Authors:
- Emily Leaver, she/her, Lecturer Part-Time, Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle campus
- Kahlea Williams, she/her, Operations Manager, Manning Price, Spratlen Center for Anti-Racism and Equity in Nursing (MPS CARE), University of Washington, Seattle campus
- Joycelyn Thomas, she/her, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington, Seattle campus
- Bethany Rolfe Witham, she/her, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, Interim UW SoN DNP Program Director, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington, Seattle campus
- Monica McLemore, she/her, PhD, MPH, RN, Professor, Interim Associate Dean for DEI, Interim Director of MPS CARE, University of Washington, Seattle campus
Project Description
This project uses anti-racist and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles to reduce the harm that unexamined nursing educational materials cause to BIPOC individuals and communities both in and outside our University of Washington School of Nursing (UW SoN).
The Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project goals include to:
- Reduce harm to BIPOC students, staff, faculty, and patients that our UW SoN graduates will serve
- Equip graduates with skills to identify and dismantle structural racism and other forms of oppression as they manifest in text and visual media
- Influence publishers to align content with anti-racist and DEI principles
- Support alignment of UW SoN curriculum with anti-racist and DEI principles
- Use anonymized data for research on anti-racism and equity in nursing
Students, staff, and faculty can participate in this Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project via our webpage. Participants critically appraise assigned course materials produced outside of UW SoN for instances of bias and submit those instances of bias in the collection tool. The Project webpage provides resources to help people critically appraise course materials for instances of bias.
Some UW SoN instructors have used the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project as a springboard to facilitate classroom discussions on anti-racism and DEI in their courses. At the end of the quarter, the instances of bias submitted to the project collection tool are dis-aggregated by course and provided to UW SoN leadership. Leadership then decides how to distribute submissions to individual course instructors to support the iterative process of aligning UW SoN curriculum with anti-racist and DEI principles. For educational resources found to have a high yield of instances of bias submitted to the collection tool, we intend to contact publishers, providing them with the instances of bias collected and requesting content revision to align with anti-racist and DEI principles. Furthermore, we anticipate using anonymized data collected for quality improvement at UW SoN and for research on anti-racism and equity in nursing.
There is substantial SoN leadership and student support for this project. This has resulted in curriculum committees voting to add a link to the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project webpage to the syllabi of all UW SoN PhD, DNP, ABSN, and BSN courses for the 2023-2024 academic year. Please view our project webpage here: https://antiracism.nursing.uw.edu/ar-dei-course-materials-pilot-project/
Project Question
Frequently, standard nursing textbooks and other educational resources perpetuate racism and other forms of oppression. These educational resources reinforce negative stereotypes and implicit biases. They also largely omit mention of health disparities or falsely present them as related to poor choices of individuals or genetic inferiority rather than the result of policies that uphold structures of oppression. This project aims to shift our nursing curriculum and the educational resources commonly used in nursing education to align with anti-racist and DEI principles.
Context
All UW SoN DNP, PhD, ABSN, and BSN students, staff and faculty can access the Anti-Racism & DEI Course Materials Pilot Project webpage through a link in their course syllabi for the 2023-2024 academic year. This project meets a UW SoN program goal: “Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.” This learning activity is optional.
Methods
We invite students, staff, and faculty to voluntarily review assigned course materials produced outside of UW SoN for instances of bias. We provide resources to support critical appraisal of course materials for instances of bias. They submit instances of bias found in course materials to our project’s collection tool. We provide the data (dis-aggregated by course) to UW SoN leadership to disperse to course faculty to support the alignment of UW SoN curriculum with anti-racist and DEI principles. Additionally, we intend to contact publishers with the data collected and request content alignment with anti-racist and DEI principles. Finally, we anticipate using anonymized data for research on anti-racism and equity in nursing.
Impact/Assessment
Impact:
- Students have been calling out instances of bias they find in nursing curriculum in our classrooms. This project is an opportunity to channel student energy and skill toward meaningful change, influencing publishers and SoN faculty to participate in the iterative process of aligning content with anti-racist and DEI principles.
- This project equips students with skills to critically appraise visual and text media for instances of bias. This skill set will allow our graduates to influence integration of anti-racist and DEI principles in their places of employment following graduation.
Assessment:
- Given participation is optional, we can assess engagement and the impact on student learning by measuring the number and assessing the substance of submissions of bias. In Autumn 2023, 32 instances of bias were submitted.
- We’ve already observed that the instructors who have provided space to discuss the instances of bias found during class time have experienced students’ enthusiastic engagement in this project.
- Those of us who have integrated this project in our classrooms have found appreciative and enthusiastic student responses on our end-of-quarter instructor evaluations.
Application
- Instructors in other disciplines may learn how collaborating with students on anti-racism and DEI work can build an inclusive classroom environment.
- An instructor’s humility in being open to feedback about how assigned content may need further alignment with anti-racist and DEI principles nurtures respect from students.
- Allowing students to give feedback so openly to instructors on traditionally sensitive topics prepares students to have these same discussions with supervisors and colleagues in their places of employment after graduation.
Additional Insights
- Aligning course materials with anti-racist and DEI principles is an iterative process without an end point.
- Aligning course materials with anti-racist and DEI principles is most effectively and expeditiously done by combining the insights and efforts of students, staff, and faculty.