The fall semester is well underway, and one of the highlights for me, personally, is the opportunity to welcome the new faculty at the new faculty orientation. Together with my colleagues Aba Black, MD and Darin Latimore, MD, we introduced a few concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion.
One of the central components (and best parts) of my role is working together with so many wonderful people who are dedicated to DEI. This is a team effort, and something that could not be done without the hard work of faculty and staff.
Speaking of—over the last month, seven working groups have started meeting:
- Innovation, led by George Agyapong, MD
- Early Pipeline, led by Carmen Canales
- Faculty Recruitment, led by David Fiellin, MD and Laura Whitley
- Trainee Recruitment, led by Jorge Moreno, MD and Ricardo Avendano, MD
- Retention, led by Lydia Aoun-Barakat, MD and Rosa Xicola, PhD
- Funding & Resources, led by Jaimie Meyer, MD and Jennifer Edelman, MD
- Data and Metrics, led by Edward Manning, MD, PhD and Johanna Elumn, PhD
Two additional working groups are in the planning phases: PR/Marketing and Education & Scholarship. The PR/Marketing working group will be led by Hillary Drumm, APRN and Lauren Tobias, MD and the Education & Scholarship will be led by Isabel Bazan, MD.
While each group has a different focus, they all support the commitment of ODEIM to the department’s core mission, which is to cultivate an inclusive, collaborative, and professional culture that respects individual differences, recognizes and rewards diverse talents, and helps each person reach their full potential.
All are welcome to join the working groups, and are encouraged to get involved. Please contact the chairs and co-chairs above, if you are interested in joining.
At the most recent DEI Committee meeting, Shana Gleeson, MD presented the section of Infectious Diseases IDE2A curriculum. We encourage everyone to learn more about it! Going forward, we will showcase other groups and their DEI work.
This month, I’d like to bring your attention to the Voices of DEI feature, spotlighting Gerald Friedland, MD, of the Section of Infectious Diseases. Friedland believes “academic settings should not be distinct from all other settings and should reflect the diversity in which they are a part. Creating new knowledge and training new generations in a globalized world requires academia to provide an equal and inclusive setting to be part of and fully contribute to the whole.” Read more in Friedland’s feature, and if you would like the chance to be featured, fill out the short survey here.
Lastly, the ODEIM has created a Microsoft Team to facilitate on-going communication and collaboration between monthly meetings. If you are in the Diversity Committee or in a Working Group and have not been added yet, please reach out to Cayetana Navarro. For Teams support, please visit the Microsoft Teams video training page.
Thank you for your continued dedication in helping make the Department of Internal Medicine an all around better, well-rounded department. This work could not be done without all of you.
Sincerely,
Inginia Genao, MD, FACP
Associate Chair, Diversity & Inclusion