On March 20, 2018 the Department of Medical Education hosted a town hall meeting in an effort to share our approach to the next phase of the Racism and Bias Initiative—the people and process side of the transformational change. The town hall presented a unique opportunity for students, staff, senior administrators, faculty, and others to come together to learn how we are going to  address racism and bias in curricular and student affairs, admissions, and the clinical learning environment.

Dean Muller presented a change management strategy that will guide our transformational change process  and fielded questions on the next steps. Members of the leadership team responsible for shepherding change in their functional areas spoke of their personal commitment to the initiative.

The town hall included a question and answer portion in which students voiced concerns regarding the current climate of the learning environment, and highlighted the necessity for systemic, transformational change.

Some of those concerns were echoed  in the post-town hall survey:

 

 

These results demonstrate that while there is uncertainty regarding the strategy that informs the Racism and Bias Initiative, there is strong interest and support for the cause. As we proceed with the Racism and Bias Initiative, we hope to provide transparency and authenticity that speaks to this uncertainty. We will work actively and relentlessly to realize our vision: to become a health system and health professionals school with the most diverse workforce, providing health care and education that is free of racism and bias. In doing so we ask for your help.Track our work and get involved by signing up to participate in interactive sessions that will aim to answer the question: “What needs to change in order for us to provide health care and education that is free of racism and bias, and how do we get there? Sign up here.