Comments on: True Tales of Medical School: Grand Rounds

By: fernando

fernando — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:31:41 +0000

calling racist a surgeon who helps hand workers to recover the use of their hands? please focus on what this man does and forget how he talks…

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:28:18 +0000

OK, I have to give Dr. K credit for standing on principle. I more or less understand some people saying what’s the big deal/ how is that racist….but, at the very least this doctor should try to be less judgemental, those attitudes are visible to patients, no matter how hard they try to hide it.
PS David Oakes LOL!

By: EL

EL — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:48:03 +0000

The term ghetto refers to urban areas in which people of one “race” live together. Originally it was used to refer to areas where Jews were crowded into an area together in European cities. This was generally not intentional on their part, but was generally imposed from without. In the United States it is commonly used to refer to areas of low income (although in the original sense, people from a variety of socio economic backgrounds lived in ghettos) or areas where African Americans live. And yes, if you are a child of the 80s or 90s, you possibly were not exposed to the term being used in this manner. Thus, using ghetto in this way, was potentially racist or demeaning. There were better ways to state what the visiting surgeon was trying to say. I feel that Dr. K- was right in his stance and was not being sensitive.

I have heard residents laughing at patients who are simply ignorant. In many cases these patients had not been properly informed about procedures and they really did not understand what had been done to them. This is not funny and it is because of this that while I was in practice, I spent a lot of time educating my clients (clients, because I am a veterinarian and my patients wouldn’t understand explanations).

By: Ben Lovell

Ben Lovell — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:04:23 +0000

Why does it matter if he was racist or not, if the information he was imparting was both interesting and informative?

You don’t have to agree with someone to learn something from them.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:01:58 +0000

One quick note that I think we are failing to recognize is that this was the early 90’s. All by it’s onesies, “ghetto people” or even “backwards ghetto people” does not appear to me to be overtly racist. Yet, maybe in that particular area, in that time, it was a rather popular (and I use the term loosely) racial slur. From the way that Scoot wrote his article, it seems to me that there was some racist intent when the term was used. I can’t be a judge as I was neither “there” nor “then”… Ok I was “then”, I was probably just watching cartoons at the time.

By: Blake

Blake — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:15:18 +0000

I have never heard the term ‘ghetto people’ used with any kind of racial association. I always thought it meant people who lived in a ghetto, i.e. those who belong to a lower socio-economic standing.
The only way I can see it might be racist is if the guest speaker had been showing photographs of victims primarily from one racial background (for example if most of the gunshot victims were white, African-American, hispanic, and so on) and therefore it was implied that he was referring to just one race.
But it does seem that it is important to judge the probability of a return appointment. The fact is that people from certain backgrounds, particularly poorer backgrounds, are less likely to make follow-up appointments – that seems to be all he was trying to express. And it is shorter to say ‘ghetto people’ or ‘people from the ghetto’ than ’socio-economically disadvantaged urban individuals.’
Now ‘backward’ may not be a nice way of putting it, however, ‘backward’ literally just means ‘living as if it was some time in the past.’ I realize it has certain negative connotations in some circles, but nonetheless it is often an accurate term. Certainly it seems accurate, if insensitive, for those who do not obtain medical care (whether by choice or necessity of circumstance).
I can’t judge, since I wasn’t there, but my initial impression (and still my general impression) was ‘Wow, that Dr. K- is really over-sensitive!’

By: inspectormustard

inspectormustard — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:40:04 +0000

This isn’t terribly important but I’m a little confused. You wrote that while in your second year of med school you attended The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was released in 1993. Silence of the Lambs was released in 1991. Assuming the FBI consultant’s grand round took place in your third or fourth year, what year was it then?

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:07:53 +0000

I agree with Adam. And while it’s somewhat offensive to call a stubbornly ignorant person “backwards”, it’s not exactly inaccurate.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:13:07 +0000

I have to say, Dr. K seems a bit overly sensitive. It seems to me that the lecturer was speaking truthfully from experience. The sad fact is that people who live in ghettos (not a derogatory term, but a noun which refers to low-income communities) tend to be less likely to keep medical appointments. They’re also much more likely to need surgery to treat gunshot wounds.

It’s not racist if it’s true, then it’s simply a fact. However, assuming that “ghetto” refers to a specific race DOES sound racist to me.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:04:59 +0000

“i teach at a community college, by choice, because I got tired of the elitism of the traditional 4 year university attitude. my students are struggling for their education and truly value it in ways that traditional university students never will.”

Not even the traditional university students who used to be struggling community college students until they graduated from their community colleges and became transfer students at their traditional universities?