Diversity and Inclusion in Academic Medicine: A Strategic Planning Guide

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation standards include specific language for medical education programs to have policies and practices, as well as programs and partnerships that will achieve the school’s diversity and inclusion goals.

This guide, produced by a multi-disciplinary team of experts, provides a roadmap that will not only help you to comply with important diversity standards, but also to pave the way for developing and sustaining a climate and culture of inclusion at your institution.

This second edition includes the latest Supreme Court rulings on diversity and education, updated information on the LCME diversity elements, and updated sections in Part II. Also new for this edition is the online toolkit that accompanies the nine essential tasks (information to access the toolkit is found in the guide). The web-based toolkit aids diversity officers by providing directions, context, institutional examples, and resources for navigating the strategic planning process.

Part 1 of the guide provides nine essential tasks as a roadmap for the process of diversity and inclusion strategic planning, plus offers key questions to help you think through each task. The online toolkit includes templates you can adapt for your institution and examples of current diversity strategic plans from medical schools around the country.

Part 2 identifies specific strategies that could be included in a plan to meet diversity and inclusion goals, tips for working with leadership, and the skills and competencies needed to succeed as a diversity officer.

With this guide plus the online toolkit, you will discover:

• Solid guidance on setting objectives, identifying tasks, and developing action steps
• Institutional examples and templates to guide each step of strategic planning process
• Tips to avoid missteps that could slow your progress
• Why diversity and inclusion should be included in strategic planning, including the case for excellence, accreditation, business and legality
• How to establish clear communication and decision-making channels with the key stakeholders
• Steps you can take in advance to avoid your diversity initiatives from becoming “siloed”
• How to achieve buy-in on the timeline for carrying out a diversity initiative
• And much more.

This resource will help make the process of preparing a diversity and inclusion strategic plan more manageable and productive.