Like many anesthesiologists, I have the privilege of serving in an academic institution where teaching medical students is a fulfilling aspect of any given day. Normally, the educational domain revolves around the applications of pharmacology, airway management, and pathophysiology. But on this particular day, rearrangement of the OR schedule was necessary to care for a patient who risked loss of a surgical graft. Unbeknownst to me, this simple schedule change would bring to light a moment of hostility and subsequently a teachable opportunity about how to handle a disrespectful patient – disrespect that I perceived to be rooted in racism.
My encounter with the Caucasian male patient began with routine inquiries into his past medical and surgical history. It became unfriendly upon the assessment of the Mallampati classification and my inspection of his oral cavity – the patient lacked many of his natural teeth and did not have artificial replacements....
