Earlier this year, the Tulane School of Medicine engaged Sensei Change Associates, a premier leadership advisory group, to assist us in better understanding individual experiences, across our community, related to equity, diversity and inclusion. Over the course of several months this spring and summer, Sensei conducted a series of focus groups and individual discussions with 171 individuals, including students, residents, faculty and staff. A summary of the Sensei assessment is available for review.
Several themes emerged from focus groups and individual discussions that are included in the summary along with a set of recommendations to address the identified issues. While some of the themes that emerged are very positive, others are deeply concerning and must and will be addressed. The recommendations the Sensei team has put forward are significant and appropriate. We pledge to aggressively pursue the prompt implementation of these recommendations and provide regular updates on our progress.
The top priority of the School of Medicine is to foster and support a welcoming, inclusive and respectful environment for every member of our community. To achieve our education, research and clinical objectives, it is critical for us to build a community where people from all cultures and backgrounds feel supported in thriving within our school. While we have made some progress in creating such a culture, we acknowledge that we have much work to do in these vital areas. We commit to working to eliminate discrimination and mistreatment of any kind at the School of Medicine.
We have already taken steps to strengthen our graduate medical education programs and our culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. We are improving oversight of our graduate medical education programs, enhancing our graduate medical education resources and environment, and redoubling our efforts to ensure that we are providing an equitable, diverse and inclusive place to begin the practice of medicine. In addition, we are also evaluating the effectiveness of our professional reporting systems in addressing reports of unprofessional behavior of any kind. We have numerous initiatives underway and more planned for the immediate future. We are confident these efforts, and those we undertake as a result of Sensei’s work, will improve all of our academic missions and help our community. Additional information about these initiatives is available for review, and will be updated as progress is made.
We are committed to the timely release of materials and information to provide accountability in these challenges and what we’re doing to address them. We will provide additional updates as we make further advances.
