Department of Dermatology

Dermatology Chair complete 2-day Racial Equity (REI) training and dermatology faculty complete 1hour Bias 101 training

Bias 101 training for faculty completed January 8 and 15, 2021

Dermatology Chair will complete 2-day Racial Equity Training on March 25 and 26, 2021

Residents will complete Bias 101 training June 4, 2021

Person/Dept Responsible: Dean’s Office and Dr. Nancy Thomas

Include DEI in faculty and staff evaluations (i.e., person is able demonstrate what they have done annually to promote DEI)

Scheduled for faculty and staff evaluations in 2021

Person/Dept Responsible: HR & OIE and Dr. Nancy Thomas

Student roomer project: high school students hired to help department with greeting and rooming patients, providing individuals the opportunity to be exposed to dermatology clinic and the medical field at an early age

Ongoing; have had one student roomer elect to deepen their exposure to health care by applying for and being hired as a medical scribe for department. Of those who disclosed their ethnicity, 20% were from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

Person/Dept Responsible: Dr. Nancy Thomas, Emma Beckham, Bethany Everest

Interviewees comprised of at least 25% qualified URM candidates for our residency training program

30% of candidates interviewed for 2020 Dermatology Residency application interview cycle were qualified URM candidates

Person/Dept Responsible: Dean Morrell, MD

Increase diversity of nursing management and physicians.

Staff member signed up to participate in “Opening Doors: A Personal and Professional Journey” In 2021

Quarterly themed bulletin boards created for clinical sites, including one planned for February 2021 celebrating Black History Month.

Person/Dept Responsible: Medical Advisory Committee

Departmental climate assessment survey on diversity and barriers to diversity

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD

Reducing microaggressions in the workplace

Badges identifying clinical role provided to faculty and staff

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD

Departmental diversity small group meeting

Meeting in February 2021

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD

Diversity and Equity Curriculum 1. Create an electronic collection of kodachromes and dermoscopy images for visual reference of cutaneous pathology in skin of color for use by residents and faculty. 2. Support ongoing learning, send out regular emails to residents and faculty (utilizing the above resource) highlighting the comparison between the presentations of various cutaneous disease processes in lighter and darker skin tones. 3. Create an educational module/didactic session dedicated to dermatologic disease in skin of color and racial health disparities for inclusion in academics on at least a yearly basis. 4. Create an educational module/didactic session on the history of medical (and dermatologic) exploitation of communities of color, including the Tuskegee Study and the Holmesburg prison studies, on at least a yearly basis. 5. Create an educational module/didactic session on different hair care practices and products for various hair types. 6. Guest lecturers on diversity, health equity, LGBTQ+

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD Amy Blake, MD Lauren Crouse, MD Julie Mervak, MD

Improve patient care experience for non-English speaking patients

Epic dot phrases for commonly used patient instructions translated into Spanish

Person/Dept Responsible: Emma Beckham

Continue efforts to increase skin of color images for conditions taught in the medical student dermatology curriculum to allow for comparison of presentation of the same disease in different people. 

Continue efforts to include photos of a wide range of skin types in the lectures/small groups of the overall Foundation Phase (M1/M2 curriculum) when dermatologic conditions are discussed in all blocks

Image database built of dermatologic diagnoses in a range of skin types for the first- and second-year medical student curriculum.

Person/Dept Responsible: Chris Sayed, MD Julie Mervak, MD

Increase education of faculty and residents on diversity and allow opportunities for networking and inter-departmental collaboration

Email reminders sent out to encourage participation in free skin of color society townhall June 30, 2020

Department paid registration fee for resident and faculty to attend Skin of Color Update September 12-13, 2020

Person/Dept Responsible: Dr. Nancy Thomas

Examine role of implicit bias in Press-Ganey surveys of clinicians

Person/Dept Responsible: Aida Lugo-Somolinos, MD Priyanka Vedak, MD

Increase collaborative efforts across departments to improve care for disease processes, including those that can disproportionally affect under-represented populations

Worked with UNC Center for Health Innovation to conduct a current state assessment exercise regarding current and potential future wellness offerings with a focus on diversity in the realms of skincare, haircare and concepts of beauty

Inter disciplinary clinics held virtually between departments discussing cutaneous lymphoma, complex oral diseases, melanoma cases.

New interdisciplinary clinics between dermatology and rheumatology, and dermatology and nephrology to start March 2021.

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD Donna Culton, MD Galen Foulke, MD Julie Mervak, MD Heather Holahan, MD Edith Bowers, MD Paul Googe, MD

Invite guest lecturers from other departments within UNC and other universities to lecture on their expertise in topics related to diversity and health equity

Person/Dept Responsible: Priyanka Vedak, MD Amy Blake, MD Lauren Crouse, MD

Support groups for diseases that disproportionally affect underserved populations

Virtual meetings ongoing

Person/Dept Responsible: Chris Sayed, MD

Increase dermatologic access for incarcerated individuals

Ongoing utilizing telehealth

Person/Dept Responsible: Carolyn Ziemer, MD

Increase dermatologic access for uninsured Spanish speaking patients

Ongoing

Person/Dept Responsible: Aida Lugo-Somolinos, MD

Increase tele dermatology access for dermatology to help our patients, many of which are rural, seek care

3,900 telehealth visits offered from March to December 2020, ~17% of which were performed with patients in rural locations, and ~17% of which involved patients from underrepresented backgrounds

Person/Dept Responsible: Amy Fox, MD Michelle Pearlstein, MD

Increase research efforts for diseases that disproportionately affect underserved populations 

Clinical trials focused on hidradenitis

Person/Dept Responsible: Chris Sayed, MD

Increase research efforts for diseases including those which disproportionately affect underserved populations and continue recruiting a diverse patient population for these trials

Clinical trials have capacity to recruit Spanish-speaking patients

Person/Dept Responsible: Donna Culton, MD Aida Lugo-Somolinos, MD Chris Sayed, MD

Increase diversity in patient recruitment for clinical trials and in clinical trial research

Clinical trials have capacity to recruit Spanish-speaking patients due to bilingual staff and primary investigators (75% of dermatology clinical trials unit is bilingual)

Person/Dept Responsible: Donna Culton, MD Aida Lugo-Somolinos, MD