Perceptions of racism experienced by black students on medical courses in Brazil: an integrative literature review

Abstract

Despite college quotas, medicine remains a predominantly white and elitist profession. This review discusses the literature on racism experienced by black medical students in Brazil. We searched the following databases: Virtual Health Library, US National Library of Medicine, Scientific Electronic Library Online, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Educational Resources Information Centre, periodical portal of the Coordination for the Improvement of the Higher Education Personnel, and Google Scholar. The 11 studies included in the review are qualitative and from the field of social and human sciences. The evident denial of racism, despite reports of discrimination, jokes about hair, feelings of estrangement, exclusion, and low levels of representation among academic staff and students highlight the specificities of the construction of racism in Brazil. The latter tends to go unnoticed, even by those who experience it on a daily basis on medical courses.