As I've interviewed URiM students about their experiences of #shame in #meded, I've learned some things about my white male privilege:
- I’ve never had 2question whether I belonged or was admitted by mistake b/c I was one of the only white males in my environment

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- I’ve never wondered if I’m deserving of admission 2school, acceptance 2residency, or employment at a job b/c I’m a white male
- Pursuing my dream of becoming a doctor has never rq'd significant acts of courage
- I've experienced imposter syndrome, but never b/c of who I am

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- I’ve never had to change how I dressed, wore my hair, or carried myself to fit the institution's or profession's expectations of who I should be
- I’ve never been mistaken for a non-MD employee
- I’ve never received microaggressions or frank racism, homophobia, or sexism

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- I've never had opportunities or promotions withheld b/c of my gender, race, or sexual orientation
- I’ve never felt the weight of representing my race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender ID
- I've never questioned whether my accomplishments were truly earned or real

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Nearly all of these have been reported to me by URiM students sharing stories of shame in medical training

How much have I been able to achieve; how many risks have I been able to take; how much safer have I felt; how much less shame have I experienced b/c I am a white male?

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I'm learning that there is significant EMOTIONAL privilege that comes with being in the majority in medicine. If we want to create truly inclusive environments, we have to consider & address the experience of underrepresentation at a deeper emotional level.

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We also need to become aware of the huge advantage that this emotional privilege incurs for those in the majority and around whom the entire medical system has been built.

There is no room in medicine for shame b/c of who we are, and we have to build a better system.

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