Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

The School of Medicine states that it "seeks to matriculate a diverse population of academically exceptional students whose attributes and accomplishments suggest that they will be future leaders and/or scholars in medicine."

The school will, “As noted above, provide anti-racism education to all incoming first year medical students.”

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Implement enterprise-wide anti-racism and racial equity education and training.”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Provide anti-racism education to all incoming first year medical students. Integrate content on racism and racial equity into the medical school curriculum” by “Utilizing the book, ‘Black Death at the Golden Gate,’ as a platform for facilitated discussion among the incoming first year students about the parallels and the role(s) of physicians in healthcare, discovery, advocacy, anti-racism, and public health in their Learning Community sessions during the Foundations of the Profession course of the first week of medical school.”

On March 21, 2023, the school held a "Workshop about Bias in Academia" in order to "learn about the unconscious bias that impedes students’ progress in STEM [Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics]."

The school will, “Take steps within the Office of Health Sciences Education (OHSE) to reassert the medical center’s commitment to an inclusive learning environment, and to identify gaps and opportunities to embed structural racism, racial equity and health inequities in the health professions curriculum.”

The school will, “Prepare OHSE leaders to facilitate discussions on race, racism and racial equity, and to critically review the curriculum for stereotypes, misinformation, and race-based medicine.”

The school will, “Integrate content on racism and racial equity into the curricula of all School of Medicine programs.”

The school will, “Expand the Office of Health Equity and related programs to increase the availability of racial equity resources available, including anti-racism training, unconscious and implicit bias training, cultural humility training, racial equity consultants, and tools to evaluate policies, practices, curricula, and other systems.”

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Integrate structural racism as a core competency for students in all VUS graduate programs.”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Perform a systematic look across the Foundations of Healthcare Delivery and Learning Communities core content areas for opportunities to broaden incorporation of racial equity and health inequities content into those courses.”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Consider the formalization of a racial equity and health inequities thread across the entire UME curriculum to accomplish true integration of the confrontation of racial inequities into the MD curriculum.”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Incorporate curricular components on confronting racial inequities across all three phases of the medical school curriculum (Foundations of Medical Knowledge, Foundations of Clinical Care, and Immersions), including the creation of a half-day session on confronting racial inequities within the Foundations of the Profession course.”

Medical Student Affairs is looking to incorporate “continuous curriculum components that explore structural racism and its intersection with medicine through lectures, discussions, and case-based learning.”

Medical Student Affairs is looking to work “with course directors to add health equity and community-based research principles into introductory research courses.”

In October of 2021, the school announced the creation of the Certificate in Health Equity program on its Facebook page.

The Vanderbilt Program in Interprofressional Learning (VPIL) has been "part of the medical school curriculum for over 10 years" and "continues as a commitment to interprofessional education and practice, including components of social justice, social determinants of health, and improving patient care."

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Implement an enterprise-wide, multi-modal reporting system in which employees, students, and patients can report bias-related incidences, discrimination, racism, micro-and macro-aggressions, and racial abuse.”

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Mandate that all managers participate in training that will provide skills in conflict resolution; how to handle reports of racism, discrimination, micro-and macro-aggressions; and how to create a safe space for staff to report these.”

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Establish the infrastructure (e.g., a Center for Research Equity). to cultivate a research community will catalyze research that addresses health inequities.”

The school's 2023 MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program) Summer Research Program "offers undergraduate students with interests in pursuing MD/PhD dual degree training an opportunity to conduct summer research in the lab of a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt." In order to be eligible for this program, "preference will be given to members of federally recognized groups underrepresented in science including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (Blacks or African-Americans, Hispanic or Latino Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders), individuals with disabilities, or individuals from geographically- and economically-disadvantaged backgrounds."

The aim of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development program at Vanderbilt is to "increase the number of PhDs awarded to graduate students in biomedical research who are underrepresented in science." The program is funded by NIH (National Institutes of Health) and has been in operation since 2000.

The school will, “Evaluate the Foundations of Healthcare Delivery and Learning Communities for opportunities to broaden content on racial equity and health inequities.”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Develop an anti-racism curriculum/journal club for the education leadership team (including the Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education, Associate Deans for Student Affairs, UME and GME, Assistant Deans, admissions leadership and the SOM Office of Enrollment Services leadership, CBO and her leads, MSTP leadership, etc.).”

The school’s Office of Health Sciences Education will, “Engage students, faculty and staff to identify opportunities to make the learning environment more inclusive, specifically for racial minority groups, and embed additional content on racial equity and health inequities.”

The Office of Health Equity offers an “Anti-Racism Resource Guide,” including Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Antiracist” and Robin DiAngelo “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism.”

The Department of Basic Sciences offers “Anti-Racism Resources,” including Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to be an Antiracist” and Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility.”

The Medical Scientist Training Program’s Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion (ADI) Council hosted an event called “Perpetuating Harm: A study of White supremacy from eugenics to modern genomics.” The description partially reads, “Through this discussion, MSTP students were challenged to think about the effects of systemic racism and specifically how this system informs our research and patient interactions as future physician-scientists.”

The school awards Levi Watkins, Jr. Student Awards for student diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In November of 2021, the school highlighted two recipients and their DEI efforts on its social media.

The school has hosted the annual Harold Jordan Diversity and Inclusion Lecture since 2019.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Office of Health Equity published an "Antiracism Resource Guide," which includes resources such as "Transforming White Privilege" and "Anti-Racism Pedagogy Guide: Resources to use in the classroom."

The school established a “Racial Equity Task Force.”

The Racial Equity Task Force recommended that the school, “Create a task force to document and publish Vanderbilt’s history of racism, discrimination, and social justice efforts.”

The Medical Scientist Training Program said, “MSTP Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADI) Council was established to work towards promoting equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and justice in our program.”

On April 20, 2021, the school re-posted Vanderbilt University’s response to the Derek Chauvin verdict on Facebook.

In April of 2021, the school announced on social media that it had renamed a street, with the street’s new name being Vivien Thomas Way.