Virginia House advances move to require anti-bias training for healthcare providers

A key House committee advanced a bill to require healthcare professionals to complete anti-bias training in continuing education to maintain their licenses.
The bill, HB 1147, proposed by Del. C.E. Cliff Hayes, D-Chesapeake, would direct the Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing to require bias reduction learning activities in continuing education for licensure.

The bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday 15-7 along party lines and is now headed to full House for consideration. 

Hayes said that disparities in many outcomes equate to policy violence and policy murder, and it is important to educate everyone about the differences and outcomes being seen.

Del. Tim Griffin, R-Bedford, referred to a previous subcommittee meeting that became heated and said he did not think doctors and nurses are racist. 

“I think it’s wrong for politicians to act as if they are in a moral position to require doctors and nurses to get bias and racism training,” Griffin said. “We should be past this; this is divisive, and that’s why I’ll be voting against this.”

Del. Charniele Herring, D-Fairfax, said the focus was not racism, it was bias.

“This is about making sure that physicians and those in the health profession understand that patients are different,” Herring said. “And sometimes, for example, with pain thresholds, it is assumed that a certain patient can withstand a certain pain.”

Del. Phillip A. Scott, R-Orange, said he understands the need for bias training but hesitates to add more required training to the plate. He explained his experience of challenges with doctors looking beyond his daughter’s condition, Trisomy-18.
Scott said he thinks there are other ways for this need to be met so that specific care is provided for people instead of taking a blanketed approach.

Del. Howard Wachsmann Jr., R-Brunswick, said he was concerned about adding more educational requirements to the health professions and asked if the bias training would go toward the minimum requirements for licensure.

Erin Barrett, on behalf of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, said the continuing education would be part of the annual or biennial education requirements.