In Spring 2019, Inclusive Communities teamed up with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to create a series of diversity & inclusion conversations and workshops for medical students. "We have workshops and events that discuss unconscious bias, diversity and inclusion for faculty and staff, but there really wasn't anything like this available for students," said Channing Bunch, Director of Recruitment and Student Engagement.
In partnership with Inclusive Communities, UNMC launched a pilot program entitled "Inclusive Nebraska" which included a series of three workshops, each drawing 35-50 students
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The workshops covered topics such as “Inclusivity on our Campus,” “Inclusivity in our Career,” and “Inclusivity in our Patient Base.”
The goal was to create uncomfortable conversations, while providing a three-fold benefit for students:
- Opportunity to become facilitators for Inclusive Communities' events
- Opportunity to moderate monthly dialogues
- Opportunity to build their resumes for residency
Following the success of the pilot, UNMC plans to continue to grow the program during the 2019-20 school year with monthly workshops on a wider variety of topics. They hope to empower students to take ownership of the series, so it can sustain itself as a student-led program.
