The Impact of Establishing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in a Single US Adult Neurology Residency Program
Mathura Ravishankar1, Keiko Fukuda2, Lamees Alzyoud1, Priya Nidamanuri1, Rebecca Pollard1, Anne Van Cott1, Paula Clemens1, Alexandria Sadasivan1, Page Pennell1, Ajitesh Ojha1
1University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2University of California Los Angeles
Objective:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) taskforces are sparse in neurology departments across the U.S. The purpose of this quality improvement effort is to establish a framework for building a successful DEI committee in a neurology department and to evaluate progress related to 1) residency recruitment efforts of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) applicants, 2) DEI didactics, and 3) community outreach.
Background:
Our department’s DEI committee was founded in August 2020 and consists of nine residents and eleven faculty members who meet monthly to promote more equitable practices within our residency and department. The committee is divided into subgroups, including 1) recruitment, 2) didactics, and 3) community outreach.
Design/Methods:
Following the establishment of our DEI committee, we studied the academic years July 2020 – June 2021 and July 2021 – June 2022 and compared trends in 1) residency recruitment interviews of URiM, 2) DEI didactics, and 3) community service hours providing care to the underinsured local community and educating local underrepresented students about neurology.
Results:
Residency interviews were given to nine URiM in 2020-2021 and 16 URiM in 2021-2022. In 2020-2021, no lectures were dedicated to DEI, but in 2021-2022 there were 10 dedicated didactic hours, including a residency-wide implicit bias training. Lastly, neurology services at a local free clinic increased from six outpatient clinics in 2020-2021 to 13 outpatient clinics and the development of a continuity clinic in 2021-2022.
Conclusions:
As a result of our DEI committee, we have increased 1) the number of URiM residency applicants who receive interviews, 2) DEI didactic hours, and 3) opportunities for community outreach and education. This is the first study we are aware of that has evaluated progress of DEI efforts led by a neurology-specific DEI committee. Future goals include increasing the hiring of URiM faculty and retention of URiM residency applicants.