Medical students’ perspectives on racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany: Identified problems and learning needs for medical education

OBJECTIVE: Against the backdrop of considerable lack of research, this study provides the first exploration of medical students’ perspectives on racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany. The aim is to identify problems and learning needs for medical education. We address the following research questions: – How do medical students perceive racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany? – How do they address, understand, and discuss different aspects of racism in this context? – What are their expectations regarding the role of medical education? METHODS: Semi-structured online focus group discussions were conducted with 32 medical students from 13 different medical schools in Germany. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Based on the analysis of the focus groups, four main hypotheses could be formulated: 1. Medical students perceive racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany as a ubiquitous phenomenon. 2. They have problems to identify racist behaviour and structures due to conceptual knowledge gaps. 3. They are insecure how to deal with racism on a situational level. 4. They hold medical education accountable to tackle racism in medicine and healthcare on various levels. CONCLUSION: Our study raises specific learning needs for addressing racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany. Research from the US-context might inspire innovative approaches for German medical education but needs to take national specificities into account. Further research is needed to prepare the implementation of antiracist training in German medical education.