Training healthcare professionals to discriminate between examples and non‐examples of racial microaggressions

Romani et al. (2024) taught hospital workers to spot racial microaggressions. They used an online survey that gave points for right answers and short feedback after each item.

Staff took the same 20-item test before and after the brief training. No control group was used.

Scores went up from the first test to the second. Workers got better at telling real microaggressions from harmless comments.

The combo of tiny rewards plus feedback worked as a quick teaching tool.

McCulloch et al. (2020) ran a nearly identical online pre-post study with direct-care staff. They found feedback added no extra gain to the basic online module. Romani’s positive result seems to clash until you see the tasks: spotting unsafe eating is easier than spotting subtle racial slights. The harder skill may need the extra feedback.

Shapiro et al. (2017) reviewed 24 staff-training papers and flagged feedback as a key piece. Romani’s study is a live example of that recipe, just squeezed into a five-minute survey.

Friedman et al. (2024) also tested a 2024 pre-post package on ABA professionals, but they used long coaching calls instead of quick points. Both saw gains, showing the method can scale from a micro-learning burst to a four-month program.

You can build a three-minute micro-learning survey today. Drop in five microaggression scenarios, award a point for each correct pick, and give one line of feedback. Send it to your team between shifts. It costs nothing and may cut biased remarks that hurt client trust.