Getting quality healthcare is important to just about everyone. When it comes to medicine, especially when the decisions made can have lasting ramifications on the patient’s quality, nobody wants to be given less than what they need. Unfortunately, many times women’s pain is dismissed or minimized due to implicit bias in the medical field. This may mean that a woman is not receiving proper care, medicine, or treatment for her needs because of her gender. While many healthcare organizations are working to fight implicit bias against women, it is still a prevalent issue in today’s landscape.
For more information on implicit bias against women’s pain, consider speaking with a personal injury attorney from Erin Marshall Law for protective legal care. Schedule a consultation by calling the office at (505) 218-9949.
What Defines Implicit Bias?
According to The Joint Commission, implicit bias is an assumption or stereotype that operates subconsciously without the individual’s awareness or intentional control. Implicit bias is formed by assumptions and exposure experienced in childhood, and is particularly difficult to identify as, by definition, the individual is not aware of their own implicit biases. Over human history, implicit or unconscious bias has caused much conflict and strife between people, communities, and even nations.
Today, many people discuss the role of implicit bias and women’s pain in the context of the workplace and business landscape. However, there is a significant impact that implicit bias has on the medical field. Men, women, and people of color may be treated differently–and even improperly–because of the hidden biases of a healthcare professional.
Understanding Malpractice
In light of this, many may wonder what the difference is between implicit bias and medical malpractice. Because, while one can become more aware and sensitive to one’s biases, having these biases is the brain’s way of helping categorize and make sense of the world. So what is the difference between having implicit biases in the medical field and committing medical malpractice?
True medical malpractice occurs when there is a significant deviation from the normal standard of care. Malpractice is more than a mistake or a difference in method, it is a significant failure to provide proper care, especially when the failure to provide care resulted in injury or decreased quality of life.
In the case of bias, when a medical practitioner is unable to address and account for their personal biases, they may make mistakes that lead to greater pain and suffering because they are unable to account for information beyond their biases. The American Medical Association reports that several specialties in the medical field are male-dominated, which may lead to women’s pain or concerns being dismissed.
Disparity Between Treatment for Men and Women
Many studies have shown that there is a wide disparity in how men and women experience pain. Due to differences in physiology and body types, either gender would not react to the same experience in the same way. However, in certain situations, medical professionals may default to the male experience of pain instead of taking the woman’s pain into account. This expression of bias may have varying forms.
Drug Dosage and Male-Based Studies
One of the ways this may present itself is in the dosage of drugs. Studies have shown that women tend to metabolize drugs slower than men do. However, most drug dosages given by medical professionals are the same regardless of sex. This can cause adverse effects in women, because some drugs may be harmful when remaining in the body for too long.
Confirmation Bias
Due to the implicit bias many people carry, they may be led to emphasize information that supports their bias instead of accurately evaluating the facts of the situation and coming to a conclusion. This is called confirmation bias. If a medical professional carries assumptions about women and women’s pain, this may lead to erroneous decisions, misdiagnoses, and other mistakes that may be classified as malpractice.
An experienced personal injury attorney or birth injury attorney from Erin Marshall Law can help you determine whether or not there was malpractice involved as a result of bias.
Birth Injuries and Women’s Pain
Another area of medical practice where implicit bias may be a factor is childbirth. Birth injuries may occur when there is some preventable trauma that the child undergoes during labor that the physician present may have been able to address. Note that birth injuries are different from genetic birth defects and other preexisting medical conditions.
Common Birth Injuries
Births are often high-risk medical procedures, due to the sensitivity of the infant. If the medical professionals on hand aren’t sensitive to the needs of the woman and child or aren’t prepared to assist, there may be long-lasting consequences. Some common birth injuries involve improper handling of the infant’s head during birth, incorrect medications or dosages, failure to properly monitor the fetus for signs of distress, or Cesarean sections being untimely or unused.
If a medical professional is not properly equipped or attentive during birth, it may result in conditions with far-reaching consequences. One of these conditions is cerebral palsy (CP), which is an incurable condition that can put immense financial strain on a household. Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that can be caused by damage to nerve cells during birth.
Addressing Gender Disparity in Healthcare
Medical institutions are encouraged to promote addressing implicit biases and affirming and respecting women’s pain. The first step for addressing implicit biases is being aware of one’s own implicit biases. While it may be difficult or impossible to remove one’s inherited biases, being aware and sensitive to them can allow room for empathy, which can circumvent the negative effects of these biases. By practicing empathy, medical professionals can better acknowledge women’s pain and provide effective and understanding care.
In addition to this, creating space to address these issues in the community can help spread awareness of implicit bias. Leaders in the medical field are encouraged to ensure that all patients are receiving equal care.
Contact a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
While many are striving to make the medical landscape more equitable and address the treatment of women’s pain, there are still many mistakes made. Implicit bias is not a problem to be solved overnight, and many still suffer from the outworkings of it. For more specific counsel in the event of an injury, consider speaking with an experienced birth injury attorney from Erin Marshall Law by calling (505) 218-9949.
