Subcommittee approves continuing-education requirement on unconscious bias for medical license renewals

The House Health Professions Subcommittee voted 5-2 to report House Bill 1649, a bill that directs the Board of Medicine to require unconscious-bias and cultural-competency training as part of continuing-education requirements for license renewal.

Sponsor Delegate Hayes said the requirement aims to address disparities in maternal and perinatal outcomes, noting testimony that Virginia's pregnancy-associated death rate for Black women is "more than 2 times that of white women." The measure would specify training requirements and require the Board to report on the training to the Department of Health and the Virginia Neonatal-Perinatal Collaborative.

Supporters included Catherine Haynes of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, who cited research showing provider-reported improvements from bias-reduction training, and Emily Moore of Voices for Virginia's Children, who referenced recent maternal-mortality statistics. Victoria Richardson of the Virginia Poverty Law Center also testified in support.

Dylan Bishop, representing Do No Harm Action, testified in opposition on behalf of physicians and nurses, arguing that the profession's oath and current standards should suffice and that additional mandated training would burden already time-pressed clinicians. Bishop said providers average brief patient visits and that further requirements add strain.

Certified nurse midwife Dr. Nicole Wardlaw gave online testimony describing personal experience with biased training and practice and said she had completed implicit-bias CEU training in other states and supported the bill.

After debate and testimony, the subcommittee voted 5-2 to report the bill to the full committee.