Dear Colleagues:
I hope that you are all taking care of yourselves during these challenging times. It can feel like none of us has time to take a day off because there is so much to be urgently accomplished. And yet, the work we must do is hard and will take strength, creativity and commitment over a long period of time to effect the change we need to see in the world. Now, more than ever, we need to work as teams and make sure we give each other permission to each take a day off to rest and recharge on a regular basis. We need everyone to be physically and emotionally strong and well rested!
In addition to time for rest, we also need to take time to celebrate important events and good news. This week, the Supreme Court of the United States gave us two reasons to rejoice:
Monday’s decision that federal law forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is long overdue. It makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against LGBTQ members of our community. This decision is critically important to the our nation’s founding principles guaranteeing all the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We all benefit when our neighbors, colleagues, teachers, learners, coworkers, and patients share these inalienable rights, fully and without qualification. As the Chancellor wrote in his email on Monday, the fight for full rights for the LGBTQ community is not over — the Trump Administration’s roll back of the Obama Administration’s regulation prohibiting discrimination against transgender individuals in health care is an abhorrent decision that can only serve to further threaten the health of the transgender members of our communities. This is particularly distressing given the number of transgender women and men who are the victims of police and other violence, seemingly on a daily basis.
Today’s decision that the president cannot carry out his plan to end DACA is a tremendous relief for the 800,000 DREAMERS who are contributing members of our nation. We are proud that many DREAMERS have chosen to serve our communities and our country as health professionals, including students who are in and have graduated from the School of Medicine. This fight is not yet over either — we must continue to advocate for immigration reform that allows our nation to be enriched by people from around the world. But, this is indeed a wonderful day.
Good news such as this can keep us going as we fight to end anti-Black racism, police brutality and all other forms of oppression. We stand in solidarity with and in awe of all who are working hard on these critical issues.
Catherine R. Lucey, MD, MACP
Executive Vice Dean, UCSF School of Medicine
Vice Dean for Medical Education
