Targeting Implicit Bias in Medicine: Lessons from Art and Archaeology.

Amy Zeidan,Isha Di Bartolo,Melanie Woodward,Anne Tiballi

doi:10.5811/westjem.2019.9.44041

Abstract

Implicit bias training is not currently a required component of residency education, yet implicit bias in medicine exists and may influence care provided to patients. We propose an innovative exercise that allows trainees to explore implicit bias outside of the clinical environment, in an interdisciplinary manner with museum anthropologists and archaeologists. The curriculum was designed with leaders at the Penn Museum and focuses on differentiating between objective and subjective assessments of historical objects. The first part of the exercise consists of a pre-brief, to introduce trainees to bias through the lens of an anthropologist/archaeologist. The second part guides trainees through “deep description,” where they explore objective and subjective findings of three different objects. The exercise concludes with a debrief and application of concepts learned to everyday clinical practice. This innovation was successful at introducing trainees to implicit bias in a nontraditional environment, and participants reported an improved understanding of implicit bias. Residency programs could consider partnering with local museums to implement a similar exercise as a component of conference curriculum.

Highlights

Implicit bias involves associations outside our conscious awareness that lead to misleading, often-negative evaluations of a person or patient, on the basis of characteristics such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender
We propose an innovative exercise that allows trainees to explore implicit bias outside of the clinical environment, in an interdisciplinary manner with museum anthropologists and archaeologists
The exercise concludes with a debrief and application of concepts learned to everyday clinical practice. This innovation was successful at introducing trainees to implicit bias in a nontraditional environment, and participants reported an improved understanding of implicit bias

Summary

Brief Educational Advances

Amy Zeidan, MD* Anne Tiballi, PhD† Melanie Woodward, MD‡ Isha Marina Di Bartolo, MD§. We propose an innovative exercise that allows trainees to explore implicit bias outside of the clinical environment, in an interdisciplinary manner with museum anthropologists and archaeologists. The first part of the exercise consists of a pre-brief, to introduce trainees to bias through the lens of an anthropologist/archaeologist. The exercise concludes with a debrief and application of concepts learned to everyday clinical practice. This innovation was successful at introducing trainees to implicit bias in a nontraditional environment, and participants reported an improved understanding of implicit bias. Residency programs could consider partnering with local museums to implement a similar exercise as a component of conference curriculum. [West J Emerg Med. 2020;21(1)1-3.]

BACKGROUND

OBJECTIVES

Findings

What meaning or idea does it convey?