Dr. Norman C. Wang and Selective Outrage
Back in March 2020, a University of Pittsburgh physician by the name of Norman C. Wang published an article in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) about the use of race and ethnicity considerations when recruiting for the US cardiology workforce. Wang argued that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity offices are ultimately unhelpful in promoting minorities in cardiology practice. He also pointed out that these offices may be unconstitutional and that they often make claims that may be unsupported by the relevant empirical evidence. Towards the end, he advocated race-neutral admissions and hiring practices as an alternative to the current model. The article attracted no controversy upon publication, but that all changed a few months later. A physician under fire Over the first weekend of August, a large number of professionals suddenly began condemning Wang online for promoting “historically racist stereotypes” and, as one physician put it, failing to account for the “structural biases” medical students of color face. An interventional cardiologist declared that Wang’s writing aligns with the kind of thinking that “defines …