Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update (November 2024)

On November 6, the Minority Housestaff Organization (MHO) held a virtual recruitment event for under-represented in medicine (URiM) students from the three medical schools in Connecticut and some medical schools in the tri-state area. Over forty students logged on to the event. I would like to thank the MHO e-board leaders and Cat Gomez-Stafford for organizing the event.

On November 7, the Graduate Medical Education (GME) office held a virtual recruitment event for URiM candidates who were interviewed for fellowship program spots in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. Thank you to Karen McCausland, MBA, C-TAGME, manager of GME Programs, Office of Graduate Medical Education, for organizing the event. I also thank Stephen Huot, MD, PhD, and Marietta Vazquez, MD, FAAP, for giving welcome remarks and the program directors and fellows who represented Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital.

Our three residency training programs within the Department of Medicine are currently conducting interviews for potential interns who will start in June 2025. I am honored to be a part of this process.

As part of our efforts to advocate for the integration of DEI-related efforts by faculty into the academic review and promotion process at medical schools nationwide, Aba Black, MD, MHS; Samuel Ball, PhD; and Lawrence Young, MD; and I presented a webinar on the DEI productivity calculator to the Association of American Medical Colleges groups on faculty affairs, and diversity and inclusion, on October 28. The webinar was well attended with 135 participants, and it spurned a lot of interest and productive conversations.

In the same vein, I was the presenting author for an innovation oral abstract presentation at the regional meeting of the New England Chapter of the Society of General Internal Medicine held on November 2 in Providence, Rhode Island. The presentation was on the DEI productivity calculator. Though I was the presenting author, I would like to thank Aba who was also one of the authors of the presentation. Our presentation was again well received and sparked interesting conversation and comments. I am also thrilled to announce that we received the Oral Abstract Award for Innovation.

On October 17, Aba; Shaili Gupta, MBBS; and I were invited by Sangini S. Sheth, MD, MPH, FACOG; to participate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s inaugural DEI retreat for trainees, nurses, midwives, and faculty. It was a very productive half-day session, with workshops on DEI-related microaggressions and upstanding, finding and using your professional voice, cultural competency, and cultural humility. Thanks to Sangini for allowing us to participate.

Don’t miss our next Equity Begins with Everyone (EBE) gathering on Monday, November 18, at noon in Fitkin Auditorium. Our speaker will be Darin Latimore, MD, and we will have a fireside conversation on the topic: Reflections on The State of DEI. We will continue our theme of sourcing food from different parts of the world.

Below are some of the secular and religious events during November:

• October 31 – November 4: Diwali
• November 1: All Saints’ Day
• November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance
• November 24: Native American Heritage Day
• November 28: Thanksgiving

If you haven’t participated in our monthly column, “Voices of DEI,” please consider doing so. If you wish to be a featured voice of DEI, please complete the survey using this link.

I am committed to supporting and expanding DEI efforts within the Department of Internal Medicine; please join me. Equity begins with everyone. Together, we strive. Together, we rise.

Respectfully Yours,

Benjamin

Benjamin Mba, MBBS, MRCP (UK), CHCQM, FACP

Professor of Medicine

Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Internal Medicine

Graduate Medical Education Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Associate Designated Institutional Official for Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine