What is the best way to reduce unconscious bias in physician hiring?

3 Diversify your hiring team

Another way to reduce unconscious bias in physician hiring is to involve a diverse group of people in the hiring process. This can help you gain different perspectives, challenge assumptions, and balance out potential biases. Try to include people from different backgrounds, specialties, roles, and levels of seniority in your hiring team. Also, make sure everyone in the hiring team is aware of the criteria, the scoring system, and the goals of the hiring process.

4 Seek feedback and input

One of the benefits of having a diverse hiring team is that you can solicit feedback and input from different sources and viewpoints. This can help you identify and correct any unconscious bias that may have crept into your decision-making process. For example, you can ask your hiring team to share their opinions, ratings, and reasons for their choices. You can also ask for feedback from other stakeholders, such as colleagues, patients, or mentors, who may have interacted with the candidates.

6 Educate yourself and others

Finally, one of the best ways to reduce unconscious bias in physician hiring is to educate yourself and others about the nature, causes, and consequences of unconscious bias. You can learn more about the common types and sources of unconscious bias, such as confirmation bias, halo effect, affinity bias, or similarity bias. You can also take online tests, such as the Implicit Association Test, to uncover your own hidden biases. Additionally, you can provide training, resources, and support to your hiring team and other staff to raise awareness and foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?