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Ethical guidelines for antiracism work in medicine: lessons from the antiracist healing collaborative
  1. Rupinder Legha1,
  2. Russyan Mark Mabeza2
  1. 1 Rupinder K Legha MD PC, Los Angeles, California, USA
  2. 2 Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rupinder Legha, Rupinder K Legha MD PC, Los Angeles, CA 90056, USA; antiracistmd{at}gmail.com

Abstract

An explosion of antiracism in medicine efforts have transpired since 2020. However, no ethical guidelines exist to guide them. This oversight is concerning because the racism and white supremacy rife within medicine can easily thwart them. This article addresses this gap by highlighting ethical guidelines for antiracism work in medicine. We present nine core tenets derived from our experience forming the Antiracist Healing Collaborative (AHC), a medical student-led initiative committed to developing bold and disruptive antiracist medical education content. Our lessons developing and implementing these tenets can guide other antiracism in medicine collaborations striving to promote liberation and healing, rather than recapitulating the racism and white supremacy culture embedded within medicine. We close by reflecting on how these tenets have steadied our recent decision to draw AHC to a close. They have allowed us to honour what we achieved together, strengthen the relationship that formed the foundation for our activism and bolster the shared antiracism mission that will guide our individual journeys moving forwards. The first of their kind, our ethical guidelines for antiracism work in medicine can facilitate greater recognition of the risks embedded in anti-oppression work transpiring in academic settings.

  • ethics
  • medical humanities
  • philosophy of medicine/health care

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Footnotes

  • Twitter @RupiLegha, @RussyanMabeza

  • Contributors RL led the drafting of the original manuscript. RMM and RL worked collaboratively to finalise the original draft and submit it. RL completed the final revisions. RL is the guarantor.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.