I find it shocking that 40% of first- and second-year medical students endorsed the belief that “black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s.”

In the 2016 study, for example, trainees who believed that black people are not as sensitive to pain as white people were less likely to treat black people’s pain appropriately. What’s more, false ideas about black peoples’ experience of pain can lead to worrisome treatment disparities. In fact, half of trainees surveyed held one or more such false beliefs, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. They are notions harbored by far too many medical students and residents as recently as 2016. These disturbing beliefs are not long-forgotten 19th-century relics. “Black people’s nerve endings are less sensitive than white people’s.” “Black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s.” “Black people’s blood coagulates more quickly than white people’s.” Summer Health Professions Education ProgramĮditor’s note: The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the AAMC or its members.

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