Cultural stereotypes can influence judgments, decision-making and behaviors in unwanted and unintended ways. Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine (BRIM) is an NIH grant-funded study (led by researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison) to determine whether physician faculty training using a “breaking the bias habit” approach is effective at reducing implicit bias. Brown Medicine is one of several participating institutions throughout the U.S. participating in this evidence-based, data-driven study.

At Brown Medicine, BRIM is led by Dr. Dominick Tammaro, an internist with Brown Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine and the Internal Medicine Residency Director with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Tammaro is joined by his General Internal Medicine Division colleague Dr. Kate Cahill. They discuss their role in the BRIM study, unconscious bias and its effect on patient interaction, attitudes toward male/female disparities, and how one learns bias. Drs. Tammaro and Cahill also discuss patterns of gender bias, identifying bias as a habit and strategies to break the habit, what faculty are saying about the BRIM training, moving toward diversity and inclusion, and training the next generation of physician students in reducing implicit bias.