McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Concerning recruitment and retention, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion cites to an APA Inclulsive Language Guidelines site that recommends "using inclusive language in writing" and "avoiding microaggressions in conversation."

As part of its "Potential Applicants" page, the Division of Urology states that it "uses a holistic approach to review applications and values applicants with diverse backgrounds" and that the "Medical School and GME Office sponsor second-look visits for the Underrepresented Population."

The Internal Medicine Residency program "recruit[s] and train[s] physicians who reflect the diversity of our city and share our resolution to serve our patients regardless of their social circumstances."

The schools strategic plan for education for 2018-2022 states as a goal that, "by 2020, all students will have participated in unconscious bias training and social determinants of health training activity" supported by a strategy to "support initiatives that promote health equity and inclusion.'

The Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School hosts a number of DEI Events including a “DEI ICE Cream Social,” DEI focused education workshops, and DEI focused research presentations.

The McGovern Center is a center at the medical school that "helps students explore health care through the lenses of history, ethics, law, literature, religion and spirituality, social science, cultural studies, and the arts."

On January 12, 2023, the school's "Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Action" newsletter featured Anjail Sharrief, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Neurology. According to Dr, Sharrief, her department has "engaged in several efforts to support diversity and inclusion including curriculum development for residents and faculty."

The college's Internal Medicine residency program features a "longitudinal curriculum examining the role of structural racism and other biases on health outcomes." Additionally, the Taboos in Medicine and Health Equity Barriers curriculum "aims to: increase knowledge of the scope of health disparities in the US healthcare system; enhance awareness of the structural and societal barriers that influence health disparities; equip residents with tools and skills to address health disparities and effectively care for diverse patient populations; and increase knowledge of community resources available to under served and vulnerable patient populations."

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion links to a Texas Diversity Consortium statement in response to the death of George Flloyd, which in part states, "We also recognize, and must acknowledge, the frustration felt in communities across this country, born of continuing racial and ethnic disparities in education, employment, health, and the justice system. There is no excuse for overuse of power and authority that is seen in the United States but we must be willing to confront the social problems in our country--we have ignored too long."

Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery hosts the "Underrepresented in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Medical Student Summer Research Program." Interested students are asked to email faculty members for additional information.

The school hosts a vast number of resources related to "Race and Medicine."

This school has a an Office of Diversity and Inclusion that serves "to provide structure and support to this commitment, offering resources and specific programs that enhance our mission, such as mentoring for students and faculty."

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion at McGovern Medical School provides a number of Implicit Bias Resources including “Understanding Implicit Bias,” “Targeting Unconscious Bias in Healthcare,” “Intersectionality and the Dangers of White Empathy when Treating Black Patients,” and “A Skills-Based Elective in Implicit Bias Recognition and Management for Preclinical Medical Students.”

On July 18, 2023, UTHealth Houston News reported that for the first time, "McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston will participate in the National Football League’s (NFL) 2023 Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative, which aims to increase and diversify the pipeline of students interested in pursuing careers in sports medicine and, over time, to help diversify NFL club medical staffs."

On January 31, 2023, the school announced its Office of Diversity and Inclusion "Speaker Series" and stated that "The office invites the UTHealth Houston community to attend as many of these speaker sessions as they would like to enhance their own knowledge and understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion."

On March 6, 2023, the school reported that "The 18th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, which is the joint meeting of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) and the Society of University Surgeons (SUS), was held February 7-9, 2023, in Houston." The Congress featured presentations by McGovern students and residents and included a presentation titled "Removing Implicit Bias from Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident Recruitment: Changing the Paradigm."

The Medical School's 2024-2028 Strategic Plan states that it would "[s]upport initiatives that promote health equity" and "[d]evelop a speaker series that addresses clinical skills, research, and health equity."

The MMS Center for Humanities and Ethics features a book titled "Black Health: The Social, Political, and Cultural Determinants of Black People’s Health" by alumnus Keisha Ray, PhD. The description reads in part as follows: "Black Health dispels any notion that Black people have inferior bodies that are inherently susceptible to disease. This is simply false racial science used to justify White supremacy and Black inferiority."

In July 2020, the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics released a statement on racial justice "to recommit ourselves to the struggle against racism and for a more equitable society."

In its push for DEI Initiatives, McGovern Medical School has created a new position of vice chairs for diversity and inclusion whose role is “to create cultural awareness and knowledge and provide vision and leadership for diversity and inclusion initiatives across the department’s various clinical, research, and teaching sites.”

In order to highlight what each department is doing to help create a culture of diversity and inclusion, McGovern Medical School has a monthly column called, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action.”

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion at McGovern Medical School is hosting its Spring 2023 Diversity and Equity Speaker Series which will cover topics including “Neurodiversity and Inclusion in Research and Healthcare.”