Over the past few months, the RBI Spheres have made some progress with their Change Targets and Objectives. Here are the highlights.
Admissions Sphere
The Admissions Sphere held three 90-minute MD Admissions Committee Orientations at the start of the 2019-20 Admissions cycle. Topics addressed included:
- Unconscious Bias
- Bias Traps in Admissions
- The Equity Framework in Admissions and Student Support
- Diversity as the Driver of Excellence in Institutions
- National and Local Demographic Data in Medical School
The MD Admissions Committee continues to track and document instances of discussions that highlight potential biases and ones in which course corrections are addressed and a productive educational journey ensues. This real-life case based approach has been successful in promoting continual committee member education and development. Our hope is to widen this approach to other admissions committees across the school.
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
- The Training, Training Development, and Implement and Track change targets are now 100 percent complete.
- The Course Correct change target is now 40 percent complete.
Clinical Sphere
We have met with the following groups in Pediatric Medicine:
- Diversity Council
- Social Work (for Pediatrics and OB/GYN)
- Chair and Vice Chairs
- Clinical Fellows
- Housestaff
- Patient Reps
- Clinic Managers
- Chief Residents
- Nursing (Scheduled to meet soon)
We’ve created flyers and pocket cards with information about RBI and the Compliance Hotline. These are being distributed and posted in clinical sites. Through our efforts, departmental and hospital leadership is now engaged in this process and are beginning to address a specific area of concern: segregated care. Our plans moving forward include:
- Holding meetings with the Nursing department
- Scheduling training with interested groups (Unconscious Bias training, Iceberg sessions, etc.)
- Working closely with the patient representatives to explore reports of racism and bias that are already in their database
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
- The Recruit and Inform, and Communications Plan change targets are now 100 percent complete.
- The Connect Reports change target is now 50 percent complete.
Curricular Affairs Sphere
The Curricular Affairs sphere solicited and received feedback from sphere members, the Office of Curricular Support staff, and students. The sphere leads also recruited a medical librarian to help review best practices in the areas of anti-racist knowledge, skills, and personal awareness.
The needs and strength assessment of course and clerkship directors will be scheduled for November 2019 following the busy accreditation preparation period. In the next six months, the sphere will use gathered data to build the curricular map and move toward curriculum development. The sphere will also welcome additional members to join the core sphere leads following the accreditation process.
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
- The Feedback change target is now 100 percent complete.
- The Best Practices change target is now 50% complete.
- The Strength and Needs Assessment, Curricular Map, and Curricular Development change targets have goal date extensions to November 2019, February 2020, and June 2020, respectively.
Student Affairs Sphere
Faculty Advisors are now on board and we are working to incorporate Appreciative Advising in our advising practices. We are also actively engaged in improving communication with students, revamping incident reporting, and revising our mission statement.
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
- The Developing Community change target is now 75 percent complete.
- The Practice Model is now 50 percent complete.
Student Resources Sphere
The Student Resources Sphere has made strong progress to date. So far, we have:
- Connected with all stakeholders
- Created a process to support and engage with partners outside of the Medical Education and Enrollment Services environment
- Identified areas for impact
What has stalled further progress is the inability to impact the work flow that is required by our partners to achieve our change targets. We have begun to make improvements in the areas within our locus of control and believe that these changes will impact students entering in the 2019 academic year.
We have also had some attrition on the Sphere and it’s not clear whether we should reconstitute the membership, that is an ongoing discussion at our meetings. Finally we are in the process of identifying additional change targets that are within those areas that we are accountable and responsible for the work.
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
- The Policy Audit and Communication change targets are now 25 percent complete.
Student Sphere
Three new students joined the sphere. The student sphere will continue to provide feedback and support to the other RBI spheres.
What Changes Will You See on the Change Target Tracker?
There are no updates to report.
If you are a student and would like more information, contact the Student Sphere.
