Open AccessPreparing Medical Students to Address the Needs of Vulnerable Patient Populations: Implicit Bias Training in US Medical Schools
Author(s) -
Matthew C. Morris,
Robert L Cooper,
Aramandla Ramesh,
Mohammad Tabatabai,
Thomas A. Arcury,
Marybeth Shinn,
Wansoo Im,
Paul D. Juárez,
Patricia Matthews-Juarez
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
medical science educator
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2156-8650
DOI - 10.1007/s40670-020-00930-3
Subject(s) - curriculum , transgender , medical education , implicit bias , psychology , training (meteorology) , lesbian , medical school , medicine , family medicine , clinical psychology , social psychology , pedagogy , physics , meteorology , psychoanalysis
Little is known about how medical students are trained to identify and reduce their own biases toward vulnerable patient groups. A survey was conducted among US medical schools to determine whether their curricula addressed physician implicit biases toward three vulnerable patient groups: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, persons experiencing homelessness, and migrant farmworkers. Of 141 US medical schools, 71 (50%) responded. Survey respondents indicated that implicit bias is not routinely addressed in medical education, and training specific to vulnerable populations is infrequent. Recommendations for incorporating implicit bias training in medical school curricula are discussed.