Commentary

Discrimination Comes To Thoracic Surgery

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • November 9, 2023

The Thoracic Surgery Foundation is the latest medical organization to engage in racial discrimination. A source pointed us toward several concerning scholarships for 2024. Like so many other institutions in medicine, the Foundation is downplaying merit in favor of skin color, which ultimately puts patient health at risk.

The scholarships in question are the “Underrepresented Robotic General Thoracic Surgeon Development Award” and the “The Levi Watkins Innovation and Leadership Development Scholarship.” Both are only available to applicants who are “underrepresented” in medicine. That’s code for racial and ethnic minorities whose representation in the medical profession is less than their share of the national population. It’s also blatant discrimination.

Figure 1. Eligibility criteria for the Levi Watkins Innovation and Leadership Development Scholarship.

Several other scholarships are cause for concern. The “Nina Starr Braunwald Research Fellowship Award” is only available to female applicants, which is another form of discrimination. And the “AstraZeneca Reversing Health Disparities in Lung Cancer Research Award” is reviewed by the DEI committee, indicating the race-focused nature of the scholarship.

Figure 2. Eligibility criteria for the Nina Starr Braunwald Research Fellowship.

What possible justification is there for racial discrimination? Activists claim that recruiting more minorities into the medical profession will improve health outcomes, since it will help more patients connect with physicians of the same race. Yet as Do No Harm has shown, such “racial concordance” is not supported by evidence. It’s more likely to harm patients by encouraging lower standards for admission to medical school. It also lays the groundwork for the return of racial segregation.

The Thoracic Surgery Foundation shouldn’t be discriminating by race or gender. It’s immoral, insulting, and it will ultimately injure patients. Now when will the foundation put equality, merit, and excellent medical care first?

Does your professional organization offer scholarships or fellowship awards that contain discriminatory eligibility criteria? Please let us know via our secure online portal.