Brian Gittens leads session on unconscious bias.
We are all biased. As we move through our lives, internal opinions and thoughts about others are a (sometimes complex) part of being human. We base our perceptions of others on past experiences, emotions, and encounters. But can we be more equitable in our decision-making, especially when it comes to forming opinions of others? Can we overcome our own internal judgments — especially when we do not even realize we are making them?
Training workshops in November and December led by Greg Townsend, MD, Associate Dean for Diversity and Medical Education at the School of Medicine and an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Brian Gittens, EdD, SPHR, former director of human resources for the Department of Medicine and of diversity initiatives for SOM, aimed to bring those “unconscious biases” to the surface, where they can be examined and challenged.
The program was piloted with faculty from the Department of Medicine who are involved in the selection process for DOM’s Internal Medicine Residency Program. During that process, interviewers meet, form opinions, and make life-altering decisions about applicants; in situations such as these, everyone benefits if those decisions are based on conscious choices and criteria, not on biases lurking below the surface. The hope is that such training will improve the school’s diversity as well as the quality of residency candidates, while increasing self-awareness and creating a more positive experience for residency candidates during their campus visits and meetings with DOM faculty.
Greg Townsend speaking on unconscious bias.
“I believe that unconscious bias is at the root of most inequity. Affirmative action programs and anti-discrimination policies are institutional responses to individual bias,” says Gittens. “This pilot training is a critical step in addressing the root of the issue and cultivating an inclusive community.” Townsend adds, “It’s not surprising that physicians, who are continually encountering patients who are not like them, may treat such people differently — including in their decisions regarding administration of pain medication. Recognizing and addressing unconscious bias is essential to changing these disparities.”
Brian Uthlaut, MD, who is an associate professor in the Division of General, Geriatric, Palliative and Hospital Medicine and vice program director of the internal medicine residency program, was one of the participants in the unconscious bias training sessions. He commented: “I found this experience thought-provoking. Since the training, I have tried to be vigilant in my own mind and heart, to examine myself for any unfair bias as I compare candidates’ merits. One challenge for us in medical education [is that] so much of the criteria on which we compare candidates (such as grades or honors and awards) can be built on assessments that are biased to begin with. Thus, it isn’t enough for one person to confront personal bias… we all have to seek reasoned and fair objectivity when we evaluate performance and ability.”
– By Brian Murphy, Editor, UVA Connect
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Tags: DOM