At the department of medicine - office of equity, diversity, and inlcusion (DoM EDI), our mission is to become the home for inclusive excellence by advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion for students, residents, fellows, staff, and faculty in the setting of outstanding scholarship/innovation, a community where all feel they belong, and the highest level of compassionate, high-quality care for our patients. It is important to note that our office is equity, diversity, and inclusion. As such we are committed to supporting activities and bringing forward voices that lift all three. Note that while we often hear about diversity it is actually inclusion where the action happens or needs to happen. In an inclusive environment, diversity and equity are more likely to arise and thrive.

We are happy to share our 2021-22 report of our activities over the past year where our team was able to connect with our Department community through Grand Rounds, our newsletter, talks at resident blocks and DMPG onboarding sessions, collaborations with various affinity groups, and more.  This is a summary of a report that was submitted to DGSOM JEDI in Spring 2023 and Dr. Abel also presented this work at an all-day symposium on April 13 where all Department Chairs and their EDI representatives were in attendance.  A copy of the full report is available here.

Each department chair presenting to UCLA health leadership and all other chairs, and the department report/presentation was evaluated similar to an NIH Study Section.  There was a team of 12 evaluators with a primary and secondary evaluator to review all of the materials in depth.  The evaluators provided feedback with strengths and areas for improvement and scored 1-5, with 5 being best.  Among the 24 departments in the DGSOM, our Department did extraordinarily well (4s and 4.5s) and received a top tier award (coming soon) that includes $50,000. This will be used to support clinical practice affinity groups, staff EDI activities and trainee EDI activities.

The DGSOM JEDI provided the structure of 6 sections for this important work (see figure 1).

We will highlight each of the six required areas as per the Dean’s Office in the upcoming newsletters. These will include: 1) People, 2) Structural Equity (Programs/Policies/Practices/Procedures), 3) Professional Development/Education, 4) Community Engagement, 5) Equitable Patient Care and 6) Climate.
 
In brief,
People – Given the demographics of Los Angeles DoM-EDI proposed increasing the number of UIM residents and fellows relative to at least AAMC national data by engaging applicants in meaningful application process experiences and engaging faculty serving on selection committees in training for implicit bias and holistic review of applications.  Many of the UIM applicants who chose not to join UCLA went to UCSF, Stanford, Mass General and a few other institutions.
 
Structural Equity – DoM-EDI reviewed academic advancement trends to assess any disparities in promotions and overall there appear to be no disparities. Our office has supported the DoM Women in Medicine group about salary equity which is being reviewed by the Dean’s office. For those who may not be aware a 2014 DoM report found after multiple adjustments UIM and Women received about $40,000 less/yr (Y and Z) which was not significantly different than their respective peers. The data by department was not presented in the report. But I think everyone would prefer to have $40,000 more not significantly different dollars rather than $40,000 less. There were recommended action items, but apparently no major actions were taken. The present plan is to redo the analysis. For DoM there is now a new salary structure in place so it will supersede analyses of older data for our department.

Professional Development/Education – DoM-EDI continues to provided EDI educational sessions and workshops at scheduled onboarding orientations over the year for new faculty physicians in the Department of Medicine Practice Group (DMPG).  Sessions include an overview of DoM EDI, Exploring Bias in the Clinical Setting and Maintaining an Inclusive Learning Environment – Handling Microaggressions, and an EDI panel.  Every year, these are attended by approx. 80 new faculty.  There are discussions about a similar series for new research faculty.

DoM-EDI has also facilitated nearly a dozen EDI related DoM Grand Rounds over the last year including On Equity Story Slam that brought 7 clinical vignettes by faculty featuring experiences in equity, diversity, and inclusion (see below for recording of January 11, 2023 session and mark your calendar for next year's presentation on Thursday January 11, 2024 at 12 PM).

Community Engagement - DoM faculty, Drs. Keith Norris and Arleen Brown, provide the leadership for the Community Engagement and Research Program (CERP) within the UCLA CTSI.  CERP fosters community-academic partnerships to improve public health and health equity; develops respectful, inclusive, equitable, and mutually beneficial research partnerships; provides training and development opportunities; engages in community outreach, symposia and capacity building; and focuses on impactful outcomes to achieve social change.  More information on CERP activities and initiatives can be found here.

 

Equitable Patient Care – DoM-EDI is leading efforts that will improve health of our communities of greatest need, to meet our mission as a public university-based medical center.  DoM EDI is working in partnership with faculty to expand several existing collaborations and care models by supporting additional faculty to continue and expand this work at federally qualified health centers/similar including: 1) Venice Family Clinic, 2) To Help Everyone (THE), 3) Saban Community Clinic, 4) Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, 5) LA LGBT Center, and 6) Chinese Service Center.
Through this initiative the Department of Medicine is better able to: (1) improve the health and well-being of underserved communities through direct service delivery of health care via equitable and sustainable partnerships between UCLA physicians and local Los Angeles community partners; (2) expand opportunities to train medical students, residents, and fellows in health equity through opportunities through clinical care with community partners; (3) enhance innovations in health care for communities by bringing together talented individuals from these communities and UCLA experts in clinical care, research, quality improvement, and policy to generate solutions to pressing challenges prioritized by those in the local context.

 

Climate – DoM-EDI has met with Clinical Practice Regional Leadership to understand interests, needs, and opportunities for advancing an environment of inclusion and wellness for faculty, staff, and residents/fellows.  This will be integrated into the newly launched DoM strategic plan that will deploy various methods to engage faculty, staff, and trainees to understand DoM climate in order to develop a plan to promote an environment of inclusion and wellness for faculty, trainees and staff. 

 

DoM-EDI and Team Updates - EDI has been a guiding principle for DoM for decades, starting out as a committee of 10 faculty. They strongly advocated for an EDI office supported by faculty and an administrative team.  DoM EDI was formed with the appointment of Dr. Keith Norris as Vice Chair for EDI in January 2020 along with Drs. Teresa Seeman and Christina Harris (now director of Health Equity for Cedars Sinai Health System). In addition we now have Drs. Marco Hidalgo, and Utibe Essien serve along with Dr. Seeman as Associate Vice Chairs.  We also have Dr. Alejandra Casillas who is the Director of FirstGen and Partnerships for Medical Career Pipeline Programs and Dr. Daniel Kozman who is the Director of Health Equity Partnerships. Administrative support includes program manager - Cristina Punzalan, program coordinator – Alina Lee, and statistician Lillian Chen from DoM Stat.  DoM EDI, is housed in 1100 Glendon Suite 710, occupies 6 private offices for faculty, 6 shared desks in an open space, and a multipurpose conference room, living space, and conference table/chairs with video/teleconferencing and presentation capabilities.  Join us for the day or a few hours – we are happy to have you in the office!  Let us know so we can make arrangements for entrance to the suite.

 

The DoM-EDI office is interested in hearing from YOU!  If you have suggestions, requests or ideas for activities, or want to get involved with EDI activities within your division, please let us know here.

DoM First Gen

We are looking to build community among faculty in the department of medicine (DoM) who identify as First-Generation College Graduates (First Gen, first generation in family to go to college). This initiative is an extension of the work that is already happening at UCLA and DGSOM First Gen.

We have many ideas on how to empower DoM First Gen, and that includes visibility and building our First Gen Faculty community here in the department. To that end, we are building a list of all DoM faculty who identify as First Gen. If you do self-identify as First Gen, please fill out this quick survey.

After this, we envision hosting some community mixers and events for First Gen DoM faculty. We would also love your ideas for future First Gen support in DoM!  If you have any questions, please feel free to email acasillas@mednet.ucla.edu.

at Luskin Conference Center, Courtyard South 

Gathering to build community among DoM First-Generation College Graduates, we invite all DoM First-Gen post-docs, residents, fellows, faculty, staff, and our supportive allies, to attend and celebrate our identity and intersectionality. 

Cancer Health Equity Collaborative

The Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) is a new group at UCLA open to medical students, residents, fellows, and attendings interested in, or already doing work in, cancer health disparities. The mission of this group is: 1) to create a community that facilitates research collaborations, engagement with local organizations in LA county, and networking; 2) to promote cancer health disparities work at UCLA and increase awareness across the health care system and medical school of the importance of this work; and 3) to develop pipeline strategies to increase diversity in the oncology healthcare workforce.

If you are interested in joining us and being part of this new endeavor please email us at:  domedi@mednet.ucla.edu to be directed to organization members and more information.

EDI Spotlights

Let us feature you or someone you know on our social media accounts! We're highlighting DoM members who are addressing health disparities and working towards health equity. Send your submissions to domedi@mednet.ucla.edu! 

We're Online!

Visit our website and follow us on Instagram + X (formerly Twitter) (@ucladomedi).

DoM-EDI Publications & Reports

Diversifying the Medical Pathway in a Post-Affirmative Action World. JAMA. Essien UR, Agbafe V, Norris KC. Published online September 18, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.17089

Editorial: Social determinants of kidney health: a global perspective. Front Nephrol. Garcia-Garcia G, Norris KC, Sahay M, Ulasi II.2023 Aug 14;3:1260221. doi: 10.3389/fneph.2023.1260221. PMID: 37675345; PMCID: PMC10479554.

Racial and ethnic disparities in telehealth use before and after California's stay-at-home order.Bustamante AV, Martínez LE, Jalal S, Benitez Santos N, Félix Beltrán L, Rich J, Anaya YB Front Public Health. 2023 Aug 22;11:1222203. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1222203. PMID: 37674681; PMCID: PMC10477577.

Advances in the adaptation and implementation of evidence-based interventions for historically marginalized groups. Lau AS, Huey SJ Jr, Baumann AA. Behav Res Ther. 2023 Sep;168:104377. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104377. Epub 2023 Jul 21. PMID: 37531808.'

Community-based organization perspectives on participating in state-wide community canvassing program aimed to reduce COVID-19 vaccine disparities in California. Mansfield LN, Carson SL, Sunku N, Troutt A, Jackson S, Santillan D, Vassar SD, Slaughter D, Kim G, Norris KC, Brown AF. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jul 14;23(1):1356. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16210-9. PMID: 37452299; PMCID: PMC10349443.

Promoting Racial/Ethnic Identity in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Treatments. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Bath EPJ, Meza JI.2023 Aug;62(8):847-849. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.04.008. Epub 2023 Apr 17. PMID: 37075890.

We would love to share updates from all divisions in DoM. Please connect with us to feature your news and highlights in the next edition of our quarterly newsletter.

Email us at DoMEDI@mednet.ucla.edu and we will be in touch!