Discrimination in medicine

As the current political situation in France shows, discrimination is rife. So why should it be any different in medicine? The 50 rapid responses we had to a recent editorial on racism in medicine are proof that discrimination in medicine is alive and well.1 This is hardly surprising, in a culture where a consultant surgeon thinks there is nothing wrong in saying to his junior, “You are not operating on bloody Nigerians here; you are operating on normal human beings.”2

But discrimination has many forms, not just racial. At a time where over 60% students applying to British medical schools are female,3 only 6% of consultant surgeons are.4 In addition, over 90% of women want …