Patient Bias Toward Clinicians Comes in Many Forms

Just as combating healthcare disparities based on patients' racial backgrounds deserve attention, so does patient bias toward clinicians in an increasingly diverse healthcare workforce. In this qualitative study, researchers explored the extent and nature of this problem with 13 focus groups (total interviews, 50) that included attending physicians, residents, and students from a single California institution. The group was highly diverse, with 52% women and six major racial/ethnic groups represented. Focus groups were conducted with usual qualitative methods.

A wide range of demeaning behaviors by patients were described by participants, including offensive comments, ethnic jokes, questioning of the clinician's role, and inappropriate quest…