TAMPA, FL (July 15, 2021)* – The incoming first-year students to the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM) represent the strongest class academically and the most diverse group of students in the college’s history.

As the Class of 2025 begins coursework July 26, it will set academic records for the medical school by having scored the highest median MCAT score in MCOM’s history, 518, as well as earning the highest average GPA, 3.89. In addition, the incoming class is more diverse than previous first-year classes, with a record 20% from those groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine (URM).

“We could not be more excited to welcome this exemplary new class of medical students,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “I have long said that USF Health is bringing the best and brightest minds to Tampa Bay, and this record-breaking class is further evidence of the growing strength and reputation of the Morsani College of Medicine. Not only is this the highest achieving cohort in our history, but it is also the most diverse, and we cannot wait to see all that they will achieve in medical school and beyond.”

Across the last several years, each of MCOM’s first-year classes has outpaced the class before it with higher MCAT scores and stronger GPAs. This year’s median score of 518 places this class in the 95^th percentile ranking for scores across the country.

And compared to seven years ago, when only 6% of the class was from URM groups, this incoming class includes a far more diverse student body, with 20% from URM groups. Also improving this year is the acceptance and matriculation of more Black men. In 2014, the class included 2% African Americans, and they were all female. This year’s class included 12% Black students, including 11 males.

The MCOM Class of 2025 was selected from a record 6,400 applications, the most applicants in the college’s history, which makes it the most competitive class in the college’s history.  Of the nearly 53,000 applicants attempting to find spots this year in the roughly 150 allopathic medical schools in the U.S., more than 6,400 applied to MCOM, which means that each new MCOM student’s chance of being a part of this class was less than 2.8%.

*This story was updated with more current info that includes MCAT scores, national percentile ranking, and GPAs.

USF Health students, staff and faculty during a White Coats 4 Black Lives demonstration outside of the USF Health Morsani Center, in June 2020.

In December 2020, Susan Moore, MD, an Indiana physician, died of COVID-19 after alleging she experienced racial discrimination while undergoing treatment at a hospital operated by Indiana University Health System. “Moore’s story of her pain being dismissed reinforces what studies have repeatedly shown: Even taking wealth, education and insurance status into account, Black patients receive worse medical care and face worse outcomes,” a Washington Post article on Dr. Moore’s death said.

Just one month before Dr. Moore’s death, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) shared an article that touched on a 2016 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science which included a survey that revealed that 40% of first- and second-year medical students endorsed the belief that “Black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s.” The study also showed that the trainees who believed this myth were less likely to treat Black people’s pain appropriately.

This article brought to light the continued need for institutions to address racial bias in healthcare starting with health education. USF Health is doing its part by building curriculums that teach the next generation of health care providers about social determinants of health and how to provide value-based and patient-centered care, and recruiting and retaining the diverse educators to teach it.

“Your goal as the practitioner is to truly understand who the patient is and all of the different aspects of the patient which may have some impact on their medical care,” Deborah DeWaay, MD, FACP, associate dean of undergraduate medical education for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM), said. “It helps the provider battle unconscious bias because when they individuate patients in their mind, they’re less likely to give biased care.”

In 2016, MCOM started focusing on incorporating course objectives that examine prejudice, assumptions and privilege, such as Safe Zone training and poverty simulation activities. In 2019, Shirley Smith, MA, director of student diversity and enrichment for MCOM, became the College’s integration director for cultural competency. Using the AAMC’s objectives for cultural competency, Smith spent hundreds of hours reviewing the entire MCOM curriculum, and will continue to do so on an annual basis, highlighting places where the objectives were not being met to the highest level. These findings were then presented to the curriculum committee who make the final decision about changes to curriculum and if approved, provide recommendations for moving forward. In addition, Smith provided feedback to faculty about where there may be bias within the didactics. “It’s been really refreshing to have faculty embrace this and leadership like Dr. Lockwood, support this,” Smith said. Students also have the ability to provide real-time feedback to Smith and her team via an anonymous survey. “What we’re really trying to do is not have any judgement attached to the feedback,” Dr. DeWaay said. “We’re trying to create a method for our faculty who are teaching, to deal with their unconscious bias in a safe environment.”

USF College of Public Health Dean Donna Petersen, participating in the 2019 poverty simulation along with other USF Health deans, faculty, staff and students. Pre-Covid Photo.

MCOM is also in the process of partnering with Wake Forest University in North Carolina to create curriculum that can be used at both universities in order to maximize resources and reach more people. This material will become a curricular thread integrated across all four years of medical school which USF MCOM calls Humanism in Action. Smith quoted Bryan Bognar, MD, MPH, vice dean of MCOM educational affairs, when she explained that the important part of this effort is to make sure that they’re “baking things in” and that the curriculum is “not an à la cart menu.” The curriculum teaches students the communication skills necessary to elicit the values of their patients and then integrate those values into the patient’s medical plan. “It’s physically impossible in four years to teach students every single nuance about all the ways a human being or population can be different,” Dr. DeWaay said. “It’s far more important to teach the attitude that they need, the skills to illicit the information from the patient and the skills to keep up on the literature, so that they have the tools that they need moving forward, to take care of any patient that’s in front of them.” According to Smith, the objective is to teach students not to assume anything about their patient, not to project their own values onto the patient and not to deviate from what is fact or what is in the evidence. Janet Roman, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the USF Health College of Nursing (CON), added that it’s not just about what question is asked, but about how it is asked. The way a question is worded can be loaded with an assumption and be offensive to the patient. “If you ask me, “Do I have access to healthy food?” now you’re assuming that I don’t,” Dr. Roman said. “If you ask me, “Where do I get my groceries?” then that gives you the answer.”

A taskforce is also being formed to include faculty and students who will help build and implement this new Humanism in Action curriculum and be a resource to faculty for recommendations or feedback on revamping lectures, small groups and activities. One component of change cultivated by the COVID-19 pandemic is the acceptance of virtual guest speakers and virtual learning by students and educators. This will allow for a more diverse representation of speakers to be a part of the courses as well as private, small group activities that can foster more vulnerable discussions. “These beliefs have to be socially unwoven through intentional, meaningful conversations and interactions with depth and the goal is to give students that opportunity,” Smith said. “I’m just planting seeds. I may never see the tree, but I must believe that the possibility is there.”

In January 2020, MCOM earned recognition from the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society for their dedication to diversity and understanding in various patient populations. The medical school was one of two medical schools in Florida to receive an Award for Excellence in Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Medical Education and Patient Care. The award recognizes medical schools, and their associated AOA chapters, that demonstrate exemplary leadership, innovation, and engagement in fostering an inclusive culture that transforms the ideas of inclusion, diversity and equity into successful programs that support student, staff and faculty diversity in service to the community.

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, students pleaded for a call to action for faster implementation of changes to the curriculum. “The morbidity and mortality that social determinants of health, systemic racism, and health care disparities have cost people living in this country, far surpasses the toll COVID will take, and yet we’re not tackling it with the same resources,” Dr. DeWaay said. “With COVID hitting, it shows us on a local, regional and national level, what we’re capable of doing when we’re really worried about something.” Fueled by the same passion as the students who have championed these efforts from the very beginning, Smith and Dr. DeWaay returned to the curriculum committee and presented a 15-point, call to action. The committee mandated the plan in June 2020.

Dr. Deborah DeWaay (center), associate dean of undergraduate medical education for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, with medical students. Pre-Covid Photo.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is increasing evidence that Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities are suffering disproportionately from COVID-19. This is the kind of information that can spark a myth about minorities if the root of the cause is misunderstood. Black Americans are infected with COVID-19 at nearly three times the rate of white Americans and are twice as likely to die from the virus, according to a report from the National Urban League based on data from Johns Hopkins University. This is not because of any biological differences between the two groups, but instead, social determinants of health and systemic racism. This is evident in the report which shows that Blacks are more likely to have preexisting conditions that predispose them to COVID-19 infection, less likely to have health insurance, and more likely to work in jobs that do not accommodate remote work. “Your zip code may be the biggest determinate of your health outcome more than anything else,” Kevin Sneed, PharmD, dean of the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy (TCOP), said.

Understanding these social determinants of health is instrumental in dispelling myths and providing patient-centered care and is another key component of USF Health education. Social determinants of health are conditions in the places where people live, learn, work and play that affects a wide range of health and quality-of life-risks and outcomes. Factors can include a person’s education, financial literacy, discrimination, and access to healthy food and safe places to exercise. Students in the USF Health College of Nursing learn about disease processes such as heart failure, hypertension and diabetes, and at the same time, “we want to point out to students which populations are disproportionately affected and then give them that background on why, so that we can help close that health disparity gap,” Dr. Roman said.

According to Dr. Sneed, one of the most meaningful courses offered at the Taneja College of Pharmacy, one that has been a requirement for first-years ever since the inaugural class of 2011, is the introduction to public health course. The course was developed by the USF Health College of Public Health (COPH), continues to have input from their faculty, and mainly focuses on social determinants of health. “You spotlight that in a course and then when you give the demographics of what that means for these various communities, it really does help broaden the expanse of how people view communities of color and why we do things like Bridge Clinic and Tampa Bay Street Medicine,” Dr. Sneed said. “We’re going to have to push to a different level of comfort, maybe even discomfort for many people in order for it to really take hold.”

A pharmacist has a unique place in the community. “Not everybody has a physician or has health insurance, but anybody can go to CVS and say, “my child has a fever,” Tricia Penniecook, MD, MPH, vice dean for education and faculty affairs for COPH, said. The patient benefits if the pharmacist has a public health world view and can help make decisions that are best for the patient’s situation.

USF College of Pharmacy Dean Kevin Sneed, PharmD, and Tricia Penniecook, MD, MPH, vice dean for education, participating in a Voices in Leadership panel discussion during USF Health Multicultural Week in 2019. Pre-Covid photo.

While colleges of medicine, nursing and pharmacy focus on helping patients where they are downstream, sick that day, public health looks upstream and tries to address what has happened to bring them to that point. Instead of individual-based care, public health professionals look at the care of groups of people in the population and find and fill gaps in their access to health care or the conditions for people to be healthy. That’s why interprofessional education is a critical part of USF Health because both kinds of roles are important. “As part of the discipline of public health, you’re supposed to take care of those who are at a disadvantage,” Dr. Penniecook, said. “The structures and systems in this country have put certain populations immediately at a disadvantage just because of that’s who they are when they are born.”

An integral part of every accredited college of public health in the United States is making sure that students learn about health inequities that are based on disparities. At USF Health’s COPH, students not only have courses specifically on health inequities, but the topic is addressed in every public health course from the undergraduate to the graduate level. Having this thread at every level means that students learn what the basis of those health inequities are, what they look like and how to address them no matter where their career takes them. According to Dr. Penniecook, this means that if the student is going to be working in the community, they’ve learned about community education and teaching people about self-advocacy in the healthcare system; if the student is going to be working within the system, they’ve learned about how to measure and address health inequities; or if the student is going to have a leadership role, they’ve learned about being proactive in looking for ways to solve the health inequities such as policy development.

Prior to COVID-19, COPH started working on an academic master plan. Dr. Penniecook, described an academic master plan as a road map within the strategic initiatives of the institution, that tells you what you need to do academically to get to your goals. In response to the murder of George Floyd, Dr. Penniecook asked Donna Petersen, ScD, MHS, CPH, dean of the USF Health COPH, if they could integrate structural racism into the academic master plan. Just like MCOM’s Dr. Bognar was previously quoted as saying that these changes have to be “baked in” the curriculum, Dr. Penniecook wanted these efforts to combat structural racism to be more strategic and woven into everything they do and who they are, so that it’s more likely to stick. A variety of work groups will be formed to include faculty, staff and students to look at admissions, curriculum, teaching methods, educational spaces and recruitment, and then make recommendations to the college structure. While this master plan is a work in progress and was paused when COVID-19 first hit, Dr. Petersen has already impacted and set the tone for the two freshman courses she teaches as a part of the Master of Public Health program. She has always had a required summer reading list, but this past summer, the entire list was equipped with books on structural racism. In addition, different aspects of structural racism have been the topic of several of the College’s townhall meetings, some lead by students, as well as episodes of the Activist Lab’s Activist Lab on the Road podcast.

An interprofessional student team across the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, and the School of Physical Therapy, at the 2018 USF Health Research Day. Pre-Covid Photo.

The curriculum used to educate our future health care professionals is only one piece of the puzzle. The faculty who teach it are the other. “Student exposure to those from impoverished backgrounds may occur for the first time when they are in medical school,” Haywood Brown, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, associate dean of diversity for USF MCOM, and vice president for institutional equity for the University of South Florida System, said. “They don’t get that in the classroom because there is so few, diverse faculty teaching the curriculum.” According to a board diversity statement from the American Council on Education (ACE), diversity in university student bodies, faculties and staff, enriches the educational experience, promotes personal growth and a health society, strengthens communities and the workplace, and enhances America’s economic competitiveness. “If you do not have a diverse workforce, the patients don’t benefit as much because you’re learning from each other,” Dr. Brown said.

In November 2020, the USF Health College of Nursing appointed Usha Menon, PhD, RN, FAAN, as the new dean after serving as interim dean of the College since February of that year. According to Dr. Roman, under this new leadership, one of the College’s initiatives is to increase the diversity, equity and inclusion not only in the curriculum, but also in the student, faculty and staff populations. As a part of this initiative, Dr. Menon realigned her senior administrators which included creating a director of diversity role, now filled by Ivonne Hernandez, PhD, RN, IBCLC, assistant professor at the USF CON. “What we are developing now, before we even start recruiting, is a way to retain,” Dr. Roman said. “We are nurse scientists, and we treat our patients and our students by the evidence. We are doing the same thing with diversity, equity and inclusion, and what our data shows is that when we have persons of color, they don’t stay.” CON’s strategic goals include increasing the diversity of research faculty by 35% and of clinical faculty by 10%, by 2023. One retention method coming soon is a mentoring program.

According to Dr. Roman, CON is not making these changes just to check off a box for diversity on a list of requirements. “The College of Nursing is doing a 360,” Dr. Roman said. “We’re changing everything. We are doing the right thing for all people and it’ll be a complete culture change.” A healthy and safe culture and work environment will also help retain high quality, diverse faculty. “We have to reiterate that incivility is not tolerated, and micro and macro aggressions are not tolerated,” Dr. Roman said. “We also have to bring to the forefront what already exists in the University processes for what to do if you feel violated and not to suffer in silence.”

Even outside of the university classrooms, USF Health students are coming together to fight racial disparities in the healthcare system. In August 2020, MCOM became an official chapter of the national White Coats 4 Black Lives. Open to all USF Health students, the goal of the organization is to safeguard the lives and well-being of patients through the elimination of racism. To accomplish this goal, WC4BL and the USF Health chapter look to foster dialogue on racism as a public health concern, end racial discrimination in medical care, and prepare future physicians to be advocates for racial justice. “It’s everyone’s responsibility, but it’s only a priority to some,” Smith said. “For those who make it their priority, we want to give them tools to learn how to engage in these spaces that make it safe for them and make it safe for the other person to have these kinds of courageous conversations. Equipping the next generation of thought leaders so they can change the thoughts out there.”

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Faculty, staff and students enjoyed a week of events representing USF Health’s bold commitment to educate, engage and celebrate cultural diversity, sensitivity and inclusivity.

USF Health Multicultural Week, Feb. 4-8, kicked off with welcoming remarks by Dr. Haywood Brown, vice president of institutional equity for the USF System, associate dean for diversity at the Morsani College of Medicine, and chief diversity officer for USF Health.  As guests sipped international coffees and teas, they were invited to place stickers on a USF Health World Map pinpointing their home countries, as well as countries where they had visited, studied or served in the military.

At the kick-off event international students and other guests were invited to make their mark on the USF Health world map.

A highlight of the weeklong celebration was the traditional Cultural Fiesta on Feb. 8, with a food truck rally featuring international cuisine and where student, faculty and staff models became “moving art” by wearing the traditional garments representing their cultures.  A first for this year’s fiesta: The WELL was transformed into a museum complete with artwork, historical artifacts and a sampling of refreshments from around the world.

When all was said and done, it was a week recognizing that the future of health is made better when different disciplines unite their distinctive strengths to provide care informed by the perspectives of a culturally rich community.

Below are some images capturing the thought-provoking and lively week:

“At USF we embrace a cultural environment built on sensitivity, tolerance, respect and equity,” Dr. Haywood Brown said in his welcome remarks at USF Health Multicultural Week.

Participants enjoy coffee, tea and desserts before participating in a cultural exchange of ideas, customs and experiences with international students.

Seema Martinez of MD Educational Affairs

Harrison Browne (at podium)  shared his remarkable and inspiring story of becoming the first openly transgender athlete on a professional sports team. Browne played three seasons for the National Women’s Hockey League — most recently with the 2018 national championship team, the Metroplitan Riveters. He has been nationally recognized for his pioneering spirit in advancing LGBTQ rights and diversity and inclusion in professional sports, as well as his athletic ability.

Participating in a Lunch & Learn panel discussion, from left, were USF College of Pharmacy Dean Kevin Sneed, PharmD; Tricia Penniecook, MD, MPH, vice dean for education, USF College of Public Health; Angela Hill, PharmD, a professor and associate dean, College of Pharmacy; and John Clark, PharmD, an assistant professor and director, College of Pharmacy. The USF Health leaders shared their personal stories of inspiration and empowerment as Black professionals in health care.

Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, attended the Cultural Fiesta, which is a highlight of week’s activities.

For USF Health “foodies,” the trucks offering a variety of international foods are a crowd-pleasing draw at the annual Cultural Fiesta.

Inside and outside THE WELL, students, faculty and staff models represented their cultures by wearing traditional garments, becoming walking works of art.

The USF Health Museum of Art and Culture, set up inside The WELL, was a popular addition to this year’s Cultural Fiesta.

Lively music, dancing and other performances are a must-have for every fiesta!

-Video by Torie M. Doll, and photos by Freddie Coleman and Torie M. Doll, USF Health Communications and Marketing

]]> https://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/blog/2017/03/14/usf-health-leaders-join-dialogue-help-underrepresented-scholars-advance-academic-careers/ Tue, 14 Mar 2017 21:11:13 +0000 https://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/?p=21427 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections regional conference hosted by USF Investing in young scholars who are underrepresented minorities (URM) is not only important for society and academia […]

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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections regional conference hosted by USF

Investing in young scholars who are underrepresented minorities (URM) is not only important for society and academia – it makes good business sense.

That theme was echoed by several speakers participating Feb. 27 in a regional conference sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) New Connections national career development program and the University of South Florida.  The day-long conference, titled “Uncovering the Institutional Impact of Scholars from Historically Underrepresented Backgrounds,” was held at the USF Marshall Student Center.

Members of the conference planning committee include, from left: June Lake, MA, USF College of Public Health;  Devona Foster Pierre, EdD, assistant director of faculty/staff diversity at USF; Angie Harris, USF College of Public Health; and event co-chair Jacqueline Wiltshire, PhD, assistant professor in the USF College of Public Health who has been a New Connections scholar.

Participants came from five Southeastern states – Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana and South Carolina – to define policies and best practices to help junior faculty and postdoctoral scholars from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds advance their academic careers. Representing a range of disciplines and institutions, they discussed working towards breaking down the barriers that may prevent talented URM researchers from securing grant funding, a disparity documented in part by a study commissioned by the National Institutes of Health and reported in Science.

USF System President Judy Genshaft kicked off the conference by recognizing Jacqueline Wiltshire, PhD, an assistant professor in the USF College of Public Health and New Connections grantee who worked with RWJF to bring the conference to USF. Dr. Wiltshire’s recent research evaluating factors that may influence medical debt incurred by African American and white older adults was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

USF Health leaders shared their experiences and insights in a panel discussion framing how to move beyond numbers to best practices in supporting underrepresented minority scholars.

USF is proud of its diversity and will continue to seek even more diversity in student, faculty and staff recruitment, Genshaft said. “We look forward to continuing the conversation regarding underrepresentation on our campuses and in our workforce, and on making a positive and thoughtful impact on changing the face of the nation.

“I really believe universities are vital for advancing science and opening up people’s minds (to new perspectives), and diversity enriches education in every way possible,” she said. “This is especially true for health care and health research professions, who are caring for our ever-growing, more diverse population and discovering cures for our most complicated diseases.”

Role of university leadership in strengthening diversity

The plenary panel discussion “Diversity by the Numbers: The Role of University Leadership” featured four senior health leaders at USF. The panel fielded questions from Tyra Dark, a New Connections grantee and faculty member at Florida State University College of Medicine, and the audience. Below is an edited sampling of some of their comments and advice to junior and aspiring faculty in the audience:

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Kevin Sneed, PharmD, senior associate vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF College of Pharmacy

Casting a wider net to find and recruit talented URM students and young faculty is just the beginning:  “You can’t be a catch and release program… We have to make sure we’re bringing people along and providing them with continual mentorship. In my experience, if we’re not creating that level of sustainable relationship building, the influence of other areas very often will become a distraction to their pathway to (academic) success.”

Creating an environment to build trust: “I’m very fortunate that I’ve encountered an environment here at USF, starting with President Genshaft and vice president for health Dr. Lockwood, that is very collaborative and has allowed me to be me … You have to build an environment that is very welcoming to underrepresented minorities, that allows faculty to have very open and honest conversations (with leadership) about a whole host of things.”

Additional financial pressures often confronted by underrepresented minorities as they select career options, which can include higher-paying private sector jobs: “We have to work harder to mentor them at younger stages in their careers, all the way back to when they are students and in residency training, and help them overcome the financial debt that many of our students must overcome to advance.”

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Catherine Lynch, MD, associate vice president of faculty development and women’s health, and the first woman to be promoted to professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

The need to be aware of “unconscious bias:” “There’s plenty of data that shows if you have several women on your short list, the likelihood of a woman becoming a finalist for a major position goes up… If you don’t have underrepresented minorities as faculty within your department, it’s hard for (physician) residents who are underrepresented to say ‘this is a place where I want to be.’”

Some advice for women on advancing a career: “You need to be strategic in the (academic) service that you do. Be on the committee that’s going to help you advance and meet the right people — that will be the most valuable use of your time…  If there are 10 requirements listed for a position, women tend to say ‘I don’t have number 7’ … But, if you already know everything on that list, you need to be looking for a position the next level up. Don’t assume if you work hard and keep your nose to the grindstone, you’ll be recognized for your efforts. Go to your supervisor and ask ‘what do I need to do to be the assistant director of so and so?’”

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Edmund Funai, MD, chief operating officer for USF Health and senior vice president for strategic development at USF

Importance of leaving a legacy of people: “As university leaders we really have to be mindful of looking for talent everywhere and developing that talent.  Talent isn’t necessarily right under your nose; you have to go a little further and look in nontraditional places.”

Advocating the business case for more URM representation in academia. “Part of the answer is… make the business case for diversity… And the business case for diversity, well known in the management literature, is that homogeneous groups do not produce as elegant or inclusive solutions as when everyone is represented around the table.”

Advice he gives all junior faculty regardless of their backgrounds: “When someone gives you something to do, do it a little better than they expect it to be done, but more importantly do it a lot quicker than they expect. Because when you’re talking about the hierarchy of departments and chairs, if someone delegates something and then they have to worry about it and ask you how is it coming, and they need updates, you’ve already failed… Your reward for that will be more work, but that’s the sort of behavior upon which careers are built.”

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Donna Petersen, ScD, associate vice president of USF Health, dean of the USF College of Public Health, and interim dean of the USF College of Nursing

The role of faculty in preparing a pipeline of young scholars: “We have to reach back and commit to identifying young people and helping them get on a path so that they are not only prepared to join the academy, but want to join the academy… In both the (USF) Colleges of Public Health and Nursing, the numbers (of URM) are increasing, particularly in the assistant professor ranks where you have to start. In the nursing college, we have the additional challenge of needing more men in our faculty… and I’m very proud that our college of nursing actually has more male faculty than the national average.”

The importance of listening and meaningful dialogue to building a foundation of diversity in academia: “We can talk about numbers, but what’ are the stories behind the statistics?…Nothing is more heartbreaking than hearing the stories of underrepresented minorities who make it through layers upon layers of an MD or PhD program and then find themselves in an institution where perhaps they are the only ones who look like them.”

Health disparities research: “While we need more underrepresented minorities joining the research ranks to help us solve the problems of health disparities in this country, it’s not your burden alone to solve…I would say to URMs interested in pursuing higher education as a career, study whatever you want. You don’t have to study the things that are specific to the community you come from.  If you want to, please do, but there are other ways you can engage in that conversation with the scholars focusing on health disparities.”

Jose Hernandez, EdD, associate vice president and chief diversity officer at USF, talked about what USF is doing to help scholars from historically underrepresented groups build the skills they need to succeed in academia.

Mentoring historically underrepresented faculty

Another panel, which focused on mentoring historically underrepresented minority faculty, included Jose Hernandez, EdD, associate vice president and chief diversity officer at USF.

Dr. Hernandez, who immigrated at age 9 with his parents from Cuba to Puerto Rico, said that, for two years, he was the only Latino in his doctorate program at Florida State University. He helps mentor USF students in the McNair Scholars Program, which aims to increase graduate degrees awarded to students from underrepresented segments of society.

Dr. Hernandez spoke about USF’s Research Boot Camp© coordinated by the USF Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity (DIEO), which he says was modeled after the research boot camp created by Sisters of the Academy Institute. Entering its third year, the USF camp offers an intensive one-week program in May designed to help women junior faculty, post-doctoral scholars and doctoral candidates, including women of color underrepresented in the academy, network with senior faculty and build the skills needed for success in academia. The one-week camp has been expanded to create a community of scholars with opportunities throughout the year to participate in sessions on research design and quality, publications, grantsmanship, and to discuss issues related to retention, promotion and tenure, he said.

USF’s Hernandez and other panelists listen to Bertha Hildalgo, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, speak about how, with the help of RWJF New Connections grant funding, she developed her research investigating health disparities in cardiometabolic diseases. Her studies have focused on epigenetics in Latino populations.

USF also hosts a series of “Courageous Conversations” to help promote a culture of diversity and inclusion, Dr. Hernandez said, and best hiring practices workshops for faculty serving on search committees address the topic of implicit bias and how to mitigate it.

“We’re making a difference, but how can we do more? And how can you inspire us to do more, particularly with underrepresented minorities?” said Dr. Hernandez, who serves on the National Association of Chief Diversity Officers Board of Directors.

The RWJF New Connections program recently celebrated its 10^th year supporting research grants and career development opportunities for a national network of more than 900 scholars from diverse, underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.  For more information, please visit http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/.

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Story by Anne DeLotto Baier and photos by Eric Younghans,  USF Health Communications

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Students from across the university attended the latest Diversity Lectures Series titled Reflection at the Intersection of Race and Medicine. The University of South Florida’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity and the Morsani College of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Enrichment hosted Dallas trauma surgeon Brian H. Williams, MD, FACS, a 2001 graduate of the Morsani College of Medicine and associate professor of surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who spoke here Feb. 15 about race relations and how they have impacted his life.

Dr. Williams addressed two groups, both primarily medical professionals and USF Health students. He cited emotional examples throughout his life of how race relations have shaped the person he’s become starting from his childhood, through his adult life, and his most recent experience in the wake of the July 7, 2016 Dallas police shooting.

Brian H. Williams, MD, FACS, a 2001 graduate of the Morsani College of Medicine and associate professor of surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, addresses a group students at the WELL.

“The shooting has been a rather transformative event in my life. I felt like the one thing that was not being discussed was social implications of what led us to a point where it was normal for black men to be dying and for it to be normal to turn around and shoot police officers,” said Dr. Williams, who was the trauma surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital where seven of the 12 wounded Dallas police officers were treated. “The main point I want the students to take away from my experience is that you cannot remain silent. Without good people speaking up to take a stance, they will continue to occur unabated.”

Dr. Williams never expected the events of what happened that evening would intersect with his personal and professional life. The chaos in the trauma center forced security to implement a code yellow, locking down the hospital. Dr. Williams and his team operated on three of the five officers who didn’t survive. He said his memories of cries from the families still haunt him. The events of that night, the chaos in the trauma center and his own race-related experiences drove him to tears that evening.

Dr. Williams poses for a photo with College of Public Health student Raaven Goffe.

His professionalism and dedication to patient care are why he and his team worked feverishly on the wounded police officer. They did not think about the race or occupation of the victims as they did all they could to save them. “In times of medical crisis, none of that matters,” he said.

Dr. Williams never planned to make the remarks he made during the July 11 nationally-televised press conference, but he felt that no one was talking about the “elephant in the room,” as he described it. He spoke candidly about how he felt about police brutality, racism, escalating violence, and talked about his own experiences with racism. He described the remarks he made as a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

He ended his session addressing the groups about what their role is in society and how people view medical professionals.

“As health care professionals, you all have power you may not realize. People revere you for what you do. Your words and actions can transform humanity. You can make a difference in medical school, at this university and in society,” he said to a group of primarily medical professionals and USF Health students. “There’s a price you pay for being silent and there’s a price for speaking up. My silence ended July 11. When will yours end?”

Raaven Goffe, who attended both of Dr. Williams’ presentations, appreciated how candidly he spoke about his experiences and how they changed his life. She described him as a brave man who had the courage to speak up.

“I was awe struck by how he was able to put together a coherent response that was able to get people to pay attention to an issue,” said the second-year College of Public Health student. “He would have my vote if he were a politician. As a medical doctor, he has my trust as a practitioner. He fights for his patients just like he fights for his community.”

Story, video and photos by Freddie Coleman