I am happy to share that we just hosted our annual Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce Dinner. This event aims to foster diversity within the healthcare workforce at Yale. The dinner at the Omni Hotel on Thursday, February 8, was a phenomenal success. We had 200 participants overall and 107 visiting students from around the country. I am proud to share that we could fund travel and accommodation for the students who traveled from out of state. Thank you to Steve Huot, MD; Darin Latimore, MD; Reba Gillis, MD; Michael Holmes, MBA; Ena Williams, PhD, MBA, RN, CENP; Lou Hart, MD; and Tom Balcezak, MD, MPH; for their insightful speeches. A big thank you to Lori Williams and Karen McCausland for the months spent behind the scenes preparing for the event. Thank you to the support team of Cat Gomez-Stafford, Tatianna Hilton, Deborah Lewis, Brett Marks, Sarah Ngongi-Wumba, Julie Parry, and Eduardo Reyes. It was an excellent showcase of both our organizations.
Recruitment
More on the recruitment front…
In three weeks, we visit Howard University with a twelve-person delegation. We are wrapping up plans for our forty-person delegation to the Annual Medical Education Conference in New Orleans. Thank you to the teams traveling to these important events.
The ODEIM office is partnering with Carli Gaughf, the new YSM DEI training director. She is hosting two sessions on implicit bias training for search committees and recruitment panels for DEI vice chiefs in every section. Additionally, each section has been invited to bring three members to participate in the training. This educational initiative aims to create a resource in every section to join or advise search committees and recruitment panels.
I am also happy to announce that in collaboration with the deputy dean's office for DEI, Darin Latimore, MD, we will be exhibiting at the National Medical Association (NMA) Conference in New York from August 4-7. This will be an opportunity for us to showcase faculty opportunities within our clinical departments. We will also present our vast array of outstanding GME training opportunities. The NMA is a professional organization for Black or African American physicians.
Retention
On February 2, Julie Parry interviewed me as part of the DEI retreat held by the Section of General Internal Medicine. I shared my genealogy, stories about my family, my path to Yale, and other impactful life moments. The day's sessions included Actualizing an Indigenous Ready Medical School; Jews, Israel, and Antisemitism; and the Eugenics Movement at Yale. Thank you to Aba Black, MD, MHS, who organized an extraordinarily impactful and educational day. We hope to see all sections hold dedicated DEI retreats. Julie Parry will be available for a similar interview should sections be interested.
Yesterday at 6 am, Internal Medicine staff, faculty (clinical and research), and postdocs received an email from The Barthwell Group (wevans@barthwellgroup.com) with a link to our new Inclusion Climate Survey. The survey results will help us identify and address all areas of concern relevant to diversity and inclusion within our department. We will be transparent with the results and share them by July 2024. If you did not see the message, please check your junk email. My email on Friday, February 9 at 6 am. details how to retrieve the message from your junk messages. We encourage you to participate in the survey. You can access this anonymous and confidential survey, administered by an external management consultancy firm, via this link.
We are in the final stages of planning for the Department of Medicine Mentorship and Sponsorship retreat for June, which will be held at West Campus. The audience will be senior faculty within sections and section chiefs. We hope to enhance and standardize faculty mentorship experience, which incorporates the FDAQ process, and cultivate a culture of career sponsorship within the department.
ODEIM Tools
I'm excited to present our DEI Productivity Calculator at the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Diversity and Inclusion National Professional Development Conference in Philadelphia next month. Aba and I will present this and collaborate with Mill Etienne, MD, MPH, vice chancellor for DEI at the New York Medical College.
Upcoming Talks
Don't miss our next Equity Begins with Everyone (EBE) gathering on February 19 at noon in Fitkin Auditorium and on Zoom. Johanna Elumn, MSW, PhD, from the Section of General Internal Medicine, and Terry Setzer from the Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine will be our speakers. We will continue our theme of sourcing food from different parts of the world.
Below are the secular and religious events during February:
- February is Black History Month. The Belonging at Yale website lists many resources for those who wish to join in the celebration and bring attention to Black history.
- The day President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, National Freedom Day, is celebrated on February 1.
- Chinese New Year, one of the most important dates in Chinese culture, is February 10.
- February 14 is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Christians, 40 days before Easter. February 14 is also Frederick Douglass' birthday and Valentine's Day.
If you haven't participated in our monthly column, "Voices of DEI," please consider doing so. These columns are featured on the Internal Medicine website and social media channels. If you wish to be 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. Together, we strive. Together, we rise.
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