Student Teaching Assistant Support Program for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism Curriculum Integration
Bibliographic Data
Purpose: Previous literature highlights the importance of diverse and respectful representation in medical education and its association with the promotion of improved cultural competency and awareness among students.1,2 Despite this, medical school courses are often deficient in inclusive language, visuals, and diverse perspectives.3 Furthermore, there is a current lack of concrete initiatives in place at medical institutions to address such gaps.4 As a result, the “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (DEI-AR) Teaching Assistant (TA) Program” was established in 2021 at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM). Through close partnership between students and faculty, this program aims to support a DEI-AR–focused enhancement, including innovative restructuring of existing courses to promote health equity in medical education. The DEI-AR TA program addresses several of Mayo Clinic’s strategic goals for equity, inclusion, and diversity, including that of eliminating bias, that of activating to a commitment against racism, and that of reflecting patient and community diversity in learners. The program provides an important opportunity for diverse MCASOM learners to develop meaningful partnerships with faculty as TAs valued for DEI expertise and personal lived experience. The DEI-AR TA program is additionally supportive of Liaison Committee on Medical Education Element 3.3, Diversity/Pipeline Programs and Partnerships. Approach: To address the paucity of DEI-AR content courses, the DEI-AR TA program is a 6-month longitudinal collaboration between course directors and compensated medical student TAs. TAs undergo standardized onboarding and attend biweekly team meetings to share updates, seek input and support, and collaboratively develop TA program best practices. DEI resources and best practice course enhancement guidelines are available to both TAs and course directors. After initial meetings between course directors and TAs to align goals and develop a shared vision for proposed refinements, TAs collaborate with faculty to complete revisions to incorporate DEI-AR enhancements. Examples of enhancements include elimination of stigmatizing language; removal of patient background identifiers when not pertinent, including background identifiers with varying elements of diversity to reflect the patient population; standardized use of racial/ethnic and LGBTQI+ nomenclature in concordance with national guidelines; and intentional discussion of health disparities and inequities. Outcomes: The program has engaged 14 TAs to date. A total of 8 courses have completed partnership with the program and another 8 courses are currently in partnership. Outcomes are assessed through standardized, anonymous postcourse student evaluations. Preliminary evaluation results are positive and show improved student satisfaction regarding DEI knowledge and exposure in 2 aspects: (1) cases and (2) content and discussion. Discussion: Transparent dialogue with course directors acknowledges barriers to change, including time constraints and lack of expertise, and also reveals strong motivators for change: rebuilding student trust in faculty and the organization. Baseline evaluations revealed dissatisfaction with DEI representation in courses. By making deliberate efforts to address these concerns, several changes have occurred. First, there has been increased opportunity to stimulate discussion and advance knowledge on DEI content specific in multiple preclinical courses. Second, improved representation in race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexuality, and other patient identity characteristics is seen in the course curriculum. Significance: In our increasingly diverse society, patients may experience illness in ways that are different from their physician’s experience. Early exposure to inclusive visuals and clinical presentations in preclinical courses is important to minimize bias and improve health outcomes.5 The implementation and continued improvement of diverse medical school curricula foster the development of culturally competent and open-minded physicians. Ultimately, this will serve to benefit diverse patient populations and create a physician–patient relationship based on trust and respect
Curriculum · General partnership · Health equity · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Racism · Social science · Sociology · Cultural Competency in Health Care · Global Health Workforce Issues · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
| Highly cited | No |
|---|