Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion
The history of medicine is fraught with coercive and unconsented treatment of and experimentation on marginalized people including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), those with disabilities, incarcerated people, LGBTQ+ people, people living with mental illness, and others. The Division of Hospital Medicine IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy) Committee recognizes this history and the ongoing inequalities in health care and our work focuses on creating a more equitable healthcare system for our patients.
Our Mission
The IDEA Committee is dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Division of Hospital Medicine and the broader University of Rochester Medical Center community. We are actively working to educate and train our division faculty, APPs (NPs/PAs), nurses, trainees, and staff to identify, interrupt, and debrief bias events in the workplace in order to affect cultural change. By creating a more inclusive and inviting workplace for our entire interdisciplinary team, we will be better equipped to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce to provide our best care to the greater Rochester community.
Our Vision
The IDEA Committee aims to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at the University of Rochester Medical Center. We value diversity as both a measure of excellence and a tool for creating a more inclusive workplace. By recognizing medicine’s fraught history, we aim to highlight the areas of bias, privilege, racism, and inequality that exist within medicine in order to provide more just and equitable care for our patients.
The IDEA committee, with support from the DOM DEI office and HMD leadership, developed a bias reporting system for faculty to ensure bias events are being tracked and education/resources being provided to both the source and reporter of those events. The IDEA committee reviewed our parental leave policies and compared to other policies within our hospital system and the greater Rochester area to ensure equity. We also developed an exit survey so that we can collect valuable information that will help our division retain a diverse workforce that feels supported and welcomed.
Dr. Valerie Lang completed a needs assessment for faculty development programming, and we included questions focused on DEI topics of interest. From this assessment, we created a curriculum that included book, movie, podcast clubs as well as journal club. (See our Recommended Resources). Dr. Catie Glatz presented a DOM Grand Rounds on "Health Disparities in Incarcerated Populations." We have also invited guest lecturers to cover topics including redlining, patient first language, religion/spirituality, and trauma informed care. A year-long education series, Encountering Bias in Medicine, is underway in partnership with the URMC Office of Equity and Inclusion. This series focuses on recognizing, interrupting, and addressing biases and microaggressions in the workplace.
IDEA committee partners with the medical education leadership as well as medial student leadership to develop programming and support for medical students and residents. Projects have included: funding for shelf exam materials and test fees, DEI curriculum additions to 2nd and 3rd year courses, and a multi-disciplinary QI project centered on Ramadan accommodations for inpatients.
Educational and professional disparities start early and persist throughout career advancement. Learners from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine may not have equal access to mentorship opportunities.
Dr. Clare Park developed the BRIDGE program which is a mentorship hub connecting mentees from self-identified URiM backgrounds with mentors in the medical field. Currently being piloted in medicine, neurology, and pediatrics include 14 partner pathway programs, 272 registered mentors, and 46 matches made (so far!). Other mentorship programs include mini medical school (elementary school level), East High School partnership (local high school), and mentor pods (multi-level mentorship).
The DOM DEI office charged all divisions with identifying a chronic health condition that disparately affects minority populations. Our division is focusing on care for patients with Sickle Cell Disease and the current project is being run by IDEA members Dr. Ashley Jenkins and Dr. Lalita Movva. They received an institutional pilot grant that utilizes community based participatory research strategies to identify areas for improvement in our clinical care of patients with sickle cell. The hospital has provided a unit focused on providing care to patients with sickle cell including specific training for nurses, techs, APPs, pharmacists, and faculty working in that unit.
Hospital Medicine Division is committed to increasing diversity within the division, with a goal of improving patient outcomes and creating a more inclusive clinical environment. HMD has posted job listings on URiM job forums. All members of the hiring committee and interviewers complete bias reduction training to create more equitable hiring practices. Bias reduction training is now a mandatory component of onboarding for the division of hospital medicine.
Julia Trumbo, MD
Julia_Trumbo@urmc.rochester.edu
Co-lead HMD IDEA committee
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Catie Glatz, MD
Catherine_Glatz@urmc.rochester.edu
Co-lead HMD IDEA committee
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Resources
UR Websites
- Graduate Women in Science
- Women in Medicine
- SACNAS
- ABRCMS
- Commission on Women and Gender Equity in Academia
- Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering
- UR SMD
Book Club Selections
- So You Want to Talk about Race
by Ijeoma Oluo - Black Man in a White Coat
by Damon Tweedy - Women in White Coats
by Olivia Campbell