New Implicit Bias Training Requirement

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will require implicit bias training for physicians (and other health care professionals), effective June 1, 2022. The requirements apply to both new applicants as well as those renewing their existing licenses or registrations.

An applicant for license renewal shall have completed a minimum of 1 hour of implicit bias training for each year of the applicant’s license or registration cycle. An applicant for new licensure, both limited and medical, shall have completed a minimum of 2 hours of implicit bias training within the 5 years immediately preceding issuance of the license or registration.

Physicians will need to report implicit bias credit when they renew their license. Those who renewed in January 2022, needed no training. Physicians who renew in 2023, will need to report 1 hour. Physicians who renew in 2024, will need to report 2 hours. Physicians who renew in 2025, will need to report the full 3 hours. Then after, every 3-year renewal cycle will need to report 3 hours. Training that was taken prior to June 1, 2021, and within the license cycle that is up for renewal, qualifies toward the requirement for renewals. The rule also allows new applicants for licensure or registration to complete the training within the 5 years immediately preceding issuance of the license or registration.

Please note, the implicit bias training for licensure has additional requirements and differs from the other mandated CME areas. Training must include strategies to reduce disparities in access to and delivery of health care services and the administration of pre- and post-test implicit bias assessments. Acceptable modalities of training are a teleconference or webinar that permits live synchronous interaction, a live presentation or an interactive online instruction. Solely recorded or archived content is not allowable, a live component is required.

Training content must include, but is not limited to, 1 or more of the following topics: 

• Information on implicit bias, equitable access to health care, serving a diverse population, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and cultural sensitivity. 
• Strategies to remedy the negative impact of implicit bias by recognizing and understanding how it impacts perception, judgment, and actions that may result in inequitable decision making, failure to effectively communicate, and result in barriers and disparities in the access to and delivery of health care services. 
• The historical basis and present consequences of implicit biases based on an individual’s characteristics. 
• Discussion of current research on implicit bias in the access to and delivery of health care services. 

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Sample courses from a continuing education vendor…

Continuing Education to meet the Michigan Board of Medicine (LARA) requirements for Physicians.

Implicit Bias Interrupted: How to Reveal, Confront, and Get Unconscious Biases Out of Your Way -

Join Dr. Michell A. Greenidge as we explore the features and corresponding behaviors associated with Implicit Bias. In this eye-opening discussion, participants will identify the social and systemic ramifications of Implicit Bias, study the historical and biological context and origin of biases and their impact on daily personal and professional interactions, as well as gain tools to help bring implicit biases into conscious awareness. This class also fulfills the NEW Implicit Bias requirement for MICHIGAN licensees. Earn 3 CME Credits! (Live Webinar)

November 9 - Cultural Competence: LGBTQ and Conflicting Religious Values A “CE You! Plus” Afternoon Webinar! Multiple issues may arise when traditional religious values and LGBTQ+ clients intersect. This is true for clients as well as clinicians. This course will explore this complex dynamic, informing a culturally competent approach and moving to a synthesis of these seemingly conflicting ideas. Earn 3 CE/CME Credits! (Live Webinar)

December 7 - Cultural Competence: LGBTQ and Conflicting Religious Values A “CE You! Plus” Afternoon Webinar! Multiple issues may arise when traditional religious values and LGBTQ+ clients intersect. This is true for clients as well as clinicians. This course will explore this complex dynamic, informing a culturally competent approach and moving to a synthesis of these seemingly conflicting ideas. Earn 3 CE/CME Credits! (Live Webinar)

December 9 - Implicit Bias: Clinical and Ethical Considerations A “CE You! Plus” Afternoon Webinar! Take a new look at Implicit biases and how bias can contribute to unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can manifest in the workplace, school setting, and in the healthcare system. Join the dialogue about where Implicit Bias comes from and how it can affect clinical treatment. This class can be used to fulfill the NEW Implicit Bias requirement for MICHIGAN licensees. Earn 3 CE Credits. (Live Webinar)

DSM Gender Dysphoria: Clinical Symptoms And Diagnosis

Gender Dysphoria is a mental health condition in which an individual experiences distress due to the presence of at least two of the following symptoms:

• Disparity between sex and gender identity. Biological sex and gender are two different constructs. People with Gender Dysphoria might feel at odds with their biological sex and their perceived gender or may feel primarily at odds with their perceived gender and identify as a gender without a specific assigned biological sex.
• A strong urge or desire to “get rid of” biological sex characteristics. In this symptom, people with Gender Dysphoria may continually struggle to see their bodies and experience the difficulties associated with dressing for sex they do not feel is theirs. Feelings of repulsion, fear, or shame often accompany this symptom.
• A strong urge or desire to possess the biological sex characteristics of the opposite sex. For some, Gender Dysphoria will catalyze a desire to possess the sex characteristics of the opposite sex. For instance, a biological female might not feel entirely at odds with the presence of breasts but may feel a continual longing to possess one or more of the sex organs associated with the male sex.
• A need or desire to be seen as treated as a specific preferred gender. Again, because sex and gender are two different things, some people with Gender Dysphoria will focus more on their gender than their sex.
• An ongoing suspicion that you behave as though you are already your preferred gender, despite sex characteristics. For some people with Gender Dysphoria, the experience of being at odds with perceived gender is due to feeling as though their behavior, likes, and thought processes are already congruent with their preferred gender.

It is important to note that not all of these symptoms will be present in someone with a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria; instead, at least two of them must be present for six months or longer and cause significant distress for a diagnosis to be considered. Children can be evaluated for these symptoms, though they may not be able to use the same language an adult might describe their symptoms.