Background Implicit bias, or unconscious attitudes towards minoritized groups, among healthcare providers can contribute to disparities in care, health status, and mortality for minoritized patients. One approach to mitigating the negative effects of these biases on patient care is by implementing anti-racism/anti-bias training into medical education.

Methods Rising third year medical students participated in a student-led implicit bias and microaggression training program, including experiential learning through standardized patient (SP) encounters and self-reflection via student-led debrief sessions. The SP encounters simulated instances of xenophobia and perceived language barriers in a hospital setting, in which students were expected to address microaggressions in real time utilizing the VITALS (Validate, Inquire, Take time, Assume the best, Leave opportunities, Speak up for others) framework. Participants completed surveys on attitudes regarding implicit bias prior to participating in the program (T1), after the VITALS video presentation (T2), and after the SP encounter and debrief sessions (T3); surveys were adapted from the VITALS study.

Results 200 students participated in the program of which 135 linked survey sets were collected for all three time points for data analysis. Results showed that from T1 to T3, there were significant improvements in empathy with targets of bias, comfort in sharing experiences and knowledge and skills to counteract microaggressions. There were no differences by race/ethnicity, language exposure, or religious adherence.

Conclusion Our implicit bias training, equipped students with the tools and practice needed to interrupt microaggressions in the clinical setting and helped improve their understanding and likelihood of engaging in anti-racism allyship.