DEIA in IM Education

The health of individuals and communities is inextricably linked to the structures that impact health, the systems we practice in, and the individuals in those systems. Developing frameworks to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression (DEIA) in medicine is a core skill for future clinicians, researchers, educators, and leaders. We have developed a three-year core DEIA curriculum to teach and advance these skills for all of our residents. We also actively work to incorporate equity and anti-oppression principles into all components of resident clinical education. 

Established by our residents, we hold annual day-long resident conferences on gender equity in medicine (Women in Leadership Development Symposium) and anti-racism in medicine (Anti-Racism Symposium). These symposia provide additional spaces for reflection and skill-building that are critical to advancing health care equity.

Core DEIA Curriculum

Anti-Racism Symposium

The Anti-Racism Symposium was started in 2021 as a brainchild of the DEI elective rotation, efforts of the Residency Diversity Committee, and Internal Medicine Solidarity Coalition. The goals of the annual Anti-Racism Symposium are to:

  1. Help residents explore how structural racism manifests in clinical medicine, medical education, and research, and
  2. Analyze how anti-racism can be integrated into these various realms of academic medicine in order to give rise to clinicians with a framework for equity.
Keynote Speaker 2022

Zea MalawaZea Malawa, MD, MPH
San Francisco Mission Neighborhood Health Center
Program Lead, Collective Impact to Prevent Preterm Birth in San Francisco

Dismantling Structural Racism

Dr. Zea Malawa is a pediatrician and public health professional committed to improving health outcomes for children of color. Currently, Dr. Malawa is the director of Expecting Justice, a public health program that uses systems change and anti-racism approaches to close the racial gap in birth outcomes. In that capacity, she directs the Abundant Birth Project, the first pregnancy Guaranteed Income program in the US.
 

Keynote Speaker 2021

Utibe EssienUtibe R. Essien, MD, MPH
General Internal Medicine 
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh SOM
Core Investigator, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System 

The Urgency of Now: Sustaining Anti-Racism in Academic Medicine 

Dr. Essien’s research focuses on racial and ethnic disparities in the use of novel therapeutics in the management of chronic diseases including atrial fibrillation and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

Featured in JAMA, NEJM, and national news (NPR, NY Times), Dr. Essien is a fierce advocate for diversity and equity in medicine. Dr. Essien's leadership in advancing health equity led him to be named a 2019 National Minority Quality Forum 40 under 40 Leaders in Minority Health awardee.

Riana Jumamil“2020 — the year I became a doctor — bore a pandemic that revealed pervasive racism and cracks in our health care system. Collaborating on the Anti-Racism Symposium allowed me to learn from incredible leaders and my own peers working on health disparities rooted in structural biases. We discussed how our patients’ outcomes are influenced by racism in clinical medicine, research, and medical education — and how we can move forward. I appreciate UCSF for recognizing the importance of this work and holding space to support the Symposium and its residents.”

Riana Jumamil, MD

 

Women in Leadership Development Symposium

Women in Residency
WiLD Pulm event

UCSF Internal Medicine Women in Leadership Development (WILD-IM) hosts an annual conference where all IM residents develop skills in advocacy, allyship, and addressing implicit bias to combat gender inequity in medicine.

Through the Women in Leadership Development (WiLD) organization, we seek to:

  1. Foster a network that provides feedback and support,
  2. Increase mentorship opportunities across departments and levels of training, and
  3. Practice key leadership skills directly related to gender disparities in health care.

For more information about campus wide WILD level please visit: https://wild.ucsf.edu/.

Keynote Speaker Spring 2022

Sunitha MuthaSunitha Mutha, MD 

Dr. Mutha is the Director of Healthforce Center and professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Within Healthforce Center, Dr. Mutha leads the organization’s efforts to integrate experiential leadership training with workforce research, to ensure more effective health care delivery. She has over a decade of experience working on leadership development programs for health professionals. ​

 

Ruchi Shah“I am honored to have led our organization’s planning for the WiLD Symposium. The process of planning the symposium was an invaluable opportunity to develop a leadership curriculum, collaborate with other departments and thought-leaders, and create thoughtful sessions for reflection and growth. I am grateful for the opportunity to help build the WiLD symposium and create intentional opportunities for our community of residents to continue developing advocacy and allyship skills.”

Ruchi Shah, MD

 

 

DEI Elective Rotation 

The DOM Residency Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Selective is designed for residents to develop their interest and skillset in concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in academic medicine. The faculty advisor is Dr. Sarah Alba-Nguyen, associate program director and director of GME Diversity for the Department of Medicine. In this selective, residents will partner with Dr. Alba-Nguyen and other GME Diversity Leaders in four key areas of focus: Professional Development, Peer Support, Education, and Project Completion.

2018

 

Year of Rotation Establishment

 

18

 

Residents have completed the rotation

 

Betelhem Kifle“I was grateful for the opportunity to have protected time to meet and learn from  different people in different specialties in and out of internal medicine. I learned how faculty have been able to incorporate their passion for DEI as part of their careers and gave me a framework for how to approach DEI and medical education in my own career moving forward.”

Betelhem Kifle, UCSF Internal Medicine, PGY3

“My people are kind, compassionate, silly and love to dance. My people are immigrants and children of immigrants, black, East African.”