Allyship and the Formation of Professional Identities during the Pandemic
Friday, October 13, 2023
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM ET
Location: Chasseur (Third Floor)
The Black Lives Matter movement and the Covid-19 pandemic have heightened awareness of the structural failings of US healthcare and the patterns of privilege and oppression throughout society. The moral imperative of allyship poses growing challenges: How do authority figures within training programs and hospitals recognize the relative privilege they hold and the importance of utilizing it intentionally to support individuals who hold less power? How can those who are subjects of bias be assured they have the support of their classmates and institutions? How is the professional identity formation of learners impacted by the role modeling, both positive and negative, of their mentors in situations where they might be effective allies? Currently, there is scant literature or empirical data relating to these questions.
In 2020, a pedagogical approach and IRB study on allyship was initiated at a medical school in the Northeast in a required fourth-year class for Acting Internship (AI) students. AI students are assigned to reflect on their clinical experiences and submit vignettes and reactions recounting encounters with someone in a position of privilege or authority—such as another student, clinical mentor, or healthcare professional—that they feel did or did not demonstrate allyship to a vulnerable individual. Students’ vignettes are then used as the basis of a peer-based discussion and critical inquiry. We present a content analysis of 120 vignettes from the academic year 2021-22, assessing common student-observed allyship issues, students’ value-based reactions to those issues, and their potential impact on students’ professional identity formation.
Johanna Crane – Alden March Bioethics Institute – Albany Medical College; Megan Applewhite – Alden March Bioethics Institute – Albany Medical College; Wayne Shelton – Alden March Bioethics Institute – Albany Medical College