Black members of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine gathered on Friday, February 17 to share their diverse personal stories and discuss the future of the significantly unrepresentative field of medicine.
Over 100 attendants gathered over Zoom to attend the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion panel discussion on the effects of anti-Black systemic racism in academia.
Panellists showcased that no single “Black experience” can represent the Black community.
“I get in, alright, I’m the only one,” said Gbolahan “GB” Olarewaju, painting a picture of his experience walking into his first year of medical school at UBC. GB highlighted the imposter syndrome and mounting pressures he felt to succeed but also to represent the Black community but also to succeed.
In his first year, GB looked through UBC’s Faculty of Medicine class photos and counted only 33 Black graduates over the span of 60 years.
Black Student Initiatives Manager Donneil McNab, the manager of the Black Student Initiatives, said being the only Black student in a room is an indication that something is very wrong in that space.
“I don’t want to be the only Black voice at the table because the reality is, my experience is different from another Black individual,” said McNab.
McNab said she became well-versed with anti-Black microaggressions and systemic racism when she moved to Canada.
“In some spaces, I had to assimilate and not necessarily be who I am when I came from Jamaica,” said McNab.
Walking into a store and feeling the need to purchase an item in order not to be perceived as stealing, or having her hair touched by a stranger without consent, are just a few of her experiences living as a Black woman in Canada.
“You may hear my experience, you may feel bad that I have to go through it, but you get to walk away. I don't,” she said, addressing the non-Black audience members. She described stereotypes as “something that always follows you.”
Dr. Tatiana Sotindjo, an adolescent medicine specialist at BC Children’s hospital, spoke to the importance of increased education to combat Black medical discrimination.
Through her experience as a pediatrician, Sotindjo said she became more aware of how the medical tools used to diagnose and triage patients are often deeply anti-Black.
During her medical training, she said her peers were never exposed to these issues.
“The onus is on us to bring that body of knowledge into the mainstream standards for which we expect all our students to be graduating with,” she said. By spreading this knowledge, Sotindjo believes that there should be less pressure placed on Black medical students to represent the Black community in their classrooms.
GB also believes that this education is necessary, and pointed to the realities of a lack thereof.
For instance, one of his colleagues recently spoke with a medical student who said “systemic racism does not exist.” GB emphasized how anecdotes like these reveal how important it is to educate aspiring physicians, to ensure they take care of Black patients without reinforcing racial bias.
As UBC implements its new Black Student MD Admissions Pathway, GB believes the university “has its work cut out itself.”
“We can’t just talk big words,” he said. He said education must directly show the links between racism and medicine and present itself in a way that people can see the evidence for themselves.
“Walk the walk and not just talk the talk.”
Getting more Black students into the Faculty of Medicine is only half the goal, according to McNab. The Faculty also must ensure that Black patients have the resources they need to succeed.
“It’s pointless to me to say ‘increased representation’ if that support is not there,” she said.
Dr. Felix Durity, UBC MD alum, professor and head emeritus in the neurosurgery division of the department of surgery, explained that support must be both social and financial.
“We need to protect these students,” said Durity. As the top student in his medical class for two years, he had to defer in his third year for financial reasons, and later graduated with five dollars in his bank account.
Speaking on behalf of the panellists, Durity said, “We are not exceptional, we are lucky.”
“The burden on us and the Faculty of Medicine is to carry the message to Black people that ‘You see me, you can be me’,” said Durity.
Although the recent efforts to support Black representation are commendable, Durity noted that this challenge will not be overcome overnight, and requires continued commitment.
“The faculty needs to walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” he said
“Let’s keep pushing.”
This article was updated at 10:13 a.m. on Friday, April 7. A previous version misquoted Gbolahan “GB” Olarewaju's comment on the number of Black graduates. The Ubyssey regrets this error.