WISELI
University of Wisconsin-Madison Inclusion in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute

Bias Reduction in Medicine (BRIM)

Virtual Workshops for Faculty in Academic Medicine

WISELI no longer offers this workshop.  For information, contact wiseli@engr.wisc.edu.

Did you know …

  • The average cost of losing a medical school faculty member exceeds $400,000?
  • Improving departmental climate can increase faculty retention, particularly for female faculty and faculty of color?
  • Male and female faculty in departments with good climate write more papers and bring in more grant dollars?
  • Women in more supportive climates experience lower levels of work-to-family conflict, even when working 70 hours per week?

The Bias Reduction in Medicine (BRIM) workshop can help improve your department climate by providing tools and strategies for addressing implicit bias among faculty members.

The BRIM workshop, a three-hour session, is one of the few interventions found to be effective in fostering bias-reducing behavioral change. Tested in a cluster randomized controlled study involving 19 departments of medicine, the workshop is requested repeatedly by other institutions and departments outside of internal medicine. In response to these requests, the BRIM investigators will offer this workshop virtually on three different dates in January 2022.

The BRIM workshop uses research examples relevant to faculty in academic medicine to illustrate how cultural stereotypes about diverse groups of people create unwanted cognitive habits that predispose the human mind to unintended (“implicit”) errors in perception, judgment, and decision-making. The workshop then provides participants with tools to help them break these unwanted habits: first, by providing labels to help participants diagnose common manifestations of bias (bias literacy), and then by offering specific evidence-based strategies participants can practice to help them overcome the unintended influence of cultural stereotypes.

Workshop Schedule:

  • Jan. 18, 2022: 1-4 PM (CST)
  • Jan. 20, 2022: 9 AM-12 Noon (CST)
  • Jan. 27, 2022: 9 AM-12 Noon (CST)

Workshop Presenters:

Dr. Molly Carnes
Dr. Jennifer Sheridan

Workshop Fee

$300/per person

Click here to register

Workshop goals

After participating in the BRIM workshop, attendees should be able to:

  1. Describe how cultural stereotypes can lead to cognitive habits that advantage some groups and disadvantage other groups in academic science and medicine;
  2. Recognize and name at least three ways group stereotypes can bias perceptions and judgments including expectancy bias, role congruity, and reconstructing credentials;
  3. Practice at least three strategies found to help break the bias habit including reciting growth mindset and internal motivation messages, perceiving variability, and perspective taking.

Departments of Medicine Participating in the BRIM Randomized-Control Study

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Boston University
  • Brown University
  • Indiana University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Northwestern University
  • Tufts University
  • University of Colorado-Anschutz
  • University of Florida
  • University of Illinois-Chicago
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
  • University of Utah
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Washington
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Washington University in St. Louis

Relevant Publications

Media Coverage