Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Primary Care Track Welcome Dinner 2023

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

The Primary Care Track of the University of Colorado is committed to advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of clinical care and medical training. We provide a training environment that focuses on providing high quality care for all patients. Our residents and faculty have the privilege of caring for patients' medical issues as well as offering support to address their social and structural determinants of health.

A diverse and inclusive environment is key to our educational landscape. We are committed to recruiting, training, and supporting future primary care physicians whose background, perspective, and life experiences may be underrepresented in medicine. In developing a richly diverse primary care workforce we aim to better meet the needs of our communities and work against systemic biases that can affect the medical careers of those who hold non-majority identities. Furthermore we hope to foster a sense of belonging within our residency to reflect our recognition and value of contributing voices.

Our commitment to action is unwavering and also a work in progress. We will continue to evaluate, refine, and ask for feedback to improve our actions while working towards a diverse, equitable, inclusive and just health system.

Recruitment

• Holistic review of applications
• Interviewing faculty complete implicit bias mitigation training
• GME-based First and Second Look events for applicants underrepresented in medicine

Education

• All Primary Care Track resident clinics are based at Federally Qualified Health Centers serving Denver County vulnerable populations with majority Medicaid/Medicare medical insurance.
• Primary care specific didactics in anti-racism, microaggressions and upstander training, social determinants of health, LGBTQ+ and gender affirming care, care for patients with disabilities, and more.
• Primary care specific electives for care of patients with HIV, care of patients experiencing homelessness, care of immigrant and refugee populations, care of patients with substance use disorders, womens health and family planning, Indian Health Services rotations, and rural primary care rotations.

Health Equity

• Health equity discussions integrated into clinic didactics, clinic morning report cases, and ambulatory precepting.
• Ability to analyze via Tableau personal clinic panel measures by race, age, language for population health and reflection purposes
• Opportunities for research projects involving health equity with experts in the field. See recent resident first author publication regarding continuous glucose monitor (CGM) uptake and A1C outcomes when CGMs are subsidized. DOI: 10.2337/dc22-1287
• Collaboration with leading health care advocates to help improve access to care for all patients. 

Mentorship, Support, & Community Building/Events

• Primary Care program leadership takes a strengths-based approach to resident development, mentorship and advancement. We aim to highlight and build upon each resident's background, whether those strengths arise from clinical interests, identities, prior experiences, engagement with community, advocacy, research, or more.
• Optional group Life Coaching program only offered to PC Track residents. Dr.  Martina Schulte is a certified Life Coach whose program curriculum places particular focus on building community and creating a space for discussion and exploration of coping skills through self-knowledge and experience. 
• Primary Care organized social and community events such as Juneteenth Parade and booth involvement, Women's History Month Celebration to visit local women owned businesses, family/tot outdoor music class event with Music Together, Spanish-based cooking class led by one of Comal Heritage Food Incubator's immigrant chefs, and more.
• Support and involvement in DEI events as offered at the University of Colorado GME and Internal Medicine Residency Program level, such as RAINBOW events. More information about the overall CU Internal Medicine Residency's DEI commitment and actions can be found here.