Bias, Inclusion, & Residency

In this eye‑opening 2-hour session, TIDE provides an overview of the evidence on how bias can affect trainees—from the application process through every stage of residency progression. Participants explore the ways bias may manifest in medical training environments and reflect on how these dynamics might impact their own experiences. Facilitators introduce practical strategies trainees can use to recognize and interrupt harmful patterns, even within the power imbalances that are common in medicine.

This session is designed with care and is facilitated in a way that acknowledges that bias is not an abstract concept but one that has real and unequal consequences for different groups. This approach acknowledges the lived experiences of those who are impacted by inequitable systems and ensures the learning environment supports psychological safety, compassion, and awareness.

This Session Includes

• An interactive talk with live Q&A
• Break-out group discussion of scenarios that illustrate typical ways in which bias may manifest during recruitment and assessment (with TIDE facilitators)
  • Typically, break out groups work in parallel on 3-4 different scenarios, then share insights in plenary

Learning Outcomes

• Identify ways in which implicit and structural biases can influence the residency journey and recognize how these biases may personally impact trainee experiences.
• Apply practical strategies to interrupt or respond to bias in clinical and academic settings.
• Understand the difference between being a bystander and an upstander and develop upstander skills that interrupt bias and support inclusion.

Audience

Residents, clinical fellows, residency program directors and other leaders