Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) diversity, equity, and inclusion series: Microaggressions - Lessons Learned from Black Academic Surgeons

Introduction Dr. Steven Wexner: I would like to welcome everyone to this month's episode of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion series, in alliance with the American College of Surgeons, proceedings From the Advances in Surgery (AIS) Channel's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Series: Microaggressions: Lessons Learned from Black Academic Surgeons.1 I am very gratified that each of these broadcasts during the last several months have attracted over 30,000 surgeons from over 100 countries. Racial microaggressions were defined by Chester Pierce in 1978 as subtle, stunning yet often automatic and non-verbal exchanges which are put downs of blacks or persons of color by offenders.3 Microaggressions are often brief, commonplace, daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities whether unintentional or intentional that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights and insults towards people of color. Microaggressions can target individuals based on a variety of differences and these can include sexual orientation, nationality, gender, or personal traits. Microaggressions undermine the credibility of knowers and it results in marginalization and depersonalization and diminishes an individual's ability to participate in the cognitive tasks in which they are meant to engage. [...]the aim of our study was to report the trainees’ experiences with implicit bias and microaggressions as it pertained to racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and religious minorities to accurately capture current experiences among surgical residents.