AMA VICDOC Autumn 2024 - Magazine - Page 76
S H R EYA M AG O, M SCV
Intersectionality isn’t about forming increasingly
granular categories of individuals, but instead
considers all individuals, and it is extraordinarily
relevant to all aspects of medicine.
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It is here that I see a gap in my medical
school learning. While we have learnt
about issues such as healthcare access
in specific populations, or the general
provision of culturally safe care, teaching
of intersectionality as a concept is
notably lacking. Indeed, Rehman et al.
suggest that currently, intersectionality
and its many facets of applicability
are covered at best superficially in
medical education.
There has been a new emergence
of research and framework proposals
suggesting methods of introducing
formalised intersectionality teaching
into medical education. As we await
this introduction into the curriculum,
I hope that we – particularly my own
generation of future healthcare leaders
– become increasingly cognisant of
how we can consider and implement
the theories of intersectionality in our
everyday practice and policies. Samra
et al. state, "dismantling the power
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structures in medicine… requires complex
thinking that goes beyond focusing on
one dimension at a time – e.g., patriarchy
or racism”. Indeed, whenever we think
of improving our system, we must think
of all the people in the setting. Only then
will our advocacy, research and healthcare
reach everyone.
Intersectionality is important in
understanding the experiences of
healthcare professionals with differing
and intersecting identities. It’s important
in providing clinical care to all patients
of diverse identities. It’s important in
ensuring clinical research is applicable to
everyone. It’s important in ensuring our
health policies serve all groups of people.
It’s important to learn in medical
school, because we are the future of
medicine and the medical system.
And it’s important on International
Women’s Day because when we talk
about women, we must talk about
all women.
