Forced to Take Implicit Bias Training? Here’s How To Respond

Many if not most medical professionals are being forced to take so-called “implicit bias” training as a condition of employment. Some states are even requiring it to obtain a medical or nursing license. Do No Harm works with many doctors and nurses who are pushing back, since implicit bias falsely accuses medical professionals of being racist. We want to help you fight this dangerous trend, too.

We’ve put together a list of actions you can take if your medical school, state licensing board, or healthcare employer pushes you to take implicit bias training or testing. Here’s what you can do:

1. Ask if the training is mandatory, and if so, why. This allows you to avoid it if it’s not required.

2. Ask if you can receive an alternative accommodation, such as writing an essay on equality or the danger of “anti-racist” discrimination. This allows you to push back on the faulty logic that underlies implicit bias.

3. Share materials on how implicit bias testing has been discredited. There are many resources you can use to prove that this ideologically driven agenda shouldn’t be forced on you and your fellow medical professionals and employees. For example:

I find it very concerning that you’re promoting the so-called “implicit association test.” It has been thoroughly discredited by diverse and non-partisan psychologists.

Look no further than the recent in-depth article, “Psychology’s Favorite Tool for Measuring Racism Isn’t Up to the Job.” It says: “A pile of scholarly work… suggests that the IAT falls far short of the quality-control standards normally expected of psychological instruments. The IAT, this research suggests, is a noisy, unreliable measure that correlates far too weakly with any real-world outcomes to be used to predict individuals’ behavior — even the test’s creators have now admitted as such.”

Why are medical professionals like me being pushed to take a test that is widely recognized as faulty? It would be far better to avoid this test altogether — and for that matter, to avoid implicitly or explicitly telling me and my peers that we’re biased because of our skin color. That reeks of discrimination in and of itself and is wholly inappropriate for healthcare.

I hope you make the right call and abandon the Implicit Association Test. Thanks for looking into this urgent and important matter.

4. Decline to attend an in-person training or complete an online training. Even if the training is required, you should share your concerns with your supervisors.

5. Take careful notes and obtain copies the training materials. If you are forced to participate, you can share what happened after the fact to help prevent it from happening again.

6. Ask direct questions that highlight the divisive and discriminatory nature of implicit bias training. That includes asking why “anti-racism” requires you to discriminate on the basis of race, which hotline or agency you should call to report such discrimination, and what evidence exists that proves you are inherently biased or racist. There are many pointed questions you can ask in these trainings:
   • The main proponent of “anti-racism,” Ibram X. Kendi, has explicitly said that racial discrimination is acceptable. Here is his quote: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” What discriminatory actions are you asking me to take in my day-to-day work as a healthcare professional?
   • How does “anti-racist” discrimination square with our duty to provide equal care to all patients, regardless of skin color? Please help me understand which forms of discrimination are acceptable, and which are not, according to our employee handbook and human resources department.
   • The concept of implicit bias is directly tied to the “Implicit Association Test.” Yet diverse psychologists from across the political spectrum have thoroughly discredited the test. Even its own creators have said it can’t actually be used to predict individuals’ behavior. Given these facts, why are we being requested or forced to take this test?
   • The concept of implicit bias is directly tied to the principles of “anti-racism,” which requires some groups of people to discriminate against other groups based solely on skin color. For years, healthcare providers have been trained to treat patients ethically and fairly with no mention of “anti-racism.” Given these facts, why are we being requested or forced to take this course?

7. Alert your state and federal lawmakers. Tell them what’s happening and why it’s dangerous, so they can investigate and shine a light on the inappropriate and dangerous woke agenda.

The bottom line is that you can push back on implicit bias training. We hope this list helps you avoid – and even end – the kind of ideological indoctrination that has no place in healthcare.

Have you been forced or otherwise pushed to take implicit bias training? Please let us know – securely and anonymously.