University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine

The school hosts "Conversations for Inclusive Excellence, a virtual series for all UNMC faculty, staff and students, at 2 p.m. the second Thursday of every month."

The school states, "We provide training and development opportunities for all to cultivate the skills needed to effectively engage, communicate and collaborate with others across differences" through the Student Life Inclusion and Diversity Office, Offices of Inclusion and Equity, and Office of Faculty Development: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The school's Office of Faculty Development's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page lists its past "Development Sessions" including "Unconscious Bias" and "Microaggressions."

In July 2022, the school's Office of Inclusion published its "2020-2021 Year in Review" Annual Report and states on Pg. 15 that "The Offices of Equity and Inclusion collaborated with Faculty Development to sponsor a 3-part workshop delivered to more than 100 faculty across UNMC with a corresponding “Train the Trainer” series that provided didactic instruction on topics relating to identify, privilege, bias, and other important principles of DEI."

On May 18, 2023, the Department of Pediatrics Antiracism Committee hosted its third annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Conference at the Children's Hospital & Medical Center. The conference theme was "Indigenous Health, Policy and Equity: Implications for Child Health and Wellbeing."

The school's Department of Surgery defines "Inclusion" in part as the "active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity — in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect."

UNMC's DEI content is "intentionally integrated into [its] curriculum to ensure that [its] students are aware of how social and systemic determinants of health impact the individuals [it serves], and the populations from which they come." In Phase One: Foundations of Medicine, the goal is to get students to understand the principles of health equity, social determinants of health, and other "DEI fundamentals" via hosting small group activities highlighting the basics of DEI during New Student Orientation and Intersession Days, and integrating DEI concepts into other learning activities. In Phase Two: Clinical Applications, the goal is to apply DEI knowledge and skills learned to patient care. For example, Acute Care & Clinical Transitions include instruction on cultural competence in action and DEI principles are integrated into Clerkship curriculum and objectives. In Phase Three: Career Preparation, the goal is to actively identify social determinants of health, disparities, and approaches to advocacy. Students experience a Curriculum Enhancement Rotation on social determinants of health, students complete a mandatory Residency Preparation Course that includes DEI-related topics, and DEI is integrated into Clinical Speciality Track objectives and assessments.

The school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page includes a link to "Report a Bias Incident."

The Department of Pediatrics' Antiracism Committee provides resources for anti-racism.

The Health Sciences Library has a database with resources for DEI, LGBTQ, and BIPOC. This database includes an implicit bias test.

The school's Office of Faculty Development's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page lists several resources for faculty including: "The Bias-Free Curriculum Checklist," "Antiracist Pedagogy," "21-Day/Week Anti-Racism Challenge," and the "Bias Calculator."

The school's Department of Family Medicine offers a walking tour titled, "Combating Racism in Medicine" and states that its goal is to "bring awareness to racism as a structural determinant of health. We strive to increase the capacity to recognize and respond to the ways in which racism contributes to the vulnerability and ill health of the patients and communities we serve."  

UNMC has various student diversity organizations, such as the Graduates & Professionals Representing Achievement Diversity and Service (G.R.A.D.S.) Group and White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), which advocates for "dismantling racism and accompanying systems of oppression in health while simultaneously cultivating means for collective liberation...of Black people and other people of color."

Recruit, Encourage and Advance Careers in Healthcare (REACH) is an effort by the DEI office at the College of Medicine in collaboration with UNMC medical students to increase interests in health care to local high school students. Virtual lectures given by medical students emphasized the need for a diverse health care workforce to address health disparities.

The school's Youth Enjoy Science! (YES!) program aims to increase the number of Native American cancer research and health care professionals. High school and undergraduate college students with Native American ancestry can participate in cancer research experiences at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center or the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The medical school DEI office's "LEAP" (Long-term Enhanced Advising & Preparation) program strives to help college students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in medicine--such as Black, Native American, and Latin@ students, first-generation college students, and students from underserved rural and urban communities--prepare a successful application and matriculation to health profession schools.

The UNMC Summer Research Program for Undergraduate Minority Students offers a clinical research experience in kidney disease and transplantation for people of color. The program takes place in the UNMC Department of Surgery.

The Center for Reducing Health Disparities at UNMC promotes "equity and social justice in health and health care" by leading collaborative efforts to "generate and disseminate evidence-based, policy-relevant solutions."

UNMC has an Inclusion & Equity Council that is led by Dr. Sheritta Strong, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Inclusion, and includes representation from across UNMC's colleges and major units. The Council is charged with "identifying pain points" and making recommendations related to initiative planning, evaluation, and accountability measures to the Chancellor through the Offices of Inclusion and Equity.

The College of Medicine has a walking tour titled "Combating Racism in Medicine," which "focuses on racial injustices in the health care system." The tour aims to discuss the question, "what are some strategies or methods that will promote anti-racism and help reduce racial disparities in medicine?"

The Department of Pediatrics created an Antiracism Committee. The department released a statement saying, "We challenge ourselves to understand and correct inequities, eradicate oppression, and commit to explicitly and publicly affirm our identity as an antiracist academic department."

Before visitors engage in the "Combating Racism in Medicine" walking tour, they are told to "please take a moment to reflect on how your own identity, privilege, and biases can affect how you interact with others" via filling out a self-reflection form.

On April 27, 2023, the University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter announced that the Health Careers Resource Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha is the recipient of the 2023 Inclusive Excellence Collaboration Award. The IECA, one of the President’s Excellence Awards, recognizes outstanding contributions across the NU System that advance diversity, access and inclusion.