https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/profiles/carmen-renee-green
Dr. Carmen R. Green was appointed as the new dean of the CUNY School of Medicine last summer, stepping in to lead the school’s mission of developing diverse healthcare practitioners from underserved and underrepresented communities in the medical field while providing exceptional care to Harlem residents.
She joins the CUNY School of Medicine from the University of Michigan’s academic medical center, where she is tenured and established herself as one of the top anesthesiologists and pain medicine physicians nationwide.
Her research is specifically focused on health disparities and the social determinants of minority and women’s health, as well as the influence of age in these health outcomes. Much of her renowned research on health disparities and outcomes has influenced public health policy, as she spent a year working in the U.S. Senate as part of the Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee and played a significant role in the development of the National Pain Care Policy Act, which was included in the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010.
Her previous research on health care disparities began during her clinical experience when she observed how healthcare practitioners treated their patients differently according to factors such as race and gender. Through being a participant observer and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Green found there were differences based on race in access to care and the quality of it.
And so we found that racial and ethnic minorities, generally Black people compared to white people, received lesser quality care. They were less likely to have their pain assessed, and even when they did have it assessed, they received less treatment, less pain medications for it, and they had worse outcomes.
In addition to her continued focus on pain and pain care advocacy, Dr. Green’s most recent work was a foundational paper that found that hospital security was three times more likely to be called on Black physicians, professors, and patients than on their white counterparts. This systemic issue was introduced to Dr. Green when a hospital chaplain advised her that hospital security was disproportionately called on Black healthcare practitioners and patients.
Dr. Green’s research found these claims to be true, and, like much of her other research, included narratives from people and families who experienced the issue of having hospital security called on them while they sought care, some even during the last hours of someone’s life.
These disparities occur in lots of different places and we were the first one to describe this particular disparity within hospitals. And there’s a reason why we’re the first to describe it, most hospitals don’t want to address this issue in an open, transparent way. But until we do some of those things, we’re not going to make some of these health disparities better.
Dr. Green noted the discriminatory and disproportionate use of hospital security is indicative of a greater systemic issue in the lack of diversity among healthcare practitioners, the people who are likely making the calls for security in these instances
Creating a pathway for students from underserved communities and diverse backgrounds is a central tenet of the CUNY School of Medicine, and it has established itself as a leader in producing some of the most diverse classes of medical students each year and, in turn, addressing disparities in medical education and health outcomes.
One way in which they do this is by adopting a holistic approach to the medical school application process to ensure they are addressing the disparities that impact the journey to entering the medical field. This approach also excludes and does not require the MCAT exam, a typical prerequisite for medical school that is both a “huge structural institutional barrier” and not a good measurement as to whether someone can be a good doctor, according to Dr. Green
Dr. Green views all of her students as “healers and leaders,” and believes the CUNY School of Medicine is the most important medical school in the state of New York because it produces some of the highest numbers of Black and Latinx physicians nationwide.
The CUNY School of Medicine’s commitment to diversity extends beyond its students – 34% of faculty are from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine, a significantly higher mark compared to other CUNY professional schools and medical schools in New York and nationwide, Dr. Green noted in testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Higher Education last year.
The school has also excelled in having some of the highest numbers of African-American men going into medicine in the country, right as the nationwide rate is at a historic low point. In the same testimony, Dr. Green highlighted that Black men make up less than 3% of all physicians nationwide. Not only are 57% of the CUNY School of Medicine’s students underrepresented in medicine, but the school ranks 5th nationwide in graduating Black physicians, only behind HBCUs with larger entering classes, Dr. Green said
There’s lots of data that suggests that when you have doctors who look like you, who understand your experience, people get better quality care. Our doctors know what questions to ask because they’re intrinsically in tune to the person who is wearing the gown. In so many ways, we are a national treasure, because of the work that we’re doing in a PA program and in the MD program.
The CUNY School of Medicine’s work with health disparities extends into its research, as acknowledging the impact of social determinants on health outcomes is foundational to all scholarship and research done by students
This is accomplished through the school’s community-centric approach, in which all research conducted at the school is relevant to Harlem and its residents. Dr. Green noted this is different from most medical schools, as nearly all institutions, no matter how prestigious, have never made their surrounding community healthier.
The CUNY School of Medicine is expanding its research initiatives this year, specifically in its pre-matriculation program, to provide students who are traditionally excluded from such opportunities the chance to conduct their own research projects. Dr. Green hopes this will supplement the research conducted by the school’s students and give more diverse voices a platform in the medical field
Most students who are students of color, have limited exposure to research within high school. And America, New York City needs leaders who are diversified, and their ability to address some of these thorny, persistent issues.
Dr. Green plans to continue her research on pain and its disproportionate impact on minority communities, adopting an interdisciplinary approach to her subjects to develop a greater understanding of these systemic issues and their implications. Moreover, she hopes to make this research accessible to students enrolled in the CUNY School of Medicine so they can collaborate and contribute to the final published research.
Nowhere in the country is there a disparity center that focuses on pain and pain care. We look forward to doing some of that, and when you think about the number of people who are impacted, 100 million people are impacted by pain, disproportionately people of color, where better to do that type of work than here.
Gabriel is a student at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, double majoring in journalism and political science. He is also the editor of the Science & Technology section of Baruch College’s independent, student-run newspaper, The Ticker.