1. Recruitment: The Collaborative actively participates in all stages of resident recruitment. During the interview season, we host a series of virtual diversity interview days, faculty mixers, and applicant socials. We are dedicated to recruiting individuals of diverse races, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, and lived experiences. Our goal is to build a team of individuals who are passionate about health equity and whose diversity reflects that of our patient populations in San Diego, such that we can serve our communities better.
2. Education: In addition to the structured DEI education built into the residency curriculum, the Collaborative provides additional educational opportunities throughout the year, including:
- Health Equity Grand Rounds: Since 2021, residents of the Diversity Collaborative have led Health Equity Rounds, an annual case-based grand rounds lecture which highlights themes of health equity and medical injustice. Working alongside an interdisciplinary team including faculty, nurses, and social workers, residents present to the entire Department of Pediatrics and utilize this platform to bring health equity discourse into the academic setting. The Health Equity Rounds curriculum aims to provide trainees and faculty with the tools to recognize, confront, and mitigate the implicit and institutional biases that contribute to inequities within the healthcare system. Past topics have included:
- Clinical outcomes in sickle cell disease viewed through a racial equity len
- Influences on the immigrant health experience at Rady Children's
- Journal Club: Our journal clubs are an ongoing group discussion series led by Diversity Collaborative residents and hosted by faculty members in their homes. The discussions center around thought-provoking articles which are selected to highlight specific issues of racial, social, and economic health inequity. These events provide a space for residents to not only discuss issues pertaining to health equity, but also to build community and to engage with faculty in an open and allied environment.
3. Advocacy: Our residents are active in advocacy spaces and are passionate about relevant issues in pediatric health, such as: the gun violence epidemic, obesity & nutritional health, and reproductive health. Residents actively participate in local rallies and community gatherings to demonstrate their dedication to these issues. Residents are also active in the local AAP chapter and work closely with the office of government relations at Rady Children’s to promote progressive pediatric public health policies. Residents are also able to develop their advocacy skills through the Community Pediatrics and Advocacy rotations, which are currently undergoing curricular expansion.
4. Promoting Wellness, Community, & Mentorship: The Diversity Collaborative also serves as a space for residents to build community and find support throughout residency. The Collaborative hosts a welcome social at the beginning of the academic year for all new interns, where we have the pleasure of meeting and bonding with our co-residents, as well as smaller socials throughout the year to provide peer support. Additionally, Dr. Ekpenyong spearheads the URiM mentorship program, which pairs URiM pediatrics residents with “families” of URiM medical students, fellows, and faculty to provide an additional source of longitudinal support and mentorship throughout residency.
Visiting Senior Student Scholarship Program
Our program is pleased to offer visiting rotation funding opportunities for MS4 students who identify as URiM and/or come from an economically disadvantaged background. Students may apply for up to $2,000 of funding, which can be used towards alleviating the financial burden of an away rotation. Eligible elective rotations include: Academic General Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Allergy-Immunology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Heme/Oncology, Infectious Disease, Nephrology, and Pulmonology. For more information, visit the following link:
[Visiting Scholarship Program for Department of Pediatrics]
Below is a list of all the Diversity Collaborative residents, both past and present. Please email us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!