Developing Virtual Simulations to Confront Racism and Bias in Health Professions Education

• Published in: Clinical simulation in nursing 2022-10, Vol.71, p.105-111
• Main Authors: Blodgett, Nicole Petsas, Howard, Valerie M., Phillips, Beth Cusatis, Andolsek, Kathryn, Richard-Eaglin, Angela, Molloy, Margory A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anti-racism; bias; faculty development; simulation; training; trigger film; virtual
• ISSN: 1876-1399; 1876-1402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecns.2022.03.009

•Development of virtual simulations on representative teaching encounters with racism and bias for health professions faculty.•Trigger films, training manual for debriefing, and content bursts are an engaging method to teach DEI content during faculty development.•Create a safe space for simulation team collaborators to design learning experiences, talk through issues with scripts, films, and allow time to revise.•Health Profession Educators must train to addressing racism and bias is critical.•Essential faculty development included diversity, equity, and inclusive content.•Trigger films and content bursts are engaging faculty development methods.•Assembling an interprofessional simulation development team is vital. Bias and racism against Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) is omnipresent in health professions and healthcare. Healthcare educators indicate they need more training and resources to confidently confront racism and bias when it occurs. The purpose of this project was to apply best practices in simulation to educating healthcare educators to confronting racism and bias. This educational series was developed in consultation with experts to utilize best practices in racial and social justice simulation. A 3-hour standardized, virtual training session was developed incorporating trigger films that adhere to the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM. The training sessions were repeated monthly with different interprofessional groups of health professions educators representing the following disciplines: nursing, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapy, and physician assistants. Participants described this as a powerful learning experience, engaging, and liked the concrete solutions. Effective role modeling of confronting racism and bias for learners contributes to inclusive excellence, improves Black, Indigenous and People of Color experiences, and strengthens commitment to equity in our diverse communities. This manuscript describes the development of the interprofessional educational training session using simulation incorporating trigger films.