CAMPUS INSANITY: UCLA enlists medical students to help craft “woke” health equity curriculum

08/29/2024 / By Richard Brown

The University of California, Los Angeles’s (UCLA) medical school is coming under fire after enlisting first- and second-year medical students to help design a new, more liberal curriculum for its mandatory Structural Racism and Health Equity (SRHE) courses.

A document from June 2023, obtained by the advocacy group Do No Harm, reveals that UCLA is looking to involve these students in creating a curriculum that includes themes associated with critical race theory and other liberal and so-called “woke” perspectives.

According to the SRHE curriculum guide, the course will focus on how structural determinants of health, such as race, influence the current healthcare system.

The curriculum emphasizes critical race theory, queer theory and principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. To apply for this role, students must provide a letter of support from a peer demonstrating their commitment to anti-racist efforts. (Related: Trump vows to cut federal funding for schools pushing CRITICAL RACE THEORY and transgenderism.)

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, criticized UCLA’s approach, telling the Washington Examiner that having first-year students develop curriculum content is problematic. He argued that these students, who often have limited clinical experience, are not suitable candidates for such responsibilities.

Medical education being infested by woke ideology

The rise of “woke” ideology in medical education across the United States is raising significant concerns.

Traditionally, one of the few universally shared experiences in life is visiting a doctor. When seeking medical care, patients naturally desire the most knowledgeable and skilled physician available.

However, medical schools seem to be shifting their focus from producing top-notch doctors to cultivating those who adhere to equitable and “woke” principles. This shift has profound implications for the future of healthcare.

The event featured Dr. Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Aaron Sibarium, associate editor at the Washington Free Beacon; and John Sailer, a research associate at NAS and author on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in medical education.

While social factors can affect health, they are not the sole determinants. Personal choices also play a crucial role, yet the focus has increasingly shifted to a victimhood narrative that diminishes personal responsibility.

This is the argument presented by Dr. Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, during a webinar hosted by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) in February. Satel also talks about how woke ideology and an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has impacted the field of psychiatry, making psychotherapy ineffective for people who believe they are simply oppressed victims and not people who can recognize and address how their actions may be hindering their well-being.

Satel also critiqued organizations like “White Coats for Black Lives,” which prioritize social activism over patient care, advocating for the dismantling of racism in healthcare rather than focusing on medical treatment.

John Sailer, a research associate with NAS and an author on and critic of DEI, highlighted how institutional policies are contributing to the rise of wokeness in medical schools, leading to universities spending far too much to employ so-called “DEI officers” who dedicate their time at work to integrating so-called social justice into medical education.

DEI and social justice principles are increasingly influencing tenure and promotion processes at medical schools. This shift can jeopardize faculty positions for those who dissent from prevailing ideologies, even on matters of basic scientific truth.

Sailer also discussed the radical beliefs of groups like White Coats for Black Lives, which advocate for a range of progressive causes including the abolition of prisons and capitalism. These groups have successfully implemented policy changes at institutions such as the University of Michigan and the University of California, Davis.

Learn more about the spread of liberal and woke ideology on college campuses at CampusInsanity.com.

Watch this video discussing the dangers of being infected by the so-called “woke mind virus.”

This video is from the Thrivetime Show channel on Brighteon.com.