Locations:
Search
When the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University was established in 2002, one of its goals was to attract the best students from the widest variety of backgrounds, knowing that diversity, in all its forms, breeds new perspectives, ideas and discovery. Our admissions team acts intentionally to seek out candidates who are enthusiastic and motivated about research, demonstrate excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, and possess rich and varied experiences in their personal and academic life. We look for candidates who’ve had interesting journeys. And, of course, we seek candidates from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
But recruitment is just the beginning. We’ve had to ask ourselves how we’re doing in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion once our students arrive. Are we doing everything we can to ensure that our students as well as our faculty feel that they belong? While I’d like to think the answer is yes, I know that creating and maintaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment, one that ideally eliminates barriers to ensure fair treatment, takes continuous, dedicated commitment and, most important, purposeful action.
Within CCLCM and in collaboration with caregivers across the Cleveland Clinic enterprise, 10 action groups have been mobilized to tackle a variety of aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Under the direction of the Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-racism Steering Committee, which is led by Monica Yepes-Rios, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Students, and Jazmine Sutton, MD, Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion, these groups have made meaningful strides that bring us closer to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.
I encourage you to read about the groups’ goals and progress thus far toward realizing our vision, from creating a curriculum on microaggressions and allyship to establishing a formal mentor/mentee match program for students, in “We Are One: Diligent work is underway to enhance our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.” For an overview of our DEI efforts as well as a deep dive into the Curriculum Review LBGTQ+ Action Group’s work, I invite you to view the DEI segment of our recent State of the College address (start at 27:31).
Finally, I’d like to recognize and thank the dozens of CCLCM faculty members and students, as well as caregivers from across our enterprise who have committed to this essential work and have made it a priority. Their names are included in the article mentioned above.
I remain confident that together, through commitment and bold action, we can begin to reshape our learning environment so that the students we train become not only excellent physician investigators, but also culturally competent providers who are aware of unconscious biases, work to reduce healthcare disparities and serve as role models for those who follow in their footsteps.
Bud Isaacson, MD
Executive Dean
