Newly revealed training materials from Seattle Children’s Hospital show doctors were divided by race and asked to confront “repressed racial memories” during a mandatory diversity workshop. The August 2022 session, required for all gastroenterology department staff, has sparked controversy and raised questions about the role of race-based training in healthcare.
The leaked documents show employees were separated into three “racial caucuses”: White, black, and “non-black people of color.” This segregation was reportedly done to “minimize harm to our black learners and facilitator.”
Each group was given different tasks. Black participants were asked how they “work against internalizing anti-black messages,” while White doctors were told to “divest” from their “Whiteness” and “commit to practicing racial storytelling.”
The training was led by Roberto Montenegro, a child psychiatrist who uses a “social justice lens” in his work. It also involved outside consultants, including followers of Robin DiAngelo, author of the controversial book “White Fragility.”
Critics, including Stanley Goldfarb of Do No Harm, have condemned the training as “ideological indoctrination” that could undermine patient trust. They argue such race-focused programs threaten medical neutrality and the Hippocratic Oath.
This incident is part of a larger debate over Critical Race Theory and diversity initiatives in institutions across the country. As scrutiny increases, many are questioning the impact of these programs on professional fields like medicine.
