Recognizing Unconscious Bias and Its Impact on Patient Care and Outcomes

Unconscious bias refers to social stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs held about certain groups of people formed outside of our conscious awareness. It is an innate component of human decision-making prone to error and can affect patient outcomes. Unconscious bias should be recognized at all levels of training. Many strategies are available for mitigating unconscious bias, which requires the intentional effort and consideration of the participant. Although increased cognitive resources are needed to prevent bias, doing so is well worth the effort to improve patient care.