Resolution: F-20-19 (LATE): INCREASING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN MEDICINE THROUGH CREATING DIVERSITY COMMITTEES ACROSS ALL OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS

[Valerie Lile]

1  WHEREAS, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2018 it
2  was estimated that among active physicians, only 5.8% identified as Hispanic and 5% were
3  Black/African American, while 56.2% identified as White¹; and
4  WHEREAS, there is a discrepancy in representation of these minorities within the profession as
5  Hispanic people make up 16.72% and Black/African American people make up 12.3% of the
6  U.S. population¹⁴; and
7  WHEREAS, a meta-analyses and large-scale study that related diversity in the healthcare
8  workforce to financial or health outcomes found that patients fared better, had increased
9  innovation, better team communication, and improved financial results with increased diversity⁷;
10  and
11  WHEREAS, increasing diversity in healthcare has been shown to reduce or eliminate racial
12  health disparities⁸; and
13  WHEREAS, to increase underrepresented minorities in medicine for the sake of providing the
14  best care to our diverse patient population, it is important to have a healthcare workforce
15  representative of the architecture of our communities as it relates to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual
16  orientation, socioeconomic status and more⁵; and
17  WHEREAS, the societal (and institutional) acts of discrimination, stigma, and oppression has
18  led to a higher prevalence of mental illness among minority student populations²; and
19  WHEREAS, Diversity Committees that advocate for underrepresented minorities in medicine
20  aim to elevate the student voice and create a support system to improve self-esteem and provide
21  a greater sense of belonging³; and
22  WHEREAS, utilizing the existing survey from the Higher Education Research Institute at
23  University of California-Los Angeles, research found medical students’ perspectives of culture
24  and societal issues related to diversity are influenced by their medical school experiences4; and
1  WHEREAS, to follow the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
2  (AACOM) Council on Diversity and Equity’s purpose to, “Advance the mission of promoting
3  and increasing a culture of diversity and inclusion by its very value and through advocacy,
4  education, and communication to serve our members, students, institution, and the profession.”6;
5  and
6  WHEREAS, in 2018, the American Medical Association (AMA) advocated “optimal health for
7  all” by increasing physician workforce diversity⁵; and
8  WHEREAS, there is already student movement through the White Coats for Black Lives
9  initiative to increase awareness racial injustice within the history of medical education and to
10  increase diversity in the medical student population¹⁵; and
11  WHEREAS, through the union of professional organizational advocacy and grassroots effort of
12  the collective student voice, advancements within medical education can be implemented to
13  create positive institutional change⁹; now, therefore be it
14  RESOLVED, that SOMA will advocate for the Commission on Osteopathic College
15  Accreditation (COCA) to work to create an accreditation requirement that all Colleges of
16  Osteopathic Medicine’s (COMs) have a Diversity Committee to address minority health
17  disparities in vulnerable populations through increasing student diversity and improving cultural
18  competency in curriculum; and be it further
19  RESOLVED, that SOMA will advocate for AACOM to formally support the formation of
20  individual COM Diversity Committees to address minority health disparities in vulnerable
21  populations through increasing student diversity and improving cultural competency in
22  curriculum; and be it further
23  RESOLVED, that SOMA students join or initiate discussion and formation of Diversity
24  Committees at the COM level; and be it further
25

26  RESOLVED, that COMs Diversity Committees include student involvement to implement the 5
27  initiatives developed by the AACOM’s Council of Diversity and Equity¹⁰; and be it further
28  RESOLVED, that along with the 5 initiatives of the AACOM’s Council of Diversity and Equity,
29  these Diversity Committees at every Osteopathic medical school ensure that their curriculum
30  includes Osteopathic Core Competencies for Medical Students, particularly, V7: Professional
31  Competencies in Cultural Competency and IX: Cultural Competencies¹¹.

Explanatory Statement

“The osteopathic medical education community has an opportunity to be part of the answer, but change won’t happen unless everyone leans in. Listening creates awareness, awareness leads to openness, openness allows room for education and training, and education helps us all to think and act differently. Step one is to engage our staff, learners, faculty and others in an opportunity to not just listen, but to truly hear what is being said. But that’s not enough. It must also lead to other steps to help us actively seek out racism – overt and implicit – so that we can change our practices, reshape our focus and ultimately stamp it out by creating new ways of doing business. We call on everyone in our communities to come to the table, as well as hold us accountable, as we work together to find ways to heal not only the body, but the heart as well.”¹²

AACOM has made the above statement in response to recent national events, calling the Osteopathic Medical Education Community to take action to be part of the solution. This resolution is a chance for all of us to respond to this call with an actionable item.

SOMA Policy:

1. Resolution: S-20-7: RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN MEDICINE
2. Resolution: S-19-23: Subject: ADVOCATING FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF ACCREDITATION STANDARDS ON DIVERSITY AT OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS
3. Resolution: S-15-07 CALL TO ACTION FROM AOA TO ENCOURAGE STANDARDIZATION OF THE ADMISSIONS NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE ADOPTED BY EACH OF THE 35 CAMPUSES OF THE AOA AFFILIATED COLLEGES OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE TO INCLUDE RACE, RELIGION, COLOR, SEX, GENDER IDENTITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, VETERAN OR MILITARY STATUS, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AND CREED.
4. Resolution: S-13-06: Subject: TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS

Policy of Other Organizations Named in the Resolved Statements (AOA/AMA/etc.):

“The osteopathic profession has always proudly embraced diversity and inclusion and the unqualified value placed on human life. Our profession has a long-standing commitment to addressing health disparities and supporting programs aimed at reducing violence of all kinds, including those that have a disproportionate impact on minority communities. We embrace the belief that all aspects of an individual, including but not limited to race, contribute to the whole person and should never result in disadvantage or infliction of harm.” ¹³  – AOA

References

1. AAMC. Figure 18. Percentage of all active physicians by race/ethnicity, 2018. AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/figure-18-percentage-all-active-physicians-race/ethnicity-2018. Published 2020. Accessed June 25, 2020
2. Roberts LW. Part IV: Fostering Mental Health for Distinct Student Populations. Students of Color. In: Student Mental Health: A Guide for Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Leaders Serving in Higher Education. First. Washington, DC, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2018:400-409.
3. Advocacy for mental health. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2003 (Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package).
4. Guiton G, Chang MJ, Wilkerson L. Student Body Diversity: Relationship to Medical Students’ Experiences and Attitudes. Academic Medicine. 2007;82(10):S85-S88. doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e31813ffe1e.

5. Stanford FC. The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Healthcare Workforce. Journal of the National Medical Association. March 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2020.03.014.
6. Gomez LE, Bernet P. Diversity improves performance and outcomes. J Natl Med Assoc. 2019;111(4):383-392. doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2019.01.006
7. LaVeist T.A., Pierre G.: Integrating the 3Ds—social determinants, health disparities, and health-care workforce diversity. Publ Health Rep 2014; 129: pp. 9-14
8. Robeznieks A. Health equity commitment being embedded in DNA of AMA’s work. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/health-equity-commitment-being-embedded-dna-ama-s-work. Published January 25, 2019. Accessed June 24, 2020.
9. Moss JL, Hardy EC, Cooley KAL, Cuffe SN, Lang ML, Kennedy AB. Students Advocating for Diversity in Medical Education. MedEdPublish. 2019;8(3). doi:10.15694/mep.2019.000159.1.
10. AACOM. AACOM’s Diversity Council Holds National Meeting. AACOM News . https://www.aacom.org/news-and-events/news-detail/2019/02/04/aacom-s-diversity-council-holds-national-meeting. Published February 4, 2019. Accessed June 25, 2020.
11. AACOM.; 2012. Osteopathic Core Competencies for Medical Students. https://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/core-competencies/corecompetencyreport2012.pdf?sfvrsn=4. Accessed June 25, 2020.
12. AACOM. AACOM Diversity News. AACOM Statement on Racism and Injustice. https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/diversity-in-ome/diversity-news-detail/2020/06/02/aacom-statement-on-racism-and-injustice. Published 2020. Accessed June 26, 2020.
13. AOA. AOA Statement Denouncing Racism and Inequality. American Osteopathic Association. https://osteopathic.org/2020/06/04/aoa-statement-denouncing-racism-and-inequality/. Published June 23, 2020. Accessed June 26, 2020.
14. DATA USA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/united-states#ethnicity. Accessed June 27, 2020.
15. White Coats for Black Lives. https://whitecoats4blacklives.org/2020/06/19/actions-speak-louder/. Accessed June 27, 2020.

Submitted by:

Giselle Irio, OMS- IV – Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Sidra Ali, OMS II – Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Courtney Thrower, OMS- IV, Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Shaun Antonio, OMS IV- Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Edith Waskel, OMS IV- College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific

Action Taken: [Leave Blank. Will be Approved by the House of Delegates or Not Approved.]
Date: [Leave Blank. Date submitted to National Vice President and the National Office.]
Effective Time Period: Ongoing

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