Critical Race Theory Is Bad Medicine

The college’s elevation of ideology—and demotion of surgery—was swift. I saw the first signs in 2019, when the college invited

Joan Y. Reede

to deliver its prestigious annual lecture. Dr. Reede is dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School. The topic of her speech was “a path toward diversity, inclusion, and excellence.”

As the son of a Brazilian mother and American father, I welcomed her praise of diversity, but Dr. Reede’s speech made no meaningful mention of “excellence.” Surgery is a discipline that demands excellence in all its stages, from training to practice. Should diversity supplant quality in surgeon performance, patient care would suffer. Remarkably, Dr. Reede’s vision was met with rapturous acceptance by the college’s leadership, and the unqualified push for diversity became a lodestar for the group.

My concern deepened in 2020, when the college convened a “task force on racial issues.” It presented a series of recommendations on how the college can “confront racism in surgery” by creating a new office of diversity, advocating for policy reforms, and adding “anti-racism to existing ACS values.” The college later hosted a leadership retreat for all surgical societies promoting “DEI and anti-racism,” with keynote speaker

Ibram X. Kendi,

the most recognized advocate of the “antiracist” philosophy. Mr. Kendi argues that racial discrimination is necessary to right past wrongs.

The American College of Surgeons apparently believes its members are racially biased and provide worse care to patients of color than we do to white patients, leading to disparate health outcomes. It is also sending the message that we need antiracist re-education to overcome our inherent prejudices. Such extraordinary assertions call for the strongest evidence, but the college has yet to provide any.

Many surgeons, including me, have raised concerns about the decline of our professional society, which plays a critical role in helping surgeons maintain the highest standards of patient care. We have mainly raised the alarm through online forums hosted by the college. In March, college leadership banned discussion of critical race theory, antiracism, and diversity, equity and inclusion on all clinical forums. Today, “only posts about clinical issues and direct care of surgical patients will be permitted.”

If these concepts don’t directly pertain to clinical practice, then why is the college aggressively propagating them? In its own words, the college is “dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and to safeguarding standards of care.” By elevating ideology, the college is undermining this essential and life-saving mission. It is deliberately promoting ideas that sow distrust among doctors and patients, insult the integrity of professional surgeons and reduce the quality of the care we provide.

As a professional society, the college owes its members a frank and honest discussion about the merits of its actions and these ideas. Instead, it is silencing dissent. After I continued to raise concerns about the pervasiveness of critical race theory and the antiracist philosophy, the college banned me from the online forums and blocked my access to a nationwide directory of my peers.

These are the actions of ideologues intent on radicalizing the surgical field instead of improving care. Surgeons can’t let that happen. The only way to reverse it is for surgeons to speak out against the corruption of our profession. The ACS must choose between surgery and ideology. Whatever the choice may be, my colleagues and I will fight for the good of our patients.

Dr. Bosshardt is a plastic surgeon in private practice in Tavares, Fla., and a visiting fellow at Do No Harm.