About this event
Race and racism have resurfaced as important topics in medicine as highlighted by the many conversations stemming from the health disparities unearthed by COVID and the disproportionate mistreatment of African Americans on the basis of race in society at large. A growing body of evidence indicates that increasing diversity in the physician workforce is vitally important to improving health equity and reducing health disparities. Racial concordance – when the race of a physician matches that of his or her patient – has been shown to result in better outcomes and improved patient satisfaction. Yet building a sufficiently diverse physician workforce will take time, and our health care system needs strategies to foster inclusion, respect and belonging for all. By learning to practice cultural humility and consciously reflecting on the personal and historical influences that contribute to cultural differences, all physicians can help compensate for a lack of racial concordance and move us closer to the goals of a more representative physician workforce and a more equitable health care system.
Join the Illinois State Medical Society for a session with William A. McDade, MD, PhD, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for a discussion about the importance of improving individual cultural humility alongside efforts to increase diversity in the physician workforce, and why health care offices and institutions must actively attend to the creation of supportive and inclusive workplace environments.
About the presenter:
Dr. McDade focuses on national initiatives to diversify and include underrepresented groups throughout the medical education continuum with the goal of providing physicians with the knowledge and skills required to serve the American public in humanistic environments where clinician and patient well-being is promoted.
He has served on the ACGME Board of Directors, as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and as a member of the US Department of Education’s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation. He is a former member of the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees and has served on the Joint Commission Executive Committee. He has served on the Coalition for Physician Accountability. Dr. McDade previously served as President and Board Chair of the Illinois State Medical Society.
Who can attend
Registration is limited to ISMS members and their employed staff. All others must pay $150 to attend. To pay, please email hpresearch@isms.org for instructions.
Learning objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, learners will be able to:
- Describe the link between workforce diversity and health disparities elimination and the significance of patient-physician racial and ethnic concordance in health care interactions.
- Discuss why delivery of care in racially concordant relationships is insufficient to achieve the goals of elimination of health care disparities.
- Examine their own beliefs about structural racism and understand why dissecting and analyzing policies, norms and practices is necessary to provide equity in the provision of inclusive healthcare workplace environments.
- Identify the relationship between microaggressions, well-being and performance and the need to create workplace environments that promote belongingness for all and that mitigate harmful bias and discriminatory behaviors.
Accreditation
The Illinois State Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation
The Illinois State Medical Society designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ . Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Disclosure
There are no relevant financial relationships with ACCME-defined commercial interests for anyone who was in control of the content of this activity.
