Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Department of Internal Medicine | UC Davis Health

What is DICE?

DICE (Doctors for Inclusion and Community Engagement) is a resident-led Internal Medicine committee, with support from key faculty advisors, that is committed to fostering an inclusive environment within our residency, our department, and across our institution.

Our work embraces representation across many dimensions, including race, age, gender, culture, religion, physical or mental abilities, sexual orientation, and other characteristics that make each individual unique.

All Internal Medicine residents are welcomed and encouraged to participate in DICE! We recognize that each residents' experiences and perspectives enrich our program.

DICE Goals

• Advance efforts to ensure broad participation and an inclusive environment throughout the residency program.
• Inform policies, programs, and practices to better meet the needs of our heterogeneous and culturally rich community.
• Provide a network of support and mentorship for residents.
• Increase the belonging and inclusion of our residency program.
• Support resident wellness.

A Few DICE Accomplishments

• Cafecitos- a series of talks for residents on a broad array of topics (e.g. financial planning, wellness strategies, managing mentorship relationships).
• Outreach events for medical students (panels, open houses, conferences).
• Active role in intern recruitment: attending lunches, happy hours.
• Cultivating a sense of community through various events, such as orientation dinner, movie nights, and festivities honoring cultural holidays.
• Hosting inclusive residency-wide forums to facilitate meaningful conversations and create space for residents to reflect and dialogue about challenging real-life issues that impact our community.
• Establishing DICE representation on the Residency Steering Committee.
• Started a journal club that fosters critical discussions and knowledge sharing around issues that impact health equity.
• Collaborating with residents from Emergency Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatrics to create a social justice journal club, promoting cross-specialty engagement and learning.

DICE Resident Spotlights: Why did you join DICE?

• Debby Lee, 2025 graduate

  •  “My parents came from humble beginnings and came to the US as Hmong refugees after the Vietnam War. I’ve always been passionate about improving the representation of minoritized communities in medicine and felt like DICE was a great way to meet other co-residents who have the same mission”

• Jose Negrete Manriquez, 2025 graduate, pictured with wife and co-resident Sasha Parra, and their daughter Ellie

  • “I joined DICE to be part of a group of individuals that care deeply about the shedding light on structural racism and working together to co-create solutions for dismantling oppressive structures and thereby enhancing the care we provide to our patients.”

• Sahand Ghodrati, Chief Resident 2023-2024

  • “My journey to health equity and inclusion work, as someone who is not underrepresented in medicine by way of outward-facing aspects of my identity, is rooted in experiences I had in medical school. I witnessed and worked to alleviate stark examples of how focusing on these efforts only within admissions leads to devastating circumstances faced by trainees who can feel unwelcome, unheard/unseen, and unequipped to succeed in an environment that has historically not been built for or by them. I think programming initiatives are important, but I believe the essence of health equity and inclusion work is about building community, which requires engaged and invested leadership that I think UC Davis clearly has in our DICE mentors. I'm so grateful to have their example and their advocacy, and hope you get a chance to join us and meet them." 

Contact Us

For more information on our diversity efforts, please e-mail our Faculty or Resident Co-Chairs of Doctors for Inclusion and Community Engagement, Ana Martinez, M.D. or Thi Doan, M.D.