Abstract Details

Title The Impact of Establishing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in a Single US Adult Neurology Residency Program

Topic Health Care Disparities

Presentation(s) P5 - Poster Session 5 (11:45 AM-12:45 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 4-005

Objective Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) taskforces are sparse in neurology departments across the U.S. The purpose of this quality improvement effort is to establish a framework for building a successful DEI committee in a neurology department and to evaluate progress related to 1) residency recruitment efforts of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) applicants, 2) DEI didactics, and 3) community outreach.

Background

Our department’s DEI committee was founded in August 2020 and consists of nine residents and eleven faculty members who meet monthly to promote more equitable practices within our residency and department. The committee is divided into subgroups, including 1) recruitment, 2) didactics, and 3) community outreach.

Design/Methods Following the establishment of our DEI committee, we studied the academic years July 2020 – June 2021 and July 2021 – June 2022 and compared trends in 1) residency recruitment interviews of URiM, 2) DEI didactics, and 3) community service hours providing care to the underinsured local community and educating local underrepresented students about neurology.

Results

Residency interviews were given to nine URiM in 2020-2021 and 16 URiM in 2021-2022. In 2020-2021, no lectures were dedicated to DEI, but in 2021-2022 there were 10 dedicated didactic hours, including a residency-wide implicit bias training. Lastly, neurology services at a local free clinic increased from six outpatient clinics in 2020-2021 to 13 outpatient clinics and the development of a continuity clinic in 2021-2022.

Conclusions As a result of our DEI committee, we have increased 1) the number of URiM residency applicants who receive interviews, 2) DEI didactic hours, and 3) opportunities for community outreach and education. This is the first study we are aware of that has evaluated progress of DEI efforts led by a neurology-specific DEI committee. Future goals include increasing the hiring of URiM faculty and retention of URiM residency applicants.

Authors/Disclosures
Mathura Ravishankar, MD (INOVA) PRESENTER	Dr. Ravishankar has nothing to disclose.
Keiko A. Fukuda, MD (UPMC Department of Neurology)	Dr. Fukuda has nothing to disclose.
Lamees H. Alzyoud, MD (UofA - Department of Neurology)	Dr. Alzyoud has nothing to disclose.
Priya Nidamanuri, MD (Shadyside Commons)	Dr. Nidamanuri has nothing to disclose.
Rebecca Pollard, MD (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)	Dr. Pollard has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
Anne C. Van Cott, MD, FAAN (VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System/University of Pittsburgh)	Dr. Van Cott has nothing to disclose.
Paula R. Clemens, MD (Univ of Pittsburgh/ Dept of Neurology)	The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from NS Pharma. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from ReveraGen. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from Amicus. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from Sanofi. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from Spark. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from NIH. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from MDA. The institution of Dr. Clemens has received research support from FDA.
Alexandria Sadasivan, MD	Dr. Sadasivan has nothing to disclose.
Page B. Pennell, MD, FAAN (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)	The institution of Dr. Pennell has received research support from NIH.
Ajitesh Ojha, MD (UPMC)	Dr. Ojha has nothing to disclose.

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