Our memo brings together information that reflects the current thinking on how to progress Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace. Each month it is bursting with highlights for reflection and inspiration. Let us continue to work together to help influence social change, to achieve a safer and fairer society.
*Please note that this memo reflects the feelings and thoughts of your Diversity Committee. It is not meant to capture all of the feelings within our Department. We openly recognize all may not agree. We do hope these memos help educate all of us about diversity issues and in addition invoke thoughtful and courteous discussion and debate*
~ The Pediatrics Diversity Committee
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This month’s diversity memo will concentrate on just a brief synopsis of some highlights of the Fall 2022 UNC Health and School of Medicine DEI survey. Overall, there was a 62% response rate, which includes all the practices across the state and the SOM faculty, staff, trainees, and students. This memo will concentrate on the Department of Pediatrics. This information was presented at our last Town Hall Meeting, the memo is meant to be a brief summary and refresher of already presented information and for those who could not attend.
The response rate in the SOM was 56% and in Pediatrics 57%, with 227 respondents. The majority of respondents were faculty (60%), white (74%) (13% Asian/Asian American, 8% Black, 5% Hispanic), female (68%), straight (95%), and millennial (54%). The scale for answers was 1-5 with 5 being strongly agreeing with the statement. When asked if satisfied with overall DEI climate in the Department of Pediatrics the mean response was 3.89 compared to 3.71 for all clinical departments (second quartile). When asked about the perception that the Department promotes DEI our score was 4.04 comparted to 3.95 for all other clinical departments. When broken out it is important to note that both staff and Asian/Asian Americans scored less than in other clinical departments. When asked about feeling accepted in one’s identity and beliefs, Pediatrics was in the first quartile, but again staff and Asian/Asian Americans felt less so.
33% of respondents personally experience any type of mistreatment compared to 30% in call clinical departments. Most offenses were related to gender, followed by age then race/ethnicity. Our staff was less comfortable speaking up about mistreatment/misbehavior. 17.6% experienced micro-aggressions, compared to 19.2% in all clinical departments – more in residents, blacks, females, LGBT and Gen X. In the majority of cases the offenders were faculty.
We will use this current survey from the School of Medicine and the Climate Survey from a year ago that was taken in the Department of Pediatrics. This will help us move forward in the DEI sphere and improve on how we are currently performing to make our Department, in the future, better for all.
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UPCOMING DIVERSITY TOWN HALL |
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Date: Thursday, October 6, 2022
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00p
Zoom Info:
Meeting ID: 980 2055 2152
Passcode: 076660
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Uché Blackstock, MD
Dr. Uché Blackstock is a thought leader and sought-after speaker on bias and racism in health care. She is the Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, which partners with healthcare and related organizations to address racism in healthcare and to eradicate racial health inequities, through trainings and consulting services.
In 2019, Dr. Blackstock was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of “10 Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazers You Need to Get Familiar With”. In 2020, she was one of thirty-one inaugural leaders awarded an unrestricted grant for her advocacy work from the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund.
Dr. Blackstock’s writing has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Scientific American, the Washington Post and STAT News for the Boston Globe. Since June 2020, she has been a Yahoo News Medical Contributor and appears regularly on cable and broadcast news programming to discuss the Coronavirus pandemic and to amplify the message around racial health inequities.
She is a former Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the former Faculty Director for Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion in the Office of Diversity Affairs at NYU School of Medicine. She left her faculty position at NYU School of Medicine in December 2019 after almost 10 years to focus on Advancing Health Equity.
Dr. Blackstock received both her undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University. She currently lives in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York with her two small children.
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Suicide rates in the United States (US) reached a peak in 2018 and declined in 2019 and 2020, with substantial and often growing disparities by age, sex, race/ethnicity, geography, veteran status, sexual minority status, socioeconomic status, and method employed (means disparity). In this narrative review and commentary, we highlight these many disparities in US suicide deaths, then examine the possible causes and potential solutions, with the overarching goal of reducing suicide death disparities to achieve health equity.
The data implicate untreated, undertreated, or unidentified depression or other mental illness, and access to firearms, as two modifiable risk factors for suicide across all groups. The data also reveal firearm suicides increasing sharply and linearly with increasing county rurality, while suicide rates by falls (e.g., from tall structures) decrease linearly by increasing rurality, and suicide rates by other means remain fairly constant regardless of relative county urbanization. In addition, for all geographies, gun suicides are significantly higher in males than females, and highest in ages 51–85 + years old for both sexes. Of all US suicides from 1999–2019, 55% of male suicides and 29% of female suicides were by gun in metropolitan (metro) areas, versus 65% (Male) and 42% (Female) suicides by gun in non-metro areas. Guns accounted for 89% of suicides in non-metro males aged 71–85 + years old. Guns (i.e., employment of more lethal means) are also thought to be a major reason why males have, on average, 2–4 times higher suicide rates than women, despite having only 1/4—1/2 as many suicide attempts as women. Overall the literature and data strongly implicate firearm access as a risk factor for suicide across all populations, and even more so for male, rural, and older populations.
To achieve the most significant results in suicide prevention across all groups, we need 1) more emphasis on policies and universal programs to reduce suicidal behaviors, and 2) enhanced population-based strategies for ameliorating the two most prominent modifiable targets for suicide prevention: depression and firearms. Read Full Article
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By Karen Catlin
The highly-acclaimed, practical guide for how to be an ally in the workplace, now in its 2nd edition.
Are you looking to build a workplace culture with a certain buzz about it? Where employees are thriving and engagement survey scores are through the roof? Where people from different backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations and identities, ages, and abilities are hired and set up for success?
One secret to creating this kind of vibrant and supportive workplace is practicing active allyship. With the Better Allies® approach, it's something anyone can do.
Since originally publishing Better Allies in 2019, Karen Catlin has amassed dozens of new scenarios and insights through her talks, workshops, and community interactions. In this fully revised second edition, you'll learn to spot situations where you can create a more inclusive culture, along with straightforward steps to take and changes to make. Catlin, a highly-sought after expert on allyship, will walk you through:
- Attracting and hiring a diverse workforce
- Cultivating an environment where coworkers feel welcome, respected, and supported
- Amplifying and advocating for others
- Giving effective and equitable performance feedback
- Using more inclusive language
- Running inclusive conferences and events
Read this book to learn the Better Allies® approach, level-up your ally skills, and create a culture where everyone can do their best work and thrive.
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Our sub-committee kickoff and was a great success! A special thank you to all that were able to attend. Next, each committee is planning to schedule their first meeting by the end of September. Each of you that have signed up, will be contacted via email.
As a reminder, the sub-committees are set to further our DEI work, expedite our cause, and make it possible for more people to be involved. If you have not signed up and are interested, please let us know which committee you would like to join. If you have an area of interest that is not listed, please make that known. Your beliefs do not need to be the same as that of the current committee. Please send an email to peds_diversity@med.unc.edu.
Our sub-committees to date will include:
Education
- Pediatric Student Curriculum
- Pediatric Resident Curriculum
- Pediatric Fellow Curriculum
Advocacy
- Advocacy for our Hispanic Population
- Advocacy for our Native American Population
Appointments, Promotions, Tenure and Exit Interviews
- Promotion Diversity Statements
Town Hall and Grand Round Topics
Clinical Care
Mentorship of URiM in Pediatrics
Wellness
Research Faculty
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Wellbeing Coaching and Resources as Part of Mentorship
With the help of a pilot grant from the UNC School of Medicine’s Office of Faculty Affairs and the Center for Health Innovation, a team led by Suzanne Kennedy, PhD is carrying out a project to integrate wellbeing coaching into faculty mentoring in Pediatrics. As part of that, a short video/slide presentation was developed for mentors to orient them to resources available, and it can be viewed here [link]. A big thank you to Drs. Hernandez, Mills and Kihlstrom for their starring roles!
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The Annual Diversity and Inclusion Lecture Series
September 22, 2022; 5:30p-6:30p – Location TBA
EVENT SPONSORED BY:
Duke Eye Center - Department of Ophthalmology - School of Medicine (SOM)
SPEAKER: Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML
Join us for the The Annual Diversity and Inclusion Lecture Series. Speaker: Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML Vice Dean for Penn Medicine Office of Inclusion and Diversity Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics Professor of Ophthalmology Perelman School of Medicine https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/eve-higginbotham University of Pennsylvania
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Durham Pride is Sept 24th on Duke’s East Campus
Here is some info for UNC Health’s Pride Participation:
See below for directions on an opportunity to participate in the Parade and staff the information table at Durham Pride. There are only a few spots available at the Festival Information table, but we want a HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE team in the parade.
Parade
- The parade organizers are asking all who plan to march to arrive by 9:00 a.m. Our team will make sure you have t-shirts and a banner for that morning. As requested, I have created a sign up via YourCause for teammates to register to participate. Below is a drafted communication you are welcome to use to recruit parade marchers.
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Pride Durham Parade Participants Needed! UNC Health is proud to sponsor Pride Durham on Saturday, September 24. Teammates are needed to represent UNC Health by marching in the parade. To sign up to participate, we would like for you to try out our new UNC Health Volunteer Portal on the YourCause platform. The YourCause platform allows teammates to create volunteer events, search opportunities and track the individual volunteer hours we invest in supporting our favorite charities. We truly value your feedback to help us improve this new platform before we officially launch. We hope to share with all teammates soon. Please click HERE to sign up for a volunteer shift. After clicking the link above, please click the SSO (Single Sign On). This will automatically log you in to the platform. You may have to click SSO twice to get through. If you have any problems, please let me know and I am happy to assist.
Festival
- The parade organizers are asking vendors to begin arriving by 11 a.m. to set up their vendor space. We will have two tables and 4 chairs provided to us for event. Our team will make sure you have collateral, giveaways, prizes, etc. We will also send t-shirts in case a volunteer should need one. Below is a drafted communication you are welcome to use to recruit volunteers. As of today, we have two people registered to engage with attendees during the festival.
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Volunteers needed! UNC Health is sponsoring Pride Durham on Saturday, September 24. Teammates are needed to host our booth and engage with festival attendees. To sign up, we would like for you to try out our new UNC Health Volunteer Portal on the YourCause platform. The YourCause platform allows teammates to create volunteer events, search opportunities and track the individual volunteer hours we invest in supporting our favorite charities. We truly value your feedback to help us improve this new platform before we officially launch. We hope to share with all teammates soon. Please click HERE to sign up for a volunteer shift. After clicking the link above, please click the SSO (Single Sign On). This will automatically log you in to the platform. You may have to click SSO twice to get through. If you have any problems, please let me know and I am happy to assist.
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Underrepresented in Medicine Community List
The purpose of the Underrepresented in Medicine Community List is to allow students, staff, residents, and faculty of underrepresented identities that are affiliated with the UNC School of Medicine to find community, mentorship, and representation. Such identities include those belonging to non-dominant religions, races or ethnicities, and sexualities or gender identities.
This community is open and accessible to anyone with a UNC Onyen and password, including current staff, faculty, students, residents, and fellows.
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September Dates to Note
Other important dates can be found on the
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September 15 – October 15 – National Spanish Heritage Month |
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September 15 – International Day of Democracy |
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September 21 – International Day for Peace
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September 23 – National Native American Day
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September 25-26 – Rosh Hashanah
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Dates to Note is a compilation intended to include, but is not all-inclusive, notable information from the internet, Diversity Best Practices, 2022 Diversity Holiday Calendar, and other sources. |
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Stuart Gold, MD - Committee Chair
Christian Lawrence, MD -Committee Vice Chair
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Alessandra Angelino, MD
Christel Wekon-kemeni, MD
Denita Moore, Coordinator
Jen Fuchs, MD
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Jennifer Gutierrez-Wu, MD
Jennifer McElroy, MSN
Martina Gentzsch, PhD
Nikki Ferrin, MD
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Nina Jain, MD
Robin Howard, Coordinator
Steven Weinberg, MD
Zachary Pettigrew, MD
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Advisory Team
Benny Joyner, MD
Martha Perry, MD
Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD
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