Helping the learner to deal with microaggressions in the workplace: Individual, programmatic, and institutional-level...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Workplace Psychology
• Healthcare Equity

Background:

• Microaggressions negatively impact learners, creating hostile educational environments.
• Faculty often lack training to effectively support trainees experiencing microaggressions.
• Addressing microaggressions is crucial for trainee well-being and development in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define microaggressions and their impact on trainees.
• To offer a framework for managing patient-to-learner microaggressions.
• To propose strategies for programmatic and institutional mitigation of microaggressions.

Main Methods:

• Commentary and literature review.
• Framework development for individual-level management.
• Strategy identification for systemic-level mitigation.

Main Results:

• Microaggressions create a hostile learning environment for trainees.
• Faculty require enhanced skills to support learners post-incident.
• Individual and systemic strategies are necessary for mitigation.

Conclusions:

• Effective management and mitigation of microaggressions are essential in clinical education.
• Training faculty to recognize and respond to microaggressions is critical.
• Programmatic and institutional changes can foster a more inclusive learning environment.