Spring is around the corner. Here comes the sun. . .
Recruitment
Last weekend, our 14-person delegation visited Howard University College of Medicine. In addition to showcasing all the excellent GME training opportunities at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale New Haven Hospital, we held a YSM meet and greet and Q&A session for students, and we engaged the students in mock interviews. All the sessions went exceedingly well. Thanks to all staff, residents, and faculty members who ensured the weekend and sessions went seamlessly.
Our forty-person delegation heads to the Annual Medical Education Conference 2024 in New Orleans in three weeks. In partnership with the Deputy Dean for DEI at Yale, Darin Latimore, MD, we will hold a mixer for medical students. The YSM delegation will have a team-building dinner event in New Orleans.
Carli Gaughf, the new YSM DEI training director, has completed two sessions on implicit bias training for search committees and recruitment panels for DEI vice chiefs and other faculty members in every section.
In partnership with the deputy dean’s office for DEI, we will be exhibiting at the National Medical Association (NMA) Conference in New York from August 4 to 7. This will allow us to showcase faculty and GME opportunities within our clinical departments. The NMA is a professional organization for Black or African American physicians.
Retention
Last month, I presented a talk at the Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion’s (MORE) Clinical and Research Rounds. The discussion centered on ways to integrate the DEI-related efforts of faculty into the promotion evaluation process at YSM. It focused on the role the DEI Productivity Calculator might play.
Last month was Black History Month, and MORE offered three outstanding sessions to promote this. Deborah Desir, MD, gave a fireside chat, sharing her story and path in medicine. Nii Addy, PhD, gave a talk on striving for wellness. Filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris, professor in the Practice Yale Film and Media Studies & African American Studies, previewed his film, “My Mom, The Scientist,” and led a panel discussion on the film and its themes titled “Black Scientists: Have we made progress?”
Our Department of Medicine Inclusion Climate Survey is still open. Thanks to all who have completed the survey. If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so via this secure and confidential link hosted by The Barthwell Group (a management consulting firm administering the survey). It is extremely important that we hear from everyone on issues related to inclusivity within our department. The Barthwell Group (wevans@barthwellgroup.com) will continue to send weekly reminders; please check your junk mail if you do not see them in your inbox. We will be transparent with the results and share them by July 2024.
The Department of Medicine Mentorship and Sponsorship retreat is set for June 12. 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
In two weeks, Aba Black and I will present our DEI Productivity Calculator at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Diversity and Inclusion National Professional Development Conference in Philadelphia. We are excited about this and hope to obtain buy-in from the AAMC and DEI leaders in academic medical centers nationwide. At YSM, I will present a faculty development workshop titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Activities and the Academic Review Process. This is a part of the YSM OAPD seminar series.
Upcoming Talks
Don’t miss our next Equity Begins with Everyone (EBE) gathering on March 18 at noon in Fitkin Auditorium and on Zoom. Aba Black, MD, from the Section of General Internal Medicine, and Christine Centola, associate director of Academic & Administrative Affairs, 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 March. You can learn more by referring to the embedded links for each occasion:
- March is Women’s History Month, a commemoration of history-making women. March 8 celebrates International Women’s Day.
- The holy month of fasting for Muslims, Ramadan, starts on March 11.
- Persian and Bahái New Year, Nowruz, is celebrated on March 21.
- Christians commemorate three days in March. March 24 is Palm Sunday, the day that Christians believe as the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. Good Friday, March 29, is the day that Jesus is crucified. Easter Sunday, March 31, celebrates Jesus’s resurrection from the dead.
- A holy day in the Hindu religion, called Holi, is observed on March 25.
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.
Benjamin Mba, MBBS, MRCP (UK), CHCQM, FACP
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.
Pronouns: He/Him/His