Mentioning race at the beginning of clinical case presentations: a survey of US medical schools.

OBJECTIVES: Medical students and doctors in the USA frequently mention the patient's race at the beginning of oral or written clinical case presentations. However, this practice is controversial. We aimed to determine whether US medical schools explicitly teach students to mention race at the beginning of case presentations, and to collect additional information on the schools' perspectives on this practice.
METHODS: An Internet-based questionnaire was submitted to directors of courses on history taking and physical examination at all US medical schools.
RESULTS: The response rate was 85%. Students are taught to mention race routinely at 11% of schools and selectively at 63% of schools; this practice is discouraged at 9% of schools and not addressed at 18% of schools. Most respondents noted that resident doctors at their institutions routinely mention race at the beginning of case presentations. Even at schools in which mentioning race is discouraged or not addressed, students tend to include race during their clinical rotations. Respondents were divided on whether a standardised approach to inclusion of race should exist at US schools.
CONCLUSIONS: Teaching about inclusion or exclusion of race in the opening statement of clinical case presentations varies across US medical schools. This variation presents an opportunity for medical educators to discuss tensions between stereotyping and cultural competence in medical education.