Implicit Bias Freshman Orientation Program

Implicit Bias Freshman Orientation Program
Why this petition matters
An implicit bias is an unconscious association, belief, or attitude toward any social group. Due to implicit biases, people may often attribute certain qualities or characteristics to all members of a particular group, a phenomenon known as stereotyping. Our goal is to include a program in first-year orientation that spreads awareness of implicit bias. It is important that the incoming freshman, who will become a part of our school community, are aware of the issues that come with implicit bias and recognize when others are victims of this issue. For the past eight years, Dovidio and colleagues have surveyed a cadre of 4,732 medical students attending 49 of the nation’s 128 allopathic medical schools who first entered medical school in 2010. The team found that as a result of this study, of most people who enter the medical field and are destined to become certified doctors, 80% percent are white. In addition, contact with minority faculty and patients and faculty role-modeling was more strongly related to implicit and explicit bias changes than their formal curricula or training experiences.