Introduction
“Racism and discrimination are deeply entrenched in U.S. society and its institutions, and the nursing profession is no exception. Nurse leaders can play an important role in acknowledging the history of racism within the profession and in helping to dismantle structural racism and mitigate the effects of discrimination and implicit bias on health” (NASEM, 2021, p. 11).
We invite you to join MPS CARE and your course instructors in the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project by critically appraising externally produced course materials (e.g., textbooks, journal articles, videos, etc… produced outside of UW SoN) for instances of bias. This project is not intended to collect instances of bias found in internally produced materials such as UW SoN Faculty lectures or PowerPoint slides, discussion board questions, etc… Feedback related to internally produced materials is invaluable information necessary for course improvement. Students are invited to follow the established procedure for submitting course feedback to instructors related to internally produced materials, as discussed here in UW SoN Memo 36: Communicating Concerns About Instruction.
The UW SoN and MPS CARE intend for the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project to fill the need for critical appraisal of nursing education materials using an anti-racist and DEI lens. In some instances, we will use information collected to inform publishers of content that needs alignment with anti-racist and DEI principles. Additionally, information collected will be shared with Faculty to support alignment of UW SoN educational materials with anti-racist and DEI principles.
Collaborators:
- Kahlea Williams
- Emily Leaver
- Joycelyn Thomas
- Bethany Rolfe Witham
- Monica McLemore
To Participate in the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project:
1. Download and Read Anti-Racism and Race Literacy: A Primer and Toolkit for Medical Educators (Obrien et al., 2022) with particular attention to the questions presented on pages 25-36 in the section titled Guide to Developing Anti-Racist Educational Materials.
2. Watch this Video (23 min) Centering Historically Marginalized Groups in Nursing Education Textbooks which was created for Faculty to describe the evolution of this Project and demonstrate the application of the above-mentioned Guide to Developing Anti-Racist Educational Materials’ questions (Obrien et al., 2022) to a commonly used nursing textbook.
3. Use the Guide to Developing Anti-Racist Educational Materials’ questions (Obrien et al., 2022) listed below to critically appraise externally produced materials assigned in your course (e.g., textbooks, journal articles, videos, etc… produced outside of UW SoN) for instances of bias.
- Are people of different races [or other historically underrepresented groups] represented?
- When race [or ethnicity] is mentioned, is it contextualized and distinguished from biology/genetics?
- Have inadvertent stereotypes been eliminated?
- Have health disparities pertaining to your topic been centered and contextualized?
- Do materials disrupt oppression?
4. Enter instances of bias found in externally produced course materials into the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project Collection Tool
Questions or Feedback About the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project?
- To provide feedback about this project, please use this form: MPS CARE General Feedback Form
- Questions (general or regarding Project implementation in your course) can be directed to both:
- Kahlea Williams (she,her) Operations Manager, MPS CARE: carn@uw.edu
- Emily Leaver (she,her) MN, FNP-BC, ARNP, DNP student, UW DNP lecturer: ejleaver@uw.edu
References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). (2021). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982
O’Brien, M., Fields, R., & Jackson, A. (2022, June 14). Anti-racism and race literacy: A primer and toolkit for medical educators. UCSF School of Medicine. https://medschool.ucsf.edu/differences-matter/action-groups/focus-area-3