The Inclusion Academy, established by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is an educational program focused on providing students, faculty/staff and health care providers at Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine with cultural knowledge and understanding of various diverse/marginalized communities with the intention to foster diversity and inclusion in all facets of the organization.

Unconscious bias is the result of experiences, background and cultural heritage that all contribute to forming the “lens” through which a person sees the world. This lens creates mental models, assumptions, attitudes and stereotypes that form actions, understandings and decisions in an unconscious way. No one is exempt from biases; they are a natural, universal method of cognitive processing. In a health care setting, unconscious bias also exists leading to false assumptions and negative outcomes, particularly for racial/ethnic and sexual/gender groups.

Acknowledging that unconscious bias exists is the first step to overcoming it. Although it’s a process, this session will dig deeper into the impact unconscious bias plays when providing medical care and aim to provide strategies to overcome and approach unconscious bias when caring for patients.

The session has both in-person and virtual options; participants should select their preferred attendance method when registering. Zoom webinar links will be provided in advance of the event date to those who register for the online option.

Register here