At the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, we believe in the importance of diversity and cultural competence in the healthcare workforce. With growing racial and ethnic diversity, (1) a diverse and culturally competent healthcare workforce is essential in addressing the well-documented health and healthcare disparities in the United States. (2-4) In response to these growing needs, a team of residents and faculty created the Diversity Committee. Examples of some Diversity Committee initiatives include:
- Increased involvement at conferences such as the Latino Medical Student Association conference and Student National Medical Association conference
- Partnerships with Lawrence community organizations
- Diversity Day- hosting undergraduate students interested in careers in health professions from various regional colleges and universities
- Forging longitudinal relationships with chapters of LMSA, SNMA, and GLMA at local area medical schools
- Science Squad at Lawrence Public Library
Additionally, the committee is implementing residency curricular changes with increased education related to race and ethnicity and implicit bias training through our outpatient AM teaching sessions (OATS), resident retreats, and residency book club. 1 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. “Estimates of the Components of Resident Population Change by Race and Hispanic Origin for the United States: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016.” American FactFinder. CDC, June 2017. Web. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk 2 Mead, Holly. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Health Care: A Chartbook. New York, NY: Commonwealth Fund, 2008. Print. 3 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups.” AHRQ Archive–Home Page. Oct. 2014. Web. http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr10/minority.html 4 Kaiser Family Foundation. “Disparities in Health and Health Care: Five Key Questions And Answers.” Disparities in Health and Health Care: Five Key Questions and Answers. N.p., Nov. 2012. Web. http://kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-five-key-questions-and-answers/