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Diversity and Inclusion

“Diversity describes who we are. It’s a nod to the unique qualities every individual brings to our program and builds our foundation. Diversity loses its impact, however, unless inclusivity, which builds a culture of belonging by actively inviting the contribution and participation of all people happens.”  – Keisha Gibson, MD

Inclusivity means not ‘just we’re allowed to be there,’ but we are valued. I’ve always said: smart teams will do amazing things, but truly diverse teams will do impossible things. ~Claudia Brind-Woody (IBM Executive)

Read full letter from Dr. Keisha Gibson


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Our Team

Events

News

Resources

Resources

Publications & Research
Integrating Social Services & Health

Health-related social needs, which include food insecurity, housing instability, and lack of transportation, are strongly associated with poor health outcomes, more health care use, and higher health care spending. Integrating human services that address health-related social needs into health care may address these issues. Full article

Standards for Publishing on Racial Health Inequities

Advice for researchers and reviewers on standards for publishing on racial health inequities.

COVID-19 and Health Equity
Time to Think Big
Latino Health During a Pandemic
The News and Observer reported that a survey on coronavirus among Latinos, of corresponding health departments in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, resulted in data from 46 counties. “Information from the remaining 54 counties was either not provided or health departments did not respond to requests for it,” the story reported.
WILEY Cancer Medicine
A system-based intervention to reduce Black-White disparities in the treatment of early stage lung Cancer: A pragmatic trial at five Cancer centers. Advances in early diagnosis…
Minorities are Disproportionately Affected By COVID-19
Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, a professor of medicine in the division of general medicine, and Alexa Mieses Malchuk, MD, assistant professor of family medicine, told ABC 11 News that “COVID-19 is putting a magnifying glass on health disparities.”
Epidemiology of Acute Kidney Injury in Malawi
Last December, Erica Bjornstad, MD, MPH, a third-year pediatric nephrology fellow, received a funding award from the International Society of Nephrology to study the epidemiology of acute kidney injury (AKI) in a Malawian trauma cohort. The UNC Kidney Center matched this funding, and now Bjornstad’s project is well underway at Kamuzu Central Hospital, in conjunction with UNC Project Malawi and the UNC Department of Surgery’s Malawi Surgical Initiative.
Increasing Minority Participation in Lupus Trails
Minority Health 
Education & Trainings
DEI Trainings/DEI Certificate Program
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The DEI Certificate Program is a new initiative from the SOM Office of Inclusive Excellence in support of the 2019 SOM Strategic Plan to foster an inclusive workplace environment. The program’s curriculum offers workshops and trainings designed to broaden awareness about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topics among the SOM faculty/staff and deepen engagement with and between individuals in the SOM at all levels – from patients to leadership. The workshops offered as part of the certificate program address a broad array of DEI topics, including those related to race and ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, culture and religion, socioeconomic status, and more.
Safe Zone Training

Standard Safe Zone

The Standard Safe Zone is a four-hour training

Harvard Implicit Bias Assessment Test
Implicit Harvard
Syllabus for Anti-Racist Curriculum
Syllabus: A History of Anti-Black Racism in Medicine
Wellness Toolkit
In response to the racial and social injustices occurring in our country, the Well-Being program presents a repository of resources for individuals looking to further educate themselves on these vital issues. These resources are aimed at acknowledging the mistreatment, providing safe spaces for dialogue and planning for positive change, and addresses the emotional tolls taken on people during this disturbing time. We are One Great Team and when any of our teammates are hurting, we should all pull together to support them.
Pride
Commemorating Pride Month: History, Education, SafeZone Training
BIPOC Mental Health
Recognizing Mental Health Month for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), An Interview with Amy Weil, MD, on Trauma Informed Care.
Juneteenth
UNC Department of Medicine Commemorates Juneteenth
Office of Inclusive Excellence
The Office of Inclusive Excellence provides coordination, oversight and leadership of the UNC SOM’s diversity and inclusion programs and leads the school efforts to maintain and continue to build upon a diverse faculty and inclusive environment that values and respects the contributions of all members of the community.
GME Initiatives
Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap is a program created in 2020 by UNC Internal Medicine residents with the goal of creating partnerships between attendings, fellows, and/or residents with third and fourth year medical students interested in Internal Medicine or Medicine/Pediatrics.

Carolina Leadership Alliance

The Carolina Leadership Alliance is a partnership created in 2017 between underrepresented minority house staff at UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, and ECU with the aim of strengthening mentorship, research, and career development as well as fostering community. There is a banquet held annually which brings trainees and faculty from the different institutions together. Additionally, a number of projects have been created that have focused on improving health outcomes for the African-American and Latino communities.

Project EMBRACE

Project EMBRACE, or Project “Ending Medical Bias and Racism by Advocating for Change and Equity,” is a four-part noon conference series developed by several residents from the UNC Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Topics included implicit bias, structural racism, health disparities, and bystander intervention.

Resident Diversity Initiative

UNC Resident Diversity Initiative is composed of residents, fellows, and attending physicians who are committed to maintaining and expanding the diversity of UNC residency and fellowship programs.

Webinars
Going Beyond the Statement
Going Beyond the Statement: Dismantling Systemic Racism in Nephrology
Dynamic, thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion between four expert panelists. Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, Dr. Dana Mitchell, Dr. Will Ross and Dr. Kevin Tucker discuss racism in kidney care and social determinants of health, challenges building a diverse pipeline of future nephrologists, race-based diagnostic measures and barriers to career advancement.
Racial Justice in Cancer Care
Patient Engaged Research: A Path Towards Racial Justice
Marjory Charlot, MD, MPH, MSc is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology. She specializes in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in cancer outcomes, patient and community engagement in cancer clinical trials, and lung cancer.
Racism is a Public Health Crisis
Racism is a Public Health Crisis: Now that We See, What Do We Do?
An informative and thought provoking talk by Camara Phyllis Jones, MD, MPH, PhD about racism and how it directly impacts public health.
Centers

CAMPOS (Comprehensive Advanced Medical Program of Spanish)

LGBTQ Center

Sheps Center

Center for Women’s Health

Carolina Center for Jewish Studies

Center for Middle East & Islamic Studies

UNC American Indian Center

Carolina Asia Center

Stone Center for Black Culture and History

Our Team

Contact DOMDiversity@med.unc.edu

Keisha Gibson, MD, MPH

Keisha L. Gibson, MD, MPH, FASN

Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Department of Medicine Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Pediatric Nephrology

Karen Kimel-Scott, MD

Karen Kimel-Scott, MD

Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine & Clinical Epidemiology; Associate Program Director of Ambulatory Education; Assistant Medical Director, UNC Internal Medicine Clinic

Dr. Joseph Rossi

Joseph S. Rossi, MD, MSCI, FACC, FSCAI

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Director, Cardiac Catheterization Lab; Program Director, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship; Co-Director of Cardiology Clinical Trials

 

Yolanda V. Scarlett, MD

Yolanda V. Scarlett, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Director, GI Motility Laboratory

Kisa Wilson

Kisa Wilson

Administrative Specialist, Internal Medicine Residency Program

News

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