Statement from our chair

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis is woven into the fabric of our Department. All members of the faculty, residents, nurses and staff were asked to sign the UC Davis Principles of Community document which we proudly hang at the entrance to the ED and the Emergency Medicine offices. This document declares our commitment to treating our patients and each other with the greatest respect, professionalism, and understanding, acknowledging our diverse identities. This includes racial, ethnic, gender, religious and much more. The document welcomes our patients and visitors into the ED and our faculty, fellows, residents and staff into our administrative offices. In the face of the structural racism so apparent in society and healthcare, our efforts in DEIJ must be persistent, and transformative.

We have created a robust and empowered DEIJ committee in the Department, led by our Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Kara Toles, about which we are very proud. With subcommittees in research, recruitment and retention, clinical care, education and outreach, our goal is to incorporate the principles of DEIJ into everything we do in the Department. We offer a scholarship for visiting medical students of underrepresented backgrounds in medicine (URiM) to further diversify the pool of potential applicants to our residency program and ultimately our fellowships and faculty. We have intentionally created a much more holistic residency, fellowship and faculty recruitment processes have become more holistic, with at least one member of our DEIJ committee sitting on each recruitment committee. The Department has also successfully recruited and retained more diverse faculty and trainees, and our efforts will only increase in the coming years. Our faculty have all completed the UC Davis Health Supporting Educational Excellence in Diversity (SEED) training during a two-day retreat focusing on diversity and inclusion. In recognition of our Department’s efforts, we recently received the Chancellor’s Departmental Award for Diversity and Community. The leadership of the Department, including leaders of the DEIJ committee and the Department Chair, have cultivated a partnership with medical students at Howard University, a member of historically Black college and universities (HBCUs) to provide mentorship, educational opportunities, and a pathway to join our welcoming. We plan to expand this partnership to other HBCUs.

We are driven to promote the next generation of URiM practitioners and leaders in General and Pediatric Emergency Medicine, both in our mentoring activities and as sponsors. Furthermore, although women are underrepresented in academic emergency medicine, ~ 50% of the faculty in our Department are women (compared to ~ 35% nationally) as are more than half of our Division Leaders (a combination of Division Chiefs and Vice Chairs).

We welcome all members of the community to our great Department with the goal of having faculty and staff membership representing the diversity of patients whom we are proud to serve.

Carpe Diem

Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH
Distinguished Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics
Bo Tomas Brofeldt Endowed Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine