Implicit Bias
What is the term implicit bias? Implicit bias is our perception of the negative stereotypes towards particular groups of people that we have been influenced by throughout life, yet we may not be aware of. It is very important that we as OT's learn about implicit bias so that we can treat each patient equally, advocate to others that everyone is created equal, and try to spread love and hope throughout each interaction with our clients. It is our job to provide the best care possible regardless of the clients views, status, background, how they treat us, etc.
There are many different things you can do to examine and address your own implicit bias. For starters, you can take surveys to find out what your biases are, read books or watch movies about different biases, listen to podcasts on the subject, and finally, ask more experienced OT practitioners how they were able to set aside their biases when they started practicing. Once you have educated yourself on implicit biases for a period of time, you can retake the initial survey to see whether or not you have made any progress in overcoming your implicit biases. My biggest takeaway from all this information on implicit bias is that this is something that everyone struggles with, no matter your background, socioeconomic status, or outlook on life. Everyone has dealt with this in life at one time or another, and our job as OT's is to better educate each of our clients, friends, families, and anyone else we come in contact with on how to avoid the influence of implicit biases in our everyday lives and treat everyone with respect.
There are many different things you can do to examine and address your own implicit bias. For starters, you can take surveys to find out what your biases are, read books or watch movies about different biases, listen to podcasts on the subject, and finally, ask more experienced OT practitioners how they were able to set aside their biases when they started practicing. Once you have educated yourself on implicit biases for a period of time, you can retake the initial survey to see whether or not you have made any progress in overcoming your implicit biases. My biggest takeaway from all this information on implicit bias is that this is something that everyone struggles with, no matter your background, socioeconomic status, or outlook on life. Everyone has dealt with this in life at one time or another, and our job as OT's is to better educate each of our clients, friends, families, and anyone else we come in contact with on how to avoid the influence of implicit biases in our everyday lives and treat everyone with respect.
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