Bias in the Mirror: Exploring Implicit Bias in Health Professions 

Originally Presented on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2020.

Speaker: Javeed Sukhera, MD, PhD, FRCPC (@javeedsukhera)

Bias is everywhere. Explicit biases include conscious attitudes or intentional discrimination towards certain groups. In contrast, implicit biases include attitudes or behaviours that that exert powerful influence over individuals outside their awareness. These implicit biases can perpetuate health disparities by widening inequities and decreasing trust between patients and health professionals. Despite the widespread discourse about implicit bias in health professions education, many are questioning if implicit bias training is a solution or may create unintended consequences. This presentation will start with an introduction to the concept of implicit bias, review research on implicit bias in health professions, and shift to an evidence-based model for recognizing and managing biases that is entirely unique from current approaches.

Learning objectives

1. Explore the concept of implicit bias in the context of health professions education

2. Describe how a model for implicit bias recognition and management may be applied to faculty development

3. Provide examples of how implicit bias recognition and management can contribute to structural change within organizations and society at large

Pre-Reading

Prior to the event please check out the following blog post: Can we be Consciously Unbiased? - Harvard Macy Community Blog

Additional Resources

Check out Dr. Sukhera's thesis on Bias: Sukhera, J. I. (2018). Bias in the mirror: exploring implicit bias in health professions education. Datawyse / Universitaire Pers Maastricht. https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20181129js 

Speaker