Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
College of Human Sciences and Education
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The research gap in narratives from African American medical students on the topic of culturally relevant curriculum at predominantly white institutions requires attention. The research on Black medical students’ experiences in medicine fails to distinguish the voices of the diaspora drowning out the most underrepresented group, Black/African Americans. As medical students prepare to serve patients from diverse backgrounds, a medical school curriculum that is culturally relevant and pays homage to the diversity of patient demographics is warranted. Using the multicultural education framework to guide this research, the researcher was able to amplify the voices of Black/African American medical students as they described their experiences with culturally relevant curriculum at predominantly white institutions. The study was guided by a central research question and three sub-questions to gain insight from participants. Thirteen semi-structed interviews were completed. From the narratives, six themes emerged: complicit administration: administration partial investment and the perpetuation of artificial culture; silence as a burden: the weight of faculty discomfort with conversations on race, culture, and ethnicity in medical education; one-size fails all: the pedagogical gap in self-directed resource learners; care disparities: faculty knowledge gaps in the treatment of patients from diverse backgrounds; biased diagnostics: the hidden curriculum of patient stereotypes in medical stem questions; and, this African American life as a medical textbook: personal journeys shaping culturally competent care. Findings from this study add to the dearth of research on the experiences of Black/African American medical students with culturally relevant curriculum.
Date
7-9-2025
Recommended Citation
Brown, Amber Mignon, "The Color of Medical School Curriculum: African American Medical Students’ Experiences with Culturally Relevant Curriculum at Predominantly White Institutions" (2025). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6857.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6857
Committee Chair
Clayton, Ashley
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.6857