1525 - Learning to Swat Mosquitoes: Addressing Microaggressions in Medical Education

Saturday, April 23, 2022

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM US MT

Location: Convention Center: 406

CE: Live CME: 1.5

Course Number: 1525

Leader(s)

William Golden, MD, FAAP (he/him/his)

Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Co-Leader(s)

HB

Heather Burrows, MD PhD

Associate Professor
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
AF

Amy Fleming, MD, MScHPE

Assoc Dean For Medical Student Affairs
Vanderbilt University School of Med
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
JJ

Joseph Jackson, Jr., MD (he/him/his)

Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, North Carolina, United States
SK

Sharon Kileny, MD

Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD (she/her/hers)

Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chair of Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Kimberly Vinson, MD

Associate Dean for Diversity Affairs, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, United States
Valencia Walker, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Vice Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States

Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships:

William C. Golden, MD: ● MJH LIfe Sciences (Currently Ongoing) (Products/Services: Advisory Committee)
● Wolters Kluwer (Currently Ongoing) (Products/Services: Intellectual Property including patent beneficiary and royalties)

Heather Burrows, MD PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Amy E. Fleming, MD, MScHPE: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Joseph A. Jackson, Jr., MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Sharon Kileny, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Kimberly Vinson, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Valencia Walker, MD MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

While overt displays of aggression (i.e., physical abuse) currently occur less commonly in medical schools, subtly demeaning comments and behaviors related to trainees’ gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious practices, and/or disability have persisted through generations of medical training. Recent national surveys (Chisholm LP, et. al. J Natl Med Assoc. 113: 310 [2021]; Anderson N, et. al., J Gen Intern Med 2021 Apr 30. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-06786-6 [2021]) confirm that microaggressions against medical students are associated with burnout, impaired learning, and increased odds of depression, particularly for those underrepresented in medicine (URiM). Among GME trainees, similar offenses and negative sequelae have been described (Overland MK, et. al, PM&R 11:1004 [2019]). Ultimately, microaggressions may impair trainees’ relationships with patients and their families, clinical instructors, and colleagues and decrease learner engagement in and enjoyment of clinical medicine. Many practicing physicians have experienced and/or witnessed such indignities yet may be uncomfortable in identifying all types of these behaviors, confronting the aggressors, and counselling learners in these situations. This workshop aims to enhance the professional development of medical educators by teaching methods of identifying and preventing microaggressions as well as supporting learners experiencing such affronts. This instruction will promote diversity and safe learning environments in medical education. The nine faculty facilitators come from seven different academic institutions from across the United States and represent a diversity of experience and thought on the subject.