ASSIGNMENT
Part One: Consult at least (2) scholarly resources and using the textbook chapter 6 (from last module), answer the following questions:
Burnout is a workplace syndrome characterized by high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment from work. COVID-19 has presented clinicians with even greater workplace hardships and stressed an already broken system that resulted in an unsustainable working environment for clinicians.
1. Discuss some of the issues around the serious problem of physician burnout (both pre-COVID19 and now)
2. Discuss some of the issues and challenges facing the nursing profession in the United States before COVID19, present day, and in the future.
Part Two:
The recent focus on racial health disparities and health equity has brought to the forefront another key concept in healthcare delivery and patient care: implicit bias. Implicit bias, a phrase that is not unique to healthcare, refers to the unconscious prejudice individuals might feel about another thing, group, or person. According to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University, implicit bias is involuntary, can refer to positive or negative attitudes and stereotypes, and can affect actions without an individual knowing it. Implicit bias can be a factor in any aspect of our everyday lives: when we interact with colleagues, make new friends, or meet parents at our children’s schools. That means the interactions providers and medical workers have with patients are likewise not immune from implicit bias.
In healthcare, implicit bias can shape the way medical providers interact with patients. Because everyone is susceptible to implicit bias, even clinicians, these unconscious preconceptions will naturally seep into patient-provider communication. As with any interaction, implicit bias can have adverse effects on the patient experience. By damaging patient-provider interactions, implicit bias can adversely impact health outcomes. In many situations, patients are able to pick up on a provider’s implicit bias, and patients often report a poor experience with that. And naturally, a patient who picks up on a provider’s implicit bias may feel less inclined to engage deeply with care. This kind of implicit discrimination has born itself out in many Black and Brown patients lacking trust Links to an external site. in and being reticent to engage with the medical institution.
Review the videos below and discuss your thoughts about implicit bias in healthcare, particularly for minority populations. What do you think some strategies are to address this issue?
