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

Medical School

Mailing Address
6431 Fannin
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone
(713) 500-5116
School Information
"McGovern Medical School is the ninth-largest medical school in the United States. Located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, the school was established by the Texas Legislature in 1969 to address the shortages of physicians and the then-untapped resources for medical education in Houston. The first class of 19 entered the Medical School 1970, and by 1979, class sizes of 200, legislatively supported through state formula funding, were the norm. Today, McGovern Medical School accepts classes of 240 per year to meet the growing demand of physicians throughout the state of Texas. (See McGovern Medical School timeline) With nearly 1,000 medical students and a similar number of residents and fellows, McGovern Medical School is the ninth-largest and most diverse medical school in the country. Students have access to the latest technology and are taught with an emphasis on humanities, ethics, patient quality, and safety" (Source: https://med.uth.edu/about-us/).

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • 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."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • 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.
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • 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."
Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
  • 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."
Resources
  • 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."
Symbolic Actions
  • 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.”
Last updated August 11th, 2023
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