Black patients may receive inadequate pain management from white doctors

Prejudice persists in modern medicine, influences patient treatment.

Read the whole story

 

[iPirateEverything]

This will change once the robotic doctors come online...




then there will be complaints about how robots get more vitamin D oil than humans.

 

[Blue Adept]

You know, if you start of with a pool of medical professionals who are known to have incorrect understandings of biology, is it all that surprising that they do incorrect treatment?

 

[Hicham]

Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are somehow more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What could possible be the reason for this? Thicker skin? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents being tougher on their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

 

[Wyokin]

What is the problem with public hospitals? I have a relative that is a nurse and she seem to have no problem with any race. I mean that I find it very concerning that people still have segregation and disrespect for one another. I have many different raced friends and I can't fathom that our public still allows this kind of behavior.

Note: I just have to say I'm lost in puzzlement and don't want to start an argument.

 

[Aelinsaar]

To be honest, I'm just thrilled any time I meet a GP that isn't a babbling idiot. If they're functional enough to take directions and write referrals, that's the most to reasonably hope for these days unless you're very lucky, or very wealthy.

 

[Coriolanus]

Wyokin[/url]":3scj4h7t]What is the problem with public hospitals? I have a relative that is a nurse and she seem to have no problem with any race. I mean that I find it very concerning that people still have segregation and disrespect for one another. I have many different raced friends and I can't fathom that our public still allows this kind of behavior. I just have to say I'm lost in puzzlement and don't want to start an argument.

I doubt that the disparity is the result of a conscious decision to discriminate, but something unconscious that the doctor is probably not aware of affecting behaviors subtly.

 

[superchkn]

Blue Adept[/url]":xrnsiuva]You know, if you start of with a pool of medical professionals who are known to have incorrect understandings of biology, is it all that surprising that they do incorrect treatment?

Exactly what I was thinking. There's this tendency to believe doctors know everything about biology (which I guess implies to many that they are much more intelligent.) Maybe that's why they seem to have so much sway with the general public on other topics where they are even less qualified to speak. In any case, I've worked in healthcare for over a decade, and it's amazing how many nurses and doctors both adhere to dogmatic and incorrect beliefs. It's like they don't realize that the medical field and our knowledge is progressing and what they may have heard during their training is often no longer the scientifically accepted truth. And it's worse with nursing where standards are lower and instructors teach things that are blatantly misleading and even outright false - all due to political biases.

 

[iPirateEverything]

Coriolanus[/url]":ejy9jnef]

Wyokin[/url]":ejy9jnef]What is the problem with public hospitals? I have a relative that is a nurse and she seem to have no problem with any race. I mean that I find it very concerning that people still have segregation and disrespect for one another. I have many different raced friends and I can't fathom that our public still allows this kind of behavior. I just have to say I'm lost in puzzlement and don't want to start an argument.

I doubt that the disparity is the result of a conscious decision to discriminate, but something unconscious that the doctor is probably not aware of affecting behaviors subtly.

I agree. Something like a "latent racist" (my definition of fooling oneself into believing he is not racist but knowing deep down somewhere that he is).

Perhaps they should have first tested if the doctors were racist and then done the pain test?

 

[superchkn]

Hicham[/url]":29k19yfh]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

 

[Ben G]

Isn't the basic conclusion from this study that "bad doctors are bad at their jobs"? That doesn't seem to be a terribly surprising finding.

 

[Blazingshot147]

Next up: "Black People Are Possibly 19% More Likely To Be Double Jointed" brought to you by the same people who believe vaccines give autism.

Seriously though, if someone comes in with crippling pain; white, black, pink, or purple, doctors should be at least knowledgable enough to go "Well maybe there's something very wrong here..."

 

[superchkn]

Ben G[/url]":2lmes198]Isn't the basic conclusion from this study that "bad doctors are bad at their jobs"? That doesn't seem to be a terribly surprising finding.

Well, that would be the largest part of the bell curve when it comes to provider performance in my experience. You would not believe how many think that they do much better than the population-based treatment protocols. It's always the other person doing the wrong thing with their patients and ruining it for the geniuses.

 

[Arkle]

While it is acknowledged that certain people (notably red-heads) can require a greater amount of pain medication in order to get the same effect as the majority of the population, I'm a little surprised that some or many physicians are thinking that there are people that would need less in the way of pain medication.

 

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

What surprises me(unless this was compensated for and I missed that by being an idiot) is that beliefs about biological difference would drown out beliefs about social and class difference in the context of pain management:

Even people who wouldn't even have bothered thinking about blood clotting rates, as a function of race or anything else; probably have a stereotype in mind when you prompt them for 'junkie pillhead'(whether that stereotype is 'eh, it's the lazy degenerate ghetto dweller, always with their drugs' or 'sure, all the white collar users know that prescriptions are more legal than street, better quality control and covered by insurance').

I would have expected theories about who is a 'real' patient and who is just a drug-seeking degenerate looking to score some pills would have drowned out the effects of beliefs about subjective pain experience levels when it comes to the question of what dosages, drugs, and options to consider.

 

[Einbrecher]

Wyokin[/url]":1ffo6t0f]What is the problem with public hospitals? I have a relative that is a nurse and she seem to have no problem with any race. I mean that I find it very concerning that people still have segregation and disrespect for one another. I have many different raced friends and I can't fathom that our public still allows this kind of behavior. I just have to say I'm lost in puzzlement and don't want to start an argument.

Did you read the article, or did you jump to a default, racially-charged response? I didn't see anywhere in it about disrespect or segregation.

All it says is that they found there existed in misinformed doctors the perception that black patients were more pain tolerant than white ones. There's no agenda or malicious intent here - just bad doctors being, well, bad.

 

[DanNeely]

Hicham[/url]":3qo1z07l]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are somehow more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What could possible be the reason for this? Thicker skin? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents being tougher on their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No clue. This American'd never heard the claim before today.

 

[ziegler]

superchkn[/url]":245vaui7]

Hicham[/url]":245vaui7]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

It is an american thing because slaves were literally bred for physical superiority. We're mammals just like all the others and can be bred just the same. Jimmy the Greek was run out of Sports for saying just that. Though I dont see the correlation between physical prowess and pain endurance. In my experience, the bigger they are, the worse one manages pain.
I'd also be interested if the prejudice comes from the perception of blacks being drug abusers and therefore getting lesser treatment because they are believed to be drug seekers. (I'd find this more likely the root cause, knowing how much the DEA watches narcotics now days)

 

[ConLawHero]

Talk to actual physicians and realize the vast an overwhelming majority don't care who you are, what color you are, what sex you are, or literally anything else [I mean, they will care about relevant physical traits, i.e., if you're a man, no cervical cancer, if you're black then sickle cell, that kind of thing]. Physicians in hospitals are so incredibly overworked that their main goal is to solve one patient's problem then move on to the next.

Moreover, many, many physicians are beginning to hold back on prescribing pain killers because they are over-prescribed right now. When you combine that with iSTOP laws (in NY, but apparently may become nationwide very soon), you have patients complaining that doctors won't prescribe drugs when a) the patient has already gone to 5 different doctors to try to get a script and/or b) the doctor does not feel an opiate is the appropriate treatment.

When my wife does prescribe opiates, is because it's the best course of treatment; not because it's the best course of treatment for white people or black people.

Many patients do not need opiates, and long term use of opiates should be avoided in favor of anti-depressants (which have analgesic properties) or something like tramadol or gabapentin.

The big offenders of over prescribing opiates, primary care physicians. Doctors in hospitals try to avoid prescribing opiates when there are better alternatives. Medical resident scripts for controlled substances are reviewed by attendings and medical students can't prescribe.

 

[rabish12]

ConLawHero[/url]":12o3en6f]Talk to actual physicians and realize the vast an overwhelming majority don't care who you are, what color you are, what sex you are, or literally anything else [I mean, they will care about relevant physical traits, i.e., if you're a man, no cervical cancer, if you're black then sickle cell, that kind of thing]. Physicians in hospitals are so incredibly overworked that their main goal is to solve one patient's problem then move on to the next.

Moreover, many, many physicians are beginning to hold back on prescribing pain killers because they are over-prescribed right now. When you combine that with iSTOP laws (in NY, but apparently may become nationwide very soon), you have patients complaining that doctors won't prescribe drugs when a) the patient has already gone to 5 different doctors to try to get a script and/or b) the doctor does not feel an opiate is the appropriate treatment.

When my wife does prescribe opiates, is because it's the best course of treatment; not because it's the best course of treatment for white people or black people.

Many patients do not need opiates, and long term use of opiates should be avoided in favor of anti-depressants (which have analgesic properties) or something like tramadol or gabapentin.

The big offenders of over prescribing opiates, primary care physicians. Doctors in hospitals try to avoid prescribing opiates when there are better alternatives. Medical resident scripts for controlled substances are reviewed by attendings and medical students can't prescribe.

You seem to be missing the issue that it's not about doctors intentionally making the decisions. They don't sit down and say "well, this guy's black, time for the Standard Black Guy Pain Treatment". It's just that whether or not they're aware of it, doctors are just as human and just as prone to having biases they may not even know that they have influence their decisions as the rest of us.

 

[AlexisR200X]

When it comes to pain management the reality is also distorted by many factors, some people tend to under report their pain levels while others overstate it for various reasons. I for one live with permanent chronic neck and back pain due to an accident my pain hovers at a steady 6 on a scale of 1-10. Most of the time I will say its a 4 when the doctor asks. The reason is quite simple when you spend years on pain medication doctors start seeing you as an addict, which is true sometimes. There is lots of shame, and stigma around pain management because its often viewed by your peers as weakness. This in turn often leads to depression in many people who live with pain. Sometimes people overstate their pain levels for fear of not being taken seriously. Finally we also have to touch on the elephant in the middle of the room which is bias where some doctors simply asume you are faking it because you might be black, hispanic, or overweight. It does not stop there either sometimes it can be because you seem too young to have that kind of pain (Yes I experienced that last one once) and or course if you are poor and your pain is being managed with Oxycodone or similar drugs there is the chance that you might be selling them.

My point is doctors can make a varied sort of assumptions about you that have nothing to do with your actual condition when giving you inadequate treatment.

 

[Wyokin]

Einbrecher[/url]":2cm8ns68]

Wyokin[/url]":2cm8ns68]What is the problem with public hospitals? I have a relative that is a nurse and she seem to have no problem with any race. I mean that I find it very concerning that people still have segregation and disrespect for one another. I have many different raced friends and I can't fathom that our public still allows this kind of behavior. I just have to say I'm lost in puzzlement and don't want to start an argument.

Did you read the article, or did you jump to a default, racially-charged response? I didn't see anywhere in it about disrespect or segregation.

All it says is that they found there existed in misinformed doctors the perception that black patients were more pain tolerant than white ones. There's no agenda or malicious intent here - just bad doctors being, well, bad.

I did read the article. I don't argue things I don't really know. It does seem that people treat others differently. If you would have read my post right, you would have understood that segregation means to separate from a main stream (in short terms) meaning people give some the cheeper things and give others good things due to the disliking of that person.

 

[enduzzer]

Many if not most athletes are black. Not that they are superior but they have less choice to climb the social ladder so they pick jobs where they can take advantage of this deeply rooted belief that a black body is made for running and boxing and stamina. So they themselves seem to unwittingly perpetuate this categorizing.

 

[iPirateEverything]

superchkn[/url]":vsugs3xg]

Hicham[/url]":vsugs3xg]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

Also keep in mind that blacks _were_ considered animals (in a way) and I remember reading somewhere that they were sometimes "bred" (and we wonder why aliens want nothing to do with us) exactly how we breed dogs/cats to bring out certain traits like intelligence, strength etc

If true, like it or not, from that horrible history it could be some black descendants might be stronger than folks who didn't have to go through that hell.

 

[superchkn]

enduzzer[/url]":206hf4cw]Many if not most athletes are black. Not that they are superior but they have less choice to climb the social ladder so they pick jobs where they can take advantage of this deeply rooted belief that a black body is made for running and boxing and stamina. So they themselves seem to unwittingly perpetuate this categorizing.

...and full circle back to not having much choice! This would be funny if it weren't true (and that there are so many negative repercussions of the cycle.) <sigh>

 

[daropi]

This smacks me a bit of a study that heard a stereotype, automatically concluded its complete BS, and then went about to try to show how it's bad and impacts things. They seem overconfident in their assumptions - what if there is a difference? Did they actually try to prove there wasn't? Nothing in this article talks about it.

Stereotypes aren't always born out of a random mix, often times there's some truth to it. Maybe there is a difference. For example, its well known that skin barrier function and thickness IS different between different races. East asians tend to have significantly measurable thinner skin and more poor barrier functionality. That could conceivably translate to things like skin bruising or injuries.

Who knows, maybe there's more to it than just a simple assumption everyone is completely equal.

 

[superchkn]

iPirateEverything[/url]":2gqdnbji]

superchkn[/url]":2gqdnbji]

Hicham[/url]":2gqdnbji]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

Also keep in mind that blacks _were_ considered animals (in a way) and I remember reading somewhere that they were sometimes "bred" (and we wonder why aliens want nothing to do with us) exactly how we breed dogs/cats to bring out certain traits like intelligence, strength etc

If true, like it or not, from that horrible history it could be some black descendants might be stronger than folks who didn't have to go through that hell.

It would be interesting if someone had the time to go back through the genealogy and see if that were true. On the one hand I wouldn't think it would have much effect across the number of generations we're talking about, and yet, animal studies have demonstrated surprising changes in short generational time frames. Nonetheless, I'm dubious on that one without seeing the evidence. I suspect it's just a larger relative population competing, which naturally results in more competitive athletes rising to the top.

 

[Veritas super omens]

ConLawHero[/url]":1s33xixl]Talk to actual physicians and realize the vast an overwhelming majority don't care who you are, what color you are, what sex you are, or literally anything else [I mean, they will care about relevant physical traits, i.e., if you're a man, no cervical cancer, if you're black then sickle cell, that kind of thing]. Physicians in hospitals are so incredibly overworked that their main goal is to solve one patient's problem then move on to the next.

Moreover, many, many physicians are beginning to hold back on prescribing pain killers because they are over-prescribed right now. When you combine that with iSTOP laws (in NY, but apparently may become nationwide very soon), you have patients complaining that doctors won't prescribe drugs when a) the patient has already gone to 5 different doctors to try to get a script and/or b) the doctor does not feel an opiate is the appropriate treatment.

When my wife does prescribe opiates, is because it's the best course of treatment; not because it's the best course of treatment for white people or black people.

Many patients do not need opiates, and long term use of opiates should be avoided in favor of anti-depressants (which have analgesic properties) or something like tramadol or gabapentin.

The big offenders of over prescribing opiates, primary care physicians. Doctors in hospitals try to avoid prescribing opiates when there are better alternatives. Medical resident scripts for controlled substances are reviewed by attendings and medical students can't prescribe.

Just to avoid any mistaken impressions by the readers: Tramadol is an opioid. Its a mu-receptor agonist and thus fits the same receptors in the pain centers as morphine et al. It does not have the intrinsic activity level though and so is only effective for pain to a certain level. It is also an SRNI (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) which makes it especially useful for chronic pain as it has antidepressant activity.

 

[Vincebus Maximus]

For real? Most athletes, eh? I guess if by athletes you mean NBA and NFL, maybe that's true and maybe it's not. But there are millions of athletes, in sports from snowboarding to mountain biking to martial arts. Hockey. Tennis. Runners. Hikers. Mountain climbers. They're not all professional, but they're athletes.

And what on earth does that have to with social ladders? What nonsense. How can they even "take advantage of a deeply rooted belief" that a black body is more athletic, if they don't in fact have a more athletic body? And if somebody does have a superior body, he's not perpetuating anything by becoming an athlete.

enduzzer[/url]":1v478e42]Many if not most athletes are black. Not that they are superior but they have less choice to climb the social ladder so they pick jobs where they can take advantage of this deeply rooted belief that a black body is made for running and boxing and stamina. So they themselves seem to unwittingly perpetuate this categorizing.

 

[rabish12]

daropi[/url]":3ewvzqbu]This smacks me a bit of a study that heard a stereotype, automatically concluded its complete BS, and then went about to try to show how it's bad and impacts things. They seem overconfident in their assumptions - what if there is a difference? Did they actually try to prove there wasn't? Nothing in this article talks about it.

That's a pretty ridiculous criticism. You're claiming that they didn't do due diligence on a paper effectively studying psychology because they didn't assume that the existing body of literature on physical differences between races is a complete lie and start performing a medical study to start over from scratch? Should they question the chemical effects of pain drugs and the validity of the nervous system as well?

Stereotypes aren't always born out of a random mix, often times there's some truth to it. Maybe there is a difference. For example, its well known that skin barrier function and thickness IS different between different races. East asians tend to have significantly measurable thinner skin and more poor barrier functionality. That could conceivably translate to things like skin bruising or injuries.

Who knows, maybe there's more to it than just a simple assumption everyone is completely equal.

Or maybe the study found that doctors make prescriptions that match their biases even when there's no medical reason to do so, something that's been pretty well-established by many, many studies.

 

[superchkn]

Veritas super omens[/url]":2dwyyj8j]
Just to avoid any mistaken impressions by the readers: Tramadol is an opioid. Its a mu-receptor agonist and thus fits the same receptors in the pain centers as morphine et al. It does not have the intrinsic activity level though and so is only effective for pain to a certain level. It is also an SRNI (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) which makes it especially useful for chronic pain as it has antidepressant activity.

Although sadly, it has the same drying effect that the more well known opioids do. So if you have something like Meniere's, you end up facing the same choice of being in pain or enduring vomit-inducing vertigo for days on end (even after you've stopped taking it.) No thanks, I'll take the pain every single time. I hope they come up with better pain medications by the time I'm facing something more than the elbow surgery I had to pin my bones back together. That was surprisingly not as painful as I'd have thought, but I can imagine more widespread and severe injuries that would have me confronting an ugly choice.

 

[DevilDukk]

How the hell do people become doctors without learning the falsehood of these "biological differences?"

 

[sep332]

It's true that there are "fantastical" beliefs about black people being stronger, faster, more emotional, and also more likely to tap into some voodoo power that gives them extra-human strength. I wish I was making this up. Anyway here's a short clip making fun of the issue: http://www.cc.com/video-collections/j58 ... own/w1do52

 

[iPirateEverything]

superchkn[/url]":2jimp06b]

iPirateEverything[/url]":2jimp06b]

superchkn[/url]":2jimp06b]

Hicham[/url]":2jimp06b]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

Also keep in mind that blacks _were_ considered animals (in a way) and I remember reading somewhere that they were sometimes "bred" (and we wonder why aliens want nothing to do with us) exactly how we breed dogs/cats to bring out certain traits like intelligence, strength etc

If true, like it or not, from that horrible history it could be some black descendants might be stronger than folks who didn't have to go through that hell.

It would be interesting if someone had the time to go back through the genealogy and see if that were true.

I agree.

I really don't have a horse in this race and what I wrote above is something I read somewhere else, I have no idea of the validity of it being true/false.

I don't get why that's being downvoted though... oh well.

 

[rabish12]

iPirateEverything[/url]":3ixsrc22]

superchkn[/url]":3ixsrc22]

iPirateEverything[/url]":3ixsrc22]

superchkn[/url]":3ixsrc22]

Hicham[/url]":3ixsrc22]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What would be the reason for this? Thicker skinn? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents are tougher with their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

No, think of it in terms of sports where many Americans don't believe that white people can compete and believe that black people are inherently better athletes. I'm sure some of that does come from slavery where I'm sure they were marketed as superior to white laborers. I think that also plays into the idea that some people have of the less evolved an animal, the more inherent strength they have - that somehow intelligence and strength are inversely proportional.

Edit: Which is to say that black people were once considered to be less evolved and intelligent. I re-read that and I can see where someone might get the idea that I'm saying that when I'm not.

Also keep in mind that blacks _were_ considered animals (in a way) and I remember reading somewhere that they were sometimes "bred" (and we wonder why aliens want nothing to do with us) exactly how we breed dogs/cats to bring out certain traits like intelligence, strength etc

If true, like it or not, from that horrible history it could be some black descendants might be stronger than folks who didn't have to go through that hell.

It would be interesting if someone had the time to go back through the genealogy and see if that were true.

I agree.

I really don't have a horse in this race and what I wrote above is something I read somewhere else, I have no idea of the validity of it being true/false.

I don't get why that's being downvoted though... oh well.

Eh, it's only the one downvote. As a general rule, if your post opens with something that might offend people then at least someone out there will just mash that down arrow rather than reading the rest.

 

[ej24]

"When white medical students and medical residents were asked similar questions, the researchers got the same results. For medical professionals who held many false beliefs about biological differences between the races, the racial bias in pain perception appeared again—they rated the pain of black patients as “less painful” compared to that of white patients."

This doesn't surprise me at all. Having attended a medical school for my PhD I have almost completely lost all respect for medical students and residents. Many (not all) are not terrible intelligent, but rather are excellent parrots. You prompt them and they expertly repeat what they've memorized as long as what you prompt them with is close to what they've memorized. Holding conversations with medical students is truly a painful experience. If physicians hold bias beliefs then their medical student parrots will keep squawking the same biased beliefs without questioning a thing. Medical students are not taught to think rationally, critically, or hold any skepticism, they regurgitate factoids, even false ones.

 

[chuuken]

Hicham[/url]":16eyaf62]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are somehow more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What could possible be the reason for this? Thicker skin? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents being tougher on their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

As a white American with a college education (no grad school)... Who the fuck ARE these people? How can you get a doctorate in anything with an apparently profound lack of understanding of the human organism?!

I want to know how cleverly the questions were worded. I have a hard time believing a practicing doctor would agree to "Do black people feel pain differently than white people?" If so, they really need to be reviewed by some board or another.

 

[chuuken]

enduzzer[/url]":18rzpq8k]Many if not most athletes are black. Not that they are superior but they have less choice to climb the social ladder so they pick jobs where they can take advantage of this deeply rooted belief that a black body is made for running and boxing and stamina. So they themselves seem to unwittingly perpetuate this categorizing.

Nnnnnnno. There aren't many blacks in curling or hockey, as noted by others. There may be high proportions of black athletes in Basketball and American Football, but that's more due to the importance that is placed on those sports in black culture in many (physical, geographical) areas.

I can kind of agree to the social ladder thing, in that many kids in low-income areas see sports as a way out of poverty, but most of those kids never realize that dream. Even some that see great success through college-level sports end up firmly middle-class or lower if they don't have good financial discipline. Unfortunately, growing up in poverty does not often afford good lessons in financial sense.

I can't help but notice that when people talk about how blacks are supposed to be super-athletes, they bring up the rising-out-of-poverty stuff but always completely leave out the crazy high rates of congenital and cultural cardiovascular problems that blacks (especially black males) have to worry about, or the absurdly high rates of obesity in urban areas. These are pretty common knowledge issues at this point, so it's weird that the myth perpetuates and people don't put the two together and ask questions.

 

[BradleyUffner]

Hicham[/url]":1rs5dkbo]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are somehow more delicate then other etnicities?

I'm from the north-eastern area of the US, and I've never heard of this either. Maybe it's a southern thing.

 

[Random John Smith Guy]

Hicham[/url]":3kfvne2a]Is this something American? I have never heard the believe that black people feel less pain or that white people are somehow more delicate then other etnicities?

This makes little sense to me. What could possible be the reason for this? Thicker skin? Less sensitive nerves? Or do people believe it is upbringing somehow? Black parents being tougher on their kids?

Very weird if you ask me. Is this some cultural left over from the slavery days when whites had to justify whipping their slaves?

It's just by American standards black men are stronger, taller and scarier. So it might be some sort of complement to their masculinity. The other option is that they think that the black men will get addicted to opiates easier. Either way, it's probably mildly racist and misleading but could actually be taken as a slight complement in one case or a benefit considering doctors tend to over prescribe opiates. It does need to be corrected, though.