Anti-Indigenous bias
March 6, 2023
Dear Members,
Following media reports on a study that identified explicit anti-Indigenous bias among some Alberta physicians, I have released a statement.
You are always welcome to share your thoughts with me. You can email me via president@albertadoctors.org. You can also comment on this letter on the AMA website.
Regards,
fred Rinaldi, MD, CCFP, FCFP, LLB, MBA, MPA(HSA), BCom
President, Alberta Medical Association
"Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You can not withstand the storm.' The warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm.'"
2 comments
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Doc Marten
8:52 PM on March 06, 2023
What strength of evidence can be garnered through a voluntary survey? So far, we know that 8% of 375 non - random respondents have a "negative view of the indigenous". That's 30 physicians out of 12000 in the province. So all we can say with certainty is that 0.25% of Alberta physicians hold these negative views. Which means that possibly, up to 99.75% don't hold these negative view. It's not 100% but it's pretty close.
Erika MacIntyre
11:20 AM on March 07, 2023
I find this statement disappointing.
We as physicians have been encouraged to be aware of our biases and manage them so they do not impact our clinical practice. For these researchers to say “this study’s findings further validate the numerous patient reports of anti-Indigenous bias in health-care” is questionable.
It would seem that these physicians volunteered their time, shared their personal thoughts and feelings and were subsequently publicly criticized for the outcome. How unfortunate.
I suspect some of the physicians who participated were AMA members, perhaps the AMA should support them in their path towards self-development and furtherment of the profession.