How would you describe the culture of your residency?
The strength of our program is measured in its diversity. In order to grow we welcome learning about others different from ourselves, whether that means coming from a different culture, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. We have always been known for our friendliness and ability to create a family like atmosphere. We have been told even in this virtual world, that applicants could see the easy comradery between residents of varying classes. Our goal is to bring you into the fold, while assisting in your growth to realize your dreams. We have been on a mission in the past several years to increase the diversity of both our staff and residency so we may be an even better representation of the people we serve every day in our outpatient clinics and inpatient units.
How has your program supported resident wellness?
As a program we have always had a truly protected didactic day. Within this time is Grand Rounds and then process group – which has been in place for the past 8 years. This was created as a safe place for residents to vent, share personal or work issues with a dedicated moderator for each PGY class. In addition we have started recognizing every resident’s birthday and will be adding a gift card for a favorite local ice cream parlor. Because of Covid, we were unable to hold our Fall Retreat as planned but gave that day to our residents as a Wellness Day. We celebrated Resident Appreciation week with ordering Insomnia cookie boxes for everyone along with some to go beverages. Our latest retreat is planned for May 26 at Top Golf – a residency program bonding and fun day.
We are also looking forward to getting back together for in person didactics where bagels and refreshments will be served, with an entire residency meeting monthly where we will be serving a full breakfast. And finally we want to get back into our whole residency Welcome Picnic and Multi Cultural Holiday parties at our PD’s home.
How has your program supported diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) either at your institution or in the surrounding community?
We have created a new DEI curriculum which was rolled out this month. Every year it will focus on a specific theme with several lectures spread out throughout the year. We have been very intentional in increasing the diversity of our program and staff. We have several diverse staff incorporated into our interview team. We also have a Hispanic Clinic in Ohio City, which is home to a diverse inner-city population, LGBTQ clinic and a Transgender Clinic. Our newest ombudsman who is a liaison between the residents and the Program leadership is a black female, as well as our newly minted Recruitment Chair. Our institution has an Associate Chief of Staff with a focus on recruitment and retention of physicians and scientists traditionally underrepresented in medicine.
We also take advantage of being at as many Diversity Fairs as we can, as well as being active in our District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association where the presence of an educational arm gives us the opportunity to mentor students.
As an enterprise, we have provided WiFi for 50,000 homes in the community, are working on job placements, educational opportunities and even created more green space. There is a long term plan for how Cleveland Clinic can better integrate themselves into the community, and how we can learn from the community about their actual needs and wants. We have also been working on identifying our homeless population and how we can better serve them.
What are unique features of your program that you would like to highlight?
Didactics are part of protected time for our residents and this is a strictly adhered to policy. We are an extremely friendly, welcoming program with a true family like atmosphere, and at one time within a 5 year period there had been 10 babies born! We offer a 12 week maternity leave and 4 week paternity leave. We front load our program to allow for lots of elective time in the PGY-3 and 4 years. We also offer internal moonlighting as an option – also available in the PGY 3 and 4 years. The opportunities to work alongside experts in their field is in abundance at Cleveland Clinic.
“Cleveland Clinic partners with best in class organizations – both large and small – that complement our caregiver strategy of "Patients First." Our Supplier Diversity strategy supports this model and our commitment to care for the community. Our Supplier Diversity program ensures the dollars we spend and the partnerships we leverage drive economic impact throughout the entire business ecosystem. We strive to improve the economic health of the communities we serve – both directly and indirectly – by strengthening diverse suppliers through advocacy, education and development opportunities.”
This includes businesses that are 51% owned and operated by:
∙ Minorities
∙ Women
∙ Veterans/Service-disabled veterans
∙ LGBT
∙ HUB Zone
Is there any advice that you would like to share with the LMSA community?
When looking at programs and institutions, a key way to see where they place value, is how diverse the staff is and have they been placed in leadership positions? Always be yourself and speak your mind. Challenge the places you are considering and see how they respond.
Contact:
Email: harrisa36@ccf.org
Name: Alexis Harris
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