The Importance of DEI Education for Pathologists and Laboratory Professionals

By Corey Whelan - August 06, 2024

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In a perfect world, every medical laboratory would include personnel who represent the multifaceted communities they serve. Of course, perfection is hard to come by. Pursuing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in your laboratory is a good place to start. 

DEI can mean different things, depending on different settings, but there are general guidelines that are universal to keep in mind that can help set the stage for a thriving DEI culture in your laboratory. These include:  

  • Diversity refers to the wide variety of individuals who live or work within a community. Places of work, including laboratories, are types of communities. A diverse laboratory is not only a community within itself, but also a microcosm of the greater surrounding area it serves 

  • Inclusion refers to a community where everyone is welcome to be themselves, and to participate fully, without hiding aspects of themselves 

  • Equity refers to the fair and just treatment of everyone  

Incorporating DEI education into laboratories isn’t something that is nice to have in today’s healthcare environment, it’s essential to ensure pathologists and medical laboratory scientists are providing the highest-quality patient care, and that they are fostering an environment where their workforce can thrive.  

What is DEI education?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion education may take a variety of forms, including in-house trainings, role play, lectures, and required readings. No matter how the information is presented, the overarching goal is to educate laboratory leaders and personnel about the need to understand and welcome diverse perspectives at work. Opening up the door to this level of awareness creates an inclusive work environment that feels safe and welcoming, as well as professional. It also fosters better patient outcomes, and the equitable treatment of everyone.   

DEI education, however, is about more than just, well, DEI.  Christina Pierre, PhD, DABCC, FAACC, clinical assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, stresses the need for clinical laboratory staff personnel to understand the distinction between DEI and health equity, and to be proponents of both concepts. “DEI describes who is involved. Health equity is about patient outcomes, and how patients experience patient care,” she explains.  

An important component of DEI education is understanding that self-identifying factors may be subtle, invisible, or subject to misinterpretation. Public-facing laboratory personnel may also assume that a specific characteristic is insignificant when in contrast, it’s very important to the patient or an accompanying family member. Diversity encompasses many characteristics, including:  

  • Gender  

  • Race 

  • Ethnicity 

  • Socioeconomic status 

  • Education level 

  • Age 

  • Sexual orientation 

  • Visible and invisible disabilities 

  • Neurodiversity 

  • Veteran status 

  • Immigration or citizenship status 

  • Religious affiliation 

  • Other important self-identifiers, like hairstyle, tattoos, and piercings    

How does DEI education benefit laboratories?  

Laboratories today have multiple goals. Labs need to recruit and retain dedicated workers. The patients a laboratory serves need to feel heard and treated with respect. Upper management needs to understand the value that laboratories bring to their organization. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  

So, how can DEI education support these and other goals? One way is by analyzing data through a diversity lens. 

“Laboratories provide data that inform healthcare decisions. By scrutinizing data through a DEI lens, we get a deeper understanding of the populations we serve. It’s really important for laboratory workers to understand how integral they are in providing the meaning behind the numbers, as well as the numbers themselves,” explains  Lois Rockson, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Clinical Laboratory and Medical Imaging Sciences, Rutgers Health, School of Health Professions.  

Keep in mind that data can and do contain biases. DEI education can help pathologists identify these biases, and eliminate them, but it takes long-term understanding and a real investment of both time and money. “Data sets are biased by definition. If an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm designed to support better patient outcomes is built on biased data, this compounds the generation of further bias. This worsens the biased information exponentially, like a kind of feedback loop,” explains  Emma E. Furth, MD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.   

Data can uncover health, lifestyle, and disease trends within communities, and point to compelling differences from neighborhood to neighborhood. Understanding the drivers behind these trends is relevant for public health and the laboratory itself. If your workforce is diverse and your workers feel empowered and accepted, your institution and community are both likely to benefit from a variety of perspectives and opinions.  

DEI supports employee recruitment and retention

The current shortage of people entering laboratory professions is common knowledge. Lack of DEI awareness may, in part, be a discouraging factor. “Today’s generation of young people use the web extensively. Much of the information they uncover is generated by biased algorithms. If they’re thinking about career paths and looking for ideas, what will come back will have biases, based on gender, age, and other issues. So many of them won’t be guided toward laboratory careers,” says Dr. Furth.  

“People from underserved communities may not know about lab professions. Or they may be reluctant to consider them,” adds Dr. Rockson. She recommends creating knowledge about laboratory career pathways by talking to young students, while they’re in middle school and in high school. “Let them know there’s a space for them in these types of careers, and that laboratory work is fulfilling.  

An inclusive environment generates a sense of belonging among employees. This provides motivation and increases morale. A laboratory that has successfully implemented the principles of DEI into its culture is likely to foster long-term employment, increased productivity, and innovation. “Studies indicate that diversity in the workplace increases productivity. When people feel that their work matters, they’re more productive,” says Dr. Pierre.  

DEI enhances patient care and may improve outcomes 

Fostering an inclusive, equitable environment is one in which people’s languages, cultures, and mores are understood and respected. This may include issues of modesty and physical touch. It may also include the need to eradicate physical barriers to care for people who have mobility impairments. “Once you have diversity in the lab, you’ve paved the way for bringing underserved people in for much-needed testing, and other types of healthcare,” says Dr. Rockson.  

A laboratory that has embraced DEI is one where patients feel safe and respected. “Research has shown that racial concordance between clinicians and patients can improve healthcare utilization for racially minoritized people. When the race of the clinician matches that of the patient, we see better outcomes. This can also pertains to technicians and other public-facing laboratory employees, like receptionists, as well as doctors and nurses. We should look like the communities we serve,” explains Dr. Pierre.  

What you can do  

The recent rash of anti-DEI legislation may be interpreted by some as a reason not to pursue these goals.  But establishing DEI goals for your laboratory, and enrolling others in their attainment, is an important starting point. Make sure to welcome the suggestions of every employee, from upper management to the laboratory bench.  

You can also create an inclusivity checklist. There are many issues to consider, and each laboratory’s checklist will vary.  

Checklist line items might include: 

  • Has bias been removed from job descriptions?  

  • Do you have a written policy statement on inclusion, equity, and diversity? Does it include lenses for gender, race, disabilities, and other issues?  

  • Do you have a sexual harassment policy in place? 

  • Does the composition of your employees match that of the surrounding neighborhood? 

  • Are the languages spoken by patients spoken by laboratory personnel?  

  • What is the composition of the decision-makers at your place of work? Is it reflective of the surrounding area?  

  • Is your laboratory free of impediments that might be challenging to navigate by employees and patients with mobility issues?  

  • Are respect and politeness encouraged?  

These items are just a start. Creating and fostering an inclusive and fair environment takes practice, commitment, and time. Educating yourself, and remaining open to the perspectives of others, is the best way to begin.    

Join Drs. Rockson, Pierre, and Furth at ASCP’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago where they will be participating in panel discussions and sessions on DEI implementation roadblocks and more.  

 

 

 

Corey Whelan

Patient Advocate and Freelance Writer