- Mailing Address
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One Robert Wood Johnson Place
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 - Phone
- (732) 235-7739
- Website
- https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/
- School Information
- "As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey's premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, and hosts centers and institutes including The Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Institute for Neurological Therapeutics, and the Women's Health Institute. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School strives to achieve a level of gender, racial and ethnic diversity and equity among the faculty, students and staff reflective of the diversity in our society; to increase the number of under-represented in medicine and women faculty in positions of leadership and in higher academic ranks. Our underrepresented in medicine definition includes Blacks and Hispanics, and women in leadership roles. This, along with the goal of attracting disadvantaged New Jersey residents as medical school applicants, is what is used for the purpose of tracking students, faculty and staff" (Source: https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/about_rwjms/overview).
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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The school has a Staff Council which "provides a forum for staff to voice concerns, make recommendations, and propose new ideas," including a focus on DEI-related events.
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On June 29, 2023, the school published its response to the Supreme Court's decision regarding race-conscious admission policies and stated the following: “Please know that we will take the time to review our policies and practices to ensure they follow the law established by today’s decision. At the same time, Rutgers remains committed to our values as a university. Rutgers embodies the democratic possibilities of our country, opening its doors for people from the broadest range of backgrounds and recognizing that excellence can be found everywhere—and that will not change with this ruling. Our commitment to being a powerful engine of social mobility for students and their families will not change. We continue to recognize the immense advantages that a richly diverse student body and faculty bring to the academic enterprise and the importance of providing affordable access to a world-class education for a diverse array of students."
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- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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The Daily Targum reported that on August 26, 2021, a group of more than 150 medical students participated in a walkout organized by the White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL) at RWJMS in response to the school’s alleged attempt to censor a talk on structural racism and its impact on patients, students and healthcare providers. In response to this, Pamela Brug--Rutgers alumna, obstetrician-gynecologist, and speaker at the Patient-Centered Medicine 2 (PCM2): Uprooting Structural Racism in Medicine talk--said "the administration should examine the incident as an example of microaggressions, racism and white fragility and eliminate the root cause."
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- Faculty/Staff Requirements
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Following the Black Lives Matter protests, mass shootings and violence against Asians through the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, the school's Office of Inclusion and Diversity stated that, "with social unrest enveloping the country, leadership needs to do their part to stop and prevent bias in the workplace."
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- Program and Research Funding
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The INSPIRE (IRACDA New Jersey/New York for Science Partnerships in Research & Education) Postdoctoral Program at RWJMS has two important goals: to prepare diverse university-trained Ph.D. scholars for successful careers as scientist-educators and to increase the participation of diverse undergrad populations in biomedical science research fields. The INSPIRE program is sponsored by NIH-IRACDA (Institutional Research and Career Development Award), "provides up to three years of mentored research experience in biomedical fields at RWJMS or Rutgers University (70% effort), as well as training in educational methods--including mentored teaching at a nearby Minority-Serving Institution--and career development (30% combined effort)."
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- Resources
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The school's Office of Inclusion and Diversity links to a set of resources on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Medical Education.
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The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences is "home to the Women’s Health Institute and the Urban Global Scholars Program, initiatives designed to promote awareness of injustice and disparity within diverse communities in order to further [its] social justice mission." The department also has a Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.
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The Rutgers Medical School has a Distinction in Inclusion & Diversity program for "students who show exceptional interest, leadership, and commitment to inclusion and diversity in healthcare." Students in this program will "distinguish themselves by integrating the complexities of diversity and cultural humility in the context of healthcare and develop skills in the collaborative planning, implementation, participation, and dissemination of a project in the realm of diversity, inclusion, and health equity."
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The school's Office of Inclusion and Diversity's "Call to Action" page states that the Office "would like to begin the discussion around Unconcious [sic] Bias, Implicit Bias and Microaggressions in the Workplace."
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The school's Office of Inclusion and Diversity's "Education and Enrichment" page announced an event titled "Activating Allyship: Addressing Implicit Bias & Microaggressions" which took place on December 14, 2022. The webpage also defines implicit bias and microaggressions in detail.
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Under the medical school's Restorative Justice & Equity Resources page, the school states that in order to further its DEI goal, next steps will include: increasing awareness and educating faculty and staff through workshops/trainings regarding microaggressions, implicit bias, trauma-informed care, upstander/bystander, and crisis management; conducting training for faculty facilitators to assist with addressing complex topics in diversity, equity and inclusion; among others.
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The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Steering Committee.
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To promote diversity efforts, RWJMS has a transgender PROUD clinic and a Women in Medicine (WiM) program.
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RWJMS has an Office of Multicultural Affairs. Its goal is to "assist students at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School by preparing them to become competent, compassionate, culturally aware and sensitive physicians in our increasingly diverse society."
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RWJMS has a Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity (CHFCD) in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. This center is dedicated to "leadership, advocacy, and excellence in promoting culturally-responsive, quality health care for diverse populations," and recognizes that "persisting racial and ethnic health disparities in health and health care are major clinical, public health, and societal problems."
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- Symbolic Actions
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The school created a report on "Roadmap to Healing: Anti-Racism Initiatives for the Medical School Community."
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The Department of Surgery stated stated that it recognizes "the extent to which inequity, social injustice, and systemic racism impact the health of the Rutgers RWJ community and the communities we serve. Diverse ideas and innovative solutions are required to effectively tackle issues related to inequity, health disparities, systemic racism, and bias in medicine."
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The Department of Surgery says that it "values diversity, equity, and inclusion among all faculty, staff, and trainees," and is committed to fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment for all, regardless of any aspect of identity."
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In July 2023, the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Health Equity Program was honored by the American Hospital Association with the 2023 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award.
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