Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,
and Racial Justice
Diversity and Inclusion Twitter
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice
Brigham and Women’s Hospital continues to strive towards its goal of becoming an anti-racist academic medical center through distinct and integrated efforts championed within the Internal Medicine Residency Program, Department of Medicine, and Hospital-wide.
Department of Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Initiatives
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Medicine has a wide-ranging set of programs to advance diversity and inclusion, led by Dr. Valerie Stone, Vice Chair for Diversity Equity and Inclusion. These include special efforts to recruit a diverse group of trainees, with a special focus on underrepresented minority residents and LGBTQ residents. In addition, several programs and events are held to build community among the underrepresented residents, fellows, and faculty. Dr. Zainab Jaji is the APD Associate Program Director for Racial Justice and Health Equity. Please refer to this website for comprehensive information on all the initiatives:
Resident-Led Committees
Racial Justice Health Equity Committee
The Racial Justice Committee has been active in efforts to expand access to care at the Brigham, to enhance the availability of user-friendly interpretation options for patients whose first language is not English, and efforts to combat the inequities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resident Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee
This committee works closely with Dr. Stone and the residency program leadership on efforts to advance diversity in the residency program and promote support, connection, and community among URiM residents.
The current co-chairs of the D & I Committee are Drs. Ramael Ohiomoba, Marcia Lange, Carla Rodriguez, and Abdi Abdullahi.
Ramael Ohiomoba (PGY3)
Abdi Abdullahi (PGY2)
Carla Rodriguez (PGY2)
Marcia Lange (PGY2)
MISSION
The Brigham and Women’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is committed to the following mission:
- Promote greater diversity in the medicine residency program by recommending strategic initiatives to recruit, support, and retain residents and faculty from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds in medicine
- Promote participation in activities advocating for and supporting underserved and disenfranchised communities of color in greater Boston
- Communicate diversity and inclusion initiatives, actions and results to all interested parties throughout the residency program and the Department of Medicine
- Serve as a professional and social support system for residents within the department who identify as underrepresented in medicine (UIM)
SUB-COMMITTEEs
- Involvement in the application screening process for internal medicine residency applicants
- Individualized outreach to applicants granted/scheduled for an interview
- Involved in creating alternatives to URM resident dinners/socials, especially in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Post interview outreach
- Social media outreach
- BWH D&I Twitter
- Quarterly social events for the IM D&I members
- Past events:
- Meet-up at Time Out
- Bowling at Jillians
- Holiday Party
- UIM BBQ/Cookout
- Boston wide UIM resident event including BWH, MGH, BIDMC and BMC
- Emotional and mental wellness initiatives
- Plan and execute first annual UIM retreat for the 2020-2021 academic year
- Past events:
- Identify community outreach opportunities in Boston’s underserved neighborhoods
- Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester
- High school mentorship programs
- Collaborate with HMS SNMA/LMSA, Office of Diversity and Community Partnership and the Brigham Center for Community Health and Health Equity on service opportunities
- Collaborate with the Social Justice Committee/Racial Health Equity on community activism and housestaff educational initiatives
- Development of residency wide anti-racism curriculum
- Establish partnerships with public defender services in Boston for decarceration initiatives
- Big/Little sib (resident:intern)
- SNMA/LMSA HMS big/little sib mentoring
- AMEC/LMSA national meeting preparation/registration
- Pair up current residents with a URM faculty mentor
- Development of formal research mentorship programs for UIM residents
- Rheumatology’s Joint Biology Consortium mentorship program for UIM residents
- Maintain database of health disparities research
- Advertise funding support opportunities for individual projects
Asian American and Pacific Islander Committee (AAPI)
GOAL
The goal of the Internal Medicine Asian American and Pacific Islander Committee is to provide a supportive environment for residents, fellows, and faculty who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) in the Brigham and Women’s Department of Medicine. Created in 2021, the committee’s overarching mission is (1) to establish a community and network for AAPI-identifying house staff/faculty and (2) to advance ethnocultural diversity and understanding in order to deliver the best care possible to our patients.
MISSION
Our mission as a committee is to work towards multicultural solidarity within our residency, department, and hospital to support our AAPI-identifying residents, faculty, and fellows and to improve the quality of care for our diverse patient population. We believe this can be achieved by creating a specific committee dedicated to the needs of AAPI-identifying residents, including but not limited to: community building among current house staff and faculty members, creating an alumni network, increasing opportunities for mentoring with AAPI-identifying fellows and faculty, increasing educational initiatives on anti-racism, participating in community outreach, disaggregating ethnicity data for the purposes of recruitment.
The resident co-chairs are Drs. Emily Chen, Tanvee Varma, Tina Huang, and Sachit Singal.
Tina Huang (PGY2)
Tanvee Varma (PGY2)
Sachit Singal (PGY3)
Emily Chen (PGY3)
At a system level, Mass General Brigham has a multi-pronged initiative, United Against Racism, focused on enacting system change and creating a culture of workforce inclusion and clinical and community health equity where every person has the opportunity to attain their full health potential. This initiative is structured around three pillars: Leadership/Employees/Culture, Patient Care Equity, and Community Health and Policy Advocacy.
At Brigham, we have many hospital-wide structures to support and advance our work on health equity and racial justice, including the Center for Community Health and Health Equity, Community Care Vans, and the Center for Community Wellness. These centers seek to improve the health of the communities we serve through research, community programming, partnerships, and improved access to health care. Our internal medicine residents have been involved in various initiatives through these centers.
Our close connection to Brigham’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) enhnces our efforts in diversity and inclusion in the Department of Medicine.
The CDI offers programs, career development grants, and mentorships to further support our diverse trainees and faculty.