The Department of Surgery is dedicated to optimizing its diversity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination broadly in all areas of clinical, research, educational, and administrative activity. It does so by promoting the foundational values of an inclusive culture and ensuring health equity for the population it serves.
Niels D. Martin, MD
Vice Chair for Diversity & Inclusion
Congruent with School of Medicine initiatives, the department has a Vice Chair for Diversity & Inclusion. The Vice Chair has several roles including ensuring broad consideration of potential faculty candidates. In recognizing the pipeline to faculty recruitment that our training programs play, the Vice Chair also works closely with housestaff recruitment, including ensuring a holistic review of all applicants. The Vice Chair also captures data & metrics of the department and provides reports to its leadership.
The Vice Chair has representation on several vital committees within the department, providing the lens of D&I and ensuring recognition of any unconscious biases that may exist. The Vice Chair currents sits on the Department’s executive committee, the Committee On Appointments and Promotions (COAP), the Department’s Awards committee, and is a member of the Division of Surgical Education as well.
The Department of Surgery also recognizes the importance of collaboration with both local and extra-mural stakeholders. Alignment with the School of Medicine’s office of Diversity & Inclusion brings broader resources and sharing of best practices. Supporting pipeline programs such as the Alliance for Minority Physicians (AMP) is also essential. The Center for Surgical Health is a new initiative that supports health equity for surgical patients and is an important collaboration within the department. More broadly, ensuring the department has representation in societies such as the Association of Women Surgeons, the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, to name a few, are also important components of this initiative.
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