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Kudos to medical student Geoffrey Lau for his letter to CMAJ. Medicine needs more people willing to speak out about their experiences of discrimination because, as he and Dr. Patrick pointed out, there are, shockingly, too many amongst us who do not believe racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., exist in medicine, or, if they do exist, that they are a significant problem.
Proponents of critical race theory (otherwise known as telling the truth about history) and those who strive to be antiracist (anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, etc.) are targeted and dismissed, and this will be particularly damaging to medical learners, as it has been in the past for women and others who have spoken up during their medical training. I hope Mr. Lau and his classmates are able to find mentors, clinician supporters, and others along the way, like Dr. Renata Leong, who will publicly support them, so that they will continue to speak out. They still risk being labeled as problem students/problem colleagues. I've been around too long to believe there will come a time when it is not a professional gamble to speak out. There is always a cost. I hope there are enough for whom it will be worth it. We need them. Our patients need them.
Competing Interests: None declared.References
- Geoffrey Lau, Renata Leong. To act or not to act. CMAJ 2021;193:E738-E738.