Dr. Capers emphasizes that
“unconscious bias does not equal
racism nor does it mean that you
have discriminated. However, your
unconscious bias can affect behavior.”
And, understanding these biases can
change people’s behaviors. After
the 2012-2013 admissions cycle, 71
percent of the admissions committee
members said the IAT might be helpful
in reducing bias, 48 percent were
conscious of their individual results
when interviewing candidates in the
next cycle, and 21 percent said their
own results had an impact on their
admissions decisions in the next cycle.
“The next class of medical students
that were enrolled following the IAT
exercise was the most diverse in our
College of Medicine’s history, at that
time,” Dr. Capers says.
Meanwhile, enrollment at OSUCOM
continues to diversify. In fact, the
college is one of the most diverse in
the nation and tied for ninth place for
highest number of black students—67
among 756 enrollees for the 2015-16
school year—according to a U.S. News
Published in Academic Medicine
in fall 2016, the study’s findings are
already being used as an opportunity
to educate the larger Ohio State health
sciences workforce.
Since January 2017, Dr. Capers has
led educational workshops across
the seven health sciences colleges
aimed at helping faculty, students and
staff develop a greater awareness
of how their experiences, attitudes
and perceptions may affect how they
Benjamin Wright, a rehab safety care associate at Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital, plans to apply to medical school. He says the workshop takeaways will
help him strive “to become the best provider that I can be.”
