Reducing unconscious bias in postgraduate specialist assessment in South Africa

Abstract

Unconscious bias involves making decisions, interpreting situations and forming assumptions about people based on past experiences, stereotypes, ingrained thoughts and deep-seated ideas. In diverse multicultural societies, unconscious bias has been extensively studied for its impact on social inequity including access to quality healthcare. In addition, unconscious bias can influence assessment outcomes in medical practitioner training, potentially hindering advancement towards establishing a diverse health workforce. This paper reflects on perspectives on unconscious bias in postgraduate assessments utilising a South African model as an illustration. The authors propose some practical strategies to address unconscious bias in specialist training and assessment