Are Individuals from Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries Underrepresented in the Naming of Medical Terminology that US Medical Students Encounter in their Medical Education?
Medical Student University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, United States
Purpose: To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no previous studies on this topic. The most representative source of the medical terminology that US medical students encounter in their medical education is the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 book as it is the most popular resource used by medical students.
Methods/Materials: All the medical terms in the First Aid book were searched in the literature to determine if they were named after someone. The nationality of that individual was then obtained through the person’s biography. That country's income level was then classified according to World Bank’s classification.
Results: Out of the 542 medical terms analyzed in this study, 97.6 % of them were named after individuals from high-income countries even though these countries contain only 15 % of the world’s population. Only 2.4 % were named after individuals from middle-income countries even though these countries contain 75 % of the world’s population. Not a single medical term was named after an individual from a low-income country even though 10 % of the world’s population lives in low-income countries.
Conclusions: The results indicated that individuals from low-income and middle-income countries were underrepresented in the naming of medical terminology that US medical students encounter during their medical education. A future study could investigate whether this underrepresentation discourages individuals who are either first-generation or second-generation immigrants to the US from a low-income or middle-income country from pursuing a career in research or medicine especially more competitive specialties such as orthopedics. One solution to the underrepresentation in medical terminology would be to ensure that the naming of new medical terms is more representative. More research related to medical terminology is necessary to determine the best path toward creating a more representative, inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning and practice environment.
