Diversity and Inclusion

For almost a decade, the Department of Pediatrics has worked to push the boundaries of inclusion, representation, and equality among our faculty, staff, and training programs and to reflect the diverse populations we diagnose, study, treat, and heal.

Departmental leadership, including Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE, Vice Chair for Education, Linda Aponte-Patel, MD, Associate Vice Chair, Education, Diversity & Inclusion, and Hetty Cunningham, MD, Associate Vice Chair, Education & Learning Environment, have together embarked on a number of initiatives to broaden the department’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, including:

• A departmental listening tour to understand divisions’ needs in the realms of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the learning environment, and well-being
• Professional development trainings, in partnership with departmental and divisional leaders, focusing on topics such as anti-racism, implicit bias, and mitigating bias in evaluations and in letter writing
• A new bias and learning environment online feedback portal and response system for house staff called PedsBeSafe, developed and launched  in partnership with the pediatric residency and Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Council (PDIC) leadership
• A departmental inclusive language guide to support our community and to enhance health equity through language, developed in collaboration with pediatrics faculty. 
• Health equity faculty meeting bimonthly talks, designed to be brief and practical (topics have included clinical skin-of-color tools, microaggression response skills, and inclusive teaching strategies)
• Membership on divisional search committee and bias reflection sessions for search committees’ preparations
• Establishment of an ongoing partnership with the department’s chief diversity officer, Shydeka Richards
• Membership in the CUIMC Diversity Officers Group
• Participation in house staff recruitment, including PDIC Fellow Section Open House for Prospective Applicants, NYP GME Diversity Open House, and the Columbia Pediatrics Residency Open House for URiM Applicants
• Hosting our first student for the Virtual Pediatrics Elective for Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) Students program 
• Serving as a founding member of the VP&S Latino Association Board of Directors

Diversity in Administration

Shydeka Richards, manager of human resources and faculty affairs since 2016 and inaugural chief diversity officer since 2021, has worked to:

• Reinforce and strengthen the work of the Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Council (PDIC)
• Strengthen focus on diversity in all major leadership searches
• Broaden our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the entire department, including among staff members

Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Council 

The Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Council (PDIC), founded in 2013 to provide a supportive environment for underrepresented-in-medicine residents, has undergone tremendous growth since its beginnings, broadening the department’s focus to initiatives such as recruiting a diverse house staff and providing structured diversity and inclusion programming as core elements of our residency experience.

The PDIC is open to all health care team members in the department. Activities include annual welcoming social events for members, bimonthly meetings with residents and fellow members, quarterly meetings with faculty members, and matching diversity faculty mentors with resident members. In 2022:

• PDIC leaders’ curricular work was supported by a Columbia Provost Anti-racism grant: “Enhancing the Reach and Scope of the Pediatric Diversity and Inclusion Council Curriculum.”
• Linda Aponte-Patel, MD, PDIC Director, was inducted into the Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators.
• Hetty Cunningham, MD participated in the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Virtual Panel Discussion on Systemic Racism in Health Care.
• Several PDIC members were named to the VP&S Latino Association Founding Board of Directors:
  • Co-President: Mara Minguez, MD
  • Treasurer: Linda Aponte-Patel, MD
  • Community Affairs Committee Co-Chair: Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, MD
  • External Affairs Committee Co-Chair: Mercedes Martinez, MD
  • Faculty Affairs Committee Chair: Luz Adriana Matiz-Zanoni, MD
  • Social Affairs and Communications Committee Co-Chair: Cristina Fernandez, MD

Additionally, PDIC Fellow Liaison Patrice Pryce, MD, was awarded the AAP Section on Critical Care (SOCC) 2021 Small Project Award for “Combatting Health Disparities Among Critically Ill Children: A Health Equity Curriculum.”

Growing Our Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

The PDIC’s long-term objective is to expand our efforts to a national level and for our program to be recognized as a hub for diversity in training, research, and patient care. To that end we presented our work at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in 2018.

Our work and accomplishments underscore the department’s considerable commitment to training pediatricians who provide patient-centered and culturally competent care to our diverse patient population. Among our future goals: fostering our relationship with local community programs, capitalizing on the expertise and guidance of our new Vice Chair for Community Health, Dodi Meyer, MD, strengthening our presence within our department as well as our institution, and creating opportunities for residents to participate in diversity and inclusion-related research initiatives.

Diversity Day Symposium

Our annual Celebration of Diversity Symposium, launched in 2017, is a daylong event featuring a keynote speaker, presentations that highlight community health programs, peer-to-peer workshops led by pediatric trainees, and a town hall with invited guests. In 2022, we welcomed Monica L. Lypson, MD, MHPE, Rolf H. Scoldager Professor of Medicine, Vice Dean for Education, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her keynote presentation focused on “Individual and Collective Acts Needed to Make Academic Medicine Anti-Racist.”

Highlights

Dr. Hetty Cunningham in Documentary, "The Color of Care"

On May 1, the Smithsonian Channel began airing a documentary, "The Color of Care," which focuses on the disparities in access to healthcare and in outcomes, made starkly clear by the COVID-19 pandemic. CUIMC pediatrician and VP&S Director of Equity & Justice in Curricular Affairs Dr. Hetty Cunningham is one of several experts who appears in the film, produced by Oprah Winfrey. “I’m thrilled about this opportunity to broaden the audience for messaging around health equity and justice,” notes Dr. Cunningham.

Inclusive Language Guide

Language is constantly changing as society changes, and as our country and professions attempt to be more mindful of our increasingly diverse population, health care providers may want to shift the words they use but may not know how. Using inclusive language with patients, families, and colleagues is key to fostering an environment of compassionate care. The Department of Pediatrics’ inclusive language guide, which we added to our department website in 2022, is designed as a resource for all department members to maximize inclusion and to promote comfort and support for our patients and each other.

Learn More About Our Inclusive Language Guide