Brianne Forest (Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) '14) believes that delivering high-quality health care depends upon practitioners being able to give and take feedback.
"The purpose of feedback is to grow," says Forest, chair of NAIT's MRI 1st Discipline.
That's why her program includes a series of role-playing simulations in which students learn to have difficult conversations that can lead to improvement.
Recently, that series was expanded in a uniquely inclusive way. It now includes a new scenario inspired by a non-binary student who came to Forest to share their feelings about being misgendered by peers who used he/she pronouns rather than their preferred they/them.
"It was really easy [to] modify one of those scenarios to capture the impact of the misuse of pronouns," says Forest.
She also felt it was really important for the profession. Forest recognized the benefit for the student. But she foresees a positive impact on patient care, too.
Where can MRI technologists work once they've graduated?
"All it takes is a conversation"
For its potentially outsized impact, the simulation is remarkably simple. It just gets students talking.
Groups of four take part in a fictional scenario in which a health facility staff member uses incorrect pronouns with a colleague. One student "plays" the mis-user, another a colleague who feels uncomfortable about the effect on the misgendered person. The two remaining students observe the unscripted conversation before swapping roles. A debrief follows.
The challenge, says Forest, is for the giver of feedback to do so constructively. It's not meant to be a comfortable situation but not a combative one either; curiosity should guide the encounter, not blame.
"Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to understand more about where some challenges are coming from," says Forest.
That still applies when the conversation is a manufactured teachable moment.
"It promoted a space where you could actively engage with a potential real-world scenario," says one student, "with the added benefits of [being able] to discuss and navigate these difficult situations in a safe and inclusive peer space."
The simulation also led to possible solutions. It went further to require that support would be provided after the feedback was delivered. For example, many students devised ways to alert a colleague that he or she was still struggling with pronouns despite good intentions, signalling the slip with a subtle hand signal or codeword.
"The simulation was a really great way for students to put themselves in a different person's perspective," says Forest. "I think that every single student who went through this scenario left the room as a better ally. That's a big statement, but I really think it's true."
Another student, and member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, would agree. "This simulation strongly improved my understanding of pronouns," they say. "Pronouns have a strong relation to one's identity, and it is important that they are respected.
"I can only hope that those exposed to such learning opportunities implement what they have learned and are able to better understand those around them."
Advocates for patients - and change
Following its pilot during the last term of 2023-24, the pronoun simulation will continue as part of the MRI curriculum, and be delivered to all cohorts that Forest oversees.
While that may improve inclusivity in NAIT classrooms, its effects will likely also be felt on the job. "In health care, these students need to be able to advocate for what they know to be right," says Forest. "They have to advocate for their patients."
That means seeing to all aspects of their well-being. To do that, Forest adds, "students need to feel empowered."
That may encompass an ability to have difficult but professional conversations, or just sharing their pronouns with their patients upon introduction, making them more comfortable with sharing their own, or just more comfortable in general. Either way, Forest's students see the efforts as ways to encourage trust and openness with patients that can lead to improvements in their care.
"If one person decides to speak up, it changes the culture and creates a more inclusive and supportive environment for everybody," says Forest. "And it creates a safer space for people to be who they are, be accepted for who they are, and to hear the language that they align with.
"They shouldn't need to change their values, or their desires, or how they see themselves, or need to hide any of that just because things have been one way for so long."
This story was originally featured in techlifetoday, click here to read the full article.
For more information
11762-106 Street N.W.
Edmonton Alberta
Canada T5G 2R1
www.nait.ca
