“Let’s Talk About What Just Happened”: a Single-Site Survey Study of a Microaggression Response Workshop for Internal Medicine Residents

Excerpt

Microaggressions, defined as verbal, behavioral, or environmental communications that convey hostility, invalidation, or insult based on an individual’s marginalized status in society, are ubiquitous in health care and medical training.^1,2 Emerging data from medical trainees have shown an association between the frequency of mistreatment and feelings of burnout and suicidal thoughts.¹ Microaggressions are difficult to respond to, especially for trainees who are learning to maintain therapeutic alliances, balance principles of medical ethics, and negotiate medical hierarchies. There are growing calls to incorporate practical training on responding to microaggressions into medical education.^3‐5 In this study, we describe a microaggression response toolkit (MRT) and workshop for residents, and their effects on perceived abilities to identify and respond to microaggressions. …