A few weeks ago, I met my predecessor Dr. Inginia Genao. She was on campus for the Second Annual Inginia Genao Lecture in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Dr. Tonya Fancher shared her work at UC Davis in her presentation “Creating a Diverse and Well-Distributed Physician Workforce.” If you missed the lecture, you can watch it on the Section of General Internal Medicine’s Box account. It was lovely to meet Inginia.
Recruitment
Over the weekend of September 16, delegations from Yale attended two different events, the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) National Conference in Atlanta and a recruitment fair at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. A 20-person team shared information about Yale’s residency programs at a very successful LMSA event and a 10-person team attended the Meharry fair. A special thanks to members of both delegations.
In addition to these in-person events, we participated in the second Connecticut Virtual Medical School Recruitment Fair, along with Quinnipiac and UConn. Thank you to Drs. Aba Black, Cynthia McNamara, Juan Bartolomei, Carmen Black, Ruby Lekwauwa, Audrey Merriam, Kwame Tuffuor, John Moriarty, and Erin Nozetz for your time and assistance!
Faculty Development
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Medicine (ODEIM) is planning a DEI curriculum-building retreat for all department vice chiefs this fall. During this event, we will begin the process of standardizing the DEI experience and curriculum within every section as driven by the vice chiefs in coordination with ODEIM. Thank you to Dr. Aba Black for agreeing to lead this retreat.
We will share best practices and try to standardize an active longitudinal DEI curriculum directed at trainees, faculty, and staff as well.
We are also planning a Spring 2024 Career Mentorship and Sponsorship Retreat to foster faculty development and retention. This retreat will be for section chiefs and senior faculty on mentorship panels within Sections. At this retreat, we will try to standardize the experience of mentorship and sponsorship within the sections by applying best practices around the FDAQ process. I will share more information on this retreat in a future message.
ODEIM Tools
Cayetana Navarro and I have finished work on the DEI Productivity Calculator, a tool that generates a DEI activity impact score to enhance academic appointments and promotions evaluations. The calculator captures all DEI activities completed within the realms of education, research, scholarly activities, and creative activities, community engagement, service and leadership, and clinical service. We are working on calibrating the DEI Activity Impact score by having all DEI leaders and champions across YSM use the calculator; to determine median and mean scores for YSM. We also plan to do this at academic medical centers nationwide as part of a research study from Yale.
Upcoming Talks
Our next Equity Begins with Everyone (EBE) gathering will be in Fitkin Auditorium on Monday, October 16 from 12 – 1 p.m. Each month, we will have special guests share their challenges, suggestions, aspirations, and hopes pertaining to inclusion. Infectious Diseases physician Dr. Michael Virata and Cayetana Navarro, MBA, PMP, will be our speakers. Mark your calendars to attend. We will serve lunch for those who attend in person. Please RSVP here.
In two weeks, I am presenting a lecture entitled, “Diversifying the Healthcare Workforce from Students and Beyond” for the Yale Center for Medical Education’ Medical Education Group.
Below are the secular and religious events during October:
- Yesterday, October 9 was Indigenous People’s Day. This holiday celebrates the history, culture, and customs of people native to the United States.
- October 11 is National Coming Out Day and October is LGBT History Month.
- Today is World Mental Health Day, which aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health.
- October 17 is Spirit Day, a day to support LGTBQ+ youth. To spread awareness of this day, you are encouraged to wear purple in support.
- Religious holidays in October can be found on the Diversity Resources website.
For this month’s “Voices of DEI,” we highlight Johanna Elumn, MSW, PhD. To her, “diversity, equity, and inclusion is ensuring that everyone is seen, heard, and valued.” You can read this column on the website and via social media. If you wish to participate as a featured voice of DEI, please complete the survey at this link.
I am committed to supporting and expanding DEI efforts within the Department of Internal Medicine; please join me. Equity begins with everyone.
Respectfully Yours,
Benjamin Mba, MBBS, MRCP (UK), CHCQM, FACP
Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Department of Internal Medicine
Graduate Medical Education Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine