Background: Unconscious attitudes, also known as implicit biases are ubiquitous and their effects are wide-ranging. From something as seemingly insignificant as the clutching of a purse in lieu of a passerby to something of potential great consequence such as the lack of a surgical referral, the fingerprints of implicit bias are on many of the [...]

Background: Disparities in health outcomes that differ by racial or ethnic group, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental health, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity, geographic location, or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion demonstrate that equitable care in the United States is a goal that has not been achieved. Treating all patients [...]

Background: Microaggressions, defined as verbal or non-verbal communications that convey hostility, invalidation or insult based on an individual’s marginalized status in society, are ubiquitous and harmful in health care and medical training. They occur between and among patients, families, and interprofessional providers of all levels. Prior work has shown that microaggressions can pollute the clinical [...]

Case Presentation: A 60 year-old woman with a history of chronic hepatitis C without cirrhosis and schizophrenia with paranoid delusions was admitted with severe progressive bilateral burning foot pain. She had a history of intermittent alcohol use and recent homelessness. She lacked a primary care doctor and sought care for her bilateral lower extremity pain [...]

Background: Imagine opening your patients’ electronic medical record (EMR) and seeing their stories, as told by them. Would that help you understand your patients better, both their resilience and the barriers they have faced? Systemic structures of oppression and health provider unconscious bias are root causes of racial, gender and class-based health disparities. Storytelling is [...]

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) established a core competency that requires residents to demonstrate respect and responsiveness to diverse patient populations (1). While the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in graduate medical education (GME) is recognized, establishing an effective curriculum to address these issues is challenging. In pre-survey data [...]