Diversity and Inclusion in Academic Medicine: A Strategic Planning Guide

The revised LCME standards for accreditation include definitive language for diversity activities that institutions must implement by July 2015. This places greater pressure on medical education programs to implement policies and practices, as well as programs and partnerships, that will achieve diversity and inclusion goals. Failure to address these issues can result in punitive measures, such as being place on academic probation and loss of accreditation. Failure to advance diversity and inclusion also negatively impacts the institution’s ability to eliminate health and health care disparities and to advance health equity.

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 of inclusion at your institution.

Part 1 of the guide provides the nine essential tasks as a roadmap for the process of strategic planning, plus offers key questions to help you think through each task. 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.

Discover:

• Guidance on setting objectives, identifying tasks, and developing action steps
• Tips to help you 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
• Steps you can take in advance to avoid your diversity initiatives from becoming “siloed”
• Tips to establish clear communication and decision-making channels with the key stakeholders
• How to achieve buy-in to the timeline for carrying out a diversity initiative
• Guidance on how the diversity officer’s role should be positioned to have authority and joint accountability to orchestrate meaningful change
• Why dedicated diversity offers is a necessary pre-requisite for implementing any strategy for diversity
• The unique set of leadership skills that diversity officers must have or must cultivate to be able to build the trust and credibility needed to move the work forward.

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