and Latin American ethnicity who receives financial aid. Her friends are surprised by her interest in an elite residency program. They suggest, rather, that with her language skills, ethnic background, and interest in social justice, she has a responsibility to work with underserved patient populations. In our commentary, we consider issues raised by the case and explore Amanda's friends' underlying expectations and assumptions that perpetuate the very inequities that the resolution of the case purports to address. We also identify the role of privilege and address the "burden of expectation" that appears to be associated with underrepresented minority (URM) medical students and normative assumptions about their career paths.
Associate professor of sociology and the associate dean of interprofessional education at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, and an adjunct research assistant professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University.
Barret
B
Michalec
Director of medical education scholarship and an assistant professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto, and a scientist and the strategic lead, international, at the University of Toronto's Wilson Centre.
Maria Athina Tina
MA
Martimianakis
Professor of biomedical ethics and medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.
Jon C
JC
Tilburt
Professor of medical education, the associate director of the Program in Professionalism & Values, and the associate dean for professionalism at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.
Frederic W
FW
Hafferty
D001290:Attitude; D002321:Career Choice; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004501:Education, Medical; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education*; D011203:Poverty; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D012577:Schools, Medical; D063508:Social Discrimination; D012935:Social Justice; D066262:Social Norms; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013337:Students, Medical; D035862:Vulnerable Populations