Over the course of last year, I spoke several times with an African American male physician. At one point, we were talking about his professional journey in medicine. He mentioned that he had learned to be more comfortable with, as he put it, “…being the only Black person in the room. Hearing ‘How did YOU […]
Interprofessional Communication
Why addressing unconscious bias can make people nervous
Last week I was in Baltimore, at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare/Health Literacy Annual Research Conference. Every one of the keynote addresses discussed biases and stereotypes. Every one. (Biases and stereotypes was not the conference theme.) The importance of examining and addressing unconscious biases seems to be well understood in the research community. […]
Infographic: 25 phrases to help resolve conflict
Conflict is part of life. And that includes the health care setting. Each of us encounters conflict in our professional and personal lives. Handling conflict well is an important part of communication (and an essential ingredient in leadership). Last week, I wrote about resolving conflict in patient interactions. I shared a set of questions and […]