Community Learning Hour

The SGC DEI Action & Outreach Committee hosts a monthly Community Learning Hour – a discussion space around a podcast, video, article, or other material for a deeper dive into that month’s Professional Development Seminar Series topic. We hope to have group discussions of 6-8 people to get to know one another, share our experiences and reflections, and learn together. The materials are shared in advanced. The Community Learning Hour is open to the Stanford Genetic Counseling Community.

LISTEN | All My Relations

October 2020

Discussion Questions:

Respecting the fact that Indigenous people may not want to participate in voting, how does this impact the responsibilities of active voters in the upcoming election?
Consider the implications of saying "go vote" to communities who have faced consistent voter suppression. Brainstorm ways to promote political participation while being mindful of your audience.
The host mentions that voting is not the end goal seeing as many things will not be fixed, even under a different administration. What are other achievable goals other than promoting participation in the election? How can we work towards or support these goals?

November 2020

Discussion Questions:

What is race-based medicine?
Like the spirometer in pulmonology, what "tools" in genetics remain historically without utility? What "tools" are problematic?
How can we as genetics providers address social inequities?
How can we as genetics providers explain, for ourselves, how we use race in our practice? How would our practice be different without the use of race? How would it be the same?
In our research, how many we consider the difference between social race and genetic ancestry? When could it be useful collect this information?

"Race is a social category that has staggering biological consequences, but because of the impact of social inequality on people's health."

The problem with race-based medicineSocial justice advocate and law scholar Dorothy Roberts has a precise and powerful message: Race-based medicine is bad medicine. Even today, many doctors still use race as a medical shortcut; they make important decisions about things like pain tolerance based on a patient's skin color instead of medical observation and measurement. In this searing talk, Roberts lays out the lingering traces of race-based medicine -- and invites us to be a part of ending it. "It is more urgent than ever to finally abandon this backward legacy," she says, "and to affirm our common humanity by ending the social inequalities that truly divide us."

The danger of a single storyOur lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

January 2021

Discussion Questions:

What is the single story we tell ourselves in genetic counseling? Single story for Black Americans? For Asian Americans?

E.g. "the patient wasn't giving us a lot so it's out of our hands" -> lacking reflection about how we can improve our counseling to help our patients achieve better outcomes

Understand the impact of structural differences on who has access and who has power. How does this affect your clinic/practice?
Reflect more after sessions with patients (and colleagues!). Where could I have improved in communication? What about in discussions about decision-making?
How are we going to hold each other accountable to continue our advocacy work? How are we going to continue showing up?

"Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity."

For a deeper dive:

February 2021

Discussion Questions:

How can we address mistrust/lack of trustworthiness in a way that is compassionate and productive?
What to do when you sense a patient is mistrusting of the healthcare system / medical providers?
Which social determinants of health do you want to learn more about? Which ones do you think are most amenable to GC advocacy efforts?
Why might social determinants of health be less well studied in the Latinx population (as compared to Black population, for example)?
What do you do if a patient discloses a past negative experience with a healthcare provider?

For a deeper dive:

The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea PigsEugenics and unethical clinical trials are part of the pill’s legacy.

President Biden Has Promises To Keep - Latino USAIn November of 2020, Latino voters were crucial to helping Joe Biden win the presidency. They cemented his victories in...

Perspective | The inclusivity trapAsking patients for their pronouns helps us treat them — unless they shut down

Trans-inclusive genetic counseling services: Recommendations from members of the transgender and non-binary community - PubMedThe term transgender is used to describe individuals whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth. The term transgender can include individuals who identify as men, as women, as both of the traditional concepts of masculine and feminine gender, or neither masculine or femini …

March 2021

Discussion Questions:

When we plan for genetic counseling sessions, how can we think about the ways in which someone's gender and sexuality might influence treatment, screening, testing, etc.
What is our role as providers in teaching patients about inclusivity?
How do we approach asking for pronouns? Does not addressing pronouns during the session communicate what the clinic/provider feels comfortable adressing during the session?
How can we incorporate using gener identity and inclusive symbols into our sessions? Can we bring it into our contracting?

For a deeper dive:

Instagram: @pinkmantaray, @alokvmenon