DEIB Updates
Updates on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the DOM
The new year offers us an opportunity to reflect on our people and programs focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment remains unwavering. One just needs to look at our ongoing efforts and achievements to celebrate the collective resilience of our community, as we continue to advocate for a more just, inclusive, and equitable future for us all.
DOM Initiatives to Promote DEIB
Residency Diversity Committee
The DOM’s Residency Diversity Committee (RDC) is comprised of trainees and faculty and includes three active subcommittees: Community, Recruitment, and Mentorship. As the program has increased the number of residents from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine, it is essential to ensure we are supporting our trainees. The RDC has been central in the mentorship and support of our resident physicians and in creating more equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist practices in medical education and health care. For more information, contact Sarah Alba-Nguyen, Ashley McMullen, or Mia Williams.
Fellowship Diversity Committee
Our fellowships have also seen a significant increase in diversity, and the Fellowship Diversity Committee (FDC) continues to provide opportunities for all fellows across the DOM to build networks, strategize about career choices, and find community. For more information, contact Anthony Muiru.
Mentorship and Community (MAC) Dinners
This program is a partnership between the Residency Diversity Committee, the Fellowship Diversity Committee (FDC), and UCSF faculty to celebrate the experience of physicians across multiple identities. Below are some prior and upcoming dinners:
- The Experience of Black MDs in Medicine (August 2024)
- The Experience of Latinx/e MDs in Medicine & Celebration of National Latinx Physician Day (October 2024)
- The Experience of Caretakers and Parents in Medicine (October 2024)
- The Experience of Queer MDs in Medicine (November 2024)
- The Experience of AAPI MDs in Medicine & Celebration of Lunar New Year (January & February 2025)
- The Experience of First Gen MDs in Medicine (April 2025)
All MDs in the DOM are welcome to attend! Below are pictures from prior events this year. Fill out our form to view and RSVP to upcoming dinners.
Family Pods Program
We are in full swing! Launched last year and led by senior faculty, this is an opportunity to build connections and community across divisions, sites, and identities. Our aim is to pair new or early faculty members with senior leaders and organize quarterly social gatherings during the academic year.
These gatherings can take various forms, including dinner, brunch, picnics, bowling, movies, game night – your choice! Our Family Pod leaders are Antonio Gomez, Kathy Julian, Lenny Lopez, Radhika Ramanan, and Vanessa Thompson. For more information, or to join or lead a Family Pod, contact Meshell Johnson.
DOMINOs
We continue to offer DOM Informal Networking Opportunities (DOMINOs) for faculty, staff, and trainees. DOM employees are encouraged to host an event to connect with colleagues. Cultural Heritage Celebrations such as Black History Month, Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Women’s Month, Juneteenth, Veterans Day, AAPI Month, and Pride are all perfect opportunities for getting together. Learn more about past DOMINOs events or how to host an event (VPN required).
DEIB-365 Lifelong Learning Program
Created by the DOM DEIB Committee, this work-at-your-own-pace extracurricular learning program allows staff to engage in a minimum of six hours of additional skill-building and learning through curated online courses on allyship, diversity, belonging, inclusion, bystander training, and other DEIB-related topics. For more information, contact DOM Director of Staff Experience Aaron Tabacco.
Andy Choi CFAR Mentoring Program
In partnership with the Department of Public Health, the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) offers a robust mentoring program to assist early-stage investigators (typically postdocs and assistant professors) in developing their HIV research programs through mentoring workshops, career mentoring, and other targeted activities. Many DOM faculty leaders contribute to the program as career mentors. Nominations (including self-nominations) are requested in late summer for academic-year programming. For more information, contact John Sauceda, Brenda Sanchez, or Lauren Sterling.
Pride Pin Pledge
DEIB Staff Committee member Graham Hinchcliffe created the UCSF Pride Pin Pledge program in response to legislative actions across our country that seek to discriminate against LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about the UCSF Pride Pin Pledge, our LGBT Resource Center, and join the ~1,500 people across UCSF who have taken the pledge.
DEIB Awareness Enhancement
Through MS Teams, we maintain a dedicated Diversity Plus channel where we raise awareness about networking, learning, and national and international celebrations of diversity year-round, highlighting the many opportunities and resources for staff.
NEW: DEIB Good News!
Beginning in November 2024, the DOM DEIB Committee began soliciting nominations for newsworthy acknowledgments, appreciations, and accolades of staff members and their work to advance DEIB in the department. We will begin highlighting these individuals and their efforts in the DOM Insider, our monthly staff newsletter, and our MS Teams Diversity Plus channel.
UCSF Health DEIB Initiatives
Infectious Diseases
- Health Equity QI Dashboard: This dashboard reviews key clinical processes and outcomes to identify areas for addressing infectious disease-related health disparities.
- DEI Session with GLIDE: The ID division hosted two DEI faculty development sessions, including a powerful experiential training with the GLIDE Foundation in San Francisco. Led by Rabbi Michael Lezak, director of social justice, and Regina Wells, senior manager of training & development at GLIDE, the session laid the groundwork for a new learning experience in the Tenderloin for all division members.
Hospital Medicine
- Racism, Illness, and Standing for Equity (RISE) project: Led by Elizabeth Dzeng, the RISE project focuses on structural racism’s impact on the care of older Black adults. Through community-based participatory research in the Bay Area and Birmingham, Alabama, the team aims to mitigate disparities in hospital-based care and develop interventions to promote racial equity.
DGIM
- Anti-Racism Town Hall: DGIM held a town hall summarizing key themes and action steps from How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and provided books to clinic staff who couldn't afford them.
- DEI Committee Formation: Led by Gina Moreno-John, the inaugural DEI Committee includes faculty, staff, and learners with action plans focused on celebrating holidays, addressing food insecurity, and creating DEI bulletin boards.
- Food Pharmacy: This emergency food program provides patients with grocery bags during their visits.
- AANHPI Task Force: Led by Jane Jih, this task force addresses the rise in anti-Asian hate and recent faculty departures. Its focal areas include:
- Data: Gathering and reviewing identity characteristics of the DGIM community.
- Patient Experience: Improving language access and recruiting multilingual staff.
- Racist/Discriminatory Behavior: Establishing clear policies for responding to incidents of racism, including a standard note for patients displaying intolerable behavior.
Prevention Science
- DEIB Working Group: These monthly meetings focus on improving DEIB through:
- Listening sessions to identify areas for improvement.
- Bias Response Team pilot program to address microaggressions.
- Quarterly Data Collection at all-staff meetings to gather input on DEIB issues.
ZSFG DEIB Initiatives
Pulmonary and Critical Care
- BICEP Program: This program is a collaboration with UC Berkeley to expose underrepresented undergraduates to healthcare careers. The program has provided clinical exposure to 35 students, with seven matriculating to medical school.
- DEI Lunch Hour Sessions: These monthly sessions led by Antonio Gomez feature discussions on DEIB topics, including an event with Don Woodson, associate vice dean and director of the Center for Science, Education, and Outreach (CSEO), on STEM opportunities for local students.
Experimental Medicine
- Diversity in Science: The division promotes workforce diversity through programs like UCSF’s PROPEL and NIH diversity supplements, with international collaborations in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
- QoL Committee: This committee supports morale and inclusivity with activities including pizza parties and pumpkin decorating.
Endocrine
- Culturally Sensitive Diabetes Education: Led by Bessa Makoni, NP, the division is developing diabetes education materials tailored for Mayan-speaking communities in Mexico and Guatemala to improve care and communication.
Cardiology
- Heart Failure Equity Initiative: Led by Lucas Zier and Jonathan Davis, this initiative uses machine learning and electronic health record (EHR) automation to reduce healthcare disparities in heart failure care among Black/African American patients, closing the readmission rate gap and improving mortality. This work earned the 2024 Quality Leaders Award for Equity.
- Women in Cardiology Event: Jaya Mallidi hosted a successful career development event, inspiring ~200 participants to pursue cardiology and improve gender diversity in the field.
- Medication Error Reduction: Mary Gray led a committee focused on addressing systemic inequality and human bias in medication errors, with new protocols to prevent adverse outcomes.
- Ambulatory Care Enhancements: New protocols, training, and staff awards were introduced to enhance work experience and retention, especially for non-physician staff.
DGIM
- Aspiring Physicians Program: Led by Connie Calderon-Jenson, Alicia Fernandez, and the Latinx Center of Excellence, this is an intensive summer program that brings together 30 pre-med undergraduate students from SFSU, Fresno State, and UC Merced for a six-week summer program to prepare learners from UiM (Underrepresented in Medicine) backgrounds. The program connects participants with medical students, faculty, trainees, and administrators to develop foundational skills for careers in medicine.
Renal
- DEIB Lecture: A core part of the new fellow orientation, the “Foundation to DEIB” lecture emphasizes DEIB principles from the start of training.
- Holistic Recruitment: Chris Carlos has implemented a holistic review approach to ensure diverse recruitment for nephrology fellows.
SFVAHCS DEIB Initiatives
Change Committee
- Matthew Delmont presented Half American at ZSFG/SFVAHC Grand Rounds, highlighting the experiences of Black Americans in WWII. The Grand Rounds recording can be viewed here.
- Erika Price hosted a book club discussing Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, encouraging awareness of gender bias in data and healthcare.
The 2024 DEIB report was prepared by the following DOM leaders:
Meshell Johnson, MD
Associate Chair for DEIB
Bob Wachter, MD
Professor & Chair
Maria Novelero, MA, MPA
Associate Chair, Administration
Aaron Tabacco, PhD
Director, Staff Experience
Sarah Alba-Nguyen, MD, MPH
Director, Residency Diversity Committee
Ashley McMullen, MD
Associate Director, Residency Diversity Committee
Mia Williams, MD, MS
Associate Director, Residency Diversity Committee
Anthony Muiru, MD
Director, Fellowship Diversity Committee
If you need support in these uncertain times, remember that you are not alone. Resources can be found here:
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