Recognizing and Responding to Overt Racism Towards Medical Trainees: Using the IRES Tool and Scripted Language

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anti-Racism Training
• Clinical Learning Environments

Background:

• Medical educators often lack effective strategies to address racism directed at trainees.
• Existing methods for microaggression response may inadvertently harm targets.
• There is a need for faculty development in responding to overt racism to support trainees.

Purpose of the Study:

• To equip medical faculty with methods to recognize and respond to overt racism.
• To enhance trainee support within the clinical learning environment.
• To develop faculty confidence and competence in addressing racist incidents.

Main Methods:

• A faculty development workshop was designed with didactic and experiential components.
• The IRES (identify, respond, end, support) tool was introduced for responding to overt racism.
• Participants engaged in case-based practice sessions and debriefing, followed by a survey.

Main Results:

• A faculty development workshop improved participants' ability to distinguish and respond to overt racism versus microaggressions.
• Confidence in responding to overt racism and debriefing skills increased significantly (p < .001).
• Scripted language was identified as a valuable tool for promoting upstander behavior.

Conclusions:

• A novel framework effectively enhances faculty's response to racism targeting trainees.
• Experiential learning and scripted language are crucial for effective anti-racism training.
• This training model is adaptable for residents, fellows, and other healthcare disciplines.