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University of Kansas Medical Center

Medical School

Mailing Address
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, Kansas 66160
Phone
(913) 588-5000
School Information
"With eight academic departments spanning more than 25 areas of study from undergraduate to post-professional education, the School of Health Professions prepares you for a successful health care career" (Source: https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-health-professions/about.html). The school has 1,500 faculty and nearly 4,000 students.

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • According to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the KU School of Medicine provides "many pathway programs to recruit, retain and support a diverse cadre of students and faculty", with the goal of working together to achieve health equity.
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • Faculty, staff and students are provided with optional training that covers, among other topics, "unconscious bias" and "structural racism and structural competency in medicine."
  • A research paper analyzing the effects of implementing unconscious bias training at the University of Kansas Medical Center reported that participants who identified as White "clearly increased their awareness of bias." The researched then recommended that the school move away from "one-size-fits-all unconscious bias training and develop a robust training continuum to provide ongoing advancement for diverse audiences."
  • Data from more than 900 satisfaction surveys completed by individuals who attended Unconscious Bias training at KU Medical Center from 2018-2020 have been used to "inform the next version of the [unconscious bias training] that will be rolled out by fall 2022 to all three KU School of Medicine campuses.
  • The school's Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion outlines its strategic initiatives including the "Institution-Wide Goal" of providing "mandatory Unconscious Bias 1.0 training for all employees and learners on all three campuses." In addition, one of the "Kansas City Campus Goals" is to "Address and reduce health inequities through partnership with internal and external stakeholders committed to social justice."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • School curriculum is in part guided by Diversity and Inclusion "Threadheads" to "idenitify appropriate learning objectives and competencies."
  • The co-chair of the Diversity, Health Equity and Lunclusion Curriculum committee, which exists "to not only review existing didactic materials for instances of bias, but to also update DHEI learning objectives and make sure they are purposefully addressed in the curriculum." Part of his process includes a partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical University to employ "A Checklist for Assessing Bias in Health Profession Education Content."
Program and Research Funding
  • The KU School of Health Professions has a Dean's Diversity Scholarship offered to students "from underserved populations" and awarded by the faculty DEI committee.
Resources
  • The Vice Chancellor’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Cabinet states that it is "commitment toward cultivating diverse, equitable and inclusive environments."
  • The KU School of Health Professions has a faculty diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
  • The KU School of Health Professions has a DEI podcast for the school community to learn more about what the DEI committee is doing.
  • The KU School of Health Professions has a Student Diversity Council.
  • KUMC Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has an Instagram with "they/them" pronouns.
  • KU School of Medicine's Office of Diversity and Inclusion partnered with the Office of Admissions to develop the Urban Scholars Program for Students Underrepresented in Medicine, a two-year assured admissions program designed to recruit minority students from the urban areas of Kansas who are "committed to ameliorating the health challenges faced by their communities."
  • The Department of Population Health and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the KU School of Medicine collaborated to create the TSCORE LIFT (Teachers and Students for Community Oriented Research and Education: Linking Industry, Faculty and Teachers). TSCORE LIFT seeks to "support historically underrepresented and minoritized students on their path to health care careers through the creation and implementation of an introduction to health careers curriculum."
  • The school's Counseling and Educational Support Services posted a "Black Lives Matter" header which states that its office is "committed to providing resources for anyone affected by racism and supporting our students, residents and fellows in anti-racism efforts."
  • The school's Counseling and Educational Support Services published a comprehensive list of "Racial Trauma" and "Ally Development" resources including; "Black Lives Matter - Healing Action Toolkit," "Healing through Social Justice Resources," and "Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism."
Symbolic Actions
  • KUMC's Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion created an initiative known as the REPAIR Project, which is "a multi-institutional anti-racism collaboration with the University of California at San Francisco and communities of color surrounding the University of Kansas Medical Center campuses."
  • The KU School of Health Professions (part of KUMC) has a "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Core Value Statement."
  • The school's Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs issued a statement regarding the "race-based tragedies that have been occurring across our nation" and stated that "These tragedies reflect a longstanding and entrenched history of structural and systemic injustice and violence, and we stand against racism and hate in all forms. Our staff is committed to taking action to address systemic oppression, racism and discrimination in our community."
Last updated February 17th, 2023
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