Working At Siloam Research Paper

America has been a melting pot of cultures for many centuries, with the number of immigrants continually rising every year. Most of these immigrants come into the country with nothing at all except for the clothes on their backs and a few English words. But they also bring with them something special – their cultures and traditions from their homeland. In the Immigrant Advantage, readers can see that these specific traditions that they bring with them give them an advantage because they tend to have better mental and physical health than their native born American counterparts (5).

“Stop trying to be good people.” It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity lawyer, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing yet entertaining tone in

“Stop trying to be good people.” It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity lawyer, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing

Personal bias is a topic that many do not enjoy discussing, but understanding bias is crucial to social progress and acceptance. The series of articles we read discussed many aspects of personal bias including snap judgements and unconscious bias. The article How Your Looks Betray Your Personality by Roger Highfield discusses in-depth how people make immediate judgements and inferences when they first see someone and how these judgements can lead to overgeneralization. Jean Moule expands on this concept of immediate reactions in her article titled “Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism” by discussing unconscious bias and the actions that it can cause a person to do without being aware. In this

The interesting thing about bias is how and why it develops. Often it is rooted in fear and even denial. People are easily intimidated by things that are different, and they are motivated by acceptance. So, sometimes we pretend to be something we are not in order to fit in. The irony in this is that bias may develop against things that are actually a part of our own makeup. If we are honest, it becomes evident that

Immigration is one of the central themes of the founding of the United States and as such it is often the epicenter of controversy among both citizens and policymakers. Throughout the twentieth century, American citizens and policymakers have brought to the forefront the importance of immigration and the role immigrants play within society. This can be a cause of friction between immigrants and multi-generational citizens because immigrants are often viewed with a negative connotation. They are often blamed for stealing jobs from hardworking citizens, draining the healthcare system and adding to the homeless population. They are associated with crime, poverty and in general they are perceived as undesirable members of society (Spenkuch, 2014). The relationship between crime and immigrants is of particular importance because there is a common perception that immigrants cause crime and their neighborhoods are riddled with criminal activity. Also important to note is that the characteristics of immigrants tend to coincide with members of the native-born population that are disproportionally incarceration. In general, they are poorly educated, earn low wages and are young, males. This led to the perception that incoming immigrants continuously add to the lower class, criminal population. In order to clearly understand the relationship between the two concepts they must be examined both from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint

The ease of modern technology that lets people communicate globally, the access to extraordinary mobility, and the well roundedness of people today has produced the biggest population in history that prides itself in being egalitarian and fair-minded. Psychologists have found evidence in recent studies that, although people are not as outwardly racist and discriminatory as they were in the past centuries, there is an underlying bias that can lead people to act in ways opposing their beliefs. In their book Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good people, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald explore the ideas of unconscious identity, the judgment and treatment of others based on stereotypes and the phenomenon of association, and our inability to simply stop being biased as opposed to outsmarting it.

Moule, J. (2009). Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism. The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 90, Issue 5, 320-326.

Statistics indicate that forty million citizens, or 13% of the entire U.S. population, are foreign born. I am one of these forty million. Unfortunately, discussions about immigration have come to revolve around curtailment, rather than about immigrants themselves. Presidential candidate Donald Trump has risen to fame by painting immigrants as “murderers, thieves, and rapists.” Trump’s popularity signifies a radical shift from the time in which the words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free... I lift my lamp beside the golden door,” were boldly inscribed onto the Statue of Liberty. Immigrants are no longer seen as people, but as a pathology. Even discussions about the benefits of immigration aren’t about immigrants themselves, but about what immigration can do for the national economy. As if an immigrant's value to society can only be measured in terms of capital.

Communities all over the world deal with the multi faceted problem of biases, including racial bias. A Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair” (Dictionary.com, 2017).

“You know, biases are the stories we make up about people before we know who they actually are. But how are we going to know who they are when we 've been told to avoid and be afraid of them? So I 'm going to tell you to walk toward your discomfort.” (Myers)

Throughout everyone’s life, there will always be a point in time where they will experience some form of racial bias. After the Civil War in America, there was racial bias towards many African Americans. Many African Americans are being judged too quickly and facing terrible outcomes just because of the color of their skin. Some good examples of African Americans being considered dangerous is in the article by Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space.” One of the traits that described African Americans were that African Americas are huge, threatening people, “…perceived as dangerous…” (1). As mentioned earlier in this paragraph, racial bias still exists, even in me. Just like Staples, I will explain my racial bias towards my classmates, here at CSM, and explain how that racial bias affected me.

To provide high quality and equitable care, it is important that health care providers reduce and become aware of their biases. Biases can be divided into those under conscious control, explicit biases, and those that are held at an unconscious level, implicit biases (Doyle). We have made great strides with reducing explicit bias by banning discrimination and reducing prejudice, but we need to continue working towards reducing and becoming aware of our implicit biases. In reflecting on my own implicit biases, I have become aware that my implicit biases can negatively affect my ability to deliver high quality patient care in the future by impacting my relationship with patients, increasing the probability of misdiagnosis, and influencing treatment

These biases are instilled in us all and can occur automatically with little cognizant control, despite our best efforts to exclude racism in our everyday actions. (Nier, et al.) Law enforcement officers faced with time-sensitive or stressful decisions are more likely to make decisions based on their implicit bias. Our social perceptions of each other are typically based on preconceptions, beliefs, and stereotypes. This can lead to racial biases in the performance of our jobs and our interactions within minority communities. (Nier, et

Threat of bias is an important issue that faces people. One type of threat of bias is the stereotype threat. “The worst part of the stereotype threat is that it is self-imposed. People who are alert to the possibility of prejudice are not one hypersensitive when it occurs, but their minds are hijacked, undercutting potential” (Berger, 2017, pg. 495). I think we can all say that at one time or another we have stereotyped another person without getting to know them. I, however, have never experienced a threat of bias. Unfortunately, two members of my family have in their many years in the workforce.