We strongly believe that the Addiction Medicine workforce will more effectively serve its patients when it is more representative of those it serves. To that end, we strive for greater diversity among our fellows and faculty. In addition, we are deeply committed to promoting anti-racism and cultural competence among our fellows and faculty, as well as increasing our understanding of disparities of health and social justice. Efforts directed at these goals include didactics, journal clubs, and rotations in settings that serve marginalized populations including those within justice settings.
In addition to our efforts directed at diversity, equity, and inclusion at the level of our fellowship, our fellows and faculty participate in the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine DEI initiatives. Further, we benefit from an array of robust initiatives from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
The Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA)
The Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA), in partnership with the Alpert Medical School Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA), continues to make significant contributions to promote diversity and inclusion. BMHA was founded in 2013 by residents across specialties interested in supporting a diverse GME community and the advancement of underrepresented minorities in medicine through mentorship, networking, and advocacy. Since then, BMHA has emerged as a leading interdepartmental body to help address disparity, health equity, racism, and diversity in medicine. The organization aspires to provide a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all residents and hopes to create close-knit, lifelong friendships as its members support one another throughout residency.
Brown Advocates for Social Change and Equity (BASCE)
Brown Advocates for Social Change and Equity (BASCE) is a Fellowship offered through the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) at the medical school. BASCE Fellows are selected to participate in a yearlong program aimed at developing healthcare leaders who will be leaders in engaging peers in dialogue around issues of racism, cultural diversity, inclusion, social justice and health equity. The program, open to medical students, residents, fellows, attendings, and allied health professionals, encourages vertical and horizontal mentorship and learning in a non-hierarchical manner with current and past BASCE cohorts. Founded in 2017, BASCE encourages deepening of anti-racism work through foundational understandings of theories including Critical Race Theory, Public Health Critical Race Praxis, Camara Jones’ three levels of racism, DisCrit, and Critical Whiteness Studies. BASCE Fellows are trained to facilitate sessions and engage in critical anti-racism and anti-oppression work within their institution. Fellows are provided access to up to $500 to develop and carry out a leadership project. Drs. Beth Gentilesco and Jael Rodriguez are the Department of Medicine’s two most recent graduates of this fellowship. For more information please email odma@brown.edu.
Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance (BSGMA)
Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance (BSGMA) is an organization devoted to education, advocacy, and support for sexual and gender minority trainees and faculty affiliated with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Membership is open to any and all trainees, faculty, and students regardless of identity or orientation.
Director: Erin Baroni, MD (Med-Peds PGY4)
Email: brownsgma@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/brownSGMA
Instagram: brownsgma
Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA)
The Warren Alpert Medical School’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) provides support for diversity in residency programs affiliated with Brown University. Joseph Diaz, MD serves as the Associate Dean for Diversity and has been instrumental at providing training and educational programs to residents and faculty. The BASCE fellowship, BMHA and Med Talks are all co-sponsored by ODMA.
Code Black – Health Equity for Black Lives
Code Black RI was founded by a group of medical students, housestaff, and faculty dedicated to taking action towards equity for Black lives. This means health equity for our Black patients, but also equity in the healthcare workplace. This is a multi-organizational and institutional effort represented by, but not limited to, the organizations listed below.
- Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA)
- Brown Sexual Gender & Minority Alliance (BSGMA)
- Student National Medical Association (SNMA)
- Latinx Medical Student Association (LMSA)
- Asian and Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)
- Spectrum (LGBTQ+ medical students)
- Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (ODMA) at the Warren Alpert Medical School
- Office of Women in Medicine and Science (OWIMS)
For more info and updates visit: www.codeblackri.com
MED Talks – Medical Education through Diversity
The best way to learn how to take care of a community of people is to ask the members of that community to share their experiences. Medical Education through Diversity (MED) Talks is a speaker series that was started in 2015 and created to form a dialogue between patients and the medical community that cares for them. Each quarter, panels of individuals who represent a patient population that we care for here at Brown come to speak to an audience of physicians, nurses and students to talk about ways in which healthcare can provide more culturally competent care to their community. We have partnered with patients from the Jehovah’s Witness, transgender, refugee, deaf and foster family communities to bring this unique educational opportunity to our hospital. Patient will often share stories of their own interactions with healthcare professionals and highlight ways that their care could have been improved. Audience members are encouraged to ask difficult questions to better understand a better way to provide care to these populations. This project has previously been recognized and supported by the Gold Foundation. Funding has been graciously provided by BMHA and ODMA.
Medicine DEI Committee
Department of Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The 2020-2021 academic year marked the inauguration of the DEI Committee in the Department of Medicine. Chaired by Dr. Beth Gentilesco (who recently completed a BASCE fellowship – see above), membership includes faculty and residents from throughout the Department of Medicine. This committee works on expansion of the department’s efforts in diversity recruitment and retention, anti-bias and anti-racism curricula and education, creating an inclusive working environment, and ongoing monitoring efforts.