SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Empowering All; Targets, Witnesses, and Perpetrators to Respond to Micro-Aggressions

Pdf Summary

This poster reports a study of a 90-minute microaggression “upstander” workshop offered by an urban academic medical center to attendings, residents, and fellows across several departments from 2020 to 2022. The goal was to assess whether the workshop improved participants’ self-efficacy in responding to microaggressions in three roles: as a target, a witness, or a source.<br /><br />Of 909 pre-survey respondents and 577 post-survey respondents, 342 paired responses were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. The sample was mostly faculty (62.1%), with 70.0% white, 54.7% female, and participants from internal medicine, neurology/OB/surgery, anesthesia, pathology, psychiatry, and radiology.<br /><br />Results showed statistically significant improvement in self-rated ability to respond to microaggressions after the workshop across all three roles. Participants reported higher confidence whether they were directly targeted, observed an event, or had committed a microaggression themselves.<br /><br />The findings support universal microaggression response training and suggest that faculty, in particular, may benefit because of their influence in the medical hierarchy and their potential role in shaping workplace culture. The authors note limitations including reliance on self-reported ability, no control group, and no long-term follow-up.<br /><br />Next steps include continuing the workshop, expanding it to nursing professionals, creating an asynchronous version for broader access, and studying participants’ real-world experiences responding to microaggressions after training.

Asset Subtitle

Herrick Fisher

Meta Tag

Author List Daniele Olveczky, Herrick Fisher, Huma Farid

Category Innovations

Concept Microaggressions

Concept Response Ability

Concept Self-Efficacy

Concept Microaggression Response Workshop

Concept Pre/Post Survey

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Presenting Author Herrick Fisher

Track Education

Keywords

microaggression

upstander workshop

self-efficacy

academic medical center

healthcare training

Wilcoxon signed-rank test

faculty development

workplace culture

microaggression response

medical education

Microaggressions

Response Ability

Self-Efficacy

Microaggression Response Workshop

Pre/Post Survey