"Make the Implicit Explicit": Measuring Perceptions of Gender Bias and Creating a Gender Bias Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents.

BACKGROUND

Gender bias in clinical training has been well established; however, little is known about how perceptions differ between men and women. Furthermore, few curricular options have been developed to discuss gender bias.

OBJECTIVE

To measure the prevalence of gender bias, examine qualitative differences between men and women, and create a gender bias curriculum for internal medicine residents.

METHODS

We surveyed 114 residents (response rate of 53.5%) to identify the prevalence and types of gender bias experienced in training. We compared estimates between genders and organized qualitative results into shared themes. We then developed a curriculum to promote and normalize discussions of gender bias.

RESULTS

Among surveyed residents, 61% reported personal experiences of gender bias during training, with 98% of women and 19% of men reporting experiences when stratified by gender. We identified two domains in which gender bias manifested: role misidentification and a difficult working environment. Residents identified action items that led to the development of a gender bias curriculum. The curriculum includes didactic conferences and training sessions, a microaggression response toolkit, dinners for men and women residents, participation in a WhatsApp support group, and participation in academic projects related to gender bias in training.

CONCLUSION

We confirmed a wide prevalence of gender bias and developed a scalable curriculum for gender bias training. Future work should explore the long-term impacts of these interventions.