April  2024 | Volume 2

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion works to operationalize the values of inclusiveness, diversity, and equity across the division of BioMed. This work requires an exceptional team of committed, passionate, subject matter experts dedicated to advancing the health of all. Over the next several installments of the OBEDI Newsletter we will take a moment to introduce the members of our team, highlight their accomplishments and invite you to get to know a little bit more about them.

Patricia Poitevien, MD, MSc, FAAP

Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Meet Dr. Tracey Guthrie

Tracey M. Guthrie, MD is a Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Faculty Affairs in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. She is the Program Director for the Psychiatry Residency Training Program and Assistant Dean for Diversity in the Division of Biology and Medicine. She has been actively involved in medical education throughout her career, serving as the Associate Psychiatry Clerkship Director, Specialty Career Advisor for Brown medical students, and Director of the Residency Continuity Clinic.

Among the numerous honors she has received are the Outstanding Teaching Award in Medical School Education, the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Outstanding Teaching Award in General Psychiatry. Dr. Guthrie is passionate about teaching, mentoring, and diversity in medical education. She is currently the President-Elect for the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). She enjoys teaching others about financial wellness and is a regular attendee at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Dr. Guthrie oversees the Center for Workforce Recruitment and Retention which focuses on housestaff and faculty recruitment, mentoring and development. The Center supports programming like the Diversity in Medicine Visiting Student Scholarship (DVS), MEDSTEP (Mentoring and Educating Diverse Students and Trainees to Excel as Physicians) and affinity groups such as the Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA), the Brown Sexual Gender Minority Alliance and the Brown JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Faculty Association.

Dr. Guthrie's leadership has been instrumental to the work of OBEDI.

My Name Is...

Hi! My Name Is...

The Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Office of Student Affairs have partnered to launch the “My Name Is” Campaign. “My Name Is” highlights the importance of correctly identifying students, using their names consistently, and pronouncing them correctly.  

"As a profession, we have moved away from referring to patients solely by their diagnosis or room number," says Rory Merritt '09 MD'13, assistant dean of student affairs - learning environment. "We recognize that using a patient’s name centralizes their humanity while protecting their dignity. Likewise, making concerted efforts to use and pronounce a student’s name correctly has the same effect on learners." 

The campaign launched in January with a series of videos featuring members of The Warren Alpert Medical School community talking about the pronunciation and significance of their name. To assist members of the community, the offices have developed an infographic and one-page Pearls and Pitfalls guide. 

Watch "My Name Is" Video

Brother-2-Brother

From 1978 to 2019 the number of US enrolled medical students who are Black men dropped from 3.1% to 2.9%. “Brother-2-Brother” is an innovative longitudinal mentorship program which focuses on creating safe spaces for Black male students in medicine. The program encourages students to share their experiences and build community, while offering support and advice on navigating the world of academic medicine as a member of a marginalized group. This month, the mentors have been coaching the students through writing a manuscript for publication which examines the successes and challenges of the "Brother-2-Brother" mentorship model.

FirstGen

We welcome a new Affinity Group: First Gen @ The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, whose aim is to create an inclusive and empowering community for medical students who self-identify as first-generation, undocumented, and/or low-income.

SNMA & Wellness

Our SNMA Chapter hosted a Lunchtime Meditation Event featuring Chief Wellness Officer Kelly Holder, as part of their Black History Month Celebration. 

MEDSTEP

On February 20th, 2024, The Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OBEDI) hosted a MEDSTEP (Mentoring and Educating Diverse Students to Excel as Physicians) Empowerment Lunch featuring Drs. Carmen Monzon and Yvorn ‘Doc’ Aswad. Empowerment lunches are designed to encourage fellowship, to support students' growth, and development together, so they can thrive at Brown and Beyond! Over lunch, Dr. Carmen Monzon, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Dr. Yvorn ‘Doc’ Aswad, a 5th year resident in the Triple Board Residency Training Program, delivered an engaging presentation on "How to Find One's Purpose, Passion and Specialty". 

MEDSTEP

On March 25, 2024, the Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OBEDI) hosted a MEDSTEP (Mentoring and Educating Diverse Students to Excel as Physicians) Empowerment Lunch featuring Dr. Tracey Guthrie, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. Dr. Guthrie delivered a captivating presentation on the topic of Financial Wellness to help medical students, trainees, faculty and staff understand their relationship with money in order to make informed decisions about their financial future. Our final Empowerment Lunch for this academic year will take place in April where the topic of ‘Failure’ will be discussed.

Residency Recruitment

On March 9, 2024 OBEDI members joined representatives from the Family Medicine, Surgery and Pediatrics training programs at the Howard Residency Recruitment Fair in Washington, DC. The Residency Fair provides an opportunity for residency programs to network directly with the consortium of 11 medical schools in the DMV area and share valuable program information with prospective applicants. 

On March 2, 2024 OBEDI members along with representatives from the Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics training programs attended the Latino Medical Student Association’s (LMSA) Regional conference in New York City! This gave members of our BioMed community an opportunity to meet with Latine medical students from throughout the region and share information with them about our residency training programs and life in Providence, RI.

On February 2, 2024 the Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA) hosted a Virtual Happy Hour Second Look for applicants to the Brown sponsored residency programs. The on-line meeting allowed applicants to mix and mingle with current residents from different specialties. The virtual session provided insightful information regarding life in Residency, and life in Rhode Island.

Please join us to hear presentations from graduating Brown Advocates for Social Change and Equity (BASCE) Fellows and to celebrate their achievements. Selected BASCE fellows will present their projects followed by a celebratory reception on Thursday, May 2, 2024 | Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm EDT.

Please RSVP by completing this form.

The program is currently led by Anne Vera Cruz, PhD, Assistant Dean for Curriculum in Inclusive Teaching and Learning, and is facilitated by the Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. If you would like to learn more about BASCE please visit our website!

If you have any questions please contact us at: BASCE@Brown.edu.

The Rhode to Medicine Mixer took place on April 25, 2024! All Rhode to Medicine cohorts united and met for updates in the program, to build community, and to share experiences of their path towards medical education.

The Mentorship Early Exposure Training in Surgery (MEETS) Pathway Program was held April 15-19, 2024. Students from Central Falls High School & Shea High School were invited to participate in a week-long series of workshops at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In attendance, we had attendings/residents/fellows and medical students who provided resources, mentorship, and early exposure to students with an interest in a career in medicine and surgical specialties.

On March 6, 2024 Joseph Diaz, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Luckson Omoaregba, MS, Director of Pathway Programs went to the University of Rhode Island to present the available pathway programs for undergraduate students interested in a career in medicine: Rhode to Medicine (RTM), Clinical Experience in Neurology & Neurosurgery (CEINN), Early Identification Program (EIP) Program, etc.

In March we had the pleasure of hosting nearly 40 students from Central Falls High School Biomedical Academy and Woonsocket High School Biomedical Academy. They joined us for a meet & greet, and tours of both the Warren Alpert Medical School and Rhode Island Nursing Education Center at Rhode Island College.

Extra, Extra! Read all about it! @BrownMedicine Alumni Griffin Rodgers, MD'79 is considered a prominent Black Leader in Medicine. By Stacy Weiner, Senior Staff Writer at AAMC. Read more about these prominent leaders here.

Source: AAMC

SMART^® Celebrates 10 Years!

Over the last 10 years, SMART^® Teams have provided health care for a record-setting number of students as well as faculty, staff, and family members. They have managed acute individual and multi-person traumatic injury events, addressed critical incident stress issues stemming from on-campus tragedies, and provided lifesaving care to students whose diagnoses may have been missed or delayed in the context of traditional school health spaces. They have met the chronic, urgent, and emergent behavioral health needs of students and literally saved lives in real time. Additionally, SMART^® Clinics have added an unprecedented, unparalleled level of clinical care.

The work we do demonstrates that the journey to optimized health, wellness, and achievement is a systematic equation. Simply put, embedding SMART^® clinical and support teams within school spaces, and in full fidelity to the tenets and core values of SMART^®, creates a cultural momentum within a school that transforms the lives and trajectories of students every day and in real time.

There is no doubt that SMART^® is a key cornerstone to the rebuilding of our country’s academic infrastructure. The SMART^® Model is the gold standard by which all other school-based health services should be measured. We are grateful to have been divinely partnered with those with whom we share this work, and we look forward to where this journey will lead us next.

For the full SMART^® 10 Year Anniversary Report Preview, please click here.

Source: SMART^® 

Upcoming Events

Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island, on lands that are within the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. We acknowledge that beginning with colonization and continuing for centuries the Narragansett Indian Tribe have been dispossessed of most of their ancestral lands in Rhode Island by the actions of individuals and institutions. We acknowledge our responsibility to understand and respond to those actions. The Narragansett Indian Tribe, whose ancestors stewarded these lands with great care, continues as a sovereign nation today. We commit to working together to honor our past and build our future with truth.

Contact Us - T: (401) 863-9855  |  E: OBEDI@Brown.edu  |  W: diversity.biomed.brown.edu