Student-Led Taskforces Educate on Diversity and Inclusion

Coinciding with the start of the new year, the Student Diversity and Inclusivity (D&I) Taskforces hosted the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Summit, a four-part series covering topics such as religious inclusion and transgender medicine. Beginning with the first session, "Student Panel of Experiences," students shared their personal experiences with DEIB and discussed topics ranging from the barriers that exist for lower-income individuals and how those individuals could overcome them, to what aspects of healthcare LGBTQ+ people may face that could lead to their distrust of the medical system. Afterwards, they discussed changes the community could make to further support DEIB, one of them being participating in dialogue that "helps facilitate critical reflection of our own biases," says Melissa Jimenez, OMS II, one of the students leading the D&I Taskforce.

The second part of the DEIB series, a digital webinar focused on how best to provide equitable and inclusive healthcare for the LG- BTQ+ community, took place on February 7. The session featured lessons led by Dr. Robyn Boudreau and Linda Stay, the Development Director at Switchpoint Community Resource Center. The third part of the Summit series, "Politicization of Race," which took place on March 21, featured Dr. Carolyn Ash, a Senior Student Life Director at College Track Aurora. The fourth part of the series, "Religious Diversity," will take place later this semester.