"Diversity is being invited to the party; Inclusion is being asked to dance."
- Verna Myers
At the University of Colorado Internal Medicine Residency Program, we believe that a commitment to diversity will enable us to achieve the highest standards of excellence in all domains.
Diversity within our residency program not only enriches our resident
physicians’ experiences, it improves the quality of patient care. We
strive to strengthen our program by recognizing that differences in
race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and spiritual
practice are crucial to developing competent physician leaders who will deliver quality patient care with lasting impact on individuals and communities.
Within the Internal Medical Residency Program, we are continually striving to improve our inclusiveness:
Our commitment to diversity extends beyond the Internal Medicine Residency Program to the Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine, the campus and the community.
In
the Department of Medicine, Sonia Flores, PhD was appointed Vice Chair
for Diversity and Justice in 2016. Dr. Flores is a professor in the
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, and was the
program director of an NIGMS-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student
Diversity; she has been the Program Director of the
NHLBI-funded GEMS (Graduate Experiences for Multicultural Students)
program for the past 16 years.
Dr. Flores is committed to increasing diversity among housestaff, fellows and faculty by incorporating social science theories and focusing on cultural competence. The Department of Medicine also sponsors the DREAM Program, which brings medical students from underrepresented groups into CU's research labs.
At the campus level, Brenda Allen, PhD (Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion) and Shanta Zimmer, MD (Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion) lead the way in developing a faculty, housestaff, and student body that best reflects the patients for whom we care.
We invite you to explore the CU School of Medicine's Diversity and Inclusion website to learn about resources available to current and prospective residents through the School of Medicine.
The University of Colorado Organization for Racial and Ethnic Support (UCOLORES), founded in 2010, provides support and community for faculty, residents, staff and students of color through monthly meetings.
This
group helps build bridges and develop relationships by creating
mentoring partnerships, providing support for faculty development and
promotion, and encouraging connections for research collaborations. The
group also hosts community engagement activities throughout the year
(book club, social events) as well as an annual Toast to Diversity
event, which celebrates our campus and also serves as a "call to action"
to create community and improve our diversity efforts.
Other student/trainee groups active on campus include:
CU’s Urban Underserved Track (CU-UNITE) is a longitudinal track for students at the CU School of Medicine and the CU College of Nursing designed for students interested in working with urban underserved communities, including refugee communities. Although this track is for medical/nursing/PA students, it offers opportunities for interactions with our internal medicine residents.
CU
internal medicine residents do rotations at several affiliates serving highly
diverse populations, including Denver Health and the VA Medical Center.
According to the 2010 census, Aurora is the most diverse community in the
Denver metro area with more than half of Aurora’s 350,000 residents belonging
to a minority population, and over 100 languages spoken in Aurora Public
Schools. Aurora has also become an entry point for refugees coming to Colorado,
and the development of an immigration center and educational and outreach
program for Aurora’s new diverse populations provides our residents with ample
opportunity to learn and provide high-quality care to underserved populations.
We
invite you to contact our diversity ambassadors and residents (see sidebar) to
learn more about how our program supports a diverse and inclusive environment.
Thank you,
Geoff Connors, MD
Program Director
Amira del Pino-Jones, MD, is the Assistant Program Director for Diversity and Inclusion. She was born and raised in Colorado, and after attending the University of Colorado at Boulder for undergrad, she completed medical school, her internship, and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado. As a graduate of the Hospitalist Training Track, Dr. del Pino-Jones now practices inpatient medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital. When she is not seeing patients, she dedicates much of her time to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts within the Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, and School of Medicine. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going to the theater, and golfing.
Check out Dr. del Pino-Jones' video "Black Men and Women in White Coats"
Jose Castillo-Mancilla, MD,
Associate Professor,
Infectious Diseases
Lilia Cervantes, MD
Associate Professor,
General Internal Medicine; Denver Health
Karen Chacko, MD
Associate Professor,
General Internal Medicine
Jamaluddin Moloo, MD
Associate Professor,
General Internal Medicine
Neda Rasouli, MD
Associate Professor, Endocrinology
Tânia Reis, PhD
Assistant Professor, Endocrinology
Tarik Walker, MD
Instructor,
Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine
Alex Enurah, MD
Recent graduate and volunteer faculty advisor