On April 24, Department Chair Gary Désir, MD, sat down with Doug McKinley, PsyD, MCC, to discuss healthcare inequities for the Leadership Currency podcast. Gary shared his personal experiences as an undergraduate at NYU, his time at Yale School of Medicine in medical school and residency, his career in medicine, and eventual evolution into leadership at Yale University. He discusses how he recruits leaders, the qualities that he looks for in leadership.
Gary shares his insights into and complexity of healthcare inequities, his interest in social justice and social determinants of health, and what Yale is doing to combat these challenges. Additionally, he shares the department’s initiatives during COVID-19
We encourage you to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcast. Along with being a podcast host, Doug serves as a leadership development consultant, who shares his expertise with multiple clients including our department.
We want you to be aware of a new resource created by the The Chronicle of Higher Education. They created a DEI Legislation Tracker to share where legislation has been introduced, passed, and signed into law that restricts diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives such as diversity statements, identity-based preferences for hiring and admissions, among others. The site takes a deep dive into each bill and their current status. You can review this tracker on their website.
In May, the following religious and secular events have been/will be celebrated:
- Ramadan concluded with Eid al-Fitr on May 3.
- Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on May 8.
- Another important holiday for Buddists is Vesak on May 16. The festival marks the birth, enlightment, and death of the Buddha.
- The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) is on May 17. Countries around the world raise awareness of LGBTIQA+ rights. Learn more about this celebration on the IDAHOBIT website.
- Christians celebrate the Ascension of Jesus forty days after Easter on May 26.
In addition to these celebrations, May also marks the following observances:
- Mental Health Awareness Month
- Older Americans Month
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Read more about these celebrations on the May Diversity Calendar 2023.
If there are questions about any Department of Medicine DEI initiatives, or an issue pertaining to DEI across the department for faculty, trainees, or staff, please contact Vandana. If you are a DEI vice chief and have a question or concern, please contact Aba. For GME-related DEI questions, please contact Steve Huot.
For this month’s “Voices of DEI,” we highlight Jacquelyne Gaddy, MD, MSc. Jacquelyne “looks forward to continued improvement in workforce diversity and the development of allies to enhance the experience of generally marginalized faculty members and patients.” You can read this column on the website and via social media. If you wish to participate as a featured voice of DEI and we welcome all to do so, please complete the survey at this link.
We are excited to partner with each of you on DEI initiatives.
Best wishes,
Vandana Khungar, MD, MSc (Interim Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
Vice Chief for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Digestive Diseases
Associate Professor of Medicine
Aba Black, MD, MHS (Interim Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
Vice Chief for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | General Internal Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine