When a cardiologist flagged the lack of diversity at premier medical journals, the silence was telling
When cardiologist Raymond Givens read the article in the Journal of the American Heart Association last year, it stopped him in his tracks. Written by a fellow cardiologist, it claimed educational affirmative action programs were promoting underprepared Black and Hispanic trainees who would not gain admission to top medical schools or become the best doctors. While the article was widely condemned as racist and error-filled and was swiftly retracted by the journal, its publication left Givens with a host of questions.
“I thought, ‘How did this get published? Who gets this kind of space — 8,000 words — in a medical journal?’ That’s unheard of,” he said. “That started the wheels turning. Who’s on the masthead?”
