ArtemisDiana / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

family member about their health history and goals and how you can help them reach those goals . “ We need to take our egos and biases out of the picture and get a big picture view ,” Dr . Goddard says . “ It ’ s a partnership , not a dictatorship .”

• Don ’ t be color blind . Dark skin tones have different qualities from light skin tones , so treating them the same is not the answer . Not even all dark skin tones are the same , Dr . Goddard notes . She likes

to start a skin assessment by comparing to a baseline of normal . “ We ’ re fortunate that most parts of our body have an opposite side to compare healthy to unhealthy skin .” Check for areas of hypo- or hyperpigmentation , which may indicate inflammation . Then move on from visual assessment to touch : “ Take your finger and go from an area of injured skin to uninjured and back again because there are textural changes you wouldn ’ t notice by sight .”

• Increase diversity in all areas . So far , the cosmetic industry has done a better job at recognizing diversity than healthcare . Think of all the shades of foundation . But skin care experts are still relying on tools like the Fitzpatrick scale that provide only a narrow range of colors . That ’ s why it ’ s up to healthcare professionals to keep pushing for diversity . One way ? “ Really making sure that when we ’ re doing talks or presentations that we ’ re representing the different etiologies of wounds on various skin tones ,” Dr . Goddard advises . Remember , artificial intelligence software is picking up on content that ’ s out there now . “ Artificial intelligence is predictive , and if it ’ s building its database on a limited data set , it ’ s

going to be perpetuating that bias that ’ s already in the system ,” Dr . Goddard says . She also stresses the importance of creating a diverse workforce . “ The more diverse we can be , the more patients can see themselves , the better outcomes we ’ re going to have for our patients .”

Unconscious biases are all around us , but as Dr . Goddard says , “ We all have a potential for bias in us , and the key is to recognize it and try to mitigate it as much as possible .”

References 1 Van Ryn , M ., Burgess , D . J ., Dovidio , J . F ., Phelan , S ., Saha , S ., Malat , J ., Griffin , J . M ., Fu , S . S ., & Perry , S . ( 2011 ). The Impact Of Racism On Clinician Cognition , Behavior , And Clinical Decision Making . Du Bois Review , 8 ( 1 ), 199 – 218 . https :// doi . org / 10.1017 / s1742058x11000191

Issue 12 / 2023 15