CREATING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: ADDRESSING GENDER BIAS IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENT ASSESSMENTS.

Objectives: To identify the mechanisms to reduce gender bias during assessments in undergraduate medical education. Material and Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenological study design was conducted at a Public and Private Medical College in Peshawar, Pakistan, from July 2020 to October 2020. In this qualitative study, four gender-specific focal group interviews with undergraduate medical students and 10 individual interviews with senior faculty members were conducted by using a pre-tested & validated semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The thematic analysis of the data was done where codes were developed and organized into distinct categories giving rise to discrete themes. Data triangulation was done to increase the credibility and authenticity of the study. Results: Out of 24 students and 10 faculty members, half of the participants were females who shared their perceptions about mechanisms to counteract gender bias in medical education. The analysis revealed 24 codes that were labeled and organized into 10 categories. The 4 themes deducted from these categories were Anti-Bias Training, Surveillance of Examination, Psychological Evaluation of Students & Faculty, and Transparency & Accountability. Conclusion: Gender bias can substantially affect medical students' capacity to learn and succeed in their careers, is a well-established fact. Thus, to reduce gender bias in medical education, medical schools must take more excellent initiatives and promote anti-bias awareness sessions & workshops, post-examination feedback & reporting systems, and strict surveillance & accountability. Similarly, psychological evaluation of teachers & students, structured examination patterns, and promoting a panel of assessors for high stake exams are other strategies to counteract this issue in undergraduate medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]