Through the Lens of Scientific Racism: Patient Race Should Not Be Included in the Oral Presentation

Medical students are taught to include the patient demographics of age and gender in the oral presentation; the inclusion of race is controversial. Epidemiology demonstrates that race, as a social determinant of health, can be a risk factor for disease. However, race, as a social construct, is not a biological cause for disease. In the USA, the relationship between race and health is stained by a long history of scientific racism, and the misuse of science does not rest in our past. Given the complexity and persistence of scientific racism, race should not be included in the oral presentation.