Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI-B) Committee
The members of the Internal Medicine residency program leadership are committed to fostering a culture of belonging and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of the internal medicine program. We fully endorse the diversity statement put forth by Cooper's Graduate Medical Education program.
Although our residency program has been working towards these goals in previous years, we are actively working towards recruiting and educating residents that share our goal of providing equitable care for all patients and promoting the growth of a diverse physician workforce. Our program leadership is engaged in monthly DEI-B topics to further analyze our own efforts.
In the Fall of 2022, we decided to formalize this by creating the DEI-B Committee which currently has three core subcommittees run by program leadership, faculty, and residents.
Curriculum
The DEI-B Curriculum Subcommittee aims to build an evolving curriculum that ultimately:
- Provides skills that promote self-reflection about knowledge gaps which will serve for lifelong, self-directed learning in DEIB.
- Encourages internalization of equitable and inclusive principles so that future internists can provide more equitable care within an inequitable healthcare system.
- DEI-B Lecture Series integrated in noon conference: Trans Health 101, Intro to DEI-B and Structural Racism in Healthcare, Allyship Workshop, Racism in Addiction Medicine, Disparities in HIV Care Patient Panel and Upstander training.
Mentorship
The DEI-B Mentorship Subcommittee aims to enhance our current mentorship program:
- By supporting diverse trainees in their career goals, personal growth, wellness and establishing relationships to pursue research opportunities.
- By assigning trainees and mentors based on self-reported characteristics and preferences, our aim is establishing a guide, role model and advocate for trainees throughout their time in the residency program and beyond. They will help counsel them for issues that arise from both in and outside the hospital setting.
- DEI-B Mentor/Mentee Social held early in residency to help with networking and providing a supportive environment.
Recruitment
The DEI-B Recruitment Subcommittee aims:
- To identify connections with medical schools and other educational organizations to generate further interest in our program.
- To foster early relationships during recruitment through a partnership with the mentorship subcommittee
- For holistic review by creating data benchmarks for applications, interviews offered, and matched candidates to use data to guide our rank list.