Implicit Bias Training for Healthcare Providers

Implicit biases are non-conscious attitudes that can negatively influence decisions and communication. A context where this has become unacceptably apparent is in healthcare. In response to this, Dr. Hamel and her team have led the development of an implicit bias curriculum to help draw awareness of implicit biases that all people (including healthcare providers) hold and how they influence our behavior with patients of different races, genders, ages, and gender identities. Each session offers evidence-based strategies to mitigate the influence of our biases on our communication and other behaviors.

​

The full curriculum has been and continues to be implemented at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Select modules have been implemented through McLaren Healthcare, the Michigan State Medical Society, Ascension Health, among other hospitals and healthcare systems. Each module is designed to satisfy the implicit bias training requirements set by the State of Michigan's Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The earliest phases of this curriculum were support by a grant from the Wayne State University's Office of Teaching and Learning.

​

A presentation summarizing this curriculum can be found here. 

​

An abstract summarizing the initial phases of curriculum development and testing which was presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology can be found here. ​