How to Write High-Quality Evaluations Without Bias

This content was created by OPENPediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical education platform for healthcare professionals. Please see www.openpediatrics.org for more information.

This course describes ways to recognize and mitigate the use of bias in written evaluations in health professional education. The course is intended for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, physician assistants and dietitians who provide feedback to trainees in their respective professions related to clinical care. It addresses the need for improved healthcare provider education on delivering effective feedback. Informed healthcare providers will be able to apply a systematic approach to delivering feedback to trainees in a way that mitigates bias.

Learning Objectives: 

At the conclusion of this educational program, learners will be able to:

1. Describe the ways that implicit bias in evaluations may harm trainees developmentally, personally, and professionally
2. Label the elements of effective feedback
3. Apply a systematic approach to written feedback
4. List strategies to help migrate bias in clinical evaluations

Michael Fishman, MD: Course Director/Author

Pediatrics PGY-3
Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics
Boston Children’s Hospital / Boston Medical Center

Carolyn Marcus, MD: Course Director/Author

Attending Physician, Hospital Medicine
Boston Children’s Hospital

Kimiko Dunbar, MD: Course Director/Author

Pediatric Chief Resident PGY-4
Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics
Boston Children’s Hospital / Boston Medical Center

Marcella Luercio, MD: Course Director/Author

Attending Physician, Hospital Medicine
Boston Children’s Hospital

Beverly Aiyanyor, MD: Author

Acute Care Physician
Boston Children’s Hospital

In support of improving patient care, Boston Children’s Hospital is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physicians

Boston Children’s Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

Nurses

Boston Children’s Hospital designates this activity for 0.5 contact hours for nurses. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity

Physician Assistants

Boston Children’s Hospital has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credits for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 0.5 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Pharmacists

This activity carries a maximum of 0.5 contact hours. Pharmacists should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Social Workers

As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Boston Children’s Hospital is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Boston Children’s Hospital maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 0.5 ACE CE continuing education credits.

Dietitians

This activity carries a maximum of 0.5 contact hours. Dietitians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosures

Boston Children’s Hospital adheres to all ACCME Essential Areas, Standards, and Policies. It is Boston Children’s policy that those who have influenced the content of a CME activity (e.g. planners, faculty, authors, reviewers and others) disclose all relevant financial relationships with commercial entities so that Boston Children’s may identify and resolve any conflicts of interest prior to the activity. These disclosures will be provided in the activity materials along with disclosure of any commercial support received for the activity. Additionally, faculty members have been instructed to disclose any limitations of data and unlabeled or investigational uses of products during their presentations.

The following planners, speakers, and content reviewers, on behalf of themselves, have reported the following relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on patients: 

Please see the FAQs below for common questions about how to work through a course. If you have a question or issue that is not addressed in the FAQ, please use this form to submit a help request, or if your issue is urgent, call the CME office at: 617-919-9908.

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