9-21-23 MEDG: Identifying Microaggressions and Discussing Responses
September 22, 2023ID10731
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- 00:00Breakout room and we are not recording
- 00:02anything from the breakout rooms when you
- 00:05move into the breakout rooms at one point,
- 00:07but the session will be recorded.
- 00:09So if you wanted to access it after
- 00:11the session, I'm Janet Haffler,
- 00:13and we now have the new Center for
- 00:16Medical Education that I'm thrilled about.
- 00:19We have incorporated all the work that
- 00:21we did in the teaching and Learning
- 00:24Center and we also now have this CME
- 00:27continuing medical education in the
- 00:29new center and it really has been
- 00:31under the Dean and Deputy Dean Jessica
- 00:33Lucy to really centralize many of our
- 00:36resources to reach out to more faculty.
- 00:39So I welcome all of you to one of
- 00:41our sessions now in the new Center
- 00:43for Medical Education and I'm really
- 00:46thrilled we're going to go around
- 00:48and introduce each of ourselves.
- 00:50We have a presentation that we've
- 00:52put together and please,
- 00:54if you have any questions at any
- 00:56point in time,
- 00:57please feel free to add them to
- 00:59the chat and we will monitor them.
- 01:02This is a topic I think dear to all
- 01:05our hearts as we think about what we're
- 01:08understanding about microaggressions.
- 01:12So we're first going to introduce
- 01:14ourselves and then we'll move on
- 01:16to the presentation and we have
- 01:18Doctor Diaz after the disclosure
- 01:20slide will give us a little bit of
- 01:22history of this particular project.
- 01:24So Tishiana, do you want to start us off?
- 01:27Yes,
- 01:27hi, I'm Doctor Tishiana Armah.
- 01:29I am a psychiatrist.
- 01:30I'm an assistant clinical
- 01:33assistant clinical professor in the
- 01:36Department of Psychiatry and and senior
- 01:38faculty at our Weissman Institute at
- 01:40Community Health Center Incorporated.
- 01:43And you've been with this project
- 01:45since your residency to Shianna.
- 01:47I have her residency here
- 01:50under Doctor Diaz. Great,
- 01:53Elizabeth. Hi, everyone.
- 01:55It's great to be with you.
- 01:55My name is Elizabeth Conklin,
- 01:57and I am the Associate Vice
- 01:59President for Institutional Equity,
- 02:01Accessibility and Belonging and also
- 02:03the University Title 9 Coordinator.
- 02:06I work closely with the School of
- 02:08Medicine and all of the schools
- 02:10within the University on both
- 02:12the prevention and response to
- 02:14discrimination and harassment,
- 02:16and I'm thrilled to be here with you.
- 02:17Thanks for having me,
- 02:19Esperanza. Yes, hello. I'm Esperanza Diaz.
- 02:23I'm a psychiatrist.
- 02:24I'm an associate director of
- 02:27Psychiatry residency program.
- 02:28And I'm professor of psychiatry.
- 02:30And I'm the Director of medical
- 02:32director of Hispanic Clinic at the
- 02:34Connector Mental Health Center.
- 02:37Thanks, Esperanza. And Allison,
- 02:39Hello. Thanks, Janet.
- 02:41I'm Allison Brent Fro,
- 02:43and I'm the executive director for our
- 02:45Continuing Medical Education Department
- 02:47here at the Yale School of Medicine.
- 02:49Welcome. Thank you.
- 02:53So, Allison, yeah.
- 02:56So who better to give the disclosure
- 02:58page than this ME Director, right.
- 03:01So just doing our due diligence
- 03:02here to let you know that none
- 03:05of our presenters today have any
- 03:07conflict of interest to disclose.
- 03:09I saw that Reagan had placed
- 03:11the texting code in the chat.
- 03:14If you do not have yourself set
- 03:16up in order to be able to text,
- 03:18certainly you can reach out
- 03:20to me after the program.
- 03:21We do ask that even if you
- 03:23don't need category one credit,
- 03:25please go ahead and text your
- 03:27attendance today because that
- 03:28gives us a better perspective and
- 03:29a picture of who actually attended
- 03:31and joined our session today.
- 03:33Thank you.
- 03:34Terrific. Thanks a lot.
- 03:37I'm just going to stop sharing
- 03:39for a moment because Esperanza
- 03:41is going to give us a very brief
- 03:44history of this project. Esperanza,
- 03:47thank you very much, Janet,
- 03:48and thank you for everybody being here.
- 03:52Yes, we've been together,
- 03:53working on this project for many
- 03:56years and it's very fulfilling.
- 03:58In the late 90s,
- 04:00the Institute of Medicine commissioner
- 04:03study to explore how hell these
- 04:05parties have changed after many years
- 04:07of cultural competence trainings.
- 04:09You might recall that the investigators
- 04:11found nothing had changed.
- 04:13Disparities in cancer treatment,
- 04:15maternal health, cardiovascular health,
- 04:17etcetera, were the same as in the 1980s.
- 04:21So, in response to the
- 04:24Institute of Medicine report,
- 04:26the State of Connecticut required
- 04:28all physicians to obtain 1 Continuing
- 04:31Medical Education Credit in the
- 04:33area of cultural competency.
- 04:35Policies were created to ensure
- 04:37that health professionals have
- 04:39training about disparities,
- 04:41the influence of rational biases,
- 04:43and sensitive skills to
- 04:45illicit health information.
- 04:47So in 2010,
- 04:49Janet to Shanna and I work together
- 04:52to create the first education
- 04:55module entitled Teaching Cultural
- 04:57Sensitivity in the patient Clinician
- 04:59relationship to fulfill the Connecticut
- 05:02State mandates CME requirements and
- 05:04importantly to educate and inform
- 05:07our Yale School of Medicine faculty.
- 05:09The module is available to all
- 05:11physicians through Yale CME.
- 05:13What we're sharing today is the
- 05:15expansion that we have done by
- 05:18creating additional education modules
- 05:20in collaboration with Tishianna Arma,
- 05:22Matthew Elman, Andrea Mendiola,
- 05:24Amanda Calhoun, Gary Leidon,
- 05:27and Dorothy de Bernardo.
- 05:29These materials also address verbal
- 05:31statements or behaviors that are harmful,
- 05:33the stigmatizing or discriminating
- 05:35against an individual who identifies
- 05:38with the marginalized group.
- 05:40Our scenarios are written from actual
- 05:43life experiences reported in the
- 05:45classroom and clinical settings.
- 05:47They portray common occurrences in
- 05:50healthcare and medical education.
- 05:52We will bring to your attention
- 05:54what constitute various forms of
- 05:56microaggressions and talk about
- 05:57how to respond to them. Thank you.
- 06:00Thanks so much, Esperanza.
- 06:02I'm going to share my screen,
- 06:14Allison. Yeah. So we wanted to
- 06:16start by just expressing what the
- 06:18objectives are today and what we
- 06:20hope to accomplish with this session.
- 06:23The 1st is to provide that framework
- 06:26and defining the term microaggression,
- 06:29then thinking about identifying
- 06:31microaggressions and helping us
- 06:34develop those observing skills.
- 06:37Next is exploring how to
- 06:39create that brave space,
- 06:40which is a term some of you may
- 06:42or may not be familiar with,
- 06:43but we'll have more on that.
- 06:44Tishiana is going to share the
- 06:46creating a brave space for our
- 06:48learners and how to report and
- 06:50even to discuss microaggressions.
- 06:52And then lastly
- 06:53we want to can
- 06:56we go ahead? There we go.
- 06:58We went. It was a secret.
- 07:00We want to identify the
- 07:02resources on how you report.
- 07:04If if we didn't tell you how to
- 07:06leave here with the mechanism for
- 07:08reporting and discussing your
- 07:10experiences with microaggression,
- 07:11then we've done a disservice.
- 07:13So we want to make sure that you know
- 07:15when you leave here how you can go
- 07:18about reporting those those instances.
- 07:20So let's look about think about a
- 07:22framework from which we're all working.
- 07:24So let's provide that base,
- 07:25base definition of what we're
- 07:28talking about with microaggression.
- 07:30And it's really coming from the work
- 07:32that Chester Pierce had done in 1970,
- 07:34which you can see the reference
- 07:35here at the bottom on defining
- 07:38microaggressions as those everyday verbal,
- 07:41nonverbal, environmental slights,
- 07:44snubs or insults.
- 07:46But we also would be a remiss if we
- 07:49didn't give a perspective that Mary
- 07:51Rowe had shared in 1973 where she
- 07:54coined the term micro inequities,
- 07:56which is really coming from the an
- 07:57extension of that microaggression theory,
- 08:00if you will.
- 08:01So think about this sometimes quiet,
- 08:04potentially hostile unintentional
- 08:08slights or snubs.
- 08:10The term that you might hear
- 08:12most recently is being dissed,
- 08:14something of that nature.
- 08:16Thanks, Allison. So there are
- 08:19different types of microaggressions.
- 08:21One is verbal that can be
- 08:24harmful or stigmatizing.
- 08:25We also might have something
- 08:28that's behavioral,
- 08:29an action or behavior that results
- 08:31in harm or discrimination to certain
- 08:34marginalized group or groups.
- 08:36Environmental they're expressed
- 08:39in society through the lack of
- 08:43representation and diversity or negative
- 08:47imagery and virtual microaggressions
- 08:49that present in virtual interactions
- 08:53or virtual work environments.
- 08:55So we really wanted to sort of move through
- 08:59these to have a common understanding
- 09:01because there are also subtypes
- 09:03that I wanted to point out to you,
- 09:05and this was from the racial
- 09:09microaggressions in everyday life.
- 09:11The micro assaults are deliberate and
- 09:14intentional slights or insults that
- 09:16are meant to hurt the intended victim.
- 09:19Micro insults are rude,
- 09:21insensitive comments that suddenly
- 09:24disrespect A person's racial
- 09:26heritage or identity.
- 09:28And micro invalidations are when
- 09:30someone attempts to discredit or
- 09:33minimize the experiences of a person
- 09:36who's from an underrepresented group.
- 09:41So as we think privately think, have you
- 09:47observed or experienced A microaggression?
- 09:50I just want to give you 15 seconds to
- 09:55think about that with those definitions.
- 10:07So hold on to that if you have observed,
- 10:11because we're going to take you through
- 10:14bystander and upstander work, Tishiana.
- 10:18So to continue that breakdown of terminology,
- 10:21we want to talk about these
- 10:23two additional terms.
- 10:24They'll focus on a lot today referring
- 10:27to when microaggressions are occurring.
- 10:29So one, when we say bystander,
- 10:31what are we talking about?
- 10:32Someone who sees or knows a
- 10:35behavior or something that is said
- 10:37is wrong but takes no action to
- 10:40address it right or to report it.
- 10:42Then we have another term, upstander,
- 10:44someone who recognizes that something's
- 10:47wrong and acts to make it right.
- 10:50Now another similar term you will hear
- 10:52used here at Yale is active bystander,
- 10:55where someone who recognizes A potentially
- 10:58harmful situation or interaction
- 11:00chooses to respond in a way that could
- 11:03positively influence the outcome.
- 11:04So very similar terms,
- 11:07active bystander or upstander.
- 11:09We're going to mostly use
- 11:11the term upstander today.
- 11:15And so to move along, we are going
- 11:18to talk a little bit about space.
- 11:20So you know, we put all that
- 11:22lingo out there because we're also
- 11:24going to have some discussion.
- 11:27I want to ask for a show of
- 11:29virtual hands or actual hands.
- 11:32In fact, now if you put your actual hand up,
- 11:34it will put a virtual hand up for you.
- 11:37A show of hands if you've ever been in
- 11:40a group or a meeting where they asked
- 11:44you to agree to honor a safe space.
- 11:46So any any okay,
- 11:47I see some hands going up. Great.
- 11:49Well, to make sure,
- 11:52even though we have some hands up,
- 11:53make sure we're all on the same page,
- 11:55you know, I will tell you what I mean and
- 11:58what's intended when I say safe space here.
- 12:01So it's it typically meant to mean
- 12:04it's a space that's free of bias,
- 12:07free of conflict, free of criticism,
- 12:10and free of potentially
- 12:12threatening ideas or conversations.
- 12:14And I want to just say preface this was
- 12:17saying they are needed at times safe spaces.
- 12:20They provide a retreat from ideas and
- 12:23perspectives that are at odds from our own.
- 12:25Sometimes we need that because
- 12:28typically we feel understood in those
- 12:31kinds of spaces and feel renewal.
- 12:34It usually works really well with
- 12:36likeminded people that have similar
- 12:37ideas and experiences and beliefs.
- 12:39But there are dangers. Okay.
- 12:42What are some of the dangers?
- 12:43I'm going to tell you 33 dangers,
- 12:46one where all that is said applies.
- 12:50It can become an echo chamber.
- 12:52So that's one way in which it can be
- 12:54a little dangerous and you can lower
- 12:56your hands at any point because I
- 12:57might ask you to raise them again.
- 13:00And then the second is that, you know,
- 13:03there's a likely scenario where someone
- 13:06in the space is different in some way,
- 13:10in ways that others in the space don't know.
- 13:13So sort of different from
- 13:14others in the group.
- 13:15And there's something that's said
- 13:17in the the sort of sense of,
- 13:20oh, this is a safe space.
- 13:21So I can say this that might end up
- 13:24making that one individual or two
- 13:26or three feel actually very unsafe.
- 13:28And then where you have very mixed company,
- 13:31things can be said that are not really
- 13:34sensitive to the experience of the few,
- 13:36but for the comfort of the majority
- 13:39in the name of being a safe space,
- 13:42everyone just accepts what's set.
- 13:45But this safe space is actually harmful
- 13:47and dangerous for those who are having
- 13:50actually can even have an emotional,
- 13:52and you know,
- 13:53I'm a psychiatrist,
- 13:54an emotional and even a physical reaction to
- 13:57what was just accepted and left on the table.
- 14:01Now this is an effort to make
- 14:02the majority feel comfortable,
- 14:04but that minority may left be left
- 14:07really felt feeling voiceless,
- 14:09and they will speak with their feet
- 14:11and withdraw in the moment mentally
- 14:14or ultimately withdraw physically
- 14:16from the environment.
- 14:17Now again for another show of hands,
- 14:19I wonder if there's anyone here who's
- 14:23been in that situation like that where
- 14:25you know it's it's supposed to be a safe
- 14:28space but you actually feel unsafe.
- 14:30All right. So we all,
- 14:32all I needed was one hand so.
- 14:34So thank you. Thank you for also
- 14:37sort of being vulnerable and and
- 14:38and and and bringing that up so you
- 14:41can also lower your hands again.
- 14:43So why do I talk about all of that?
- 14:46Because there's an alternative.
- 14:48And that alternative,
- 14:49one alternative that's been
- 14:51brought is a brave space.
- 14:54A brave space, in contrast to the safe,
- 14:56is an environment that really allows
- 14:58learners to engage with one another
- 15:00and have conversations about topics
- 15:02like social issues with honesty,
- 15:03sensitivity, respect and generosity.
- 15:05These brave spaces ask us to engage
- 15:08in uncomfortable conversations
- 15:10in order to learn to do better.
- 15:13Now accountability is essential
- 15:14to brace spaces and that includes
- 15:17accepting responsibility for one's
- 15:20actions and the repercussions in
- 15:22what we may say and a willingness
- 15:24to name and challenge especially
- 15:27oppressive ideas and recognize
- 15:29how one's identity and privilege,
- 15:30because we all carry privilege,
- 15:32right, impacts group dynamics.
- 15:34So we're going to move on to a scenario
- 15:37want to share with you and you're
- 15:39going to see it on this next slide.
- 15:40But I'm going to give a little different
- 15:42twist on it than what's exactly on that side.
- 15:44So, so, so listen to the scenario,
- 15:47the situation.
- 15:47So now I want you to imagine
- 15:50that this is a planning meeting
- 15:53that's held virtually in a room,
- 15:54a zoom room,
- 15:56just like we're all here
- 15:58today on and there is a a
- 16:04faculty member. We're going to
- 16:05say this is a faculty member,
- 16:07a black faculty member,
- 16:08and we're going to call her Joanne.
- 16:11And in response to a question,
- 16:13she proposes a new teaching strategy
- 16:16to incorporate into a course.
- 16:21Crickets.
- 16:24It's so quiet. No one in the meeting
- 16:28acknowledges this recommendation.
- 16:30Next a younger white male faculty member,
- 16:35we'll call him Tom, who has less experience,
- 16:39less time in the role,
- 16:40in fact comes from a different department,
- 16:42not really associated with the content
- 16:43of the course, but learned about
- 16:45it and tested to join the meeting.
- 16:47Really excited. Tom makes the
- 16:50same almost word for word comment.
- 16:53Now, after he repeats the same suggestion,
- 16:56everyone applauds the ideas.
- 16:57We've got messages in the chat.
- 16:59We've got, you know, clapping.
- 17:01We've got the little party.
- 17:03I don't even know what that's called,
- 17:04but you know the little
- 17:06party thing that comes out.
- 17:07And while this happens,
- 17:09one person sends a little side
- 17:11note to Joanne in the chat.
- 17:14That's just she's appalled.
- 17:16Oh my goodness.
- 17:17Did she just see what happened?
- 17:19This is a direct chat,
- 17:20just privately to Joanne.
- 17:22Now, later that day,
- 17:23Joanne reaches out to Tom in an e-mail.
- 17:26It's just a sort of feeling,
- 17:27not feeling good about this.
- 17:29And so she gently said,
- 17:32you know, sort of ask,
- 17:33was he aware what happens, you know,
- 17:36sort of feeling a bit frustrated by it,
- 17:39wondering if they could discuss.
- 17:42And he responds by really discounting
- 17:44the intent or the impact.
- 17:47So the question is,
- 17:48is this a microaggression,
- 17:51and if so,
- 17:52by whom?
- 17:59Think about it And then you know
- 18:03what type of microaggression.
- 18:04We just went over some terminology.
- 18:06What type of microaggression?
- 18:08Can we name it?
- 18:09And if you want to put put in
- 18:12the chat or jump in and just
- 18:18say if you do see this as a microaggression
- 18:22or and by whom you want to throw
- 18:24anything in the chat, we'll take it.
- 18:34I think it is a microaggression,
- 18:36I think primarily
- 18:37by Tom, but I wonder also about the
- 18:39the silence of the people in the room.
- 18:41And you know, who observed this One
- 18:43person sent a chat, but you know,
- 18:45but undoubtedly everybody else
- 18:46noticed or if they didn't that's
- 18:48that's problematic as well.
- 18:49I think it could be by both.
- 18:52Absolutely.
- 18:56And so the next thought is, you know,
- 18:58as an upstander and so first of all,
- 19:01absolutely yes, yes and yes.
- 19:04The, you know, Tom,
- 19:06all of the silence and even there's even
- 19:10something that feels frustrating about the
- 19:13person who sent a chat message to Joanne.
- 19:16Right. So they they saw it and they
- 19:18sort of discreetly just with her said,
- 19:20Oh my goodness, what just happened
- 19:22that that didn't feel good? Okay.
- 19:25And and again, real life scenario,
- 19:27real life scenario.
- 19:30So what would you have done
- 19:32in a scenario like this?
- 19:34How could you have been a upstander?
- 19:37Often times before we move on,
- 19:39I'll just say often times
- 19:40we sort of run away.
- 19:41And you can kind of imagine maybe
- 19:43that's where this person who sent
- 19:45the little message in the chat
- 19:47was we may run away from being
- 19:49upstander because we'll say,
- 19:50you know,
- 19:51we don't want to make anyone
- 19:52feel uncomfortable.
- 19:53The reality is that if you can
- 19:56feel some discomfort in that
- 19:57moment watching this thing happen,
- 19:59then the likelihood that others
- 20:02feel uncomfortable already is
- 20:04is pretty is pretty certain.
- 20:06And so the only person who doesn't
- 20:07feel uncomfortable is the one who's
- 20:09committing this microaggression
- 20:10in the in the moment.
- 20:11Now,
- 20:11sometimes they might feel a little
- 20:13bit uncomfortable afterward because
- 20:14they've sort of recognized it,
- 20:16but but often times that's that's
- 20:17pretty much the only one who's not
- 20:19feeling uncomfortable in the moment.
- 20:21Now they've succeeded to make.
- 20:23Everyone feel uncomfortable on top of it.
- 20:24So the person who has been
- 20:27microaggressed upon, let's say you know,
- 20:29feels utterly alone and typically
- 20:30is questioning whether or not they
- 20:32made it all up in their head.
- 20:34And perhaps they're overreacting.
- 20:37So we said, yes, it's a A,
- 20:40a microaggression,
- 20:41but let's let's start to talk about strategy.
- 20:43So there's problem. How do we address it?
- 20:46So first we're going to just talk
- 20:48about these 3R's okay to sort of
- 20:50summarize how we might really approach it.
- 20:52So keep it kind of simple, Okay.
- 20:54So first thing is reflecting, right.
- 20:57So reflecting the conversation back
- 20:59by asking the person who committed
- 21:02the microaggression what they actually
- 21:04meant or why they did what they did,
- 21:06right.
- 21:06So Joanne actually sort of tried that,
- 21:08raising awareness by informing
- 21:10the individual who committed the
- 21:12microaggression on why their
- 21:14actions were actually harmful, Okay.
- 21:16And then the final being reaffirming,
- 21:19reaffirming boundaries by stating
- 21:21what you know that certain language
- 21:23or behaviors really aren't tolerated
- 21:26and everyone deserves to be treated
- 21:28with respect.
- 21:29So that's the broad overview with the 3R's.
- 21:33But in situations where microaggression
- 21:35has occurred and the reality is
- 21:38they will continue to happen,
- 21:40folks may feel a need to have
- 21:42some real specific okay.
- 21:43So we wanted to do that as well and
- 21:46to sort of arm you as we're going
- 21:48to break out into some breakout
- 21:50sessions and a moment.
- 21:52So now we're in this brave space,
- 21:56learning space,
- 21:57taking about accountability,
- 21:58accepting and we want to find
- 22:03some strategies. First one,
- 22:05naming what you saw or heard, right?
- 22:07And that's kind of reflected in
- 22:09the three R's asking openended
- 22:11questions about it, right?
- 22:13So not necessarily putting a sort of
- 22:16judgment on it first and sort of figuring
- 22:18out where people are coming from so
- 22:20that it can sort of open some doors.
- 22:22And then once those openended
- 22:24questions are asked,
- 22:25another strategy that can follow it
- 22:27really nicely is to probe for some more
- 22:30clarity and then clarifying your own stances,
- 22:33how you feel about the situation,
- 22:35making it a teachable moment and then
- 22:38reminding folks of institutional values.
- 22:40Now this is adapted from a
- 22:42reference on the slide Ouch.
- 22:44And to wrap up these strategies,
- 22:46there's a wonderful quote that
- 22:48sort of sums everything up.
- 22:49And it says in the book the simple act of
- 22:53naming A bias or objecting to it on the spot,
- 22:57establishes a social atmosphere
- 22:59that discourages it.
- 23:01Saying nothing serves to condone it.
- 23:06So one strategy if you don't
- 23:09know what to say,
- 23:10you've forgotten all the things
- 23:12are to say potentially it's been
- 23:15proposed to say out and it really
- 23:17can sort of pause the conversation,
- 23:19assume the thought is also to try
- 23:22and assume good intent and making
- 23:25it really sort of individual
- 23:26when you're approaching it.
- 23:28And finally,
- 23:28we can't do all of this and say all
- 23:31of this without really addressing the
- 23:33resources that are right here at Yale.
- 23:36And so there are a number of resources
- 23:38to help you be an upstander or active
- 23:40bystander as Yale typically uses.
- 23:42And for that,
- 23:43I will turn the conversation
- 23:44over to Elizabeth.
- 23:47Thank you so much. I really appreciate
- 23:50the way that you frame that.
- 23:52So as I mentioned when I introduced myself,
- 23:54I oversee offices that are often in the
- 23:57position of responding to concerns from
- 23:59members of our community and wanted to
- 24:03make you aware of various resources.
- 24:05So certainly some of these things
- 24:07can be handled at the local level.
- 24:09And there's actually research,
- 24:10including out of the National
- 24:12Academies of Science,
- 24:13Engineering and Medicine,
- 24:14that suggests interrupting this behavior
- 24:17that can be on a lower scale compared
- 24:19to other types of discrimination
- 24:21and harassment can be a really
- 24:23effective way to drive culture change.
- 24:26It's interesting.
- 24:27In studies of harassment and discrimination,
- 24:31lack of professionalism,
- 24:33incivility,
- 24:33and microaggressions are in fact
- 24:36among the top risk factors for
- 24:39discrimination and harassment to occur.
- 24:41And when you think about it,
- 24:42that sort of makes sense.
- 24:44But not all scenarios are those where
- 24:48folks necessarily feel comfortable
- 24:50speaking up in the moment because of
- 24:53disparate power or other types of dynamics.
- 24:56There also can be situations that
- 24:58feel trickier than those that can
- 25:00be handled at the local level.
- 25:01So in addition to arming you with enhanced
- 25:05skills around speaking up in the moment,
- 25:07I like and have used the Ouch.
- 25:10Another strategy that I have
- 25:12used is simply the word wow.
- 25:15Things that interrupt conduct
- 25:17can be really helpful,
- 25:19but there are also people that that
- 25:21do this as part of their professional
- 25:23work and I think what makes Yale
- 25:25unique is that we have both local
- 25:27and university wide resources.
- 25:29So at the School of Medicine you have
- 25:32discrimination and harassment resource
- 25:33coordinators and I'm going to send the
- 25:36links to these after I'm done speaking.
- 25:38But they include Darren Lattimore,
- 25:40Karina Gonzalez,
- 25:41John Francis and Marietta Vasquez.
- 25:44You also have Deputy Title 9 coordinators
- 25:47who typically respond to concerns
- 25:48of sex or gender based issues.
- 25:50Again, Darren Lattimore,
- 25:52then Cindy Crusto, Megan King,
- 25:54and Rosemary Fisher.
- 25:56These folks can help think about
- 25:58how to navigate these situations.
- 26:00Perhaps engage in informal resolution,
- 26:02help you with a conversation
- 26:04or for serious conduct that's
- 26:07ongoing and persistent.
- 26:08Help to channel folks to investigative
- 26:11options which are offered by the
- 26:14University wide resources including
- 26:15the Office of Institutional Equity and
- 26:18Accessibility also known as O i.e.
- 26:20A.
- 26:20That is the office that we conduct
- 26:23investigations of concerns of
- 26:24discrimination and harassment that
- 26:26are more significant or persistent.
- 26:28The Title 9 office can provide
- 26:30support to anyone with concerns
- 26:32of sex or gender based issues.
- 26:34And then I want to note that the SHARE
- 26:36Center provides confidential support
- 26:38for members of the Yale community.
- 26:41This is for sex and gender based misconduct.
- 26:43It can be a good place to start when
- 26:46people are trying to decide how to proceed.
- 26:48I also want to note another local
- 26:51resources resource that you have,
- 26:53which is the Office of Academic and
- 26:55Professional Development, Bob Rohrbaugh.
- 26:57You may be here today.
- 26:59Really fantastic resource.
- 27:01We're concerns about faculty conduct.
- 27:04So if the concern is in particular
- 27:06about another faculty member that
- 27:08can be a great place to turn.
- 27:10I think the sort of main point
- 27:11here is that we all talk to
- 27:13each other where appropriate,
- 27:15certainly not breaking confidentiality,
- 27:16and we can provide resources and
- 27:19support at whatever level feels right
- 27:21to you and reach out and we will figure
- 27:24out with you how to provide support.
- 27:28And then I would just like to ensure
- 27:31that folks are aware that we do have
- 27:35official university policy speaking to our
- 27:38university expectations around conduct with
- 27:40respect to discrimination and harassment,
- 27:43which is prohibited. This policy
- 27:46includes prohibitions on retaliation.
- 27:48I know from overseeing thousands
- 27:50of discrimination and harassment
- 27:51cases in my career,
- 27:53as well as from the research,
- 27:54that fear of retaliation is the single
- 27:57biggest reason that individuals
- 27:59do not speak up, do not report,
- 28:01and as was stated earlier,
- 28:03let you know with their feet by
- 28:06leaving that something is wrong.
- 28:07And so we really need to create a
- 28:10culture within the School of Medicine
- 28:12and within the university where
- 28:14individuals are encouraged to utilize
- 28:16resources rather than told not to
- 28:19or experiencing retribution for so.
- 28:21Doing so.
- 28:21Heading off retaliation concerns that
- 28:23the past can be a really important
- 28:25part of changing culture and making it
- 28:28comfortable for people to speak up.
- 28:29You can support someone's right to
- 28:31report a concern without necessarily
- 28:33making judgment on the merits of it.
- 28:36Regardless of how any investigation
- 28:37comes out,
- 28:38individuals are entitled to speak up
- 28:40about concerns and let the folks who do
- 28:43inquiries and investigations do their job.
- 28:45So that is what I have to say.
- 28:47I will put a few things in the chat
- 28:49just so that you have the lengths to
- 28:51some of the resources I mentioned.
- 28:53Thank you so much.
- 28:54That's
- 28:54great. And thanks, Elizabeth,
- 28:56for mentioning our Title 9 resources here.
- 28:59It's very helpful.
- 29:00So we wanted to actually have
- 29:02you watch a short video.
- 29:04It's a small clip from the
- 29:06module that we created.
- 29:08It's a minute and a half,
- 29:10and this actual clip is the one
- 29:13that Esperanza referred to at the
- 29:15beginning that we have created.
- 29:17We want you to actually watch the video
- 29:20and identify any microaggressions.
- 29:22Some might be verbal,
- 29:24some might be nonverbal,
- 29:25but just list them in your
- 29:27small breakout groups.
- 29:28We will not be recording any
- 29:30of your breakout rooms.
- 29:32And then we're going to bring you
- 29:34back and discuss the microaggressions
- 29:36you observed in the breakout room,
- 29:38then return to the main room to discuss
- 29:41the microaggressions that you observed.
- 29:44And when we started this,
- 29:46we had the script written
- 29:48and it was really fun.
- 29:50Dorothy, you were the producer of this.
- 29:52And we have a wonderful array.
- 29:55And again,
- 29:56it's only going to be a minute and a half,
- 29:58and we're in a patient's room.
- 30:00But look for the microaggressions.
- 30:02And then we'll put you in breakout
- 30:05rooms of about four people.
- 30:12Hey, the rooms are open. And
- 30:14this morning I'm gonna just want I'll
- 30:15be the new resident taking care of you.
- 30:17So I'm your new Doctor going forward. Now,
- 30:22I hear that you had some pain last night.
- 30:23Can you tell me about how it is currently?
- 30:26What happened to Dr. Miller?
- 30:28He was here all last week.
- 30:30Doctor Miller moved on to a new service, Mr.
- 30:32Morton. So Doctor Cheedy's going to
- 30:34be taking over your care this week.
- 30:37Do you know when I'm going
- 30:38to be able to go home?
- 30:39Well, we'd like to get your
- 30:40home as soon as possible.
- 30:41I know you're anxious to get home,
- 30:43but we need to run a few more tests to
- 30:45be sure everything is is ready to go.
- 30:48I'm going to be home this weekend.
- 30:50It's my aunt's birthday.
- 30:52Unfortunately,
- 30:52we may not be able to get you
- 30:55home this weekend because you
- 30:57may have to run some more tests.
- 30:59OK. Excuse me.
- 31:00Who are you?
- 31:01I'm trying to talk to the doctor here.
- 31:06As I said before, I'm Dr.
- 31:09Cheney and I'm your new Doctor.
- 31:12I will be taking care of you,
- 31:14and so can you please
- 31:16tell me about your pain?
- 31:18You're the doctor. I'm sorry.
- 31:22There was a girl in here this
- 31:23morning that looked just like you,
- 31:25very articulate, just like you.
- 31:27She arranged the room and
- 31:29cleaned things up really nice.
- 31:36OK, so now we're going to ask
- 31:38you to join a breakout room.
- 31:41We're not recording in the
- 31:43breakout rooms and when you
- 31:44return to this main room,
- 31:46we're going to discuss the microaggressions.
- 31:48We're going to have you in
- 31:51the room for 8 minutes.
- 31:57What you observed around
- 32:01microaggressions maybe Kirsten,
- 32:03do you want to start us off.
- 32:06So our group pretty much said right off
- 32:08the bat there wasn't a lot that was micro
- 32:11about this scenario that there were a lot
- 32:13of pre overt and you know, macro level,
- 32:15you know assaults and and aggressions.
- 32:18You know ranging from initially the
- 32:20patient really not even not even making
- 32:22eye contact with or acknowledging resident
- 32:24physician really focusing his entire
- 32:26energy on the the white man in the room
- 32:29and using terms like honey girl you
- 32:32know to refer to a female professional.
- 32:35Miss ascribing of roles.
- 32:37You know and seeing that the
- 32:39saying oh there was a girl in here
- 32:40that looked looked just like you.
- 32:41So you know it's not my fault for
- 32:43getting things confused and then
- 32:45of course commenting that she
- 32:47was articulate just like you.
- 32:48So just just a little barrage
- 32:49of of microaggressions there.
- 32:52We
- 32:52felt disappointed I think too that the that
- 32:55the person with the most
- 32:56power privilege in the room,
- 32:58the attending also wasn't a very
- 33:00active upstander in this in this case.
- 33:02And we thought could have could have
- 33:04done maybe a more sort of job of
- 33:07you know backing up the resident and
- 33:09empowering her in this situation and
- 33:11and redirecting the patient you know to
- 33:13to the role that that that she played.
- 33:16It was it was definitely a
- 33:17tough tough video to watch.
- 33:18And then we we also discussed the
- 33:20response of the medical student a
- 33:22little color in the back of the room.
- 33:23He was clearly based on her body
- 33:24language and eye contact, you know,
- 33:26very disturbed by what was going on,
- 33:28I think, and seeing how the
- 33:29resident was treated and again,
- 33:30how the person with the most our
- 33:34privilege in the room didn't really act
- 33:36as a bit up standard in that situation.
- 33:38Thanks, Kirsten.
- 33:39Yeah, the medical student,
- 33:40I don't know, Jen,
- 33:41do you have anything to add?
- 33:42That was pretty comprehensive,
- 33:43but anything from your
- 33:45group and we'll just open
- 33:46it up to other reflections.
- 33:48I think we
- 33:49agree with what Kirsten was saying.
- 33:50We really felt that the
- 33:52microaggression was coming
- 33:54from the senior faculty
- 33:55member because his blatant
- 33:57disregard for what's going on and not being
- 34:00an upstander was really a microaggression.
- 34:03And we were discussing who was
- 34:06there that could have responded to
- 34:07it and would have felt comfortable
- 34:09given the hierarchy that was present
- 34:11and is always present on medical
- 34:13rounds and how they could have done
- 34:15it in a way that felt comfortable.
- 34:17You know, both the the patient and
- 34:19the senior faculty member needed to
- 34:21be addressed in the situation and and
- 34:24neither got addressed for their behavior.
- 34:27Thanks Jen. Other comments or reflections,
- 34:31I think there's an institutional
- 34:33microaggression that's not
- 34:34been addressed here as well.
- 34:36I don't think that there's been
- 34:38any standardization of how we
- 34:40should walk into a patient's room,
- 34:42how we should all be dressed.
- 34:45Are there differences in
- 34:47hierarchical changes that take
- 34:49place by the positioning, the order?
- 34:51I think we can do a better job
- 34:54in designing a process that will
- 34:57enable the opportunity for people
- 34:59to be more potent upstanders.
- 35:02By standardizing how it is we position
- 35:06ourselves and introduce ourselves and
- 35:08set expectations for a conversation.
- 35:12Thanks Michael. I'm going to push
- 35:13a little bit on that because
- 35:15it's a really important comment.
- 35:17How could we do that?
- 35:22Well, I I I think that there are
- 35:24are lots of different ways in which
- 35:26we need to think about doing it.
- 35:28We should have a better concept of what
- 35:31is an appropriate team teaching size,
- 35:33how it is that attendings are taught
- 35:37to introduce members of the team or
- 35:40who's the person who's going to be
- 35:42doing the introductions to the team.
- 35:44I don't think we've standardized
- 35:47any of those processes and and we
- 35:49certainly don't witness it in a
- 35:52way that real time feedback could
- 35:54be afforded to the members of that
- 35:57team to help address those issues.
- 36:01Thanks, Michael, John wrote.
- 36:02Wow, a great point.
- 36:04And Jen has written radical transparency.
- 36:07Provide feedback to all
- 36:09team members every time.
- 36:11Thanks. Other comments,
- 36:12These are really important comments.
- 36:18One of the big things that I think
- 36:20needs to be addressed is also how is the
- 36:24doctor patient relationship going to be
- 36:26salvaged after this this point, right?
- 36:29How is or who is going to
- 36:31take the lead in you know,
- 36:33establishing then a relationship
- 36:36because because it has now you know been
- 36:41macro aggressively, you know disrupted.
- 36:44And so how do we make sure that this
- 36:47patient albeit you know aggressive gets
- 36:50the best treatment because we have to
- 36:53do no harm and yet give the the respect
- 36:57and the position that each one of the
- 37:00people in the room necessitates to be
- 37:03able to do their their work right.
- 37:05And and the other point is just and
- 37:09maybe this is more from a child psych
- 37:12perspective just in going back to the
- 37:15previous point is leading by example,
- 37:17you know kind of like modeling
- 37:19the behavior that is expected.
- 37:21We are in a teaching environment,
- 37:22so always modeling the behavior and
- 37:24knowing that people are always going to
- 37:26be looking to us to model the behavior
- 37:29especially if we are the adult in the
- 37:31room or the senior person in the room.
- 37:33We are modeling that behavior to everyone.
- 37:37And I think role modeling
- 37:38is probably one of the most
- 37:40powerful forms of teaching.
- 37:41So thanks for pointing that out.
- 37:43Other comments,
- 37:46I
- 37:54just wanted to make the one point
- 37:56which is that in this these
- 37:59modules we go over different ways
- 38:02that the attending addresses it,
- 38:06the how the resident reacts.
- 38:08So there are different scenarios and
- 38:10some of the things that you're talking
- 38:12about also end up getting pointed out.
- 38:15But these are such great,
- 38:17great points that folks have made. Thanks
- 38:19Tishiana. On that, you can actually
- 38:22use this QR code to access the online
- 38:26modules to complete the three sessions.
- 38:29You only saw a clip and a half out of
- 38:33the second one about microaggressions,
- 38:35but we also talk about discussing responses,
- 38:37which is really important,
- 38:39what Anjali and others have mentioned,
- 38:41what we really didn't address,
- 38:43Michael and your points really
- 38:45important are the systems issues.
- 38:46So we have to think more about that together.
- 38:49And as you do this and take the QR code,
- 38:52if you just go into the chat,
- 38:54we would really appreciate you filling out a
- 38:57very short evaluation of the session today.
- 39:00We cherish the feedback and it's such
- 39:02an important topic and there's so many
- 39:05experts that we have in the room today
- 39:07and we just want to continue to work
- 39:10together and think about how we can
- 39:13constantly improve the learning environment.
- 39:15And I love when Tishiana really helped
- 39:18us think more about Brave Space.
- 39:21And I want to thank, thank the team,
- 39:22what an amazing group to help put
- 39:25this together.
- 39:26But please,
- 39:27these are online modules in and they're
- 39:30all CME related and they're all free.
- 39:32And so you can browse through these.
- 39:35So I thank you all for attending
- 39:37the session today.
- 39:38And please,
- 39:39please fill out the eval.
- 39:40We do want your feedback and I hope
- 39:43that you found this helpful.
- 39:45And Jana, I just wanted to add
- 39:47that you can also access the
- 39:49modules without getting credit.
- 39:50You can always just get the material,
- 39:52which I think is important.
- 39:53And you know, we just want to make
- 39:54sure that you get the information.
- 39:57Terrific. Thanks, Allison.
- 40:04I'll leave this up for a moment
- 40:10and we're happy to answer any other
- 40:12questions if before you leave.