The Inequity of Isolation

Abstract

Perspective The NEW ENGLA ND JOURNAL of MEDICINE n engl j med nejm.org 1 I nside a conference room with a long wooden table, a Black residency applicant sat next to 12 other applicants on interview day. None of their peers were Black. Across the table hung photos of faculty members, including the program director, medical director, and department chair. None were Black. In the corner of the room, administrators and coordinators were monitoring the agenda. None were Black. Rosters with descriptions and headshots of the faculty interviewers were distributed. None were Black. Later, residents spoke to applicants over lunch, and nurses sat at their workstations during the tour. None were Black. During the course of the interview day, the Black applicant was asked whether they were lost and twice was assumed to be anyone but an applicant. They were told that they had an unusual name and that they were articulate. Their hair was critiqued. At the end of the interview, the Black applicant wondered, "Do