Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2020 Apr;29(2):315-323. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1242. Epub 2020 Mar 13.
Through self-reflection, self-education, and with a learning mindset each of us has embarked on a personal path to understand the impact of racism in our personal and professional lives. This personal work is ongoing, though it was through our individual paths that led us to engage in dialogue on race and racism at the 38th National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Conference. We initially did not know each other; however, we were drawn by a mutual desire to further the conversation and sought connection with each other after the Conversations Around Diversity Platform Presentations. Through sustained, open dialogue we created a brave space for sharing our emotional and intellectual responses to the conference. Through this dialogue and through written reflections, we recognized an emboldened urgency to author a joint reflection on our shared responsibility as genetic counseling training program leaders to use our privilege in service to our students and future students. We have the evidence that we are not a diverse profession. We have more evidence now than we did before that our profession performs poorly with regards to inclusivity. Our inability to acknowledge, address, and discuss racism and other forms of oppression is damaging to each of us individually and as a group of professionals. We owe it to ourselves, our students, our patients, and colleagues to name our learned biases and behaviors, own them and interrupt them.
通过自我反思、自我教育和学习心态，我们每个人都踏上了理解种族主义对个人和职业生活影响的个人道路。这项个人工作仍在进行中，但正是通过我们各自的道路，我们才在第 38 届全国遗传咨询师协会年会上就种族和种族主义问题进行了对话。我们最初并不认识彼此；然而，我们都渴望进一步推动对话，并在多样性对话平台演讲后寻求彼此联系。通过持续、开放的对话，我们为分享对会议的情感和智力反应创造了一个勇敢的空间。通过这次对话和书面反思，我们认识到作为遗传咨询培训项目的领导者，我们有责任利用我们的特权为学生和未来的学生服务，这种责任感变得更加迫切。我们有证据表明，我们的专业人员并不多样化。现在我们有更多的证据表明，我们的专业在包容性方面表现不佳。我们无法承认、解决和讨论种族主义和其他形式的压迫，这对我们每个人和整个专业群体都是有害的。我们有责任认识到我们的偏见和行为，承认它们，纠正它们，这是对我们自己、我们的学生、我们的病人和同事的责任。
