Diversity Affairs

Director
Shani Scott, MD
Instructor, Department of Medicine (General Internal Medicine)

Director
Chinazo Cunningham, MD, MS
Professor, Department of Medicine (General Internal Medicine);
Professor, Department of Family and Social Medicine;
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Image: Guests of the Welcome Cocktail Reception. see photos

Improving Diversity in Academic Medicine

The Montefiore Einstein Diversity Affairs Committee's mission is to promote cultural diversity among housestaff and faculty of the Department of Medicine.

The Diversity Affairs agenda will be carried out through three major goals:

1. Improve minority recruitment, retention, and promotion at the housestaff and faculty levels
2. Provide a networking and supportive community to minority housestaff and faculty
3. Enhance mentoring opportunities for minority housestaff and faculty

Why is Diversity Important?

As the nation rapidly grows more diverse, underrepresented minority physicians are needed more than ever. With 34% of the U.S. population belonging to a minority group and 47% of children under five coming from minority families, healthcare practitioners are seeing an ever-growing spectrum of languages, cultures, and health issues in patients. Yet even as the demand for ethnic and racial diversity in medicine rises, minority doctors—particularly those in academic medicine—remain few. full article 

Focus Areas

• Reach out to new Housestaff, Fellows and Faculty
• Active participation in recruitment of minority housestaff
• Encourage housestaff to promote residency program at national meetings (e.g., Student National Medical Association/SNMA, National Boricua Latino Health Organization/NBLHO)
• Partnership and faculty development efforts with Hispanic Center for Excellence and Einstein "Deconstructing Racism" workshop