Department of Medicine shares diversity news for May 2021

We kicked off our Diversity Grand Rounds series in September 2020 with a roundtable discussion celebrating women in medicine, followed by a panel focused on the experiences of Hispanics/Latinx people in medicine.

The most recent panel, 'Black Physicians in Medicine and COVID-19 Health Disparities in the Black Community ― Changing the Narrative,' was held in March and featured Drs. Stephen Henderson, Ifesinachi Ndukwu, Kofi Clarke and Leah Ross, as well as Dr. Karima Fitzgerald from the Department of Surgery. The panel was moderated by Lynette Chappell-Williams, JD, associate dean for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for the College of Medicine. (Chappell-Williams is also Penn State Health's chief diversity officer.)

The next Diversity Grand Rounds, the last of the academic year, will be held June 15. This panel will highlight our exceptional LGBTQ physicians in the Department of Medicine - stay tuned for details.

See previous Medicine Grand Rounds presentations on Mediasite
(Penn State Health ePass login required)

Presentations available on Mediasite include:

The College of Medicine's Microaggressions, Unconscious Bias and Upstander (MUBU) training started Jan. 26, 2021, and is available on Compass or Lion. There will be a second level of training and a more extensive educational program starting in July 2021.

To access the MUBU training, go to Compass or Lion, search for '2021 Diversity and Inclusion Education and Acknowledgement' and complete the five modules:

• Diversity and Inclusion Pre-Poll
• PSH ADM120 Acknowledgement
• HR86 Acknowledgement
• Microaggressions, Unconscious Bias and Upstander version 2
• Diversity and Inclusion Post-Poll

The entire curriculum will take approximately 35 minutes to complete. The goal of this training is to provide basic information on these concepts to the workforce. All health system employees are expected to participate, with a completion goal of 85 percent. There will be an evaluation completed to assess to what extent people learned about these concepts.

Those who finish the online diversity and inclusion education have the opportunity to participate in an Upstander Café, an informal monthly gathering of employees who convene to practice their upstanding skills. The initial gatherings are being held virtually through Zoom, but will eventually be in person. To join this experience, email [email protected] and include 'Upstander Café' in the subject line. Special thanks to Lynette Chappell-Williams, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Penn State Health, for providing the MUBU info in a recent system-wide email!

The existing Diversity Book Club is hosted by the Department of Humanities at the College of Medicine. Every other month in the year, the club meets to discuss a curated list of fiction that captures the experiences of African-Americans and Black authors.

The next discussion, focused on 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker, will be noon to 1 p.m. May 19. Participants are welcome to have lunch while the group chats. Feel free to join!

See details and join the discussion here

The Diversity Council's recommended books for a potential future Department of Medicine Diversity Book Club include 'White Fragility' by Robin DiAngelo and 'What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City' by Mona Hanna Attisha.

Physicians in the Department of Medicine and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council have partnered with Ashley Visco (Community Health director), Jeanette Gibbs (Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Services, Penn State Health Medical Group), Lynette Chappell-Williams and others throughout Penn State Health and the College of Medicine to host pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics in underserved communities and communities of color.

Clinics have been held in cities such as Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and Reading, and more will be planned in the coming months.

This important outreach effort would not have been possible without the partnership of local leaders - their advocacy for and connection to their communities has been instrumental. We are proud to be part of this initiative.

Volunteer at an upcoming clinic here

Dr. Ayesha Ahmad shared the following photo from the vaccination drive she participated in at Hadee Mosque in Harrisburg that was held through the Pennsylvania Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network.

This important outreach project has gotten some local news traction as well - you might see some familiar faces in this brief clip by WGAL.

Information submitted by Dr. Nasr Ghahramani

Nowruz is a holiday that has been celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for more than 3,000 years.

It is estimated that more than 200 million people celebrate Nowruz in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Northern Iraq, India, Eastern Turkey, Albania, Macedonia, Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar.

In the Jewish religion, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites' departure from ancient Egypt.

The weeklong festival is observed through rituals such as the traditional meal known as seder, which celebrates Moses freeing the Israelites.

Learn more in this National Geographic article

Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for Muslims, the followers of Islam.

It is celebrated as the month during which Allah, or God, revealed the first verses of the Quran to the prophet Mohammed.

Most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims observe Ramadan.

Learn more in this Brittanica article

This piece by Dr. Stephen Henderson piece was accepted in the AAMC's 'Creative Expressions During Times of Uncertainty' initiative. Read more submissions here

She presented with another Sickle Cell Crisis, day before her 22nd birthday.
My first patient as an intern.
Bilateral leg ulcers visible to the eye. Tulips delivered from her twin brother the night before.
Intravenous fluids, Dilaudid, and Oxygen.
Morning rounds, code called. Compressions performed, unsuccessful.
Beautiful peacefulness in her eyes, flowers at her bedside.

A reflective piece by Dr. James Hobley, titled 'For many black physicians, they may be 'just one decision away,'' has been printed in the Healio Gastroenterology journal.

Dr. Hobley was a GI fellow with us from 2003 to 2006 and has clearly gone on to do great things in medicine, including sharing his perspectives on the intersection between race and medicine.

Read his article here

Information submitted by Dr. Ann Ouyang

We all share stories about events that occur in the course of our work day. Many of the stories highlight the amazing things we do every day and the lives we touch. Unfortunately, some of the stories involve witnessed or experienced conscious and unconscious bias that is not addressed. Stories can be a great way to bring about change.

We, the 'Changemakers,' want to hear your stories that involve bias around race and ethnicity. We will use them to create short film vignettes to educate our coworkers within our organization to promote a diverse and inclusive environment for all those who work here, and who choose Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health for their education and care.

Submit stories anonymously here or contact any of the team members listed below.

This project is supported by a grant from the Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine. Team members include Drs. Ann Ouyang, Kaleigh Krill and Meeta Desai, as well as Misty Lewis, Sharia Benn (Sankofa African American Theatre Company) and Rick Lombardo (Penn State College of Arts and Architecture).

Read more about the project here

In a recent system-wide email, Lynette Chappell-Williams shared the following information:

Penn State Health now has a new compliance hotline for reporting bias and microaggressions.

You can report online at pennstatehealth.org/hotline or by calling 800-560-1637.

What we say can have a negative and harmful impact, even if we don't intend to send the wrong message or don't even realize that we're speaking insensitively. In this section, we highlight two words that should be avoided, if possible, due to troubling histories or origins.

Peanut gallery

This phrase dates back to the late 1800s Vaudeville era and originally described the 'peanut gallery' section in theaters, which usually had the cheapest and lowest-quality seats, and thus this section was usually where those with limited means sat during shows.

In the segregated South, seats in the back or upper balcony levels were mostly reserved for Black people, and in this context the term took on an even more racist connotation.

Learn more in this article on The Conversation

Uppity

This term is used these days to describe a stuck-up or arrogant person, but it was commonly used during Segregation by racist southerners to describe Black people who didn't know their socioeconomic place.

Learn more about the history of this phrase in this Today article

The following event is hosted by the College of Medicine's Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We will highlight Department of Medicine-specific events in the future.

Inclusion Academy: Caring for Military and Veteran Patients

7 to 8 a.m. May 20

The military patient population is often overlooked in traditional primary care facilities; however, less than 50 percent of eligible veterans receive treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs, a recent study reported.

This patient population is much more complex and has a higher risk of health complications due to combat, deployment and challenges of reintegration.

With a growing military and veteran patient population at Penn State Health, it is important that providers understand the health impacts of military service and how to address these patients' needs. This session aims to provide participants with resources when caring for military and veteran patients and strategies on how to better engage with this population.

See details and register here

Inclusion Academy, established by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is an educational program focused on providing students, faculty/staff and health care providers with cultural knowledge and understanding of various diverse/marginalized communities with the intention to foster diversity and inclusion in all facets of the organization.

See more upcoming Diversity events here