Assignment On Personal Beliefs And Prejudices

Addressing bias

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (2018) defines bias as “an inclination of temperament or outlook, especially a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment, or prejudice”. Bias can be both positive and negative in nature. When a provider has a predetermined opinion or judgment about a patient or situation, based on race, gender, or sexual orientation, it can lead to overlooking or ignoring important information. No matter the situation, bias in the healthcare field can be detrimental to patient care. Over the course of this paper I will discuss biases in healthcare, personal biases as a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and strategies I will employ to overcome bias.

Discussion of bias

There are two categories of bias, implicit and explicit. Implicit biases are formed on the unconscious level and are involuntarily formed while explicit biases are made consciously or are deliberately formed. Some of the most common biases I may form as a family nurse practitioner in the health care setting are that of age, gender, religion, race and sexual orientation. Forming these prejudices can lead to a failure to build a healthy rapport with the patient. This lack of rapport can translate to distrust with the provider, non-compliance with plan of care and failure of the patient to disclose important information.

Yingling, Colter, & Hughes (2017) collaborate this outcome with their study which proved the LGBT community often shows a reluctance to report their sexual or gender identity, which then limits the healthcare providers ability to understand the patient’s risk factors and relevant health concerns. Personal Bias Learning to overcome bias is of the utmost importance to any family nurse practitioner. The first step to overcoming bias is identifying any personal prejudices I may have. I have come to realize I hold some bias against the obese population. I feel this is because of my prior experience in the military and the fact that I currently work with active duty soldiers. This bias would be implicit in nature because I found I unconsciously relate my experiences with weight gain and loss while in the military to those I am caring for. Studies show that patients who are overweight or obese often deal with anti-fat bias and social devaluation, which leads to discrimination, negative stereotyping and prejudice. Because this population is often seen as lacking self-control, lazy or just plain noncompliant with treatment, many providers report having less respect for and have less desire to help these heavier patients.

Strategy to Reduce Bias

Non-conscious stereotyping is hard to try and overcome by one’s self. According to Stone and Moskowiz (2015), even most contemporary training on cultural competence is not enough to overcome bias in the healthcare field. I need to combine in-depth training on cultural sensitivity with exposure to the many populations I may hold biases against. One on one discussions with patients who suffer from obesity will help provide insight into the true causes of their individual circumstance that lead to weight gain.

Conclusion

This assignment has allowed me to reflect on my own beliefs and prejudices. I have learned that these preconceived notions that may be present can lead to unwanted outcomes with patients. When a provider discriminates based on factors like gender, age, race and weight, they create barriers to effective communication and trust between themselves and their patients. This assignment has allowed me to address my biases and form a plan to avoid them in future interactions with my patients.