Meet Our Vice Chair of DEI
A Letter from the Vice Chair:
The overarching goal for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is to diminish healthcare disparities in women’s health and improve health outcomes for all patients. To accomplish this, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion must be integral to our clinical operations, educational curricula, and research programs. We believe that it is important that our providers’ backgrounds reflect the communities they serve. However, representation alone is insufficient to create a just and inclusive culture. It is important that a sense of belonging and respect be felt by all, including racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine, patients with disabilities, immigrant populations, LGBTQIA+ persons, and other marginalized communities.
The Department has historically been successful in recruiting and retaining faculty and trainees through a holistic approach. I intend for our retention efforts to emphasize faculty development, cross-cultural dialogue, and an anti-racist curriculum. During my leadership of our inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, we sought to establish an organizational culture that ensures that our team members feel a sense of belonging and can imbue their authentic selves in their work. To maintain this, we continue to engage stakeholders across the department, including faculty, staff, research scientists, trainees, as well as patients from the communities we serve. The long-term goals of the department are to:
- Provide data-driven continuous quality improvement to identify and actively decrease health disparities for patients treated in our obstetrical and gynecologic service areas,
- Support research aimed at reducing health disparities in women’s health,
- Promote educational programs that are intentionally anti-racist and culturally sensitive, and
- Ensure a holistic approach to faculty and trainee recruitment and retention efforts to attract talent from across the world that will enhance our culture of inclusivity and representation.
The Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics will continue to strive for excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion through a focus on long-term goals, respect for others’ perspectives, and an efficient use of people and resources within our organization.
