University of Minnesota Medical School

The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Strategic Plan states that it would "[i]ncrease scholarship funding to reduce financial barriers and support recruitment and enrollment."

The Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) offers an Equity and Diversity Certificate Program that “helps learners develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.”

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosts a number of foundational trainings on Implicit Bias, Microaggressions & Macroaggressions, and Micro Affirmations and Allyship.

The Office of Faculty Affairs offers an online course titled "History of Racism in Medicine" as part of its faculty development training. This course "acknowledge[s] the many ways in which the country's long and violent history of racial oppression and injustice continues to affect the lives and health of Black Americans, Indigenous people, and other people of color."

As part of its "Faculty Development programming," the Office of Faculty Affairs offers a workshop on implicit bias which "introduces the breadth of implicit bias research, helping participants recognize shortcuts that are the result of unconscious or unexamined bias."

A team from the medical school "set out to develop tools to promote productive conversations about racism. The team recently published their findings about their process of developing an anti-racism curriculum for first-year medical students at the University’s Medical School." According to the medical school, "The group used a methodology called Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) that helps researchers remain attentive to issues of equity in their work...In Phase I of the study, a group of seven women primarily from racial and ethnic minority groups and with experience in public health, health care, and community engagement developed small group exercises that focused on structural racism...In Phase II, five White (primarily male) colleagues joined them to discuss racism and race in light of their initial curriculum. Working over a year’s time (January 2016 – December 2016) and using PHCRP, this larger group developed an anti-racism curriculum. Even though they were all professionals dedicated to advancing conversations on racial equity, it was not an easy task to come to consensus. They found that, even among themselves, racialized and socialized roles easily dominated..."

According to the school, "A team of University of Minnesota researchers brought together a multiracial group of health professionals from across various fields to develop an anti-racism curriculum for first-year medical students at the University’s Medical School," using the "methodology called Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) that helps researchers remain attentive to issues of equity in their work."

City Journal reports, "The University of Minnesota School of Medicine collaborates on its curriculum with the Medical Education Reform Student Coalition (MERSC), an offshoot of the activist organization White Coats 4 Black Lives. "All these measures exist, at least in part, to help the medical schools meet their accreditation requirements."

The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Strategic Plan states, "Faculty and staff hiring committees have IDEA training requirements: cultural competency, bias, inclusive communication, addressing implicit bias in search and selection processes."

The school tweeted, "The Dean's Fund for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion brought in nearly $12K during Give to the Max Day 2020! #DEI #GTMD20 #UMNProud"

According to a June 2022 medical school article, UM is "one of two sites awarded NIH funding to study the impact of various levels of discrimination on health outcomes and to develop interventions that will promote health equity."

As of February 2024, the Department of Orthopedic Surgery offers the "Visiting Medical Student Scholarship for Underrepresented Populations in Orthopedics" which is described as follows: "Diverse students whose backgrounds and/or identities are underrepresented in orthopedics are encouraged to apply. The chosen applicants will be given a stipend of $1,500 to be used towards their lodging and/or travel expenses."

The medical school has an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion put together a reading list, which includes Ibram X. Kendi's "How To Be An Antiracist" and Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism."

The school tweeted, "Check out 'Advancing Health Equity During a Pandemic' from this week's 'Mini Medical School COVID-19: The Way Forward.'"

The school tweeted, "A new course, entitled “Foundations in Health Equity,” will let learners explore how health disparities have been accentuated by the #COVID19 pandemic."

According to an August 2022 report by Do No Harm, the school asks, "Our country is reckoning with its history, racism, racial injustice, and especially anti-black racism. Please share your reflections on, experiences with, and greatest lessons learned about systemic racism."

The University of Minnesota Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics had a recent “EDI Grand Round” on March 15, 2023 on the topic “Equity: The missing domain of healthcare, Do we really care that it is missing?”

The UM Medical School published an article titled "Racism is hurting our patients. What will we do about it?" which discusses how the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is "studying racial inequities in health and health care systems, and providers’ willingness to address racism as the fundamental cause."

According to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, each department of the medical school "has a faculty and staff representatives [sic] who advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion practices within their department."

The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health committed "to continuing the necessary and challenging work of antiracism in our clinical care, our educational programs, our eight residency programs and our rotations in the University of Minnesota Medical School, and our departmental structures and policies and environment that impact faculty and staff."

The University of Minnesota Medical School was part of the 2021 Cohort of the Anti-Racist Transformation in Medical Education.

The school posted an article titled "Addressing racism as a public health crisis: next steps" on its Facebook page.

University of Minnesota Medical School Faculty from the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health “came together to publish an article highlighting a comprehensive plan to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across their programs.”

The University of Minnesota Medical School announced the MPact 2025 Health Care Innovation vision which “calls for the University to foster a welcoming community that values belonging, equity, diversity and dignity in people and ideas.”

On October 9, 2022, it was pointed out on Twitter that University of Minnesota medical students are all required to take an oath stating that the students "recognize inequities built by past and present traumas rooted in white supremacy, colonialism, the gender binary, ableism, and all forms of oppression." The oath also states that the students "commit to promoting a culture of anti-racism, listening, and amplifying voices for positive change."

The Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion hosts the Dean’s Lecture Series throughout the year. On April 12, 2023, a session was held on the topic “Keeping Progress in Our Sights: Opportunities to Improve DEI Efforts in Eye Banking.”