One Way to Re-humanize Medicine

Let's talk about showing up fully human. 

A group of medical interns and residents gave me so much hope for health care. Not just hope for delivering culturally competent care, but hope for the overall practice of medicine. 

I had the honor of facilitating a workshop on diversity, inclusion, culturally competent care, and the clinical consequences of unconscious bias.  We laughed.  We cried.  And yes, for those of you that know me, I cried right along with them.

They had a group hug to support each other after an emotional exercise. I had to get a picture of them in their sacred circle of trust, acceptance and support.  

They didn't hold back.  They saw things from different perspectives and had varying reactions -- and they did so with the upmost respect for each other.  This is exactly what an inclusive group should be like! This is rare and I savor moments like this. 

Let's be clear: inclusion doesn't mean agreeing.  Groupthink is the opposite of hearing diverse perspectives.  However, psychological safety must be present to leverage diversity, foster inclusion, and work through differences.

According to Amy Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, psychological safety is about honest feedback, admitting mistakes, and learning from each other.  Having psychological safety means you can speak up, share ideas, ask questions, and express concerns. You aren't afraid of negative consequences, being punished, or humiliated. 

Why does this matter?  Because communication failures contribute to an estimated 50%-80% of sentinel events in health care (Patient Safety Monitor Journal, 2017).  Because a culture of hierarchy and power, along with task complexity makes it difficult for health care providers of diverse specializations and professional scopes to effectively communicate.  Because all of this negatively impacts both health care providers and patients.  Having the psychological safety to speak up prevents errors and allows diverse teams to work together in complex clinical settings & learn from each other. 

As a facilitator, especially of D&I,  you can't stand in front of a room and hope "it just happens."  You must model inclusion and psychological safety.  You must be self-aware.  You must be vulnerable. You must do the work.

Psychological safety is one way to help re-humanize medicine.  Are you wondering, how to promote psychological safety at work? Here is a 90 second video to start. 

Thank you to another rock star,  Julie Gedro, Professor of Business at SUNY Empire State College and President of the Academy of Human Resource Development. I listened to her thought provoking keynote at the UFHRD Conference  took notes, and used: 

• I am aware of it
• I can explain it to others
• I use it in my practice

as a framework for applying learning in the workshop. 

What are other ways we can re-humanize medicine? 

How can you foster psychological safety in your workplace?