Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Oppression

Anti-Oppressive Framework

Family Medicine should, at its core, be an anti-oppressive endeavor. It should be strength-based. It should be aware of and responsive to our history and current context. It should build and rely on liberating relationships.

Family Medicine is rooted in the understanding that all things are connected: the health of an individual is connected to policies where they live, which is connected to the history of the people who made those policies, which is connected to how those people worked and learned and lived. The health of a pancreas is connected to the way a family moves through the world, which is connected to the way they impact a community which impacts the health of members of that community. Organ functions, personal experiences, cultural norms, policies, housing practices, employment practices, all of it is interrelated. Family Medicine understands and centers this truth. As a result, we understand that our health and wellbeing is inextricably bound to the health and wellbeing of all. And through this understanding, we become committed to collective liberation. We all become free together, become healthy together.

Unfortunately, the dominant culture of medicine is not one that centers collective liberation. Hierarchy and paternalism permeate the culture, both in patient care and in medical education. We cannot claim to have escaped those things. We train residents in a hierarchical system and still provide care in ways that are not sufficiently strength-based and liberation-focused. That said, we do ground ourselves, as teachers, in a shared understanding that every member of the team—patients, faculty, residents, staff, and others—has knowledge to share and has a right to voice. We work to create a culture of mutual learning.

We also recognize that anti-Blackness and other forms of racism and discrimination are baked in to our culture, both in medicine and in the US more broadly. Medicine has been used as a tool of oppression and white supremacy for centuries, and our patients know this. As a residency program, we are committed to anti-racist education and practice.


Curriculum

Because we all are continuously learning anti-racist theory and practice, we have developed a three year anti-racism and anti-oppression curriculum for residents and for faculty. Below is the basic framework for the curriculum.


Race-based Caucusing

In 2020, our department began a program of Race-based caucusing for faculty, staff, and residents. The departmental community meets monthly or every two months do share, learn, reflect, grow, and plan actions to advance antiracism.


Patient Population

Please read more about the community we serve.


Resident Class Composition

Cultural and language concordance between providers and patients improves outcomes. We use a holistic applicant review process and do not use score cutoffs because we know that standardized tests perpetuate structural and systemic racism.  We prioritize training residents who have lived experiences that are relevant to our patients and who are prepared to participate in anti-oppressive work. Our selection committee is composed of 12 residents, 8 faculty members, and 3 patient advisors and 2/3 of resident members are from identities that are underrepresented or have been historically excluded in medicine. During selection, we place a high value on lived experience because we know that the life you have lived directly impacts the quality of care that you provide. We hope to train a community of residents who are prepared to participate in anti-oppressive work throughout their careers and who have lived experiences that are relevant to the patients we serve.  

 

Faculty Composition

We recognize the importance of having mentors and teachers who can relate to and understand the experience of residents from underrepresented backgrounds. While we have not yet met all of our goals for faculty diversity, we are proud of the supportive and diverse community that we cultivate together.

 

Resident Diversity Committee

The resident diversity committee is a resident-led body that is supported by a $5000 annual budget from the residency. This committee sets priorities and structures according to the needs of its members. Residency leadership works closely with the committee on resident recruitment and redesigning residency systems.