Race, Racism, and Medicine: Featuring @TheBlackOBGYNProject

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Today we’re thrilled to welcome to the show two folks in the #FOAMed #FOAMob space we admire greatly: Dr. Tamandra Morgan, a current PGY-2 in OB/GYN at UCSF; and Dr. Rachel Berell, who did her intern year in OB/GYN at UC-Irvine and is continuing her training in family medicine, with a focus on obstetrics and public health, at Boston Medical Center.

Together, they run the Instagram page @TheBlackObGynProject, which at the time of our recording has 16,700+ followers. They have created this as a space dedicated to educating and promoting anti-racism, equity, and inclusion within OB/GYN, women’s health, and reproductive health care.

We had a lovely interview with them about their work and their experiences.

The Black OB/GYN Project: Learning, Celebrating, Advocating, Healing.

On their Instagram, they have remarkably well-referenced posts about various instances of racism in the history of medicine, as well as how racism and other biases continue to be a factor today.

The Black OB/Gyn Project, 9/17/20

The Black OB/Gyn Project, 9/17/20

The Black OB/Gyn Project, 9/17/20

The Black OB/Gyn Project, 9/17/20

On the show, we mention in particular their September 17, 2020 post on the history of racism in obstetrics and gynecology as an excellent primer to the troubled past of our specialty and its link to today. Other posts include more history of the legacy of James Marion Sims and the impact of racism on postpartum care and hypertension, in particular.

The Black OB/GYN Project, 12/31/20

The Black OB/GYN Project, 12/31/20

The Black OB/GYN Project also celebrates Black lives, past and present, and provides a mentoring and celebratory space for folks in the BIPOC community.

And if that weren’t enough, they have provided exhaustive resources on allyship and antiracism, including choices for books and movies. Be sure to check out their posts from 6/4/20, 8/2/20, 9/11/20, and 10/26/20 for their recommendations to date.

The Black OB/GYN Project, 8/2/20

The Black OB/GYN Project, 8/2/20

Finally, from the podcast, Tamandra and Rachel share some thoughts for a personal plan to grow as an antiracist:

  • LEARN: read, watch, listen, and immerse yourself in the history and the present of injustice towards Black / non-white lives and bodies.

  • PRACTICE: anti-racism daily. It’s not an overnight thing! Be aware of your language, your preconceived notions, and even the patterns of thought you were trained to use becoming a doctor in order to recognize when race plays an inappropriate role in your own work.

  • BE CRITICAL: look at the scientific literature as you grow as an anti-racist, and ask when race is used as a variable why it was used, how it was obtained, and what significance (if any) racism may have in the true, interpretable results.

    • After our podcast, a phenomenal blog post/paper in Health Affairs was published, demonstrating a complete lack of focus on racism in the major journals over the last 30 years, while there was plenty to say on “racial differences.”

  • ADVOCATE: find opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally to bring the best care for your patients of color, and the best treatment for your colleagues of color. Attention has been brought towards the VBAC calculator and the impact of race, for instance. There are many other opportunities where work needs to be done, including in genetic screening and testing, gynecologic surgery, abortion care, and infertility.