Can a Woman of Color Trust Medical Education?

In this Invited Commentary, the author-a second-generation immigrant, a first-generation college graduate, and a woman of color-reflects on the experiences during medical school that shaped her trust in the medical education system. She describes her reasons for entering medicine-to become the kind of doctor she wished she had had growing up. Then she considers how the words physicians use with patients and to talk about patients, which can reinforce problematic narratives and indicate complicity with structural injustices, negatively affect the care they provide. Trainees learn what is acceptable behavior from this hidden curriculum, perpetuating these harmful practices. The author challenges readers to consider how leaders in medical education can work to change this culture to create an education system that trains a physician workforce that keeps patients' voices and experiences at the center of their care and serves the needs of all patients, regardless of their identities.