Dear Colleagues,
2023 is already in full swing with January quickly having come and gone. If you attended the Town Hall this past Monday, you heard about the remarkable accomplishments of our faculty and staff during the past couple of years as well as our goals and objectives for 2023. If you were unable to attend, I encourage you to take some time to view the Town Hall recording. One of the goals I spoke about during the Town Hall is that the DoM will continue expanding our work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Below I have outlined just a few of the ways we will be engaging with you in these efforts in the coming months.
Unconscious Bias Training | In late winter/early spring, a team of trainers from the DoM will begin holding unconscious bias training sessions for department faculty and staff. These trainings will be held for each division and will offer an opportunity to deepen our understanding of unconscious bias and why it matters, recognize sources of unconscious bias, and practice strategies to disrupt these biases. Please watch for more information from your division administration about when these important sessions will be held.
DEI in Medical Grand Rounds | In February and March, DoM Grand Rounds will feature talks on DEI in medicine. On February 9, we will be joined by Dr. Julie Silver of Harvard Medical School, MGH, Brigham and Women’s, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. Silver will give a talk on Strategies to Address Patient Care and Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. On March 16, we will be joined by an expert panel that will lead a discussion on Health Disparities for Black/Brown Disabled Persons. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend these events!
February Chair’s Spotlight | In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we feature Dr. Lauren Feld, physician and researcher of the Division of Gastroenterology and physician executive for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the DoM. Her work focuses on patient-physician communication and access to care and she is equally committed to advocating for workforce gender equity. In her role as the DEIB physician executive, Dr. Feld is an advocate for and represents our department’s faculty, staff, house staff, and fellows on issues such as parental leave and gender equity. Dr. Feld joined the faculty at UMass Chan in September 2022 and we are thrilled to highlight her work as we welcome her to the Department of Medicine! Read more.
Stay Informed | Please check out the Monday morning newsletter Need to Know, On the Go each week for department seminars, events, and updates! You may also visit and bookmark our SharePoint site for our calendar of events and a library of resources that may be useful.
Connect with us | Do you have an idea for a story or an event that you would like to highlight? I encourage you to reach out to our communications team. They would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dave