CALIFORNIA – A coalition of doctors in California have filed a lawsuit against the state due to a state law they found disturbing and racist. In the process of obtaining Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, they found that law requires all classes and courses used for the CMEs must contain implicit bias instruction.
According to Just The News, California passed AB 241 in 2019. In essence, that bill “requires all continuing medical education (CME) courses to include implicit bias training.”
The state requires 50 CME hours annually to be able to maintain one’s medical license. The law mandates that practitioners digest this content annually or lose their license to practice, and along with it, their ability to earn their livelihoods. The law also changed the scope of what is being instructed within the 50 hours to include information that, according to many doctors, is both unnecessary and counterproductive.
The suit was originally filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) on behalf of Dr. Azadeh Khatibi, an ophthalmologist who immigrated to the US from Iran when she was six years old. On top of being a physician, she is also a CME instructor.
The PLF complaint says that she “does not want to be compelled to include discussion of implicit bias” in her courses because “there is no relevance to her topics, or discussion of other topics is more relevant to minimize treatment outcome disparities.”
The complaint further states that research regarding implicit bias is mixed and that teaching it often leads to more anger and resentment than before.
Very Well Mind defines implicit bias as "an unconscious association, belief, or attitude toward any social group. Implicit biases are one reason why people often attribute certain qualities or characteristics to all members of a particular group, a phenomenon known as stereotyping.”
Joining Dr. Khatibi on the lawsuit are Dr. Marilyn Singleton and the organization Do No Harm, a non-profit made up of medical professionals “who believe the patient is more important than political ideology when recommending and providing care.”
According to a press release, the group is "a non-partisan non-profit that rallies physicians and patients to stop a radical, divisive takeover of healthcare. Do No Harm believes in medical fairness, equal access, and individualized treatment for every patient, without exception.”
In that same press release, the group stated it was setup to give medical professionals a voice to stand up against government-mandated “woke” ideology as they fight for individual healthcare and against identity politics.
“The implicit bias requirement promotes the inaccurate belief that white individuals are naturally racist,” said Singleton, a visiting fellow at Do No Harm, a California anesthesiologist, and a CME instructor. “This message can be detrimental to medical professionals and their patients as it creates an atmosphere of suspicion and animosity, which goes against the fundamental principle of doing no harm.”
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman of Do No Harm, alludes to the thought process of radical political ideology permeating into healthcare. "We can't wait," he said. "Radical ideology and identity politics are gaining ground by the day. The sooner we help people realize this, the sooner we can rally a movement to roll back woke healthcare and promote the high-quality care that every American deserves."
The California Medical Board cited “pending litigation” for their declining to comment.
According to Just The News, California passed AB 241 in 2019. In essence, that bill “requires all continuing medical education (CME) courses to include implicit bias training.”
The state requires 50 CME hours annually to be able to maintain one’s medical license. The law mandates that practitioners digest this content annually or lose their license to practice, and along with it, their ability to earn their livelihoods. The law also changed the scope of what is being instructed within the 50 hours to include information that, according to many doctors, is both unnecessary and counterproductive.
The suit was originally filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) on behalf of Dr. Azadeh Khatibi, an ophthalmologist who immigrated to the US from Iran when she was six years old. On top of being a physician, she is also a CME instructor.
The PLF complaint says that she “does not want to be compelled to include discussion of implicit bias” in her courses because “there is no relevance to her topics, or discussion of other topics is more relevant to minimize treatment outcome disparities.”
The complaint further states that research regarding implicit bias is mixed and that teaching it often leads to more anger and resentment than before.
Very Well Mind defines implicit bias as "an unconscious association, belief, or attitude toward any social group. Implicit biases are one reason why people often attribute certain qualities or characteristics to all members of a particular group, a phenomenon known as stereotyping.”
Joining Dr. Khatibi on the lawsuit are Dr. Marilyn Singleton and the organization Do No Harm, a non-profit made up of medical professionals “who believe the patient is more important than political ideology when recommending and providing care.”
According to a press release, the group is "a non-partisan non-profit that rallies physicians and patients to stop a radical, divisive takeover of healthcare. Do No Harm believes in medical fairness, equal access, and individualized treatment for every patient, without exception.”
In that same press release, the group stated it was setup to give medical professionals a voice to stand up against government-mandated “woke” ideology as they fight for individual healthcare and against identity politics.
“The implicit bias requirement promotes the inaccurate belief that white individuals are naturally racist,” said Singleton, a visiting fellow at Do No Harm, a California anesthesiologist, and a CME instructor. “This message can be detrimental to medical professionals and their patients as it creates an atmosphere of suspicion and animosity, which goes against the fundamental principle of doing no harm.”
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman of Do No Harm, alludes to the thought process of radical political ideology permeating into healthcare. "We can't wait," he said. "Radical ideology and identity politics are gaining ground by the day. The sooner we help people realize this, the sooner we can rally a movement to roll back woke healthcare and promote the high-quality care that every American deserves."
The California Medical Board cited “pending litigation” for their declining to comment.
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