I would like to report an act of discrimination.
Submit a report: https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=8EJKDXHN3J
This reporting system has been created for pediatric resident physicians at the University of Washington to report discrimination, microaggressions, overt acts of aggression, and other events impacting the inclusivity of our learning environment. We drew upon similar reporting systems at other institutions, as well as our own Patient Safety event review process, to create this initial version.
All submissions to this reporting system are anonymous unless contact from a chief resident is desired. Anonymous means no one, including those on the Incident Response Team, has any way of finding out who submitted a report. Residents do, however, have the option of submitting their name and email address with the report if contact is desired. If this is the case, the resident’s name is kept confidentially within the GME (chief residents, associate program directors, and program director) and no one outside of the team will have access to a resident’s association with a report.
As your residency program leadership, our primary goal is to create an inclusive learning environment for all residents. We hope through this reporting system, we are able to amplify your voices and identify areas requiring institutional change. In the initial pilot of the Microaggression Reporting System, we will provide the following to residents:
- Support and space to debrief
- Carrying out of action steps through an Incident Response Team (further described below) and
- Documentation of deidentified reports to support further change in our hospital and educational institutions.
Please use this reporting system to report any act of discrimination or threat to inclusion in our learning environment. This may include but is not limited to discrimination based on race, religion, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, appearance, disability, or age. These may manifest as microaggressions or overt discrimination. Other events that may be reported using this form include public embarrassment or sexual harassment. If there is a threat to your safety, please notify a trusted person immediately.
This reporting system is monitored every weekday by a pediatric chief resident. The people who have access to full reports are members of the Incident Response Team. This team includes one or more chief resident, one associate program director, and the program director. This team will discuss each report. Members of the Incident Response Team may rotate among chief residents and associate program directors. During the reporting process, the resident submitting the report will be able to indicate if follow up communication is desired.
After submitting a report, if follow up communication is desired, a chief resident will initiate contact with the resident within 72 hours. The resident will be offered a space to debrief. If sooner communication is needed, the chief resident on call should be paged. The Incident Response Team will review the report and determine next steps. The team will follow up with the resident no later than one week after the report to discuss the routes of action that will be taken to address the concern. If contact from the team is not desired, the same timeline applies but follow up information will not be communicated to the resident submitting the report. Every month, deidentified aggregate reports will be submitted to Department of Pediatrics Chair and Associate Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and UW GME for accountability and tracking.
Definitions for consideration
Microaggression: Everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, and insults regardless of intent which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely on their marginalized group membership.
Macroaggression: Includes all the elements of microaggressions with the additional qualities of being overt, explicit and consistently intended to degrade or dehumanize with that impact.
Discrimination in microaggressions can take multiple forms including discrimination due to race, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age or appearance.
Non-exhaustive list of microaggressions:
- “Where are you really from?”
- “You are so articulate.” (as an ascription of intelligence)
- “You shouldn’t be so loud or quiet.” (pathologizing cultural communication style)
- “Your hair is gorgeous. Can I touch it?”
- “Race isn’t an issue in our program.”
- “When I look at you, I don’t see color.”
- “Are you sure you can do that?”
- When talking with a differently abled person – “Why don’t I just do that for you? It’s not a big deal for me.”
- “Could you reduce your accent a little? You’ll sound more professional.”
- “How can you believe in God and profess to be a real scientist?”
- “I can’t keep track of all those pronouns; I’ll just stick with he or she ok?”
- “Aren’t you hot underneath that hair covering?”
- Identity confusion (being confused for another person based on skin color).
- Female-presenting physicians being mistaken for non-physician staff.
Reference: Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271