Using data to identify disparities is only the first step to address implicit biases. The next step is to create a training program that will have the highest likelihood of success, incorporating four best practices:
1. Understand the role each team member plays. Hospital systems are traditionally committed to patients first, making it easy to overlook team members (e.g., clinicians). Additionally, the work done in a health system can be fragmented, meaning it only reaches staff or patients, but typically not both. However, this is a problem, as the only way to reach patients and improve the patient experience is through investing in, and empowering, team members through professional improvement opportunities like implicit bias trainings, support groups, etc.
2. Gain leadership support. The leadership team and hospitalist team were hesitant at first because they had tried trainings in the past that proved to be less effective. However, they were willing to try the implicit bias training. Leveraging data to identify critical disparities and the support of the leadership team, the hospitalist leaders got on board and implemented the implicit bias training as part of the continuing education for hospitalists.
3. Provide clear takeaways from the training. With limited time to deliver the implicit bias training, it was critical that every hospitalist left with a clear takeaway that was uniquely tailored to his/her implicit biases in regard to providing care. With a clear call to action, hospitalists were ready to see patients differently and address the disparities in access to care, specifically hospice care.
4. Share “aha” moments with other team members. By the end of the training, the hospitalists were fascinated and excited about what they had learned in regard to their own implicit biases and how those biases impacted the care they delivered. As part of the training, instructors invited hospitalists to share what they learned with other providers and team members to spread the excitement about the implicit bias training.
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