Addressing Sexism
About this Framework
Closing the Divide: Building Trust by Addressing Bias in Medicine provides a framework for how to respond internally and externally to encounters marked by biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings. The tools provided will assist with creating a platform for honest, open discussions about the presence and impact of biased behaviors in both clinical and nonclinical settings in medicine.
About this Module
In this module, Dr. Rodriguez experiences a patient encounter marked by biased comments and behavior related to her gender identity. The comments and behaviors depicted in this module are considered forms of sexism and sexual harassment. Sexism is defined as discriminatory treatment of a person based sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy (EEOC). Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature (EEOC). Consider the questions below:
Discussion Questions
Have you ever experienced or witnessed sexism directed towards yourself or a colleague?
Have you ever experienced or witnessed sexual harassment directed towards yourself or a colleague?
Do you think there were additional factors that influenced the patient’s behavior, such as her age or ethnicity?
What are some of the thoughts or questions that came to mind as you viewed this encounter?
How would you respond during an encounter like this?
How would you respond if you witnessed a colleague being treated this way?
Clear the AIRR
The Clear the AIRR provides a framework for how to respond internally and externally to encounters marked by biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings.
The Clear the AIRR tool is a curriculum that supports and empowers the healthcare team to respond when experiencing or witnessing macroaggressions and microaggressions or other biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings.
ASSESS
Assess the patient and environment. Ensure the safety of both the patient and yourself. If you are concerned about physical harm, be mindful of the position of your body in relation to the patient and to the door. Be able to leave the room quickly if needed. It is acceptable to leave and return with appropriate personnel to ensure you are safe and the patient is safe.
IDENTIFY
Seek to understand the patient’s perspective and the underlying cause of the behavior being displayed. At times it may be helpful to name the emotion or behavior that is being displayed.
RESPOND
This is your opportunity to provide your perspective and the goals of the encounter. There are times when you have to be more direct in naming the specific behavior while clearly stating the standards for continuation of the encounter. Refer to the video portion of this module for useful phrases for these encounters.
REPORT
Debriefing and reporting the encounter ensures the person subjected to the behavior has a safe space to process the experience. This also allows hospital systems to track these types of behaviors and create policies to address them. Refer to the video portion of this module for specific reporting methods.
Thank You for Participating
With this framework, we hope that you learned helpful tips and techniques on how to address encounters marked by biased behaviors. Our goal is that this serves as a platform for honest, open discussions about the presence and impact of biased behaviors in various settings. We encourage you to share this training with your trainees and colleagues
