Depression and Perceived Social Support in Asian American Medical Students

Patterns of Ostracism Experienced by Canadian Medical Trainees of Asian Sub-ethnicities

Phenomenon: Ostracism has negative effects on one's fundamental needs. North Americans of Asian ethnicities are at an increased risk of ostracism due to stereotypes labeling them as inherently different to Western cultural norms. We explored Asian Canadian medical trainees' experiences with ostracism during their clinical training. Approach: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 medical trainees of Asian ethnicities at 3 Canadian medical schools to explore experiences of ostracism and conducted a thematic analysis guided by the theoretical framework of the temporal need threat model of ostracism. Findings: Participants from East-, South-, and Southeast-Asian sub-ethnic groups completed the study. They voiced experiences of being excluded from clinical and social settings. Ostracism was mainly fueled by systemic racism, power dynamics in medical education, and non-diverse training environments. The model minority myth was a significant contributor to experiences of ostracism. Trainees felt their well-being threatened and many felt resigned to accept ostracism going forward. Insights: Ostracism poses a significant threat to the wellbeing and career progression of Asian Canadian medical trainees. Trainees facing covert ostracism were particularly at risk of entering the resignation stage of hopelessness. This underrecognized problem needs to be addressed by institutions to dismantle harmful stereotypes and prejudiced practices facing these minoritized communities.

Exploring the intersectionality of race and gender on the incidence of and response to microaggression experienced by Asian American women medical students

BACKGROUND

Discrimination faced by Asian American trainees in medical school include those reported by female trainees. This study aims to characterize the microaggressions faced by Asian American woman medical students.

METHODS

We use a mixed methods approach to characterize the experiences of Asian Americans in United States (US) medical schools through an anonymous online survey and participation in focus groups.

RESULTS

Among our 305 participants, 65.9 ​% were women. More women experienced microaggressions than men (p ​< ​0.001). Compared to men, women reported significantly higher rates of supervisors having higher expectations of them, implying they were submissive, and describing them as too quiet. Women felt that their experiences with microaggressions were entangled with being Asian and a woman, but could not distinguish which identity was being targeted.

CONCLUSION

The intersectionality of being Asian American and a woman in medical training has not been explored. We found that this duality intensified experiences of microaggressions.

Experiences with Racism Among Asian American Medical Students

Importance

Asian American physicians have experienced a dual pandemic of racism and COVID-19 since 2020; understanding how racism has affected the learning environment of Asian American medical students is necessary to inform strategies to promoting a more inclusive medical school environment and a diverse and inclusive workforce. While prior research has explored the influence of anti-Asian racism on the experiences of Asian American health care workers, to our knowledge there are no studies investigating how racism has impacted the training experiences of Asian American medical students.

Objective

To characterize how Asian American medical students have experienced anti-Asian racism in a medical school learning environment.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This qualitative study included online video interviews of Asian American medical students performed between July 29, 2021, and August 22, 2022. Eligible participants were recruited through the Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association and snowball sampling, and the sample represented a disaggregated population of Asian Americans and all 4 medical school years.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The medical school experiences of Asian American medical students.

Results

Among 25 participants, Asian ethnicities included 8 Chinese American (32%), 5 Korean American (20%), 5 Indian American (20%), 3 Vietnamese American (12%), 2 Filipino American (8%), and 1 (4%) each Nepalese, Pakistani, and Desi American; 16 (64%) were female. Participants described 5 major themes concerning their experience with discrimination: (1) invisibility as racial aggression (eg, "It took them the whole first year to be able to tell me apart from the other Asian guy"); (2) visibility and racial aggression ("It transitioned from these series of microaggressions that every Asian person felt to actual aggression"); (3) absence of the Asian American experience in medical school ("They're not going to mention Asian Americans at all"); (4) ignored while seeking support ("I don't know what it means to have this part of my identity supported"); and (5) envisioning the future.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this qualitative study, Asian American medical students reported feeling invisible within medical school while a target of anti-Asian racism. Addressing these unique challenges related to anti-Asian racism is necessary to promote a more inclusive medical school learning environment.

Intersection of anxiety and negative coping among Asian American medical students

Purpose

Asian Americans comprise 21% of matriculating medical students in the United States but little is known about their mental health. With the growing focus on addressing the mental health of medical students, this systematic, nationwide survey assesses the relationship between anxiety and depression symptoms and coping skills among Asian American medical students.

Materials and methods

A survey tool comprised of Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, and questions related to coping were emailed to members of the Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association enrolled in a United States medical school during the 2016–2017 academic year. We evaluated associations between anxiety and coping as well as depression and coping.

Results

A total of 511 Asian American medical students completed the survey. Anxiety symptoms were positively correlated with an increase in negative coping skills. Depressive symptoms were not correlated with an increase in negative coping skills.

Conclusion

Professionals and medical schools that aim to improve the mental health of medical students should be aware of the needs of specific populations. Asian American students who experience anxiety were more likely to utilize avoidant or negative coping strategies. In addition, Asian American students who experience depressive symptoms were not more likely to utilize these negative coping strategies. Further research must be done to evaluate the factors that influence the use of negative coping strategies to better address anxiety within the Asian American medical student population.