University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
Medical School
- Mailing Address
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1001 Health Sciences Road
Irvine, California 92617 - Phone
- (949) 824-6119
- Email address
- medadmit@uci.edu
- Website
- https://www.som.uci.edu/
- School Information
- "Ranked as one of the top U.S. medical schools for research by U.S. News & World Report, the UCI School of Medicine is dedicated to advancing medical knowledge and clinical practice through scholarly research, physician education and high-quality care. The medical school nurtures the development of medical students, resident physicians and scholars in the clinical and basic sciences and supports the dissemination of research advances for the benefit of society." The school enrolls more than 400 medical students and trains more than 700 residents. It employs 1,011 full- and part-time faculty. (Source: https://www.som.uci.edu/about.asp)
- General Information
- Though there have not yet been school-wide anti-racism initiatives, there have been actions at the departmental level. The Department of Pediatrics said, "Faculty are currently partnering with LEAD-ABC and PRIME-LC student scholars and faculty to develop and incorporate a cultural humility thread and curriculum content on anti-Black racism." The Medical Scientist Training Program said, "We commit to creating an inclusive culture where students from all walks of life can thrive by: Encouraging discussions around anti-racism, health disparities, and bias in STEM through a journal club and annual workshops." See developments below:
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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The Office of Belonging, Equity and Empowerment states that the school is “committed to recruiting, admitting and educating talented students — as well as hiring and promoting faculty and staff members — whose backgrounds reflect California’s rich ethnic and cultural diversity.”
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One of Dr. Rivera’s new goals is to establish “a pipeline summer program for medical students interested in emergency medicine, especially underrepresented students.”
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- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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UCISOM's Continuing Medical Education program includes cultural and linguistic competency and implicit bias training. According to the school, "Continuing Medical Education (CME) providers are required by state Assembly Bill 1195 and state Assembly Bill 241 to include components that address cultural & linguistic competency and implicit bias in CME activities."
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- Curriculum Changes and Requirements
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The Department of Pediatrics said, "Faculty are currently partnering with LEAD-ABC and PRIME-LC student scholars and faculty to develop and incorporate a cultural humility thread and curriculum content on anti-Black racism. Examples of planned content for this year include incorporation of Bafa Bafa into orientation for the entire School of Medicine..."
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As part of the UCI School of Medicine Program Objectives, Core Competency C3 focuses on “sensitivity and awareness of diverse cultures, health beliefs and social factors.”
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First and second-year students at UCISOM "enroll in PRIME LEAD-ABC [African, Black and Caribbean] courses designed to expand students’ knowledge, abilities, and confidence in addressing the needs of ABC patients and populations in clinical and community settings."
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The UCI/CHOC Department of Pediatrics Health Equity, Anti-Racism, Trauma-informed (HEART-i) care Program includes a "focus on Health Equity, Anti-Racism, and Trauma-informed clinical care." As part of the course requirements, students will "spend 2 hours per week in seminars/workshops to learn and reflect on HEARTi topics."
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As part of its inclusive excellence initiatives, the UCI Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior "plan[s] to enhance our curricula by conducting a thorough review to identify areas for growth, specifically in integrating cultural psychiatry and addressing social and structural determinants of health, alongside mental health inequities." Additionally, starting with the 2024-25 academic year, "we have redesigned our Grand Rounds series to incorporate regular DEI-focused sessions."
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- Program and Research Funding
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The Department of Radiology in the UCI School of Medicine has a Radiology Diversity Internship offered in 2023 in order to “engage with students of diverse backgrounds to promote an interest in radiology.”
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Programs in Medical Education Leadership Education to Advance Diversity - African, Black and Caribbean (PRIME LEAD-ABC) at UCISOM "produces skilled physician leaders who address the diverse health needs of Black communities, eliminate health inequities, and amplify the voices of the underrepresented communities we serve."
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The UCISOM Inclusive Excellence Hiring Incentive Program "provides funding support towards the recruitment of faculty with strong contributions to increasing diversity and inclusive excellence in medicine, research and education."
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Thanks to a $1.3 million research grant, UCISOM takes part in a multi-campus initiative titled "Abolition Medicine and Disability Justice: Mapping Inequity and Renewing the Social project." The program "aims to advance health equity and structural transformation through research, curriculum development and training that is grounded in health humanities methodologies and theories."
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As part of its inclusive excellence initiatives, the UCI Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior will "[e]nsure diverse representation in research study populations and consider DEI in research design and analysis" and "[p]artner with other departments, institutions, and community organizations and clinics to enhance DEI research efforts."
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- Resources
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The Department of Pediatrics said, "Pediatric resident-led initiative to support the distribution of anti-racism books through the Reach Out and Read program in UCI, CHOC, and Miller's pediatric clinics."
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The Department of Pediatrics had "UCI-CHOC Program for Inclusion Diversity and Equity (PrIDE) bi-monthly noon conferences," which covered topics such as "Health Equity" and "Racism & Health."
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The Department of Pediatrics offers "DEI Resources," including Ibram X. Kendi's "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You" and Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility Why It’s So Hard for White People To Talk About Racism."
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The Medical Scientist Training Program said, "We commit to creating an inclusive culture where students from all walks of life can thrive by: Encouraging discussions around anti-racism, health disparities, and bias in STEM through a journal club and annual workshops."
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The Office of Belonging, Equity and Empowerment at UCISOM "strongly encourages our community to participate in education and training on topics of diversity, equity and inclusion to enhance their personal awareness, knowledge and skills to support DEI initiatives and better practices." The office also links to UCI's "Managing Implicit Bias Training series."
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The Office of Graduate Studies Services offers "Anti-Racism Efforts and Programming."
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- Symbolic Actions
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The school issued a "Stand Against Racism: A Call-to-Action" statement.
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The Department of Neurology has established an IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Social Justice) committee to "make a departmental effort towards diversity and inclusive excellence in unison with the mission of the UC Irvine School of Medicine."
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The school posted on its Facebook page, "In a message today from... UCI School of Medicine leadership condemned the acts of anti-Black racism that took the life of George Floyd as well as those of countless others in this country. They encouraged the School of Medicine community to speak up, take action and 'stand with us in the fight for human health and dignity' as we educate the next generation of compassionate and responsible medical professionals and scientists."
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The school posted on its Facebook page, "In a message to the College of Health Sciences community, Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion... spoke on the history of #Juneteenth, the significance of today’s celebration, and the COHS's commitment to confronting anti-Black racism."
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As part of the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion planning, UCI School of Medicine established the Black Thriving Initiative with the goal to “find, confront and remove every anti-Black impediment that stands in the way of Black Anteaters’ success.”
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UCI’s School of Medicine’s Leadership Education to Advance Diversity - African, Black, and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC) is one of the first medical school programs “aimed at producing future physicians who are committed to addressing the health needs of African, Black and Caribbean communities in California, the United States, and beyond.” The program aims to develop a commitment to “social justice and advocacy within ABC communities.”
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The Diversity Council at UCI’s School of Medicine “consists of medical students, student organizations, and medical education faculty & staff whose goal is to foster a climate of belonging, equity, and justice within the School of Medicine.”
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On May 13, 2023, the UCI School of Medicine announced that it would hold the “fifth annual Diversity in Graduate Medical Education Residency Open House” as part of the school’s “mission is to promote inclusive excellence by recruiting and supporting a wide array of physicians who can serve a diverse patient population and enable our local community to thrive.”
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It was announced in March of 2023 that “Dr. Ronnie Rivera is the newly named Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for the UCI Emergency Department.”
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The School of Medicine hosts “diversity days during residency interviews that are designed to attract candidates from many backgrounds and ensure their applications are reviewed by diverse faculty with shared lived experiences.”
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The school has an EM Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Alliance which is intended to “better create mentorship relationships with students traditionally under-represented in medicine.”
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The UCI School of Medicine offers the Resident and Fellow Scholars Academy, which is “designed for residents, specialty fellows and post-doctoral students who are interested in a career in academic medicine and serving underrepresented groups where the need for physicians is greatest.” The school states that, “The broad goal of the Academy is to increase the diversity of medical school trainees and faculty, with a particular emphasis on faculty at UCI.”
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The UCI School of Medicine Diversity Statement reads in part: "[Our] faculty, students and staff members advance a model of health, healing and well-being that is culturally sensitive, focused on the individual and responsive to our community."
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