Session Coordinator: Takudzwa Mukamba

Medical educators are increasingly aware of the potential negative impact of microaggressions in the learning environment. However, many faculty and others do not know how to respond when they are subject to, witness or commit a microaggression. This focus session will review relevant research in this area, some ways to avoid committing microaggressions, and introduce models for responding in each situation. Much of the session will be small group discussion during which the participants will practice the models using case studies that describe typical microaggressions in health education. A unique feature of this session is that it provides a response model for when we commit microaggressions.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Define/recognize microaggressions
• Describe the impact of microaggressions
• Respond to microaggressions when they are subjected to them, when they witness them and when they commit them.