Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

University of Virginia Collage with Surgery Department Doctors

The Department of Surgery is committed to embracing and promoting a culture of inclusiveness, diversity, and equity. We strive to foster a community where inclusiveness becomes the norm, and where we recognize and value the interdependence of inclusion and excellence in all of our missions. Through respect for the intrinsic worth and dignity of all people, the Department of Surgery will deliver excellent patient care in a professional setting, train future surgical leaders in nationally ranked medical education programs, and conduct cutting-edge research.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Highlights Diversity & Inclusion Council

University of Virginia Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council for Surgery

The Diversity & Inclusion Council Mission:

Define and collect key performance metrics to identify targets for positive change.
Assist in development and evaluation of diversity & inclusion initiatives.

Examples of our work:

Targets for Positive Change: After reviewing our invited visiting speakers over a 5-year period, we created a mechanism for ensuring diversity in our speakers, surgical specialties, and presentation topics.
Annual Visiting Professorship: This Visiting Professorship was established for Alumni of our General Surgery Residency Program who are currently mid-career academic surgeons. Invitations for visiting professorships are particularly impactful mid-career, a time when academic faculty are establishing their national reputations. Through this visiting professorship, we demonstrate our longitudinal support for the professional development of our former residents and learn more about the impressive accomplishments of our trainees after graduation!
We are honored to welcome the following alumni back for our Annual Visiting Professorship:
2022: Amber Shada, MD; Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin “The Future is Now. How Do We Get There?”
2021: Sara Hennessy, MD; Associate Professor, University of Texas Southwestern “The Value of Empathy: a Surgeon’s Experience on the Other Side of Medicine”
2020: Paris Butler, MD MPH; Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania “Enhancing Ethnic Diversity in Academic Surgery: Making the Quality and Excellence Argument”

Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives: The four D&I Council Working Groups in Education, Research, Policy, and Professional Development issued recommendations for the department to develop anti-racism policies and programs and to foster an inclusive environment. Each working group was co-led by a resident and faculty member and benefitted from broad participation. Many of the recommendations have been implemented by the department.

The D&I Council is led by Dr. Anneke Schroen, MD, who serves as the Department’s Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Strategist (JEDIS).

The department’s Diversity & Inclusion Council is open to all faculty and residents.

Lectures Funding Opportunities

Society Travel and Membership Support for Residents
Travel and membership support available to professional organizations that provide important sources of mentorship, networking, and career development opportunities for general surgery residents from groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine. To date this has included the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, the Latino Surgical Society, and the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons. We welcome the opportunity to support active participation in other professional organizations promoting DEI in Surgery. Available support includes annual membership and travel twice during residency. Please contact general surgery residency program leadership for details.

URiM Leadership Program and Travel Scholarship Diversity & Inclusion – Graduate Medical Education Scholarship available to visiting 4th year medical students accepted into elective rotations at UVA (July –October) who are either part of a group underrepresented in medicine or strongly interested in DEI work. This program includes a special leadership program in addition to the clinical elective and provides a $1500 travel stipend.

Department of Surgery Visiting Student Elective Scholarship available to visiting 4th year medical students accepted into an elective rotation at UVA Surgery and who are part of a group underrepresented in medicine.

Department of Surgery Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resident Scholarship
This two-year scholarship provides support for work on DEI initiatives to a resident in the Department of Surgery. Eligible residents have or will serve at least two years of training in general surgery or the integrated program in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Virginia. Applicants should be committed to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in surgery through service, leadership, education, research, and/or other innovative initiatives. The successful applicant will be expected to develop and/or enhance, and lead, solution-oriented work on a departmental or institutional level that is focused on actively fostering a culture of inclusiveness, diversity, and equity in our workplace and/or the greater Charlottesville community. The Scholarship provides a $2,500 stipend per awardee divided over two years. The Scholarship may be awarded to one junior (PGY 1-2) and one senior (PGY 3-5) resident (research years will count as junior) every two years or staggered, with up to two active scholarships at any given time. At the completion of the two-year award, a report to the Department of Surgery of completed work and its impact is required.

Department of Surgery Research Funding in DEI
Each year the department supports faculty-led research projects. With future calls for research proposals, we will be offering an annual award for a faculty-led project in clinical outcomes and/or health services research studying social determinants of health, racial/ethnic disparities in health or healthcare delivery, and/or the effects of racism on health and society. This research grant will be valued up to $20,000.

Community Engagement

The department is committed to participating in pathway programs into science and medicine, supporting local youth from groups underrepresented in medicine.

During the pandemic, the department contributed to the Charlottesville City Schools iSTEM program by helping create and distribute in-home STEM teaching kits to elementary school children missing access to in-classroom teaching activities.

Surgery is a departmental sponsor for the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Summer Opportunities in Academic Research (SOAR) program. SOAR seeks to encourage local high school students of color to pursue careers in science by offering a summer program in biomedical research and clinical medicine exposure.

The department participates in the Summer Medical Leadership Program (SMLP), providing shadowing experiences for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds interested in pursuing careers in medicine.

Food Insecurity in the Community: Dr. Jeffrey Gander, a pediatric surgeon in the UVA Department of Surgery and his partners in the Department of Pediatrics are working to tackle food insecurity in the community. When children come to a clinic visit at UVA Children’s, their families are screened for food insecurity. If interested, they are offered non-perishable food items for the Battle Building Healthy Food Pantry to take home that day. For patients who live in the Charlottesville or Albemarle County area, they can join a fresh fruit and vegetable program. UVA has partnered with a not for profit Local Food Hub to deliver a bi-weekly share of fresh food to the house of our patients with food insecurity. The food comes from local Virginia farmers. Dr. Gander recently received a large grant from the USDA to study the effect on health outcomes of the fresh food program. Pediatric Team Bringing Fresh, Healthy Food to Those in Need | UVA Today

Awards

Mark Fleming, II, MD

2021: Markie Fleming, II, MD MS, Martin Luther King Jr. Health System Award

Established in 2013, Dr. Martin Luther King University of Virginia Health System Award is presented annually to a student, faculty or staff member of the Health System who embodies Dr. Martin Luther King’s values and teachings, in cultural competence, health care disparities, or fostering an environment of inclusiveness, in accordance with the institution’s mission and values.

Mark Fleming, II, MD

Courtney Lattimore, MD

Markie Fleming, II, MD MS and Courtney Lattimore, MD: Inaugural recipients of Department of Surgery Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resident Scholarship

Over this 2-year scholarship, Drs. Fleming and Lattimore will focus on improving the 4th year medical student experience on Surgery, with special emphasis on students visiting UVA and students from historically underrepresented groups.

Anneke Schroen, MD

2020: Anneke Schroen, MD, MPH: Sharon L. Hostler Women in Medicine Leadership Award
The Hostler Award recognizes excellence in several of the following areas: clinical care, teaching, scholarship, mentoring, research, leadership, community service, commitment to continuous learning, and exerting influence in fostering a better institutional environment by advocating for women’s issues.

University of Virginia Sandra Kabagambe, MD, Surgery

Sandra Kabaganbe, MD

University of Virginia Goldaracena, MD, Surgery

Nicolas Goldaracena, MD

Department of Surgery Faculty Selected for Participation in iDRIV (Inspiring Diverse Researchers in Virginia)

Designed to support researchers who are nationally underrepresented in clinical or translational science, the year-long iDRIV program iDRIV Program | integrated Translati (ithriv.org) augments early career faculty development through education, coaching, mentorship and sponsorship.

Paola Vargas, MD

Ileana Mauldin, PhD

iDRIV Scholars from the Department of Surgery:
Sandra Kabagambe, MD (2021-22)
Nicolas Goldaracena, MD (2021-22)
Paola Vargas, MD (2021-22)
Ileana Mauldin, PhD (2022-23)

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