Chester Middlebrook Pierce was an American psychiatrist and athlete who first coined the term microaggressions to describe brief indignities that convey hostility towards a social group [1]. In his research, Dr. Pierce emphasized the toxic effects of racism on communities and populations. He wrote about how seemingly innocuous actions can have deep and long-lasting effects on marginalized communities, and strove to promote more therapeutic relationships between those who find themselves advantaged, with those who are disadvantaged [2].

In a recent paper on microaggressions in Perspectives on Medical Education, Espaillat and colleagues found such indignities are commonplace within clinical learning environments. Microaggressions were perceived in both preclinical and clinical learning environments. While most students could recognize and identify microaggressions, the authors also found that 44% of respondents had not even heard of the term [3]. The undergraduate medical students surveyed defined microaggressions as passive-aggressive diminutive comments or actions that accumulate to have a significant impact. However, some participants contrasted with others. These individuals reacted to the term microaggressions with denial, defense, and indifference. One participant went far enough to state: