Recent pathology job requires a Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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Nilf

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Here is a recent job ad. I am quoting it in its entirety, without adding or removing any highlights. The relevant part is in the last two paragraphs in the 'Preferred Qualifications' section.


Dermatopathologist - M60298

The Department of Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System seeks a full-time Clinical Assistant/Associate Professor, non-tenure track, in the Division of Anatomic Pathology, with primary duties in dermatopathology, as well as secondary responsibilities in surgical pathology.

Position Responsibilities

  • Clinical: This faculty member will perform day-to-day sign-out of cases in an academic dermatopathology service. The dermatopathology service encounters a wide variety of neoplastic and inflammatory conditions and includes ancillary techniques such as immunofluorescence. Sign-out responsibilities also include coverage of a secondary surgical pathology subspecialty.
  • Service: The successful candidate will participate in tumor boards and other conferences with clinical colleagues. Participation in departmental, institutional and national committees is encouraged, when necessary.
  • Teaching: The successful candidate will supervise residents and contribute to the education of residents, medical students, and ancillary staff.
  • Research: The candidate must engage in scholarship primarily in dermatopathology through presentations at national meetings, contributions to peer-reviewed scientific literature, and active participation in appropriate professional organizations.
The successful candidate will report to and work closely with the Director of Dermatopathology and Division Chair to further the mission and vision of the Department of Pathology.

Required Qualifications

Prospective candidates should have superb diagnostic skills and the drive to excel in scholarly activities. The applicant should have a potential for developing clinical research collaborations. Participation in graduate and undergraduate medical education is required.

  • MD, MD/PhD, or equivalent degree with Board certification in Anatomic Pathology, or combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, is required, as well as fellowship training with board certification or eligibility in Dermatopathology.
  • Candidates must be qualified for full, unrestricted medical licensure in Virginia.
  • The successful candidate must have demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU is required.


Preferred Qualifications

Expertise in Dermatopathology with ability to provide coverage for a secondary Surgical Pathology service.

Preference will be given to candidates with clinical experience and an interest and/or ability in research and scholarly activity as displayed through publication in professional journals and presentations at national meetings.

As a preeminent national, urban, public research university and academic health center, Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to organizational diversity, equity and inclusion - an environment where all can thrive in their pursuit of excellence.

Applicants are requested to submit a Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (typically between 150-300 words) providing your career aspirations and contributions toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through this statement, you can share how your lived experiences; and past, present, and future academic and professional activities have or will contribute to VCUs mission of promoting equity and inclusion.

Note: Examples include working with others to further the goals of equity and inclusion; leading in any capacity that tangibly promotes an environment where diversity is welcomed, fostered, and celebrated; creative activity, research and scholarship that promotes equity and parity; teaching and mentoring students, and/or engaging with faculty and/or staff from traditionally underrepresented groups to create a positive and successful organizational experience.

Full link:

Members don't see this ad.
 
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We all just want a job. Is it too hard to ask for?
 
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Well it's one way to narrow down the applicant pool. I'm guessing that's probably a standard boilerplate requirement for all jobs at the hospital/university these days and not specific to a dermpath job in any way. But I guess if you want/need the job you'll write the essay and fill it with whatever happy-sounding BS you can.
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
"Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion"--I understand that's becoming a fairly common request for academic appointments nowadays (more often humanities / non-medical). It's complete BS and utterly ridiculous.
 
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This requirement helps the applicant understand what kind of environment they are signing up for as a university employee, and helps the department assess the applicant's ability to perform the kinds of rhetorical maneuevers they are looking for. It's actually pretty effective in that way.
 
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Looks like the ABP is going to have to require rotations
in “woke pathology”.

I am so glad i’m done with this crap.
 
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I would just hire someone to write it for me.
 
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Why, as a dermpath, would you want to work in a university setting to begin with? Unless the salary is going to be inline with private practice, why bother with that nonsense. Even before woke pathology (or medicine in general) became a thing apparently, the level of intradepartmental politics in most academic departments was already unbearable.
 
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Why, as a dermpath, would you want to work in a university setting to begin with? Unless the salary is going to be inline with private practice, why bother with that nonsense. Even before woke pathology (or medicine in general) became a thing apparently, the level of intradepartmental politics in most academic departments was already unbearable.
Probably appeals to those who like and do research. Much harder to do much research and publishing outside of the academic arena.
 
Why, as a dermpath, would you want to work in a university setting to begin with? Unless the salary is going to be inline with private practice, why bother with that nonsense. Even before woke pathology (or medicine in general) became a thing apparently, the level of intradepartmental politics in most academic departments was already unbearable.

Very good point. Same for NS. Why would anybody with that kind of training work for academia, unless they already had money or a spouse with same?
 
Hippy, Dippy liberal BS.

Note they use the term ‘equity’ and not equality.

This is a big push of the Biden administration - this application form had to be updated in the last few weeks....

you should go Orwellian on them and say when answering this Q that your eyes and brain are so keen for diagnosing skin pathology that you fully commit to a brain probe that will shoot an electric jolt of electricity in you just as your mind is formulating your brilliant diagnosis with excellent clinical recommendations. This will distract you just enough to dumb down your diagnosis to an average derm path read with ‘equity’ to every other dermpath out there.

what a crock
 
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Another reason to work directly for the clinicians
 
What if your diversity example is blackface? Similar to the Governor of said state. Or perhaps a Klan outfit? What if the Klan outfit had a rainbow?
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
What if your diversity example is blackface? Similar to the Governor of said state. Or perhaps a Klan outfit? What if the Klan outfit had a rainbow?

Wearing a klan suit in blackface while eating a tamale and facing mecca .
 
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What if your diversity example is blackface? Similar to the Governor of said state. Or perhaps a Klan outfit? What if the Klan outfit had a rainbow?

Our Prime Minister wore blackface.
 
Lot of the coal miners and foundry workers where I live are in blackface every day. Probably why we have so much lung cancer here.
 
Does this mean you give everyone the same/equitable diagnosis? I don't want to brag but I can sign out a ton of cases if I do that.
 
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We’re just calling B.S. when we hear B.S.
This is not just old fashioned B.S. This is something far more sinister. This is a deliberate albeit subtle attempt to brainwash and subvert US population. Chinese did something similar to US POWs after Korean war. The Chinese made them write essays extolling Marxism and denigrating capitalism and USA. It had some effect, some POWs even chose to stay in China after release.
 
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This is not just old fashioned B.S. This is something far more sinister. This is a deliberate albeit subtle attempt to brainwash and subvert US population. Chinese did something similar to US POWs after Korean war. The Chinese made them write essays extolling Marxism and denigrating capitalism and USA. It had some effect, some POWs even chose to stay in China after release.

At least in our society you can (still) tell them to go f themselves and walk out and the government cannot touch you.
 
This is not just old fashioned B.S. This is something far more sinister. This is a deliberate albeit subtle attempt to brainwash and subvert US population. Chinese did something similar to US POWs after Korean war. The Chinese made them write essays extolling Marxism and denigrating capitalism and USA. It had some effect, some POWs even chose to stay in China after release.
Yes, but when you put in the green new deal junk in there it’ll be closer to Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge which made China look like a cakewalk under Mao.
 
Yes, but when you put in the green new deal junk in there it’ll be closer to Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge which made China look like a cakewalk under Mao.
. . . no it won't. At all. Jesus, the hyperbole on here is ridiculous. Is the request for a silly, completely unnecessary and job-irrelevant essay absurd? Yes, yes it is. Is there ANY threat of mass genocide and horrific acts of whole-scale murder like the Khmer Rouge? Even if the buzzword-scary "Green New Deal" (whatever Green New Deal even means since there is no actual legislation anywhere) was ever passed, which has zero chance of happening? No. A thousand times no. Bringing your argument to that level begins to disqualify you from rational discussion. Try to maintain rational discussion.
 
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They want to “strengthen a culture of anti racism”, implying what? I wish people would think and realize that racism, bigotry and prejudice are 3 completely different things, with the latter being far more common.
 
Unless I'm mistaken, VCU is in the Richmond, VA area. You really don't have to drive very far away from the city to see, blatant open displays of confederate flags and terrifying displays/effigies. Maybe, just maybe, they want to discourage alt-right snowflakes from applying and let them know they're not wanted at this institution.
 
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Unless I'm mistaken, VCU is in the Richmond, VA area. You really don't have to drive very far away from the city to see, blatant open displays of confederate flags and terrifying displays/effigies. Maybe, just maybe, they want to discourage alt-right snowflakes from applying and let them know they're not wanted at this institution.
Pathologist don't tend to hang clown effigies in public parks in their spare time away from the scopes.

The essay requirement is a sign of zeitgeist, and probably foreboding of things to come (public denouncements, struggle sessions, maybe reeducation camps).
 
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I kinda feel like applying just so that I can troll them by submitting a relevant Sgt. Hartman quote as my statement.
 
This diversity statement has been around for a long time. I encountered it at state universities like 10+ years ago when I was applying for tenure track jobs in basic science--a task, by the way, even harder than a pathologist finding his or her first job within 1.5 hours of an international airport.

Looks like there is a new society. www.societyofblackpathologists.org

Maybe you could join this society and put it in your essay.

Webb, maybe you ought to engage the Society of Black Pathologists! You repeatedly note that friends are critical in pathology, as the best private practice jobs are not advertised and hiring is purely via networks and word of mouth. Since you extol the virtues of living in really rural areas, I'm going to hazard a guess that your network may not have a lot of black people in it. Might be nice to have a diverse audience for you to spread the rural love to. :)

I'm only half teasing, by the way. My (white) PhD advisor was actually really engaged with our field's black professional society, and made a lot of friends.
 
Unless I'm mistaken, VCU is in the Richmond, VA area. You really don't have to drive very far away from the city to see, blatant open displays of confederate flags and terrifying displays/effigies. Maybe, just maybe, they want to discourage alt-right snowflakes from applying and let them know they're not wanted at this institution.
I am very familiar with central and eastern Virginia and the above statement is incorrect
 
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