The Department of Medicine welcomes BRIM- Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine. The BRIM initiative is a NIH funded study to evaluate an evidence-based pro-diversity intervention throughout academic medicine. Despite having an explicit commitment to equality and fairness, stereotypes can influence our judgments, decision-making and behaviors in unwanted and unintended ways. Evidence from multiple disciplines including academic medicine, demonstrate that unconscious bias influences hiring, evaluation and appointment of leadership positions. As a result, faculty from some groups experience a more positive and supportive work environment than faculty from other groups. The impact of unconscious bias is significant as it may negatively impact faculty retention, patient care and faculty productivity and satisfaction. The DOM will be one of 15 departments of medicine across the country participating in this initiative. Led by a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, BRIM is a longitudinal intervention that includes training DOM faculty and staff to lead evidence-based workshops designed to address implicit bias.
BRIM will kick off at Hopkins on October 9, 2018, when Dr. Molly Carnes (pictured), lead investigator of BRIM visits the DOM. She will be giving Grand Rounds at Johns Hopkins Bayview and meeting with local BRIM leaders.
To read more about research related to BRIM, visit: https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2015/02000/The_Effect_of_an_Intervention_to_Break_the_Gender.29.aspx
Also check out this article published by Lisa Cooper in Bloomberg Quint: "Doctors Can Fight Unconscious Racial Bias"
