What's happening
This bill requires all New York physicians, physician assistants, and nurses to complete biennial diversity, inclusion, and bias elimination training as part of their continuing education.
Why it matters
Aims to directly address health care disparities. by requiring training that covers both the historical roots and present-day impacts of bias, with explicit focus on how these biases influence health outcomes for marginalized groups.
Mandates that the trainers themselves reflect the diversity of New York's population. and have relevant academic or professional expertise, potentially improving the credibility and relevance of the instruction for medical professionals.
Goes beyond awareness to require actionable steps and self-assessment. , including the use of implicit association tests and practical strategies for recognizing and mitigating personal biases in clinical decision-making.
Creates a uniform, statewide standard for diversity and bias education in health care. , potentially reducing variability in cultural competence among providers and making New York a model for similar reforms elsewhere.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Bias Training for Clinicians
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to rules
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6797
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
October 23, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training for certain medical personnel as part of continuing medical education requirements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6524-a to read as follows:
§ 6524-a. Mandatory diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training. 1. All physicians, in order to maintain their license in good standing, shall complete biennial diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training.
2. Such training courses shall be taught by individuals who are:
a. representative of the diversity of persons served by the New York health care system; and
b. academically trained in diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias or possess prior experience educating medical professionals about diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias.
3. Such training courses shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. information on implicit and explicit bias, equal access to medical care, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with members of the public or other medical personnel;
b. actionable steps medical personnel can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases;
c. a discussion of the historical reasons for, and the present consequences of, the implicit biases people hold based on the characteristics of another;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13979-01-9
S. 6797 2
d. examples of how implicit bias affects the perceptions, judgments, and actions of physicians and other medical personnel and how those perceptions, judgments, and actions result in unacceptable disparities in access to medical care;
e. the administration of implicit association tests to increase awareness of one's unconscious biases; and
f. strategies to address how unintended biases in decision making may contribute to health care disparities by shaping behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
4. Beginning one year after the effective date of this section, all physicians licensed under this article shall complete two hours of training biennially.
§ 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6541-a to read as follows:
§ 6541-a. Mandatory diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training. 1. All physician assistants, in order to maintain their license in good standing, shall complete biennial diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training.
2. Such training courses shall be taught by individuals who are:
a. representative of the diversity of persons served by the New York health care system; and
b. academically trained in diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias or possess prior experience educating medical professionals about diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias.
3. Such training courses shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. information on implicit and explicit bias, equal access to medical care, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with members of the public or other medical personnel;
b. actionable steps medical personnel can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases;
c. a discussion of the historical reasons for, and the present consequences of, the implicit biases people hold based on the characteristics of another;
d. examples of how implicit bias affects the perceptions, judgments, and actions of physician assistants and other medical personnel and how those perceptions, judgments, and actions result in unacceptable disparities in access to medical care;
e. the administration of implicit association tests to increase awareness of one's unconscious biases; and
f. strategies to address how unintended biases in decision making may contribute to health care disparities by shaping behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
4. Beginning one year after the effective date of this section, all physician assistants licensed under this article shall complete two hours of training biennially.
§ 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6905-a to read as follows:
§ 6905-a. Mandatory diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training. 1. All nurses, in order to maintain their license in good
S. 6797 3
standing, shall complete biennial diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training.
2. Such training courses shall be taught by individuals who are:
a. representative of the diversity of persons served by the New York health care system; and
b. academically trained in diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias or possess prior experience educating medical professionals about diversity, inclusion and the elimination of bias.
3. Such training courses shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. information on implicit and explicit bias, equal access to medical care, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and sensitivity to cultural and other differences when interacting with members of the public or other medical personnel;
b. actionable steps medical personnel can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases;
c. a discussion of the historical reasons for, and the present consequences of, the implicit biases people hold based on the characteristics of another;
d. examples of how implicit bias affects the perceptions, judgments, and actions of nurses and other medical personnel and how those perceptions, judgments, and actions result in unacceptable disparities in access to medical care;
e. the administration of implicit association tests to increase awareness of one's unconscious biases; and
f. strategies to address how unintended biases in decision making may contribute to health care disparities by shaping behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
4. Beginning one year after the effective date of this section, all nurses licensed under this article shall complete two hours of training biennially.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training for certain medical personnel as part of continuing medical education requirements
Purpose
This bill requires all physicians to complete a two-hour diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training every two years in order to maintain their license in good standing.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill requires physicians to complete a two-hour diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training every two years in order to maintain their license in good standing.
Section two of this bill requires all physician assistants to complete a two-hour diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training every two years in order to maintain their license in good standing.
Section three of this bill requires all nurses to complete a two-hour diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias training every two years in order to maintain their license in good standing.
Trainings must be taught by individuals who represent the diversity of persons served by New York healthcare system and are academically trained in diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias or have experi- ence educating medical professionals about diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias.
Trainings must include information on bias and sensitivity to cultural and other differences, actionable steps personnel can take to recognize and address their own biases, a discussion of the historical reasons and present consequences for bias, examples of how implicit bias affects the actions and perceptions of personnel leading to disparities in access to medical care, and strategies to reduce the impact of bias.
All physicians, physician assistants, and nurses must have completed their first two-hour training one year from the effective date of this section.
Justification
All people possess implicit biases, defined as positive or negative associations that affect their beliefs, attitudes, and actions towards other people. The results of implicit bias can have serious consequences in the health professions. Data shows that across New York State, black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. The New York State Task Force on Maternal Mortality and Disparate Racial Outcomes reported that the maternal mortality rate for black women was 51.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014. This bill will increase awareness among health care professionals about issues that can unconsciously influence the care they provide and will help them to adjust their practices to better serve their communities, potentially
addressing inequities in healthcare treatment and reducing health disparities among New York's diverse population.
Fiscal implications
None.
Legislative history
New bill.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.