Newsletter
Read more about our efforts to support equity, diversity and inclusion in the department of medicine.
October 2024 Newsletter
Message from Leadership:
Some of our recent initiatives include the launch of Small Project Funds to support divisional EDI activities, hosting resident workshops on essential topics such as microaggressions, social determinants of health, and advocacy, as well as fostering staff engagement through our monthly LINK (Leaning Into New Knowledge) meetings and bi-weekly Lunch and Learns. Our partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Safety Net Health Systems, to expand healthcare access in underserved communities and increase opportunities for our faculty to care for those with less, continue to grow.
Despite our challenges, including resistance to EDI/DEI efforts across the country, we are resolute in our commitment to advancing equity in all aspects of our work. New initiatives, such as Women in Medicine events, staff affinity groups, and a developing volunteer program, further reflect our dedication to community engagement and support. We encourage everyone in the department to participate in these initiatives and share their successes. Together, we can continue to build a culture of equity and inclusive excellence that benefits our department, our patients, and our communities.
Thank you for your continued dedication to this vital work. In the words of Albert Einstein, which we’ll explore more in our next newsletter, may you ‘widen your circle of compassion’ each day.
“A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein"
August Newsletter 2024
Message from Leadership:
Happy August.
As many of you know, the new UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM) Strategic Plan is grounded in LEADERShip and as such, incorporates the values of leadership, equity, accountability, discovery, excellence, respect, and service. Moreover, in the UCLA DoM, we are all LEADERS, be it leading in innovation, transforming care, and/or advancing health for all.
As a reminder, our four core strategic plan pillars are research, patient care, education, and promoting community engagement & investment. The DoM Office of EDI supports all pillars but has a lead role in community engagement & investment. This includes working with faculty, staff, trainees, and community partners to:
- Increase access to care and health resources for historically and contemporarily under-resourced communities.
- Strengthen engagement and collaboration with organizations caring for historically and contemporarily under-resourced communities.
- Provide high-quality health equity training for all in the DoM.
- Advance health disparities research and policy to improve health equity, in collaboration with health systems and community partners.
- Promote healthier, thriving neighborhoods through health education and disease prevention.
Through periodic presentations and our EDI newsletter, our office will provide updates on our activities in implementing the DoM strategic plan. Persons interested in providing care at safety-net facilities can contact our office. We have many burgeoning partnerships with federally qualified health centers and similar safety-net facilities, such as Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. While much of our work has focused on local partnerships, we are now exploring similar relationships in Ventura County and surrounding areas.
We look forward to suggestions on how we might better support you to have a portion of your practice dedicated to some of the more vulnerable communities in our catchment area, as well as other things you’d like to hear about from our office.
Best wishes for the remainder of the summer!
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.” - John Wooden
March Newsletter 2024
Message from Leadership:
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) statistics speak volumes within the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM): 42% of the faculty and a striking 76% of the staff are women. These numbers are not just figures; they represent a tangible reflection of the invaluable contributions women make in our institution and beyond. In the grand tapestry of human history, women have stood as unsung heroes, catalysts of change, and beacons of progress. Whether on the battlefields of social justice or in the classrooms where glass ceilings are shattered, women have wielded their unwavering resolve and courage to shape the world. As we commemorate Women's History Month, let us not only honor the achievements of those who paved the way but also renew our commitment to the ongoing pursuit of equality and justice. Together, let us weave a future where every woman's narrative is heard, every woman's effort is esteemed, and every woman's potential is fully realized.
January 2024
Message from Leadership:
“Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” - John R Wooden
Welcome to an exciting new year for the Department of Medicine. The DOM EDI Office hopes everyone had a wonderful winter break. Our department is a tapestry of diverse backgrounds and traditions, and during this holiday season for those who observe any of the season’s traditions, many celebrated the values that bind us.
September 2023
Message from Leadership:
At DOM EDI, our mission is to become the home for inclusive excellence by advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion for students, residents, fellows, staff, and faculty in the setting of outstanding scholarship/innovation, a community where all feel they belong, and the highest level of compassionate, high-quality care for our patients. It is important to note that our office is equity, diversity, and inclusion. As such we are committed to supporting activities and bringing forward voices that lift all three. Note that while we often hear about diversity it is actually inclusion where the action happens or needs to happen. In an inclusive environment, diversity and equity are more likely to arise and thrive.
May 2022
Message from Leadership:
This spring has brought mixed emotions. As the COVID-19 pandemic surge has dissipated it is also a somber reminder of the over one million lives lost, a disproportionate number from older persons, lower socioeconomic, racial and ethnic minorities and high-risk medical populations. As we take a moment of silence to reflect on the many people, friends and family, and more who have been adversely impacted—we once again thank the many members of DOM who answered the call to risk their lives and work unimaginable hours to care for those in need and to help advance the fundamental research and implementation of prevention and treatment strategies that helped to limit the impact of the pandemic.
January 2022
Message from Leadership:
Welcome to an exciting new year for the Department of Medicine. The EDI office wants to extend another warm welcome to our new Chairman, Dr. Dale Abel. We also want to extend another big thank you to Dr. Alan Fogelman for his years of service as Chairman of DOM and so much more such as his commitment and unwavering confidence in all of us to join together with him as he charted a path down a road less traveled and took DOM to reach new heights. He will continue as an active faculty member and to no surprise an ongoing NIH-funded investigator in the DOM. Now that Dr. Fogelman has passed the baton to Dr. Abel, we look forward to all of us once again joining together to ensure DOM continues to build upon past successes and embrace new opportunities in an ever-changing world.
June 2021
Message from Leadership:
On Saturday, June 5, the Department of Medicine Residency Program held its graduation event for the 2021 graduating residents. It was held in part with an initial virtual component, but was followed by an in-person outside reception at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center. This was the first outside event held at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center since the pandemic began. It was a great opportunity for an amazing group of trainees who worked through one of the most challenging years in the history of US medicine to be able to come together in person and connect in a way they’ve been unable to do all year.
January 2021
Message from Leadership:
As we enter a new year, many have mixed feelings of hope and despair. Dr. Richard L. Kravitz just spoke at our Grand Rounds on Finding Common Ground: How the Science of Clinical Negotiation Can Improve the Care Experience for Everyone. He emphasized the role or empathy and compassion and connecting to patients. These are critical strategies for reducing implicit bias and for giving patients trust and hope. There is also the news of two new COVID-19 vaccines being approved and this too has provided many with hope.
October 2020
Message from Leadership:
September and October have been busy months. The COVID-19 pandemic has waxed and waned and this week the US is once again averaging over 1,000 deaths a day. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the stark and ongoing structural inequities in the US, and has amplified racial/ethnic tensions leading to national protests for justice, all in the midst of a presidential election year.
August 2020
Message from Leadership:
Hope you are all staying safe and well during the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and enjoying the last bits of summer. With the new academic year upon us, we are gearing for the realities of virtual teaching and remote learning. As we are adjusting to another new normal and finding a new way forward, we are once again halted in our tracks by yet another tragic episode of police brutality.
July 2020
Message from Leadership:
Broken hearts, anguish, rage, anger, despair, exhaustion, powerlessness, hopelessness, and confusion are among the emotions being expressed in our Bruin academic and medical community as well as across our nation. From the coopting of COVID-19 to perpetrate hate against Asian Americans to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and communities of color, and now the recent vivid instances of systemic injustice and violence against many of those same communities.