Article: "How we fail black patients in pain"

"Half of white medical trainees believe such myths as black people have thicker skin or less sensitive nerve endings than white people. An expert looks at how false notions and hidden biases fuel inadequate treatment of minorities' pain."

In this AAMCNews article, Janice A. Sabin, PhD, MSW, a research associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education at the University of Washington School of Medicine, highlights some of the many misconceptions medical students and physicians may have about African Americans and other minority patients. This unconscious bias often results in "worrisome treatment disparities". According to a meta-analysis of 20 years of studies, black/African American patients were 22% less likely than white patients to receive any medication following surgery.

Visit the AAMC website to read more about treatment disparities in healthcare, and how providers and medical students can recognize and limit the effects of unconscious biases in their practice.