From the DEI Office: Looking back at our first year

November marks a year since Dean Bradley Britigan, MD, created of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to advance DEI efforts in a structured and systematic fashion at the UNMC College of Medicine.

As I reflect on what the DEI office has been able to accomplish, with Dean Britigan’s ongoing support, and the significant amount of work that still lies ahead, I am reminded of Amanda Gorman’s words in "the hill we climb":

"If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit.It’s the past we step into and how we repair it."

November is Native American Heritage Month, during which many Native Americans hold fall harvest celebrations, world-renewal ceremonies and various feasts. On our campus this month, various events and social media campaigns were held in recognition of the Native people of this land. November, however, is also the month when Thanksgiving is celebrated, and many times without a clear understanding and acknowledgement of the historical and ongoing impact of this celebration on the Native people of this land. As you gather with your families and friends, I invite you to step into the past to understand the present and ponder with your loved ones, particularly the children, on how different the future should be.

Acknowledging the past, whether it is the history of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities and other historically marginalized people in this country, is essential to understand our present; most recently the movement for social justice and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the impact of historical and ongoing inequities.

It is with this acknowledgement in mind that a year ago, I accepted my current role of associate dean of DEI. Embarking on this journey was made less intimidating thanks to the leadership, and friendship, of Sheritta Strong, MD, the assistant vice chancellor of inclusion, who is the first chief diversity officer at UNMC overseeing all our colleges. I am also fortunate to count on an amazing team of colleagues who have agreed to join me in this task. Liliana Bronner, director of medical pathways; Armando De Alba, MD, assistant dean of DEI student programs, and Nada Fadul, MD, assistant dean of DEI education programs are the pillars of the office. Their ideas, vision and collaborative spirit have allowed us to take on the journey to inclusive excellence at the COM.

As part of building the DEI office, I work closely with the Dean Britigan’s cabinet, particularly with the office of admissions, student affairs and medical education, who are all also committed to advancing DEI. One of our first tasks was preparing for our October LCME accreditation last month. I have met with COM, UNMC and University of Nebraska System leaders in addition to community leaders to better gauge the breadth and depth of existing programs that address DEI. I have assembled a DEI office advisory council made up of a diverse group of students, residents, staff and faculty to keep up on current issues and guide initiatives; we are currently working on the COM DEI Office strategic plan, which we hope to roll out next year.

Highlights of some of our new initiatives this past year

Medical pathways:

• The Recruit, Encourage and Advance Careers in Healthcare (REACH) Program. This program, which is being piloted at Benson High School, aims to attract high school students from urban communities with limited access to health care and insprie an interest in pursuing careers in health care and research. The program involves UNMC medical and graduate students, who deliver interactive lectures and activities during the academic high school year with the support of UNMC faculty. In this program, the Davis Global Health Center's simulation room and the iExcel team have developed stimulating content. Currently the program is aimed at 10th grade students in their first year of the Health Professions Academy with plans of further expansion to other metropolitan Omaha schools.
• The Long-term Enhanced Advising & Preparation (LEAP) Program. The program provides tailored advising for college students who are prospective medical school applicants to help them navigate through the medical school application process. The goal of the program is to help college students from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in medicine, including Black, Native American and Latin@ students, first-generation college students and students from rural and urban communities with limited access to health care. The program, piloted with our 2021 SHPEP medicine scholars, surveys participants to assess barriers and opportunities to enhance their preparation. As part of the program, they get a personal meeting with one of the deans of the office of admissions, student affairs and DEI. During virtual meet ups, participants get to interact with medical students and faculty to get valuable information to help them through the application process. The plan is to extend the program to UNO and UNL.

Student community engagement:

• Community Engagement Day, held on in October, was a huge success. The DEI office and several community partners provided forums for first-year medical students to meet in small groups with leaders of communities that have been historically marginalized and underserved in metropolitan Omaha in order for them to learn about the root causes of health inequities. This program was well received by the students and our community partners. In addition toproviding this activity yearly to incoming M1s, the next phase is maintaining ongoing longitudinal relationships with our community partners that address their stakeholder needs and continue to educate M2 to M4 students on best practices in community engagement.
• Currently the Hispanic population in Nebraska is at 12-13% across the state and is set to represent more than 20% of the population by 2040. There is a need to prepare health care professionals who are proficient in Spanish. The DEI office in collaboration with the office of Global engagement has developed an innovative immersion Spanish course for medical students. Of note, the program has expanded to the pediatric residency and fellowship program as well.

Undergraduate medical curriculum:

• The DEI office has been working on integrating of DEI concepts into the medical school curriculum in a model designed by the office and building on the AAMC principles to advance DEI in medical education. Concepts of DEI are now introduced to M1s during orientation day, and special DEI activities are incorporated into intersessions days. "Listening tours" with each block director are used to assess the current content and planned integration of DEI into medical education curriculum, as well as identify and barriers instructors have encountered. Recommendations on curricular content and assessment of learners that are obtained from this tour will be submitted to the curriculum committee.
• DEI TIPS (Teaching for Inclusion Practical Suggestions) are delivered as faculty development opportunities in short sessions during the monthly phase directors’ meeting. The faculty have found these listening tours and DEI TIPs to be helpful in addressing the complexities of health disparities and cultural sensitivity in the curriculum.

The task to advance DEI at the COM remains significant; our upcoming strategic plan will help further delineate our path forward as we continue to grow.

"If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made."

Shirley Delair, MDAssociate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and InclusionUNMC College of Medicine