Inclusivity in Recruitment and Retention

The American Academy of Medical Colleges recently reported a nearly 50% drop in URM scholars entering surgery specialties in the past decade. As a response, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the National Institute of Minority Health Disparities (NIMHD) have established a roadmap to eliminate disparities in surgical health outcomes and enhance diversity in careers in surgery. We must act early to impact diversity in the physician workforce, particularly in surgical fields. We aim to Implement intentional strategies to foster representation of the communities we serve across all levels of the department and nationally.

Improving recruitment and retention of under-represented faculty in the field of surgery, within our department has been a priority. The Department of Surgery continues to attract a diverse pool of candidates for work force recruitment and we are proud of the cultural inclusivity amongst our faculty and resident population. In addition, the TIDES committee has been designing and implementing best practices and initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and retention efforts. This includes making it a practice to highlight and publicize our high-functioning, diverse teams in surgery as we promote faculty DEI and consider biases within the promotion and tenure processes.

We continue to have our fingers on the pulse on DEI to enhance the cultural growth of our faculty and staff to improve the quality of our care. We watch closely for the opportunities to achieve equality in promotion and advancement.

University of Rochester DEI Resource Links:

• School of Medicine and Dentistry Office of Equity and Inclusion
• University of Rochester Office of Equity and Inclusion
• University Resource Groups
• University Intercessor
• Sexual Misconduct & Title IX
• University’s Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan 
• University’s Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy