Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI)
McGovern Medical School is committed to an institutional culture that fosters the recruitment, nurturing and retention of a diverse student body, trainees, staff and faculty that is reflective of the community we serve.
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~ Welcome Class of 2024! ~ |
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THANK YOU TO OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS!
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Let's Celebrate Our Diversity!
September
Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15th-Oct. 15th)
2nd: Labor Day - national tribute to the contributions workers make to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country
2nd: Ganesh Chaturthi - Hindu festival celebrating birth of Ganesha
11th: Patriot Day - 911 remembrance honoring those who lost their lives
21st: International Day of Peace - United Nations resolution, globally shared date for all humanity to commit to and build a culture of Peace above all difference
30th: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year
October
National Disability Awareness Month
7th: Child Health Day - awareness of how we can protect and develop children's health
9th: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - holiest day of the year in Judaism, central themes are atonement and repentance, approx. 25-hour period of fasting and prayer
14th: Columbus Day - anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in America
31st: Halloween - originated as a pagan festival; decorations, costumes, and children trick-or-treating are common activities; associated symbols include pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons
November
National Native American Heritage Month
1st: All Saints' Day - a celebration of all Christian saints in Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant churches; this day includes church services and prayer for the dead
3rd: Daylight Saving Time Ends - turn back the clock 1 hour
11th: Veterans Day - honors military veterans
28th: Thanksgiving Day - holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year; generally a family celebration revolving around a feast
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George Floyd Moment of Silence
June 8th the Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosted a virtual vigil to honor the life and legacy of Houston native George Floyd, an unarmed African American man who was murdered by police officers. All of the McGovern community was invited to stand in 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence the length of time Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on George Floyd’s neck. We invite the medical community to continue to be physician advocates and learn more about the intersectionality of social justice and health.
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SHPEP
SHPEP interns from all around the globe (including Puerto Rico and Hawaii) joined us for a four week virtual health internship that focused on medicine, nursing, and dentistry. Interns engaged in a curriculum that delved into Statistics, Organic Chemistry, Social determinants of Health, and implicit bias, and the route to become an academic physician. Special shout out to our phenomenal medical school mentors Rebecca Allen, Ryane Adams, John Biebighauser, Krystle Henderson, and, Chidimma Okwara ! In addition to mentorship, they received multiple publication opportunities by spearheading the lectures for BNGAP- Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians. They truly transformed the program into a summer we and the interns will never forget!
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Diversity Task Force
Dr. Colasurdo hosted a virtual Town Hall conversation on June 10th at 3 pm to communicate ways our UTHealth community can support each other and move forward together. One outcome of this Town Hall was the commission to start the UT Health Diversity Task comprised of a Diversity champion, administrator, faculty, and student from each school! The Task Force will be working to create a list of recommendations to move diversity and inclusion efforts forward within the UTHealth community. Please congratulate the chosen from each institution.
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Vice Chairs of Diversity
We are excited to announce the appointment of several Departmental Vice Chairs for Diversity and Inclusion at McGovern. These appointees demonstrate cultural awareness and knowledge, and provides vision and leadership for diversity and inclusion initiatives across the department’s various clinical, research, and teaching missions. This individual will report to the Chair of the Department and will work closely with the Chair, Departmental administration, and MMS Diversity Leaders. Thus far these faculty members have been chosen. Congratulations!
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With over 240 attendees, the first lecture of the Diversity and Equity Virtual Speaker Series was a success due to Drs. Zahn, Taylor, Heads, Dickey, and Hernandez-Tejada's insightful discussion relating to healing from racial trauma and how to be an ally. They went on to discuss what the traumas of racism are including being lonely, depression, anxiety, and other traumas as demonstrated from many other traumatic events. As an active ally, it is important to have the uncomfortable conversations about racism to learn and to grow continually. They also discussed Ring Theory where the person experiencing racial trauma is in the middle and the spectrum of allies based on personal experiences and support levels towards that person surrounding them in rings. Full Recording Here
Here is a Racism Recovery Plan shared in this discussion that is by Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture (ISPRC).
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LGBTQ+ Poster Series
The LGBTQ+ Health Poster Project has officially launched, and we are so excited to present our series of informational posters to improve allyship at McGovern and promote better interactions with LGBTQ+ patients and colleagues! Our first poster is an introduction to the project with some reminders about why it is important to support and uplift LGBTQ+ people in medicine. The content and design for this poster are the work of Amanda Maxwell (MS2) and Mitchell Slapik (MS2).
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UTHealth Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in collaboration with TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, URU, The Right to Be, Inc, invite you to participate!
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Faculty
Growing up on on a rural farm in Indiana, Dr. Greives went against the grain pursing a career in medicine. He is currently the Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery and the new Chief of Adult Plastic Surgery at UTHealth. His clinical practices focus on pediatric reconstructive surgeries of all types. Dr. Greives' role models in medicine have been those physicians who treat the entire patient not only the problem they are being seen for. His diversity efforts focus on LGBT health programs including joining and creating them. They help to support faculty, residents, and students succeed in medicine and in being their true selves.
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Resident
Absolutely no one in Dr. Hsieh's family was in the medical field in any way. She was inspired to follow the path of medicine through Dr. Ben Carson's book Gifted Hands, which also led to a passion for neuroscience. Having lived on four continents and the opportunity to be a mentee of Dr. Marcus Meinzer in Australia, Dr. Hsieh was looking for a home and found that at UTHealth. Diversity and inclusion is personal to her growing up in an area with limited resources and persevering.
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Student
Luis is a first year medical student with a passion for volunteering in under-served areas of health care. His primary role model in life is his mother who has overcome adversity and is a hard worker. His physician role models include his first mentor Dr. Haq and our very own Dr. Mancias in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. He feels that ODI, fellow students, and faculty members all promote his best interest and treat him like part of the UTHealth family!
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A recent McGovern Medical School Graduate, Christle Nwora, MD, is published by the AAMC. Click below to read the full article.
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Opportunities
Fore more opportunities, please visit our website.
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Virtual Conferences
September 23-26, 2020
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Articles
For more must read articles, please visit our website.
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Webinars
September 10, 2020 - 4 p.m. ET
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