Diversity

Atrium Health’s Division of Medical Education steadfastly believes that the intentional pursuit of a workforce that is both inclusive and diverse is vital in pursuing our goal of the development of the sharpest minds in medicine. We want to develop providers who are knowledgeable, engaged, and ready to tackle the complex world of healthcare.

The Department of Surgery’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Division has a mission to create opportunities to advance education, insight, and engagement.  The section strives, through action to live out a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, thus elevating our collective capacity to deliver to our patients, our community, and one another, care that is grounded in respect, compassion, and cultural humility.  Our vision is to establish a culture within the Department of Surgery where all people and perspectives are valued, respected, and nurtured.

Our organization is dedicated to ensuring that all candidates, regardless of background, race/ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity/expression, feel at home in our environment.  As a resident in our division, you will have access to numerous opportunities to be involved in inclusion and health equity at the departmental, education, and systems level.  We welcome you to be an agent of change and to use your voice to make an impact. There is much to learn from each other, and we want your insights, thoughts, and ideas on the future of medicine, diversity, and inclusion here at Atrium Health and beyond.

Initiatives that encourage resident involvement include the following:

• DEI Committee
• Divisional DEI Quality Projects
• Institutional Memberships established in AWS (Association of Women Surgeons) and SBAS (Society of Black Academic Surgeons)
• Resident & Faculty Recruitment Processes
• Surgical Clerkship for URiM (Under-Represented in Medicine)
• DEI Website
• Surgery DEI Journal Club
• Visiting Professorship
• Cultural Complications Curriculum
• Diversity symposium – for the past 14 years, Atrium Health has held a system-wide symposium with nationally renowned experts in culturally competent care, inclusion, policy and research.  Past speakers include the late Maya Angelou, Mahzarin Banaji (author of “Blindspot”), and former Surgeon General Richard Caromona, to name a few.