Daniel Corson-Knowles, MD and Indiana University School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, apologized for triggering microaggressions for using the phrase “I can’t breath” in an exam question.

The exam question reads.

A patient who missed dialysis suddenly becomes pale, diaphoretic, and screams, ‘I can’t breathe!’ You glance at the monitor and notice the following rhythm. You are unable to palpate a pulse and initiate immediate CPR. The most appropriate next step in therapy is…

On a positive note, the question did not offend the majority of students. But students did speak out on behalf of a few who might be.

Dr. Corson-Knowles wrote to his class, “We understand that the context in which this phrase was used resulted in a very painful trigger for many of you”