Unconscious Physician Bias : Unconscious Bias Essay

The main purpose of this article was to unexamined biases, to see how much they contribute as well as to address ethnic and racial in health care disparities. Biases can be referred to as favoritism, a favor of one and against another, very systematic and differing by racial and ethnic groups. Many psychologist has turned their focus and studies on common biases, which biases influence medical decisions and interaction.

In doing so, he pays particularly close attention to black patients and their relations with health care policies and practices. Smedly maintains that blacks are not only the victims of, inpatient and outpatient treatment, racial policies, and other services but also the victims of its consequences. He argues that many health care administrators are agents to a system of inequality that support provider and administrator biases, geographical inequalities, and racial stereotypes (Smedly 2012).

A notable discrepancy exists between health care received by the black population in comparison to the white population. However, the foundation of health care inconsistencies has yet to be firmly established. Instead, conflicting views prioritize causes of health care disparities as due to social determinants or due to individual responsibility for health (Woolf & Braveman, 2011). Emerging literature also indicates that health care providers propagate disparities by employing implicit biases (Chapman, Kaatz, & Carnes, 2013; Dovidio, Fiske, 2012). This paper aims to discuss black health care disparities as a function of socially constructed beliefs that both consciously and unconsciously influence health care professionals practice.

When considering the American medical system, it is clear that the policy solutions for disparities occurring outside the clinical encounter

People tend to think that they don’t have any biases against minority groups. However, unbeknownst to them, research has shown that many people actually do harbor negative biases, in the form of automatic associations. In a study performed by B. Keith Payne, at the University of North Carolina, he tested to see whether participants have an unintended racial bias towards African-Americans. To test this, he used an Implicit Association Test (IAT). This test uses a matching method to find any hidden biases in the test taker. He found that participants indeed showed racial bias towards African-Americans, even though it was completely unintended (Payne). Last week, we wanted to see whether we have a bias for

Implicit bias is an individual’s internal beliefs regarding others and influences how people conduct themselves in various settings and situations and may result in injustices such as stereotyping or racial profiling. The National Center for States Courts defines implicit bias as “judgement or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes.” This behavior is difficult to identify, because people typically respond and behave in ways that seem appropriate and protect their own interests. Furthermore, these beliefs are more often subconscious than overt. Some groups are working to deter implicit bias and promote diversity.

Health care providers and the medical community at large adhere to the negative racial and gender stereotypes and perceptions associated with Black women. The salience of stereotypical perceptions of Black women, such as that they are unintelligent, low income, or unworthy of treatment or respect (Burgess, Warren, Phelan, Dovidio, & Ryn, 2010), in health care settings, has been linked to apprehension of receiving and actually receiving biased treatment by health care professionals (Melfi, Croghan, Hanna, & Robinson, 2000; Sclar, Robison, Skaer, & Galin, 1999). Stereotype threat, which is the fear a person has of confirming the negative stereotypes associated with a group he or she identifies with or in an area in which the individual excels

Like previously stated, there has been a vast history of racial issues particularly in the medical field. These issues have led to minorities, especially African Americans, to not trust medical professionals and procedures. A study found in the Archives of Internal Medicine gives shocking results by stating that “African Americans were far less trusting than whites of the medical establishment and medical researchers in particular. African Americans were 79.2 percent more likely to believe that someone like them would be used as a guinea pig without his or her consent” (Clark 118). There are many cases in the past which would make a minority feel neglected and like a “guinea pig”. For instance, Henrietta Lacks, the main character of Rebecca Skloot’s book, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. Her doctors were shocked at the terrifying rate her tumor was growing (Skloot 117). Her cells were taken from her cervix and they were distributed world wide without her or her family’s consent. The distribution went on for years even after her death

To argue the first premise, he appeals to common knowledge that doctors hold their occupations because they are more knowledgeable in a medical context on the options for improving health and longevity. With this in mind, he then establishes that individuals who consult physicians do so in order to prolong their life and improve their well-being. By establishing these foundational premises for paternalism in a medical context, Goldman can now argue that given a patient that is determined to be acting out of line with his true values and his actions might result in harm that is severe, certain, and irreversible, it is the physician’s professional to override the patients’ immediate rights in order to preserve that patients’ more long-term desires. But how can the physician determine whether the patient is acting in line with his true values in the case of withholding medical information from the patient?

Social psychologists have studied the cause and effect of biases, specifically by white police officers towards minorities. Implicit bias, specifically racial bias, describes a psychological process in which a person’s unconscious racial belief (stereotypes) and attitudes (prejudices) affect his or her behaviors, perceptions, and judgments in ways that they are largely unaware of and typically, unable to control (Graham).

Oliver et al. (2014), exemplifies how some physicians may not be aware of their implicit bias that could be causing healthcare disparities. This study determines whether physicians’ implicit racial views of African Americans affect their decision making, regarding total knee replacement (TKR) as a treatment option for OA. They also assessed whether not, if the Racial Implicit Association test would impact TKR recommendations. In the study implicit bias was determined by the racial implicit association test (IAT) and explicit bias was tested using a questionnaire that asked physicians which race they preferred (black or white) using a 5-point Likert scale and 10-point thermometer scaled to grade physician’s feelings.

Knowing, understanding, and being aware of personal biases is the first step in the development of plans or strategies overcoming biases. As nurses we must recognize and be more sensitive to the care provided to patients and understand that differences do exist in and between the differing races, cultures, and ethnic groups (Giger, 2013, p. 3). The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is used to identify and provide an awareness to biases that are consciously or unconsciously present in an individuals actions and beliefs (Project Implicit, 2011). After completing the Race IAT, Gender-Career IAT and Religion IAT, I will discuss the prejudices, biases, and stereotypical thinking present in my life and share what steps can be taken to reduce or eliminate

No matter who you are or what part of the world you are from implicit bias are a constant issue in society. These tendencies typically stem from structural injustice, implicit bias, and personal discretion. Structural injustice is when a category of people are associated with an insufficient status when comparing to other groups of people engaging in the same actions. Implicit bias are stances and stereotypes that affect our comprehension, actions and decisions held by our unconscious manner. These bias are involuntarily and are done without individuals awareness or intentional control. Everyone is exposed to these biases at a young age through the media, parents, and teachers. Each individual holds possession of implicit bias whether they

These findings suggest that factors such as patient and physician attitudes, as well as race concordance, play a role

Retaining information from anyone in the medical field can be beneficial, and also detrimental depending on the situation. In the 1950s, doctors thought it was acceptable to keep information from patients, especially, the poor black population. The “paradox benevolent deception” was a “common practice” among Henrietta’s doctors at John Hopkins. The biggest misconception she endured was, “Henrietta asked her doctor when she’d be better so she could have another child…until that moment, she didn’t know the treatment left her infertile” (Skloot, 47). At the time, African Americans were uneducated, and doctors failed to take the time to explain certain medical terminology. Doctors conceal information from their patients because they believe it