Tell us about a time you experienced
shame in your medical education.
We'll go first.
Our primary goal with The Shame Conversation project is to inspire, guide, and motivate others in healthcare to share their experiences with shame. So, we decided to do it ourselves first.
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Working with Blueline Media, consortium member Will Bynum created a short documentary film depicting conversations about experiences with shame in healthcare. He recruited six courageous and vulnerable healthcare professionals to do—on camera—exactly what we’re hoping others will do: openly share their experiences with shame in healthcare.
HOW TO USE THIS VIDEO
Sharing a personal story about shame is a great way to model vulnerability and build trust; however, it can be hard to do if you’ve never done it before. The video can be used as a substitute for telling your own story, or as a way to augment it in the following ways:
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For individual reflection
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In one-on-one conversations (e.g., counseling a struggling learner)
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In workshops with small groups of participants (e.g., as part of a wellness curriculum)
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During meetings with program or institutional leaders
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In large or small group settings to introduce the concept of shame in healthcare
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Whatever your forum, we put together some useful resources to help facilitate your conversations.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The film is meant to serve as a spark or starting point for deeper self-reflection and discussion. We created a list of discussion questions that can be used to facilitate individual reflection or one-on-one, small group, or large group discussions after viewing the film.
FACULTY GUIDE
We developed a faculty guide that provides background about the psychology of shame and related emotions (e.g. guilt), an overview of shame in medical education, and tips for facilitating sensitive discussions. This guide serves as a useful starting point to prepare leaders to facilitate effective, safe discussions.