What This Major Medical School Thinks Passes as “Faculty Educational Development”

A tipster directed us to videos from Indiana University School of Medicine’s “Medicine Grand Rounds.” As described by the school, Grand Rounds are “seminars that foster knowledge and discussion about emerging and important topics in internal medicine.” Some videos can count towards faculty educational development credits at IUSM, and they exist for the public to view as well. 

The videos reviewed by Do No Harm indicate a dangerous slide away from patient-centered medicine toward divisive ideologies and questionable practices, and we’ve highlighted some of those instances below (links for the full videos are also available). 

Exhibit One: “The Pathology of Racism: Living Through Injustice Description: Interrogating Racism in Medicine and Society, and their effects on the outcomes of the most marginalized communities” Edwin Lindo, JD – January 22, 2021

Professor Lindo is not a physician. He is a critical race theory scholar. In his video, Professor Edwin Lindo shares his perspectives on racism in the medical profession, including his assertions that:

• The medical profession itself was founded in racism
• It was racism in medicine that spawned racism in other areas of life
• Some members of the judiciary today continue the legacy of racism
• Black people in America today are persecuted and if they fled to other countries, they would be considered “refugees”
• Racism in medicine is causing Black patients to die at disproportionate rates
• Race is not biological, it is a socio-political construct 

Exhibit Two: “What Can I do – Faculty Actions that Advance Racial Equity in Academic Medicine” Dr. Sylk Sotto – July 31, 2020 

In this video, Professor Sylk Sotto shares her thoughts on advancing racial equity in medicine through academia. She is not a physician. Among other things, she discusses:

• Support for White Coats For Black Lives, a radical social justice organization, and protesting systemic racism on campus
• A campus book club discussion on “white fragility” 
• Eliminating race from clinical notes 
• Creating standardized response expectations for faulty to address microaggressions or DEIJ issues