• The American surgeon · Nov 2021

    Microaggression and Implicit Bias.

    • Jacquelyn Turner, Robert Higgins, and Ed Childs.
    • Department of Surgery, 1374Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
    • Am Surg. 2021 Nov 1; 87 (11): 1727-1731.

    AbstractMicroaggression is an unconscious statement or action regarded as discrimination against a marginalized community. Microaggression coupled with implicit bias (unconscious prejudice in favor or against one person or group) can be psychologically damaging to the targeted community. The difficulty with microaggressions and implicit biases is that they are subjective and unconscious, and the offender may not view them as damaging. Microaggressions and implicit biases can affect both the patient and the physician. Whether it is the patient that is the victim of these phenomena or the physician, the goal of quality patient care is adversely affected. When patients are victims, bias can also lead to systematic dismissal of symptoms, inferior medical services, and less aggressive preventive care. Physicians who are victims of such phenomena may deal with the repeated trauma of receiving microaggressions and biases from patients and/or colleagues which may cause mental distress and ultimately functional impairment affecting work performance. In either case, repeated direct and indirect exposure of microaggressions and biases through encounters within and outside the workforce are cumulative leading to lasting internalized damage. Awareness that implicit biases and microaggressions exist and recognition that these phenomena are problematic are the first steps toward fostering a more equitable and inclusive culture. As a society and especially as health care workers, we must become increasingly culturally aware and sensitive of all communities for the ultimate good of patient care.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.