Final Blog Post

When the course began, I was uneducated on the topic of history regarding race and medical care. I wondered what we would learn about the history of race and medicine that would relate to issues today. I understood that race was a component of historical mistreatment of patients in medical settings, and that people of different backgrounds experienced medical treatment through different perspectives, but I was unsure of exactly why and how these things impacted people throughout time. I also wondered what connections could be made from the historical racialized experienced of healthcare to how healthcare is racialized today.

The course addressed my question of how exactly medicine, healthcare and wellbeing were racialized in our country throughout history through the articles and novels we read, and we also had the opportunity to discuss how the historical disparities influenced those that are occurring in the present. Not only were we able to read books that provided factual evidence of historical racialized healthcare, but we were given time to discuss what we discovered through our readings, and bring to life the issues of the past by sharing individual findings through discussion with peers and through writing.

Though I gained a valuable perspective on the racialization of health in our country, I feel that my perspective is still limited. Although there were times where the group of people being discussed in class were of Chinese or Mexican descent, it was an uncommon occurrence. The racialized medical care experienced by African Americans throughout the entire lifespan of the United States, including the present, is without a doubt an important subject to bring attention to and understand. However, there are many races that have experienced and are still experiencing racialized healthcare. Perhaps I could have taken more opportunities as an individual student to research the issues that other races experience, but I do feel that it is important to have more inclusive topics of study. I would have loved to learn more about how Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or other races experience healthcare in our country. Now that the class has ended, I do however have a better understanding of how to research and learn about the historical experiences of different races on my own.

The most important things learned from this course were the development of concepts such as biopolitics and racialization. Learning about these things in a historical context enabled me to connect the concepts to the present and comprehend today’s issues surrounding race in a more knowledgeable way. I can take away from the course an understanding of how to contribute positively to future discussions of race and healthcare.

Mario C. Browne’s “Treat people better than you would like to be treated” mantra really stayed with me throughout the semester. Such a simple concept that many people in society have trouble implementing into their lives even when it matters the most, like in a medical setting. The personal experiences and knowledge that he brought to our class discussion were, to me, one of the most important segments of this course. It would be great if there were more guest speakers to give their personal stories, or to provide us with information from other perspectives of different backgrounds.

I know for certain that in my future and throughout my career after leaving Washington and Jefferson College that I will be able to take into consideration the issues of the past and how they shaped our society today, and use this knowledge to be a better citizen and be able to comprehend better the perspectives of others. As someone interested in a career in health, it is extremely important for me to have began learning how I can be a part of healing our incredibly racialized society. The takeaway from this class for me personally was not simply learning when and where certain people were affected by racialized medical care, but it was gaining a better mindset on how to understand the impact that this history has on people today.

Learning about the treatment of people throughout our own country’s history opened my eyes and lead me to the conclusion that what we learn in elementary and high school, the positive trend of things in our country going from bad to good over time to the present, is wrong. Maybe certain things have benefitted certain groups, but no one should be viewing the disparities, and heartless treatment of certain races as something of the past. We should be aware of what happened decades ago, but also aware that the present has not been completely washed clean of the inequality and racialization.

Leaving this class feeling educated on how race and medicine intersect in society, and feeling able to have a thorough conversation about the topic, but I am still left with a few loose ends. I can’t help but wonder how the class would have gone if we had talked about the experiences of races that were not discussed often in class. How have other races experienced exploitation and inequality in the medical field?