Unconscious Bias in Healthcare | Collaborations to Raise Awareness
Expert Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman from Virginia Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) shares her perspective and knowledge about ways to work toward diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in healthcare.
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In this program:
What collaborative efforts can healthcare professionals engage in to work against unconscious bias? Expert Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman from Virginia Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) shares her perspective and knowledge about ways to work toward diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in healthcare.
Transcript
Interviewer:
Right. Are there any collaborative efforts or partnerships that lab professionals or providers can engage in to promote awareness and action against unconscious bias in healthcare provision?
Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman:
Absolutely. I mean, I think that there are a few different things that could happen. Obviously, resources are abounding. We are in a really good period for professionals that are dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Utilize those resources, lots of them are free. Now, I will give the warning, not all resources are created equal, so be sure you are using them from a reputable source. But I think as professionals, especially in healthcare, there are a number of professional organizations representing our different areas of specialization that are already doing this work, and they are willing to share the information. I actually partner with one, it's called the Association of Public Health Laboratories or Public Health Laboratory Professionals, where I serve as the chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee. And so we are purposefully creating trainings identifying courageous spaces, opening up dialogue very intentionally around all of the different things that may be needed for our member and partner laboratories.
And this example is not unique to public health laboratories. There's the AMA, the American Medical Association. There are all these different types of health-related associations that are already doing this work. Use them, use them. Companies really need to begin to buy into the investment of DEIA and what it means, not only for your workforce, but also for the people that you are providing services to. Diversity and thought, people that are gonna be active allies, people that are going to be active advocates as you're making policies and determinations on what services you're going to be providing in or what costs you're going to do it at. Having a diverse workforce is essential into that decision-making process, which will eventually impact the communities that are receiving our services.
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