Caucusing Activity

Activity

• Read “caucusing guidelines” to the group

  • If you have a group that includes multiple levels of medical hierarchy (medical students, residents, attendings, nurses, MAs…) consider explicitly pointing out that expertise in medicine does not equate to expertise on issues of race and equity. One example, “For this exercise, experience and expertise may flip from how they are in clinic or on the wards. The attendings in the room may be the learners today and an MA may be the expert. Let’s recognize that we are all here to learn, share, and challenge each other.”

• Break into small groups.

  • Group size may depend on the size of your large group. We have found that groups of 3-4 work well. Breaking into small groups allows people to be more vulnerable than they might be in a large group. It also makes it challenging to not participate.

  • Consider the make up of your group and how you might do this. Do you want mixed groups that include all levels (ex. student, intern, attending) or would it be helpful to break into groups that might be more comfortable for challenging discussions (ex. group attendings, students, residents separately)? Are the groups assigned in advance or do you have your group “count off” and then group by number (all the “1s” together, “2s” together, etc.)?

• Discuss

  • What are your reactions to the reading?

  • Have you found yourself using rationales for white silence like those mentioned in the article?

  • Which rationales are the hardest for you to overcome?

  • What are strategies you could use to participate more actively in interracial discussions?

• Report back

  • Ask each group to share some highlights of what they discussed with the large group.