Equity in Medicine Workshop:
Creating an Inclusive Culture in Medicine
In-Person Workshop | Friday May 19 | 9:30am - 11:30am
Unconscious bias, or implicit bias, is a term that has entered mainstream media in the last few years. But what exactly is it, how does it affect me, and why should I care? It turns out that our own unconscious bias, coupled with the unconscious biases of those around us, have significant and lasting impact on how we view the world, how we treat (and are treated by) our patients and colleagues, how our career trajectory in medicine might grow (or be stifled), and ultimately, on our overall well-being. Anchored in the latest published studies, this workshop will provide an overview of unconscious bias and reveal how it influences the interactions and decisions in our personal and professional lives. By empowering ourselves
with knowledge on unconscious bias and ways to disrupt it, we can create a more respectful, inclusive and equitable culture in our own communities, and advocate for institutional and system changes in medicine.
Paula Cashin
MD, FRCPC, LLM
Dr. Paula Cashin is the first Indigenous Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine physician in Canada. She is a Mi'kmaw physician working in rural Newfoundland. Dr. Cashin completed medical school and Diagnostic
Imaging at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is a dual FRCPC certified physician with subspecialty training in Nuclear Medicine at the University of British Columbia and an Interventional Radiology fellowship at the University of Toronto. She is the Newfoundland and Labrador representative on the Canadian Medical Association Board of Directors. Dr. Cashin is an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in medicine and is part of the Equity in Medicine leadership team.
Mojola Omole
MD, FRCPC
Dr. Mojola Omole was born in Nigeria and immigrated with her family to Canada when she was eight years old, growing up in rural Ontario. She is a breast surgical oncologist and a general surgeon at Scarborough Health Network, Toronto. She works as a DEI and anti-oppression consultant with healthcare companies and in medical education. Her work in anti-Black racism in medicine aligns with her role as a board member of the Black Physicians of Ontario. She is a journalist and writes for publications such as CBC, Walrus and Quartz. You can hear her every other Monday as the co-host of the CMAJ podcast.
Francesca Proulx
MD CM, FRCPC
Dr. Francesca Proulx is a French Canadian radiologist living in Montreal, Quebec. Dr. Proulx completed her medical school and residency in diagnostic radiology at McGill University in Montreal. She did a year of fellowship in women’s imaging in Boston at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard medical school affiliated hospital. Dr. Proulx also subspecialized in chest imaging and finished a fellowship at the University of Montreal Health Center in 2014. She was the chief of breast imaging at the Jewish General
Hospital in Montreal for 6 years and currently works as a general radiologist in St-Jerome, Quebec. Dr. Proulx was a speaker and scientific judge at the Canadian Association of Radiology Annual Meeting from 2016 to 2022. She was also part of the CaRMS selection committee for the Mcgill radiology residency program for many years. She joined the Equity in Medicine leadership team in 2022 and hopes to make a difference in her community in the coming years.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:
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Define unconscious bias and identify common types of biases through case studies
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Describe the impact of unconscious bias on themselves, their patients, and their colleagues
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Acknowledge and reflect on their own unconscious bias through self-assessment activities
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Learn proven strategies to counteract unconscious bias, including best practices on inclusive hiring