diversity & inclusion

SOLIDARITY

We, the residents and faculty of the Med-Peds Program at Brown University, share the dismay and outrage at the racial discrimination reported by Dr. Princess Dennar and her dismissal as Program Director of the Med-Peds Program at Tulane University School of Medicine (TUSOM) in 2021.

We feel it is important to make a public statement that unequivocally 1) calls for action and 2) shows our support for Dr. Dennar as well as the residents, students, and faculty of TUSOM, and the patients they serve.

welcome from our diversity officer

I am thrilled that you are considering the Brown University Med-Peds Program for your residency training. The program has a long history of fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for residents.  We understand that diversity gives all healthcare providers the opportunity to explore different cultures, which enriches the educational experience and, more importantly, provides a framework for each resident physician to better understand their patients and provide excellent patient care.

The Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine at Alpert Medical School are committed to building diverse and inclusive Residency Programs. We are excited to announce the expansion of our diversity initiative in the upcoming academic year. Our overarching goal is to increase the number of residents from diverse backgrounds. As you research residency programs, I invite you to learn about the culture of Providence and greater Rhode Island. Rhode Island is much more than the home of outstanding universities and wonderful beaches. The City of Providence is racially, ethnically, socioeconomically, and spiritually diverse. Please check out our guidebook for more information.

The Brown Med-Peds Residency Program is proud to partner with the Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA), Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Association (BSGMA), and the Brown University Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA).

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about Providence or our residency program.

Sabina D. Holland, MD
Diversity Officer for the Department of Pediatrics
Sabina_Holland@brown.edu

about

The Alpert Medical School of Brown University are committed to serving a community that includes a diverse cultural and socioeconomic mix. Our institutions are committed to advancing diversity and inclusion within the healthcare field by supporting our faculty and housestaff and training them to provide care for the specific needs of these community groups. The Brown Minority Housestaff Association and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) are devoted to providing a supportive space to all housestaff and learning opportunities to improve culturally competent patient care.

  • ODMA’s Diversity in Medicine Virtual Residency Recruitment Fair is coming soon (see details below)! Click here to view a recording of last year’s event that featured overviews of Alpert Medical School and specific residency programs at Brown, a day in the life of our residents, strategies for virtual applications, and Q&A session. 

BMHA

The Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA) is a resident/fellow-run organization that helps promote diversity and inclusion within the hospital and graduate medical education communities. Every year, the organization sponsors lectureships and community outreach opportunities that housestaff can participate in. BMHA also works closely with Brown’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. Furthermore, residents can serve as mentors to rising medical students as they navigate choosing a specialty and applying for the match. Katrina Byrd (Combined Med-Peds ID Fellow) is the BMHA President for AY2020-21. If you are interested in speaking with a BMHA representative during your interview virtual visit to Brown, please let us know and we will gladly arrange an introduction.

bsgma

The Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance (BSGMA) is an organization devoted to education, advocacy, and support for sexual and gender minority trainees and faculty affiliated with the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Membership is open to any and all trainees, faculty, and students regardless of identity or orientation. For more information, please email brownsgma@gmail.com or check out their Instagram @brownsgma.

basce fellowship

Brown Advocates for Social Change and Equity (BASCE) is a Fellowship offered through the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. BASCE Fellows are selected to participate in a yearlong program aimed at developing healthcare leaders who will engage peers in dialogue around issues of racism, cultural diversity, inclusion, social justice and health equity. The program, open to medical students, residents, fellows, attendings, and allied health professionals, encourages vertical and horizontal mentorship and learning in a non-hierarchical manner with current and past BASCE cohorts. Founded in 2017, BASCE encourages deepening of antiracism work through foundational understandings of theories including Critical Race Theory, Public Health Critical Race Praxis, Camara Jones’ three levels of racism, DisCrit, and Critical Whiteness Studies. BASCE Fellows are trained to facilitate sessions and engage in critical antiracism and anti-oppression work within their institution. Fellows are provided access to up to $500 to develop and carry out a leadership project. For more information please email odma@brown.edu.

med talks

Medical Education through Diversity (MED) Talks is a speaker series initiated in 2015 as a means of creating and facilitating dialogue between patients and the medical community that cares for them. Representatives from minority populations are invited as panelists and asked to share their cultural values and reflect on how such perspectives influence their interface with the medical system and their healthcare providers. Audience members are encouraged to ask difficult ethical questions aimed at increasing provider understanding of the most  culturally competent and humble care. This project is supported by grants from the Gold Foundation and funds from the Brown Minority Housestaff Association. Past panels have explored bias and disparity amongst multiple groups and communities including resettled refugees, LGBTQ youth, Jehovah’s Witnesses, incarcerated patients, patients with housing insecurity, veterans, patients suffering from obesity, victims of sexual assault and trafficking, and those with histories of trauma.

BRIM

Brown’s Department of Internal Medicine is one of 20 such departments in the United States participating in Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine (BRIM), an educational faculty development study to address identification and reduction of implicit bias. Dr. Dominick Tammaro (Internal Medicine Residency Program Director) serves as the local lead faculty member for this project, which is based at the University of Wisconsin, and was initiated at Brown in fall 2020.  

second look for underrepresented students

Every year, URM students are invited to participate in the annual Brown Minority Housestaff Association Second Look Dinner in February after interview season is over. Students will be notified of the date during their interview and will be invited to participate in a dinner provided by the BMHA and the Brown University ODMA. This is a great time to network and meet up with other medical students, residents and faculty at Brown. Applicants who are interested in visiting the hospital and shadowing on rounds should contact the program coordinators to arrange for your visit. [Please note that we anticipate a virtual second-look for AY2021-22]

visiting medical student scholarship

Brown University and Hasbro Children’s Hospital is proud to sponsor the Diversity in Medicine Visiting Student Scholarship. Every year, qualified URM students are selected from a competitive applicant pool to receive this scholarship to help pay for costs associated with doing away rotations at Brown. Medical students who are interested in applying for residency at Brown are encouraged to apply. Those students will be paired up with resident and faculty members of the BMHA for mentorship. Students can choose from a variety of visiting electives. We strongly encourage students interested in this scholarship to apply for away rotations early. Questions about this scholarship should be directed to diversity-visiting-scholarship@brown.edu  [Institutional restrictions due to COVID-19 did not permit visiting electives for AY2020-21, consistent with national guidance for the AY2020-21 recruitment cycle. Stay tuned for updated regarding AT2021-22.]