Implicit Bias
Overview:
This module provides an overview of implicit bias, and how it is manifested in everyday clinical decision-making. Viewers will learn about the underlying psychology and neuroscience of implicit associations, and assess their own biases to increase self-awareness. This course also describes debiasing strategies and best practices to mitigate risks of the impact of bias on treatment and care.
Target Audience
This activity is intended for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this module, the learner should be able to:
- Define implicit bias and understand the difference from conscious processes
- Understand historical context for implicit bias
- Understand what causes implicit bias and how bias affects behavior
- Identify at least 2 clinical scenarios where implicit bias can adversely impact care
- Examine the nature of your own biases
- Reflect on the possible effects of your biases on yourself and others
- Describe at least 3 individual strategies to mitigate bias in a clinical context
- Describe at least 2 organizational level strategies to mitigate bias in a clinical context
- Describe at least 2 organizational-level strategies to mitigate bias
Disclaimer
The material presented in this continuing medical education program is being made available for educational purposes and does not reflect the official views or policies of the DC Department of Health unless explicitly stated.
Deliya Wesley, PhD, MPH
Bio:
Dr. Wesley has expertise in health disparities and patient-level factors that impact communication and influence health decision-making. Her research focuses on the unique cultural and contextual factors impacting how racial and ethnic minorities access and utilize health services, with a focus on how patient-facing digital technologies can be optimized for use among the underserved. She is interested in adapting health information technologies to address the unique needs of vulnerable populations, especially racial and ethnic minorities and those with limited literacy. Dr. Wesley is passionate about using research to improve health outcomes and foster health equity.
The presenters for this course have declared no conflicts of interest
Christopher King, PhD, MHSc, FACHE
Bio:
As Chair of the Department of Health Systems Administration, Christopher provides visionary leadership and oversight of undergraduate and graduate academic programs. As associate professor, he teaches and contributes to scholarship on the creation of equitable systems of care within the context of national health reform goals. He works closely with public and private providers to more formally integrate social correlates of health in standards of patient care. Prior to joining Georgetown University, Christopher served as the first Assistant Vice President of Community Health for MedStar Health, a $6B not-for-profit healthcare system comprised of 10 hospitals in the Baltimore/Washington region. Accomplishments included planning, launching and managing a new corporate function designed to apply more rigor and evidence in community-based planning, implementation and evaluation. He was also responsible for developing, testing and evaluating innovative approaches to bridge the gap between medical care and public health.
The presenters for this course have declared no conflicts of interest
Seth A. Krevat, MD
Bio:
Assistant vice president for Safety at MedStar Health and a faculty associate at MedStar Health’s National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare. In addition, he is an attending physician, Palliative Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
As assistant vice president for Safety, Dr. Krevat is responsible for patient and staff safety and for risk reduction programs. He focuses on understanding, coordinating, and measuring the performance of internal and external safety requirements in both the acute and non-acute care arenas. In addition, he developed and conducts a comprehensive safety program aimed at reducing safety risks and addressing serious safety events as they arise. He also leads a clinical documentation improvement program for all the MedStar hospitals.
In 2014, Dr. Krevat was selected as one of 25 physicians to participate in an 18-month MedStar leadership development program. At MedStar, he serves on several committees, including the 2020 Performance Transformation Care Management Team; the Clinical Business Council Committee; and the Quality, Safety and Risk Management Reorganization Steering Committee. He is a member of the American College of Physician Executives, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Physicians. In addition, he has presented his work at meetings of professional societies on topics such as patient safety event data and the integration of human factors engineering into patient safety and risk reduction programs. Dr. Krevat is board certified in internal medicine and in hospice and palliative medicine.
Advisors
FELISE MILAN, MD
Professor of Medicine
C. ANNETA ARNO, PHD, MPH
Director, Office of Health Equity, DC Health
The presenters for this course have declared no conflicts of interest
Physicians
PHARMACISTS AND PHARMACY TECHNICIANS
The George Washington University Hospital, Department of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
Available Credit
- 1.50 ACPE PharmacistThe George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
- 1.50 ACPE Pharmacy technicianThe George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
- 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
- 1.50 Completion
Required Hardware/software
- This educational activity has been tested in the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome browsers on Windows or Macintosh computers.
- The Safari, Firefox, or Chrome browsers are recommended for best results.
- The Internet Explorer browser is not recommended. If you must use Internet Explorer, please update to version 11, which is the only version supported by Microsoft at this writing.