Seed Grant Award: Anti-Racism in the Intensive Care Unit at Columbia University Medical Center: Evaluation of our Current State and a Journey to Make the Uncomfortable Comfortable

Vivek Moitra, Jonathan Hastie, Beth Hochman, Anesthesiology

Moitra, Hochman, Hastie

We proposed an observational ethnographic and sociological study of critical care caregivers.  Researchers interviewed providers and made observations of their practice in the ICU.  There wasn't any interventions.  We qualitatively assessed how ICU culture, relationships, and models of leadership influence, impact, and change perceptions of racism. Furthermore, we investigated how the tension between maintaining the status quo and our comfort zones impacts wellness and physician burnout.

Data from these interviews informed the format and creation of an anthology of physician experiences on racism in the ICU from the Departments of Medicine, Neurology, Anesthesiology, and Surgery.  These experiences were recorded by video and archived.  This archive can be used to share and learn in forums such as Grand Rounds and for elective experiences in Anti-racism for medical students at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.  

This project was funded through the Addressing Racism: A Call to Action for Higher Education initiative of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement.