From Reflection to Action: A Reflective Learning Workshop to Bridge Gaps in Pediatric Health

Introduction: Health disparities significantly affect pediatric populations, yet many pediatric trainees and faculty report limited confidence in addressing inequities in clinical and educational settings. Although diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) education is increasingly prioritized in graduate medical education, curricula often rely on didactic or case-based formats with limited use of reflective practice. Reflective learning has been shown to foster cultural humility and professional growth but remains underutilized in medical education. Methods: We developed a 1-hour, interactive, case-based workshop with guided self-reflection. The workshop's goal was to help participants think about their own experiences, learn from others, and discuss DEI in a supportive environment. Grounded in Kolb's experiential learning theory and Mezirow's transformative learning framework, the workshop used pediatric cases, structured reflective prompts informed by Gibbs's reflective cycle, and facilitated small-group dialogue. We delivered the workshop 3 times: once in person at a national pediatric conference and twice virtually. Participants included medical students, residents, fellows, faculty, and program leaders. Results: range: -1.03 to -0.68). The largest gains were in participants' confidence in applying reflective theory and recognizing the role of bias in pediatric health inequities. Discussion: This scalable, theory-driven workshop integrates reflective practice into pediatric equity education and was associated with meaningful improvements in participants' self-reported confidence.