RUSH Medical College

On August 29, 2023, Rush issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's decision on race-based admissions which states the following: "As a university and academic health system already deeply committed to health equity and increasing access to health science careers, we will carefully review the decision to ensure full compliance with it moving forward. That said, we believe that the opinion will have minimal effect on RUSH University operations and admissions policies...RUSH University is steadfastly focused on the promotion and preservation of the health and well-being of our diverse communities. This is only possible by embracing diversity, equity and inclusion."

Rush Medical College provides a "non-exhaustive list" of anti-racism resources and framework that "can assist with facilitating [one's] growth, awareness, and action based on the framework of Helms’ White Identity Development", which "identifies a continuum to develop an anti-racist identity."

The school's Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Department participates in "implicit bias and anti-racism training for all staff."

The Division of Community and Global Health Equity at RUSH states, "Implicit bias training is in place to promote holisitc [sic] review for residency programs and faculty participating in interviews."

The school published its "Anti-Racism Curriculum" and stated, "we believe that it is critical to teach students to have authentic dialogues and think critically about the historical injustices that underpin and currently impact modern-day clinical medicine in the United States." (The curriculum is taught in all four years of medical school)

The Department of Pediatrics at Rush Medical School has "implemented a unique Diversity, Equity and Inclusion curriculum with the aim of assisting staff, faculty and trainees to embrace difference, treat each other with respect, address health inequities, and deliver outstanding clinical care."

In June 2020, in commemoration of Juneteenth, the school "announced the formation of its Racial Justice Action Committee to combat systemic racism in the delivery of care" to provide "policies and action plans that create meaningful change across the entire Rush system and beyond."

The RUSH Medical Center's "Mission and Commitment to DEI" states that it "[a]dvances racial justice and equity by dismantling barriers, righting injustices, being actively anti-racist and promoting equity in health care, in learning, in research and in our communities across the Rush system."

The "goal" of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship program at Rush is to "train addiction medicine fellows to address racism and to build a diverse workforce to provide practical, community-based addiction treatment."

The Diversity and Inclusion Visiting Scholars Program at RUSH "is an innovative program that is designed to advance our diversity and inclusion mission, provide mentoring, networking, stipend support, and the opportunity to experience clinical medicine at Rush..." and seeks "exceptional medical students who have demonstrated a commitment to health equity and addressing health and healthcare disparities in underserved and marginalized communities."

The school has its own "Anti-Racism and Racial Justice Resource Guide."

The school has an anti-racism book list that includes, among many other titles, Ibram X. Kendi's "How to be and Antiracist."

The school's Racial Justice Action Committee (RJAC) held a virtual town hall titled "Caste," in which it discussed the book "Caste" by Isabel Wilkerson. RJAC provided self-guided discussion questions for members to discuss in group settings. Questions include "what are some of the steps that society, and each of us, can take toward dismantling the caste system?" and "what are the ways that we can work to compensate for the unconscious biases inherent in a caste system?"

Rush Medical College's Diversity and Inclusion page links news related to DEI. One news story highlighted is titled "Heal the System: Medicine Must be Anti-Racist", which details how internal medicine physician Susan Lopez, MD, talked to KevinMD about how "structural racism persists in patient experiences in health care institutions everywhere."

Josune N. Iglesias, MD, FACP--associate professor at Rush Medical College--serves on the DEI Committee of the American College of Physicians.

The DEI Governance Structure at Rush is comprised of an Executive Leadership Council (ELC), an executive sponsor (Peter Butler), a Diversity Leadership Council (DLC), university D&I/Management Steering Committees, and strategy owners.

The Chicago Tribune highlighted how Rush Medical Center's REACH MedSTEM Explorers program helps Black or Latinx and first-generation college attendees gain ground in the medical and health care arena.

The school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resource page includes "Project Implicit: Implicit Association Test (IAT)" and "How to Be Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi​.

On August 13, 2020, the Chicago Tribune published an article entitled "Black Chicagoans confront bias in health care, hope for change" which discusses racism and bias in the medical profession. At Rush Medical College, Xavier Ramey (CEO of Justice Informed, a social impact consulting firm that’s worked with many organizations) has "reviewed elements of the curriculum and trained core teaching faculty on the different types of racism and on how to teach students not to let racism, or their implicit bias, affect the care they give patients."

The Racial Justice Action Committee aims to "ensure that Black lives matter inside and outside the walls of Rush University System for Health" and identify "new ways that we can all work together to advance social and racial justice."

In December 2020, the RJAC made several recommendations to Rush Medical College. Recommendations include "[reviewing] hiring practices and policies for opportunities to increase Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) candidates and reduce bias" and "[navigating] patients, students, employees and others on campus to social work/mental health interventions as needed instead of security/policing interventions."

Rush University has a "DE&I and racial justice and equity commitment statement."

Rush states that it "puts diversity and inclusion at the center of all that [it does] for [its] patients, staff and the community [it serves]." Rush reports that 50% of its employees and 46% of its residents and fellows are minorities. The school also states that it has a Diversity Leadership Council to "[ensure] diversity is a key driver within initiatives in leadership and accountability, employee hiring, retention and promotion, and training and communication."

NEJM Catalyst Insights Council wrote a report on how Rush Medical Center embeds health equity into its framework. Rush Medical Center first adopted a health equity strategy in 2016 and the center named "structural racism and economic deprivation as among the root causes for neighborhood-based racial health inequities."

The school's General Surgery Residency Department issued a "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" statement and stated that the department "stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement" and that "Racism is a social determinant of health and will be recognized as such in our clinical practice, our resident education and our department culture. To practice medicine without recognizing the effects of systemic racism would be negligent."

On June 9, 2020, the school's News section published an article titled "Black Lives Matter" which featured a shared message from school leaders to students and staff. The message stated, "Black lives matter. For hundreds of years and still today, structural racism has been and continues to be a threat to the health and well-being of black communities. Black lives matter is not a statement that excludes others’ lives. It is a protest against how our society has failed to create a culture where black people are seen, heard and supported."

On June 29, 2023, the college published its response to the Supreme Court's decision regarding race-conscious admission policies and stated the following: "As a university and academic health system already deeply committed to health equity and increasing access to health science careers, we will carefully review the decision to ensure full compliance with it moving forward. That said, we believe that the opinion will have minimal effect on RUSH University operations and admissions policies. We consider the overall journey and life experiences of our applicants, including their academic performance, their character and personal stories, and their accomplishments and achievements in all areas of life. We are committed to doing all that we can to transform health sciences education through our culture of excellence, equity and wellness.“