{"id":11114,"date":"2025-10-10T11:51:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T11:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/?p=10908"},"modified":"2025-10-16T15:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T15:50:07","slug":"inclusive-language-for-medical-education-and-qbanks-an-evolving-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/inclusive-language-for-medical-education-and-qbanks-an-evolving-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive Language for Medical & Health Education: An Evolving Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
What is inclusive language? It\u2019s language that makes people feel included\u2014language that doesn\u2019t discriminate based on a person\u2019s race or ethnicity, sexuality, gender, age, ability, or socioeconomic status.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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In medical and health education, the way we discuss patients (even hypothetical ones) matters because all people deserve to feel seen, respected, and included. To address traditionally biased language in medicine, we\u2019ve created this Inclusive Language Guide for Medical and Health Education<\/strong> to help keep wording consistent and respectful. This ever-evolving guide is available for anyone who finds it useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reading, if you\u2019re ready to test what you\u2019ve learned, check out the free Quiz for a Cause: Inclusive Language in Medical Education in your Rosh Review Boost Exams box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the free Inclusive Language Quiz:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Create a free account<\/a> (existing users can skip this step).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Add the exam in the Boost Exams box (or here<\/a>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. In your dashboard, click My Exams > Boost Exams.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Start the 30-question quiz!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The important work of improving health care education and patient interactions is not going to happen overnight, but with our combined commitment to doing better, we can make a difference. And please reach out with any comments or suggestions\u2014much of what is included here has come from current best practices from expert clinicians and advocacy groups, updates released by major style guides, and YOU. Although old questions are continuously updated to address outdated wording, you may find something before we do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Updated September 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This guide was originally created to address language used in Qbanks (i.e., regarding hypothetical patients), but conscientious wording is also essential in patient interactions and medical records. But keep this in mind: these guidelines<\/strong> will not pertain to every patient<\/strong> and every medical scenario, as individuals may have their own preferences about the language they use to refer to themselves or their loved ones. Often, the best solution is to directly ask the patient for their preferred terms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Three basic principles have come out of creating the guide, no matter what you\u2019re discussing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Be as specific as possible (e.g., NOT APPROPRIATE = foreign-born<\/span>* and APPROPRIATE = from Nepal<\/span>)
      *Foreign to who? Only you? Anyone in the US? This is why being specific is important

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    2. Only use relevant details (i.e., no need to bring up a point, like sexual orientation, if it has nothing to do with what you\u2019re discussing, like Lyme disease)

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    3. When interacting with patients, never make assumptions; always elicit the pertinent information, whether it is a patient’s desired gender-affirming interventions or their decision to fast for Ramadan<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      It is important not to \u201cother\u201d (comparing groups to what you consider \u201cnormal\u201d), so don\u2019t use normal<\/span> when describing the reverse of any of the categories listed below (e.g., normal vs disabled, transgender, gay), and be conscious of othering terms such as differently abled<\/span> or at-risk<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Here are some of the resources the editing team referred to when creating these guidelines. Within the subsections outlined below, you\u2019ll see links to more specific guides, as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      AMA Inclusive Language Guidelines<\/a>
      <\/a>      The Diversity Style Guide<\/a>
      The Conscious Style Guide<\/a>
      Sum of Us: A Progressive\u2019s Style Guide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Race and Ethnicity<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

      There aren\u2019t cohesive guidelines about how to use race in medicine (see this article in NEJM<\/em><\/a> for some examples), and it\u2019s a complex topic. On one hand, some common medical guidelines involve race, which may be important to know for the board exams. But on the other hand, these guidelines may incorrectly equate race with issues that might be due to other factors, like social determinants of health (SDOH). (Watch “The problem with race-based medicine<\/a>,” a TED talk by Dorothy Roberts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      SDOH include conditions of birth and living that influence health, such as politics, socioeconomic status, and access to health care, education, safe environments, and nutritious food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To help highlight this, and in the hopes of teaching learners to think critically about how race is presented in medicine, we add this disclaimer in explanations where treatment may be affected by a patient\u2019s race: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The demographic information in the above explanation follows AMA Manual of Style terminology and may not match the language used in the references. Race is a social construct that is often correlated to certain medical conditions in the literature and evidence-based guidelines. Our hope is to inspire a change in the way race is used in the medical community.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Here are the basic principles we use when the team has decided race or ethnicity should be included in the Qbank:<\/p>\n\n\n