Distinction in Inclusion & Diversity

Description

This prestigious and rigorous program will support and recognize Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students who show exceptional interest, leadership, and commitment to inclusion and diversity in healthcare. Students will distinguish themselves by integrating the complexities of diversity and cultural humility in the context of healthcare and develop skills in the collaborative planning, implementation, participation, and dissemination of a project in the
realm of diversity, inclusion, and health equity. Students who are accepted into this program and who fulfill all requirements as certified by the Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity committee will receive diplomas at Commencement stating that they have graduated with "Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity."

Objectives

• Enhance personal and professional development in cultural humility
• Deepen understanding of healthcare disparities, health inequity, and social determinants of health
• Critically appraise the literature as it relates to health disparities, including systems issues and quality in health care
• Increase understanding of the influence of diverse patient backgrounds, and how they relate to healthcare access, and interactions with providers
• Understanding the influence of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and gender/sexuality in the context of health outcomes, and recognizing barriers to accessing healthcare
• Exhibit comfort when conversing with patients/colleagues about cultural issues
• Demonstrate an understanding of the way people of diverse cultures and belief systems perceive health and illness and respond to various symptoms, diseases, and treatments
• Advance professional development by implementing and leading a sustainable project that serves to enhance the lives of a diverse population and increase awareness of our learning community

Requirements

A Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity Committee will oversee the program. Participants will be required to attend a total of 10 didactic sessions, 2 workshops, 2 grand rounds and 1 national conference. Participants also be required to create a scholarly project, author a publication ready manuscript and present the project at an annual symposium. The program will run over four years. Students in any year can begin the program with the understanding that a leadership capstone project will need to be completed.

Didactics

• Cultural Competency in Healthcare 
• Evaluating and managing your implicit bias
• Understanding Healthcare Disparities and Inequity and their influence on patient outcomes
• History of health disparities in the US
• Social Determinants of Health and reducing their impact on patient outcomes
• Factors that influence patients from diverse backgrounds with healthcare providers
• Communication Challenges and Differences: Considerations for Health Equity
• Leveraging Primary Care to Advance Health Equity
• Prevalence and influencing factors affecting mental health in minority populations
• Micro-Aggressions: Issues, Allies, and Civility

Timeline

First Year

• Keep records of participation in the didactics program
• Perform independent research on a proposed fieldwork project
• Meet with the Assistant Dean and Assistant Director for Multicultural Affairs to identify faculty mentors for the inclusion and diversity research
• Establish personalized mentoring team with the guidance of Assistant Dean and Assistant Director for Multicultural Affairs
• Begin to meet regularly with mentors to review expectations and progress in the program.

Second Year

• Didactics program
• Continue to refine project for implementation: This will be an appropriate intervention and plan for sustainability.
• Complete the application for the Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity program for review and approval by the in Inclusion and Diversity committee. The application will be a formal proposal of the background/rationale for the project, the expected outcomes, and the evaluation plan.

Third Year

• Complete the application for the Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity program for review and approval by the Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity committee. The application will be a formal proposal of the background/rationale for the project, the method of intervention the expected outcomes, and the evaluation plan. Begin manuscript preparation.

Fourth Year

• Student projects will be reviewed by the Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity committee at their November and March meetings. Students must produce a scholarly project, in a format suitable for submission to a journal.
• Additionally, they will present the work orally at the year-end Distinction Symposium in March.
• When these requirements are met, the student will receive on his/her diploma a
  Distinction in Inclusion and Diversity notation and a record of this accomplishment will be put into the student’s Medical Student Performance Evaluation (letter of evaluation for residency placement).

For More Information Contact

Janice Cato Varlack M.D.
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Multicultural Affairs
Associate Professor Pediatrics, Division of Pediatrics Hospitalist Medicine
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Email: catovaja@rwjms.rutgers.edu

OR

Cynthia Ferrer-Cespedes, MPH
Program Director, Office of Student and Multicultural Affairs
Assistant Director, Office of Special Academic Programs
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Email: ferrercl@rwjms.rutgers.edu