Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Mission: The University of Chicago Department of Surgery Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Steering Committee is committed to addressing and eliminating discrimination in all forms within our department through continuous self-assessment, targeted programming, advocacy, and creation of an increasingly diverse and culturally competent workforce by embedding diversity and inclusion as an integral component of surgical excellence.
In doing so, we aim to remove barriers to healthcare access, to provide the best care for our community, and to create an optimal and equitable environment to work, conduct research, and train.
View our Surgical Excellence in Action gallery.
Read our 2024 Strategic Plan.
Our Work
The DEI Steering Committee oversees our commitment to this mission through six domains that are integrated into our everyday work:
- Clinical Care, Access, and Continuity: Providing equitable care and integrating social determinants of health into our practice
- Communications: Highlighting our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through formal and informal communications and celebrating our accomplishments within the work environment
- Community Engagement and Activism: Building trust with members of our community and advocating for change
- Education and Evaluation: Upgrading our curricula for trainees, faculty, and staff, addressing bias in recruitment and evaluation, and teaching anti-racism
- Hiring, Career Development, and Promotion: Recruiting diverse clinicians and staff, mentoring, and creating avenues for career development
- Wellness: Mitigating psychological distress associated with bias or discrimination
We’re very appreciative of the robust enthusiasm from our amazing DEI subcommittee members; many of our subcommittees have grown substantially within the past few months! Through our educational discussions and significant initiatives, it is our hope that DEI stays embedded in all the work that we do – in the OR, clinic, and beyond. We must remain dedicated to our DEI mission, and understand that the structure needs to evolve like an ecosystem; we’re all in this together. To that end, as we strive to strengthen all aspects of inclusion both within our department and beyond, support from the DOS community is critical.
Email us at dei@bsd.uchicago.edu if you're interested in joining one of our subcommittees!
Leadership
-
Chelsea Dorsey, MD
Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion -
Brandon Baird, MD
Co-Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee -
Jeffrey Matthews, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery -
Julian Owens
Assistant Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee
- Association of Women Surgeons
- Society of Black Academic Surgeons
- Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
- Association of Native American Medical Students
- Student National Medical Association
- Latino Medical Student Association
- APDS Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit
- Latino Surgical Society
- Association of Out Surgeons and Allies
- LMSA Mentorship Program
- The Macy Foundation’s supplement on Addressing Harmful Bias and Eliminating Discrimination in Health Professions Learning Environments is now live on the Academic Medicine website, featuring articles by UChicago Pritzker and BSD colleagues.