A new proposed code of ethics regarding microaggressions from the Oregon Medical Board (OMB) could result in doctors in the state losing their medical licenses.
OMB is reportedly in the process of finalizing ethics rules regarding unprofessional conduct, which would include adding “microaggressions” to the definition. according to The Washington Free Beacon points out that the rule means doctors who fail to report unprofessional conduct “within 10 business days” could face extreme consequences, including loss of their medical licenses.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a former vice dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and father of the company’s chairman, Michael Goldfarb, said the rule would have a “chilling effect on speech” and lead to “a deterioration of the patient-physician relationship.”
“Physicians need to be able to speak openly and honestly with their patients,” Goldfarb told the outlet. “If physicians believe they can be punished for delivering bad news or saying things that patients may misunderstand, this will lead to a chilling effect on speech and ultimately to a deterioration of the patient-physician relationship.”
under ORS 677.190The OMB states that it may “refuse to grant, or suspend or revoke, a medical license for any of the following reasons,” including “unprofessional or dishonorable conduct,” “obtaining fees by fraud or false representation,” or “prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.”
Derald Wing Sue, a professor at Columbia University, Explained He was honored by the Oregon Department of Transportation as a “Distinguished Scholar on Microaggressions.”
Sue explains that microaggressions come in three forms.
- Microassaults: Overt racist insults. Verbal and non-verbal. Examples: name calling, avoidance behavior, intentional discriminatory acts.
- Microinsult: A communication that conveys disrespect or insensitivity and belittles a person’s racial background or identity. A subtle insult, unknown to the perpetrator, that sends a hidden message of insult to the recipient.
- Microinvalidation: Communication that excludes, denies, or invalidates the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential realities of people from a particular group.
The media noted that the rule would expand the definition of unprofessional conduct to include “discrimination through unfair treatment characterized by implicit and explicit bias, including microaggressions.”
The rule, which has so far escaped media attention, expands that definition to include “discrimination through unequal treatment characterized by implicit and explicit bias, including microaggressions, or indirect or subtle behaviors that reflect negative attitudes or beliefs about non-majority groups.” Discrimination is defined in the rule as “a difference in the quality of care provided that is not due to access-related factors or clinical need, preference, appropriateness, or intervention.”
“OMB does not believe this rule will change the way physicians, PAs, and acupuncturists practice medicine, because discrimination in the practice of medicine and acupuncture is already considered unethical and prohibited by federal law and institutional regulations,” OMB policy analyst Elizabeth Roth told the outlet.
Ross added that the OMB will consider adopting the rule at a meeting scheduled for July 11.
