Patient Narratives as Testimonies to Structural Inequity.
Abstract
As of this year, 2026, medical schools are no longer explicitly required to teach structural competency in order to be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. This change marks a significant shift in the priorities that guide medical education in the United States. Structural competency provides a framework for understanding how social, economic, political, and institutional forces shape health outcomes, health care experiences, and opportunities for well-being. Drawing on research encounters with medically underserved populations, particularly Black women living with HIV, this commentary argues that patient narratives are a powerful tool for helping learners in the health professions understand the lived realities that influence health and health care. As ethics educators, we have a moral obligation to help learners recognize the full humanity of the patients they serve so that these future health professionals are better able to provide respectful, compassionate, holistic, and person-centered care. In the current political climate, fulfilling this obligation may require moral courage.
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BibTeX
@article{fletcher2026patient,
title = {{Patient Narratives as Testimonies to Structural Inequity.}},
author = {Faith E Fletcher},
journal = {The Hastings Center report},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1002/hast.70096},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949600},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Patient Narratives as Testimonies to Structural Inequity.
AU - Faith E Fletcher
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - The Hastings Center report
DO - 10.1002/hast.70096
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949600
AB - As of this year, 2026, medical schools are no longer explicitly required to teach structural competency in order to be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. This change marks a significant shift in the priorities that guide medical education in the United States. Structural competency provides a framework for understanding how social, economic, political, and institutional forces shape health outcomes, health care experiences, and opportunities for well-being. Drawing on research encounters with medically underserved populations, particularly Black women living with HIV, this commentary argues that patient narratives are a powerful tool for helping learners in the health professions understand the lived realities that influence health and health care. As ethics educators, we have a moral obligation to help learners recognize the full humanity of the patients they serve so that these future health professionals are better able to provide respectful, compassionate, holistic, and person-centered care. In the current political climate, fulfilling this obligation may require moral courage.
SN - 0093-0334
SN - 1552-146X
ER -