I ducked into a grocery
store to call Mass
General's police and secu-
rity department. They
quickly sent over an offi-
cer. She took my full
report of the incident and asked if I wanted somebody to walk with
me the rest of the way to the subway stop. I said I was fine.
I then texted my residency program director, who immediately called
to check on me before notifying the chair of our department, who also
called me. I also texted my residency classmates to let them know
what happened. There are many Asians in our department, and I was
worried my harasser was still lurking, or would soon return. The safety
of my colleagues was my utmost worry.
Mass General's Vice President and Chief Equality and Inclusion
Officer reached out and thoughtfully asked if he could refer to the
incident in an all-staff email addressing racism during the pandemic
(see "Racial Attack Prompts Widespread Support" on the opposite
page). He also looped me into an all-staff virtual webinar that the
hospital held on the topic.
Other incidents have occurred involving some of my colleagues of
Asian descent. I've experienced microaggressions, like being called
the same name as other Asian female colleagues. Someone at the hos-
pital once called a friend of mine by another coresident's name. She
corrected the person, who said, "Oh, you two look so alike."
Another fellow resident said she was on the subway when a
stranger started yelling at her with vile accusations similar to what I
experienced during my attack. She was thankfully with friends. Other
people on the train also pulled out their phones to capture video of
the incident and said, "Don't worry, we'll protect you."
J U L Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 3 7
"We need to publicize
racially charged events
every time they happen."
