In this time of increasing political and social polarization, discussing controversial topics with civility and an eye to building, rather than burning, bridges is a skill that healthcare professionals must master in order to be effective with both patients and colleagues. Conflicts between health care professionals' personal beliefs and those of others around them can make shared decision-making and team environments particularly difficult, for example, on topics such as vaccinations or mask-wearing. In this workshop, attendees will learn the fundamental principles of civil discourse, and then they will participate in an exercise to build discourse skills through a guided conversation. In the exercise, participants will discuss their personal background and beliefs with a partner. They will then practice discussion of an area of disagreement, with the goal of understanding their partner’s perspective, while avoiding debate. Guardrails and support will be in place to ensure participants feel comfortable throughout the experience. Attendees will then have opportunities for both private reflection and group discussion about the exercise and its applications. There will also be an opportunity for others to share about how they teach civil discourse at their institutions. By the time they have completed the workshop, participants will be able to facilitate a civil discourse exercise and will also be able to describe the challenges and opportunities presented by teaching civil discourse to health professions trainees.

Learning Outcomes

1. Learners will be able to describe civil discourse
2. Learners will be able to explain the rationale for teaching civil discourse in health professions education
3. Learners will be able to facilitate a guided conversation exercise for teaching civil discourse
4. Learners will be able to describe some challenges to teaching civil discourse in health professions education