.FYI This letter is from all the students, not just minority students.
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.Perelman School of Medicine Administration,...
.We, the students of the Perelman School of Medicine, would like to express our profound disappointment over the recent elimination of the Office of Diversity and Community Outreach (ODCO) and the termination of its beloved administrators, Hilda Luiggi and Dr. Karen Hamilton. This decision was made without input from the student communities most affected by it. It was also carried out during a convenient time of student absence: recent graduates are beginning residency, clerkship students are on vacation and pre-clinical students on summer break. In addition, it is concerning that the courtesy of a formal announcement or explanation has yet to be given, as the office will no longer exist as of the close of business on June 29th. This offensive sequence of events calls into question our confidence in the administration and has raised several concerns amongst the student body..
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.Perelman has the oldest Office of Diversity in the country, founded in 1968. This fact is commonly touted as evidence of Perelmans perceived commitment to fostering a student body composed of individuals from diverse backgrounds. ..The ODCO has many functions that are not duplicated elsewhere in the medical school administration spanning mentoring, recruitment and community service. The ODCO has been invaluable in mentoring underrepresented undergraduate and high school students through events such as the AAMC summer programs. It has also been highly influential in contributing to the aforementioned perceived commitment to diversity through events such as the Day in the Life at Penn Med. The bi-annual event has brought hundreds of diverse premedical students to Perelman to help guide them through the medical school application process. The ODCO also supports a variety of medical student groups including: the ..Student National Medical Association (SNMA), Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender People in Medicine (LGBTPM+), Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA).. and the Elizabeth Blackwell Society (EBS).. as well as countless community service events serving the greater Philadelphia community. Who will support them after June 29th?.
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.We are aware of your new plan for diversity, Penns Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence. However, we are mystified as to how the elimination of an office that was in its definition, committed to excellence through diversity, came as a consequence of this progression in the quest for eminence. The organization that accredits MD programs in the US, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), requires the following in its New Programmatic and Institutional Level Diversity Standards IS-16 and MS-8 for accreditation:.
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IS-16: IS-16. An institution that offers a medical education program must have policies and practices to achieve appropriate diversity among its students, faculty, staff, and other members of its academic community, and must engage in ongoing, systematic, and focused efforts to attract and retain students, faculty, staff, and others from demographically diverse backgrounds.
The LCME and the CACMS believe that aspiring future physicians will be best prepared for medical practice in a diverse society if they learn in an environment characterized by, and supportive of, diversity and inclusion. Such an environment will facilitate physician training in:
. .Basic principles of culturally competent health care.
. .Recognition of health care disparities and the development of solutions to such burdens.
. .The importance of meeting the health care needs of medically underserved populations.
. .The development of core professional attributes (e.g., altruism, social accountability) needed to provide effective care in a multidimensionally diverse society.
.The institution should articulate its expectations regarding diversity across its academic community in the context of local and national responsibilities, and regularly assess how well such expectations are being achieved. The institution should consider in its planning elements of diversity including, but not limited to, gender, racial, cultural, and economic factors. The institution should establish focused, significant, and sustained programs to recruit and retain suitably diverse students, faculty members, staff, and others....
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MS-8. A medical education program must develop programs or partnerships aimed at broadening diversity among qualified applicants for medical school admission.
.Because graduates of U.S. and Canadian medical schools may practice anywhere in their respective countries, it is expected that an institution that offers a medical education program will recognize its collective responsibility for contributing to the diversity of the profession as a whole. To that end, a medical education program should work within its own institutions and/or collaborate with other institutions to make admission to medical education programs more accessible to potential applicants of diverse backgrounds. Institutions can accomplish that aim through a variety of approaches, including, but not limited to, the development and institutionalization of pipeline programs, collaborations with institutions and organizations that serve students from disadvantaged backgrounds, community service activities that heighten awareness of and interest in the profession, and academic enrichment programs for applicants who may not have taken traditional pre-medical coursework..
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.The Perelman Medical Schools Action Plan is very faculty driven. It ..claims to outline a vehicle to recruit, mentor, and retain minority faculty at Penn. A..s part of this plan, ..a search has been instituted for a Vice Dean of Diversity, a faculty position in which 30% of his/her time would be allotted for Vice Dean responsibilities. With a job description that heavily emphasizes faculty recruitment, inevitably, only a limited portion of this already saturated Vice Deans time could be directly devoted to Perelman medical students. What is not accounted for ..in this plan, are the countless programs that served as unique medical student support, which were supplied by the now eliminated ODCO. The AAMC has offered a new definition of diversity, which extends beyond racial barriers to include diverse perspectives, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientation and religions to name a few. In light of this fact, one would think an expansion of the office to fully devote the staff and support necessary to a new Vice Dean and this commitment to excellence would be in order. Terminating the only office dedicated to fulfilling these LCME requirements, and that would inevitably support a new Vice Dean of Diversity seems counterproductive. The contradictory e..limination of the ODCO in the face of an expanding definition of diversity is an appalling message to send to the medical, academic, and professional communities. Therefore, we do not support this decision, especially without an interim plan to support and resume resources medical students need, while the undoubtedly long search for a Vice Dean of Diversity begins. .
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.Furthermore, the manner in which Ms. Hilda Luiggi and Dr. Karen Hamilton were terminated compounds an already upsetting and disgraceful decision. Despite administrative cut backs on OCDO representation at National Conferences such as: ..Annual Biomedical Research Conference (ABRCMS), Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting, American Indian annual physician conference, these individuals worked tirelessly with student groups to increase recruitment efforts and even more importantly, create a sense of family and unconditional support with any and all applicants. ..They have been instrumental in providing resources to and supporting the medical student community at large. They have been invaluable to our success at Perelman, helping us navigate the inevitable challenges of medical school. Many students cite not only the ODCO, but the warm and welcoming environment uniquely provided by these individuals as major contributing factors in their decisions to attend. Their departure will leave a painful void in our community that will undoubtedly negatively affect the generations that follow. The callous manner in which they were terminated is nothing short of offensive and disrespectful....
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.It is increasingly concerning that while our peer institutions are taking steps to increase diversity of all kinds and expand analogous offices in their medical schools, we are taking a huge leap backwards. It will be difficult to keep up with the pace of diversity at competing medical schools with a decision that makes a mockery of the word. This is compounded by the fact that recruitment at Perelman relies heavily on student involvement, something that has been taken for granted. ..Admittedly, it will be difficult to recruit for a school that claims as one of its major goals ..creating a more inclusive campus community, where all feel welcomed, supported, and have equal access to networks for mentoring and research when this decision has declared a contrary message.... . .It will be difficult as future alumni to donate to a school in which we do not feel supported and an institution that is not moving in the same progressive direction as the rest of the academic world. .
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.We are therefore requesting the following;.
· .The continuation and EXPANSION of the Office of Diversity and Community Outreach, to encompass the new and more inclusive definition of diversity.
.o ..The ODCO serves a vital role to the student body and there is currently no plan for recruitment or support during the search for a new Vice Dean. .
· .Karen Hamilton and Hilda Luiggi should be offered the option to resume their positions in the ODCO.
.o ..They have worked for the SOM for 30 years combined and continue to be an invaluable resource for students .
· .Increased recruitment efforts for diverse students.
.o ..10 out of state recruitment trips per year.
.o ..Funding to host 4 recruitment trips per year.
.o ..Funding to attend national conferences concerning diversity and inclusion.
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.We want to see our institution strive for and obtain excellence. This is the same idea that that our very own President, Amy Guttman, so eloquently linked to maintaining a diverse student body. We the student body, hope to work with the administration to rectify this misstep..
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.Sincerely,.
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.The Students of the Perelman School of Medicine ...
). What sucks is that the pre-meds who I have been around so far IRL seem even worse.
