November has a lot of celebrations, in fact 135, according to one source. But, the Thanksgiving holiday is the most popular in the US. While you’re nibbling on turkey, thanks for reading the November 2020 GMEC Update for our community.
People
- Congratulations to the following members of our community:
- Seattle Children’s Hospital in-patient resident team which has included space during their rounds to discuss any concerns around equity, diversity and inclusion that may impact patient care.
- Dr. Joel Kaufman was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
- Dr. Elina Quiroga received the UW Award of Excellence for her outstanding work in mentoring Underrepresented in Medicine members of the community.
- Dr. Kemi Doll published a personal essay in the New England Journal of Medicine about structural solutions for minority faculty in subspecialties in Medicine
- Dr. Fuki Hisama published “Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in Medical Genetics: The time is now” in Medical Genetics
- A former IM resident, Dr. Harvey Alter, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his contributions to the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.
Programs
- Parenting, lactation and call room resources have been improved and updated, thanks in large part to Natalie Brady, Hadar Duman, Cindy Hamra and Dr. Jennifer Best.
Progress
- The GMEC Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Executive Task Force, chaired by Dr. Byron Joyner and Dr. Barbara Goff (Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology) had its first meeting this past week. The Task Force voted to approve a long-standing GMEC-sponsored EDI Subcommittee. The GMEC-sponsored Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force will have its last meeting this month, just before presenting its findings and recommendations to the GMEC in January.
- The inchoate GMEC Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Subcommittee has started to organize its committee members to better integrate, elevate and support accountability for efforts toward enhancing the CLER focus area: Patient Safety, Health Care Quality (including Disparities), Teaming and Supervision. If you are interested in contributing to the CLER Subcommittee, please look for the announcements.
Policies
- There is a new, comprehensive GME Leave Policy, which was approved by GMEC at the November meeting. The policy addresses state and federal laws, as well as ACGME and ABMS requirements.
Partnerships
- Dr. Tom Gallagher from the Center for Scholarship in Patient Quality and Safety, called attention to resources about helping to build an anti-racist society. The list included both local and national resources that will help people to have opportunities to become involved in anti-racist issues, concerns and projects.
Projects
- Please see the COVID-19 Updates: GME Community for information for updates on the increasing COVID-19 pandemic in our community. We are working closely with UW Medicine leadership to include our housestaff thoughtfully and strategically in our efforts to protect our community.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA
Vice Dean and Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
Graduate Medical Education, UW Medicine