Implicit Bias in Nursing
Week 5 Discussion: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Nursing Leadership
Discussion Overview: Project Implicit is an international collaborative group of researchers interested in implicit social cognition. The Project Implicit website offers an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics. For this week’s discussion, visit the website implicit.harvard.eduLinks to an external site. and choose a topic to investigate your own implicit bias. Click Project Implicit Featured Task to take an available test. There is no need to create a login.
Note: You are not required to share your results, please do so only if you feel comfortable discussing them in a group setting.
Discussion Prompts: After completing the exercise, reflect upon a situation where you became aware of your own implicit bias or developed awareness of someone else’s implicit bias.
- How has your awareness of implicit bias evolved?
- How does this implicit bias impact the delivery of care, and communication within the interdisciplinary team?
- What is one leadership strategy that you could employ to demonstrate cultural humility and positively impact the situation to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion?
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Implicit Bias in Nursing
Understanding Implicit Bias in Nursing
1. Personal Awareness and Reflection
After taking the Implicit Association Test (IAT), I reflected on a moment during clinical rotations where I noticed a colleague making assumptions about a non-English-speaking patient’s level of understanding. At the time, I didn’t realize this was an example of implicit bias. However, through reflection and awareness, I now recognize how cultural and linguistic assumptions can influence how care is delivered. Acknowledging these moments helps me examine my own unconscious beliefs more critically.
2. Evolution of Awareness
My awareness of implicit bias has grown significantly since entering nursing school. Early on, I viewed care delivery as objective and standardized. Over time, education and exposure to diverse patient populations helped me understand that biases—especially unconscious ones—can influence even well-intentioned care. Training modules and open conversations in class have expanded my ability to recognize these biases in myself and others.
3. Impact on Care and Communication
Implicit bias can negatively impact communication with both patients and the interdisciplinary team. For example, assumptions about a patient’s socioeconomic background may lead to fewer care options being presented. Within teams, bias may affect who is heard or respected in discussions. These dynamics reduce trust, compromise safety, and widen health disparities. Awareness and accountability are essential for addressing this.
4. Leadership Strategy for Inclusion
One effective leadership strategy, therefore, is practicing cultural humility. This involves, first and foremost, actively listening, reflecting, and being open to lifelong learning about diverse cultures. Moreover, as a leader, modeling cultural humility by inviting diverse perspectives, acknowledging mistakes, and advocating for equity initiatives can gradually shift team culture. In addition, it encourages inclusive practices that, ultimately, improve both patient care and team collaboration. Consequently, such an approach fosters a more respectful, understanding, and equitable healthcare environment.
